The Long Drive

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a robust experience in The Long Drive, a Driving Simulation title released on 2019-09-02. The measured data shows a system that is consistently capable across all tested resolutions, though the balance between CPU and GPU roles shifts predictably as the workload changes. This analysis examines the measured FPS rows to determine how each component contributes to the final frame rate, what the scaling patterns indicate, and which settings provide the optimal experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12600KF demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 23,444 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,575 in PassMark multi-thread. Its single-thread capabilities are equally notable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,309 and a PassMark single-thread score of 3,925. The processor's 3DMark results show scaling from 1,016 in single-thread to 7,956 in the 16-thread test, and 7,952 at max threads, indicating that the extra cores are effectively utilized when the workload expands.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the i5-12600KF's average benchmark score of 27,827 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27,829 with a 0% delta. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-12600K (27,851), 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (27,872), and 0.4% behind the Intel Core i7-13700H (27,716). The processor sits in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing part.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain a stable frame delivery, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combination reaches 281.3 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at these frame rates. The processor's strong single-thread score (3,309 in Cinebench R23) is likely beneficial for the simulation logic, while the multi-thread capability ensures that background tasks do not cause frame dips.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD104 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 35,800 million transistors on a die size of 294 mm². The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It comes with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The RTX 4070 includes 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. It is equipped with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The GPU's compute capabilities are reflected in its FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. Its TDP is 200 W, and it requires a 550 W suggested power supply, using a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic tests, the RTX 4070 scores 26,927 in PassMark G3D and 168,006 in Geekbench OpenCL. It holds the 81st percentile among all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,283 is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507), 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008), and 2.2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135). It is 2.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371).

In The Long Drive, the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS shows that at 4K Ultra, the combination produces 40 FPS, indicating a heavy GPU load. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, and the bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s supports the high-resolution render. The GPU's role is most evident when comparing the 1080p Low result (281.3 FPS) to the 4K Ultra result (40 FPS), where the frame rate drops by a factor of roughly seven, underscoring the GPU's workload.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 281.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 182.5 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 105.1 FPS, which is a further drop of about 42% from 1440p. This scaling indicates that at Low settings, the GPU is still the primary constraint, but the CPU is keeping up well enough to allow high frame rates.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p High result is 145.2 FPS, dropping to 98 FPS at 1440p High (a 32% reduction), and then to 55.1 FPS at 4K High (a 44% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drops are relatively consistent, which suggests that the rendering workload scales linearly with the number of pixels, and the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions at these settings.

At Ultra settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The 1080p Ultra result is 102.2 FPS, dropping to 65.5 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 36% reduction), and then to 40 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 39% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured in the dataset, confirming that the GPU is heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity.

The data shows that the CPU is generally not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system produces 281.3 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at lower resolutions, but the FPS continues to rise as resolution decreases. This suggests that the i5-12600KF provides sufficient processing power to feed the RTX 4070, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor when the pixel count increases.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS rows, the ideal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all settings produce playable frame rates, with Low at 281.3 FPS, Medium at 230.8 FPS, High at 145.2 FPS, and Ultra at 102.2 FPS. For a 1080p display, the High preset offers a good balance, delivering 145.2 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for high-refresh monitors, while still providing improved visual fidelity over Medium.

At 1440p, the data shows that High settings produce 98 FPS, Medium produces 154.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 65.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 154.1 FPS, which is a strong result for a 144 Hz monitor, and it avoids the more demanding Ultra settings that cut the frame rate nearly in half. The High preset at 1440p is also viable at 98 FPS, which is acceptable for 100 Hz displays, but Medium offers a higher margin for frame pacing.

At 4K, the options are more limited. The Low preset produces 105.1 FPS, Medium produces 83.7 FPS, High produces 55.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 40 FPS. For a 60 Hz 4K display, the Medium preset at 83.7 FPS is the best choice, as it stays well above the refresh rate while providing a significant visual upgrade over Low. The High preset at 55.1 FPS is just below 60 FPS, which may result in occasional frame drops, and Ultra at 40 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Overall, the data suggests that Medium settings offer the most consistent experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system reaches 230.8 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it hits 154.1 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it achieves 83.7 FPS. This preset provides a good balance between visual quality and frame rate, ensuring that the system remains responsive even at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 383rd out of 1,734 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places the combo in the top approximate 22% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range to upper-mid-range pairing. The rank reflects the overall performance across all measured settings and resolutions, and it indicates that this combo is capable of delivering high frame rates in the majority of scenarios.

Given that the GPU holds the 81st percentile among all GPUs and the CPU holds the 84th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's rank of 383 out of 1,734 is consistent with the individual component strengths. The rank suggests that there are 382 combos that perform better, likely featuring higher-tier GPUs such as the RTX 4080 or 4090, or more powerful CPUs like the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 series. However, the i5-12600KF + RTX 4070 pairing still outranks the majority of tested systems, making it a solid choice for this game.

The data shows that the combo is particularly strong at lower resolutions, where the CPU and GPU work well together to produce very high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 281.3 FPS result confirms the system's ability to avoid CPU bottlenecks. At 4K Ultra, the 40 FPS result is the weakest point in the dataset, but this is an extreme scenario that few users would target. The combo's overall rank of 383 indicates that it handles the game's typical workload with ease, and it is only challenged at the highest graphical settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in The Long Drive?*

A: The maximum average FPS is 281.3, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 40, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12600KF compare to the Intel Core i9-10900K in average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12600KF scores 27,827, while the i9-10900K scores 27,829, resulting in a 0% delta, meaning they are effectively tied.

Q: What is the VRAM capacity of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, and what type of memory does it use?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 383rd out of 1,734 tested combos, placing it in the top approximate 22% of systems.

Q: At 1440p, which settings preset yields the highest average FPS?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields the highest average FPS at 182.5, followed by Medium at 154.1, High at 98, and Ultra at 65.5.