The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs the Intel Core i5-13400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, a combination that ranks in the 124th position out of 3,725 tested combos in this driving simulation. The data shows a system with enormous headroom at lower resolutions, yet one that still delivers playable 4K performance at high settings. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, settings scaling, and what the numbers reveal about the relationship between this 10-core processor and the flagship Blackwell GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Long Drive?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution at High settings provides the strongest balance, delivering 137 FPS average. This is a significant jump from the 76 FPS at 4K High, while still offering a much higher visual quality than the 267 FPS Low preset at the same resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 79,842 points on average, placing it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and 0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.1%, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads by 1.4%.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile relative to all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 25,292 is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, which scores 25,284, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 25,201.

Q: Does the game show different scaling between Low and Ultra settings?

A: Yes, dramatically. At 1080p, the difference between Low (332 FPS) and Ultra (144 FPS) is 188 FPS, representing a 56.6% reduction. At 4K, the gap narrows to 95 FPS, from 148 FPS on Low down to 53 FPS on Ultra.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded capability in Cinebench?

A: The i5-13400F scores 22,604 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 8,892 in R20 multi-core, and 2,278 in R15 multi-core. Single-core scores are 3,191, 1,255, and 321 in the respective R23, R20, and R15 tests.

Q: Is the measured frame rate data consistent across all settings at a given resolution?

A: The data includes minimum and maximum FPS only for Medium settings. At 1440p Medium, the range spans from 187 minimum to 252 maximum, while at 1080p Medium it stretches from 263 to 356. Other presets only report average FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings 32 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This memory subsystem is paired with a 2,407 MHz boost clock and 21,760 shading units. In The Long Drive, the GPU's role shifts depending on resolution and settings, but the data indicates it remains the dominant component even at lower presets.

At 1080p, the RTX 5090 pushes frame rates from 208 FPS on High up to 332 FPS on Low. These numbers suggest the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution, as the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads become more relevant. The 144 FPS result at 1080p Ultra shows a 30.8% drop from High, indicating that the most demanding settings begin to load the GPU more heavily.

The 4K results reveal where the RTX 5090's raw power becomes essential. At 2160p High, the combo manages 76 FPS, which drops to 53 FPS at Ultra. The Low preset at 4K achieves 148 FPS, showing that even at the highest resolution, the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute can deliver high refresh rates when visual effects are reduced. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provide the headroom needed for 4K textures without bottlenecking the rendering pipeline.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with its measured performance. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are professional Tesla cards, not gaming GPUs, which underscores the 5090's position. In gaming workloads like this one, the 32 GB frame buffer far exceeds what The Long Drive requires, meaning memory capacity is never a constraint across any preset or resolution tested.

Settings Recommendations

The Medium preset emerges as the most consistent choice across all three resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 309 FPS average with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 356, providing smooth performance with tighter frame pacing than the Low preset's 332 FPS average. At 1440p, Medium hits 219 FPS with a 187 minimum, which remains well above the 144 Hz refresh threshold for most displays.

For 4K users, the High preset at 76 FPS offers the best visual fidelity while maintaining playability. Ultra at 4K drops to 53 FPS, which may feel less fluid in a driving simulation where consistent frame times matter. The Medium preset at 4K provides 122 FPS, but the jump from 76 FPS at High to 122 FPS at Medium suggests that High is the sweet spot for image quality per frame rate.

The data shows diminishing returns moving from High to Ultra. At 1080p, Ultra (144 FPS) is 30.8% slower than High (208 FPS), while at 4K the difference is 30.2% (53 vs 76 FPS). This consistent penalty across resolutions indicates that Ultra applies a uniform load increase rather than resolution-dependent effects. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1440p (267 FPS) or 1080p (332 FPS) offers the highest possible refresh rates, but Medium provides a better balance of visuals and speed for most users.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the RTX 5090 achieves a combo rank of 124 out of 3,725 tested combinations in The Long Drive. This places the system in the top 3.3% of all combos, which is expected given the flagship GPU. The ranking reflects that while the CPU is not the absolute fastest available, the GPU's dominance carries the overall performance.

The CPU's percentile position at 77th among all processors puts it in the upper quartile but not the elite tier. Its average benchmark score of 25,292 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25,284), with a 0% delta. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D both score slightly higher at 25,362 and 25,365 respectively, showing a 0.3% delta. This clustering suggests the i5-13400F is well-matched against mid-range to upper-mid-range competitors.

The GPU's percentile ranking at 92nd among all GPUs is more impressive, with an average score of 79,842. The nearest rival, the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, scores 79,605, a 0.3% delta. The fact that this consumer gaming card trades blows with professional compute GPUs in synthetic benchmarks highlights its strength. In the context of this combo, the RTX 5090 provides the majority of the performance headroom, allowing the system to rank far higher than the CPU alone would suggest.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a clear pattern that reveals the limiting component at each resolution. At High settings, the drop from 208 FPS at 1080p to 137 FPS at 1440p represents a 34.1% reduction, and then to 76 FPS at 4K, another 44.5% cut. This scaling is steeper than the pixel count increase alone would predict, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant at higher resolutions.

For the Low preset, the scaling is more dramatic: 332 FPS at 1080p falls to 267 FPS at 1440p (a 19.6% drop) and then to 148 FPS at 4K (a 44.6% drop from 1440p). The relatively small decrease from 1080p to 1440p on Low suggests that at this preset, the CPU is the primary limiter at both resolutions. Once 4K is reached, the GPU load increases enough to become the bottleneck.

The Medium preset shows the most linear scaling: 309 FPS at 1080p, 219 FPS at 1440p, and 122 FPS at 4K. This represents a 29.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44.3% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage reductions, around 29-30% for the first step and 44-45% for the second, indicates that Medium settings distribute load evenly between CPU and GPU. The Ultra preset follows a similar pattern with 144, 95, and 53 FPS respectively, showing that the CPU's 16 threads can keep up with the GPU's demands even at the highest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves 332 FPS average, making it the fastest configuration tested. Medium follows at 309 FPS with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 356, providing the widest documented frame range. High drops to 208 FPS, while Ultra bottoms out at 144 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 188 FPS, showing the full range of the GPU's scaling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected reduction. Low delivers 267 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. Medium hits 219 FPS with a minimum of 187 and maximum of 252. High drops to 137 FPS, and Ultra falls to 95 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 172 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p due to the increased GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates show the GPU working harder. Low achieves 148 FPS, which is still playable on high refresh rate 4K displays. Medium delivers 122 FPS with a minimum of 103 and maximum of 140. High falls to 76 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra at 4K is 95 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as pixel count increases. The Medium preset's 103 FPS minimum at 4K ensures that even the lowest measured frame remains above 100 FPS, making it the safest choice for consistent 4K performance.