The Long Drive

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 223rd out of 3,725 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places the pairing in the top 6% of all configurations tested, a strong result that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The rank indicates that this combo is capable of delivering a premium experience in this driving simulation, though the measured frame rates reveal that the game's engine presents unique challenges at higher settings that even this hardware cannot fully overcome.

How This Combo Ranks

The 223rd position out of 3,725 combos puts this pairing in the 94th percentile of all tested systems. This is a top-tier result, but it is not the absolute best configuration available. The ranking is heavily influenced by the fact that The Long Drive is an older title, released in 2019, which tends to show diminishing returns with extremely high-end hardware. The data suggests that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, but there is still a meaningful gap between this pairing and the top-ranked combos, which likely feature newer generation GPUs and more powerful CPUs.

The combination of a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a 16 GB video card is well-balanced for this title, but the ranking shows that the game's engine does not scale perfectly with raw compute power. The combo's rank is more impressive when considering that the RTX 4080 sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-14600K is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. This indicates that the CPU is slightly stronger relative to its peers than the GPU, which is an important dynamic to consider when analyzing the performance bottlenecks in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with 9,728 shading units and 76 RT cores. These specifications position the card as a high-end offering, though its average benchmark score of 54,247 places it just 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER in the nearest rivals data. The card also trails the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%, the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%, and the Radeon 8060S by 2.7% in average benchmark scores.

In The Long Drive, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, the GPU is often not the limiting factor, as frame rates exceed 350 FPS at Low settingstons. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with average frame rates dropping to 47 FPS. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed this capacity, given that the frame rates are still playable. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is also ample, as the game does not appear to be memory-bandwidth limited based on the scaling patterns observed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 184 FPS at 1080p to 121 FPS at 1440p, and further to 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the increased pixel count places more strain on the graphics card.

At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic. The average frame rate drops from 358 FPS at 1080p to 235 FPS at 1440p, and then to 131 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 44%. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming a limiting factor at 4K. However, at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 358 FPS is so high that it is likely that the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has more than enough headroom to render the scene at that resolution.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra settings further illustrates the GPU's role. At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 294 FPS at Medium to 127 FPS at Ultra, a 57% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 194 FPS to 84 FPS, a 57% reduction as well. At 4K, the drop is from 108 FPS to 47 FPS, a 56% reduction. This consistent reduction across resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant rendering load that the GPU must handle, regardless of resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 358 FPS at Low settings, 294 FPS at Medium, 184 FPS at High, and 127 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 339 FPS, indicating some variability but generally smooth performance. The Low and High presets do not have reported minimum or maximum values, but the averages suggest that this resolution is well within the capabilities of the hardware for all settings.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 235 FPS at Low, 194 FPS at Medium, 121 FPS at High, and 84 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset again shows a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 64%, which is significant but still leaves the Ultra preset playable for most users. The 84 FPS at Ultra is above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered acceptable for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 131 FPS at Low, 108 FPS at Medium, 67 FPS at High, and 47 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. The High preset at 67 FPS is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, while the Ultra preset at 47 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and may be noticeable to users. The Low preset at 131 FPS is still very smooth, indicating that the GPU can handle 4K when settings are reduced.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The processor is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and has 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Its average benchmark score of 48,618 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which scores 48,698, a difference of -0.2%. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48,470, which is 0.3% behind the i5-14600K, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX and Core Ultra 5 245 score 48,287 and 48,995, representing a 0.7% and -0.8% difference, respectively.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 358 FPS average suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain extremely high frame rates. The single-thread performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,064, is crucial for this game, as driving simulations often rely on a single primary thread for game logic and physics. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz helps in this regard, providing strong single-threaded performance.

However, the CPU does not appear to be a significant limiting factor at higher resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, indicating that the CPU has enough headroom to keep up with the GPU's rendering demands. The 14 cores and 20 threads are more than adequate for a game of this age, and the data suggests that the CPU is not holding back the RTX 4080 in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a 1080p monitor, the Ultra preset at 127 FPS average provides an excellent experience, well above the 60 FPS threshold and smooth on most high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 294 FPS is overkill for most monitors, but it offers a massive performance buffer for those with 240 Hz or higher refresh rates. The High preset at 184 FPS is a balanced choice for 144 Hz displays, offering a good mix of visual quality and performance.

At 1440p, the High preset at 121 FPS is the recommended setting for most users, as it provides a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors while maintaining good visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS is also viable, especially for users with 60 Hz or 75 Hz displays who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rates. The Medium preset at 194 FPS is suitable for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the performance gain for most players.

At 4K, the High preset at 67 FPS is the best choice for a balanced experience, offering playable frame rates with good visual quality. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is better suited for users with high-refresh-rate 4K monitors, though the visual quality reduction is noticeable. The Ultra preset at 47 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in a less smooth experience. The Low preset at 131 FPS is an option for users who prioritize frame rate above all else, but the visual quality is significantly reduced.

Overall, the data indicates that this combo is best utilized at 1440p with High or Ultra settings, where it delivers a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, the hardware is somewhat overkill, but it provides massive headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming. At 4K, the combo is capable but requires settings adjustments to maintain smooth frame rates, with High being the sweet spot for most users.