The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation released on 2019-09-02, presents a unique challenge for the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination. The measured data reveals a significant performance profile that is heavily influenced by both resolution and graphical settings. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to understand the scaling behavior, component roles, and optimal configurations for this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 365 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates a scenario where the CPU is the primary limiting factor. The RTX 5090 is capable of rendering frames far faster than the i7-12700K can feed it at this resolution. As the resolution increases to 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low settings drops to 267 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27%. This decline continues at 3840x2160, where the Low setting average settles at 148 FPS, another 45% drop from the 1440p result.

This pattern is characteristic of a system where the GPU becomes progressively more involved in the rendering pipeline as pixel count increases. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a substantial performance hit, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. This suggests that the RTX 5090's immense processing power is being gradually saturated by the higher pixel throughput demands at 4K. At 1080p, the frame rate is capped by the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls; at 4K, the GPU's rasterization and shading workload takes over as the dominant constraint. The data indicates that the transition point where the bottleneck shifts from the CPU to the GPU occurs between 1080p and 1440p, with 4K being firmly GPU-bound.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, utilizing a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This vast memory capacity and bandwidth are crucial for handling high-resolution textures and complex scenes without performance degradation. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These high clock speeds, combined with 21,760 shading units, allow the card to process massive amounts of graphical data.

In the context of The Long Drive, the RTX 5090's role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 53, a significant reduction from the 76 FPS at 4K High and 122 FPS at 4K Medium. This indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU, likely including advanced lighting, shadows, and post-processing. The card's percentile ranking of 92 versus all GPUs confirms its top-tier status, yet the benchmark results show that even this hardware yields to the demands of the Ultra preset at 4K. The GPU's average benchmark score of 79,842 and its passmark G3D score of 39,650 position it as a dominant force, but the game's engine can still push it to its limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12th Gen Alder Lake processor, featuring 12 cores and 20 threads. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, which are essential for maintaining high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The processor includes 25 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the benchmark data does not specify which was used. Its integrated graphics are the UHD 770, but these are irrelevant in a system with a discrete RTX 5090.

The CPU's impact is most apparent at 1080p resolution. The jump from Low to Medium settings at 1080p yields an increase from 365 to 333 FPS, which is a counterintuitive result that suggests the CPU is still the limiting factor even at Medium settings. However, at 4K Low, the average FPS is 148, which is a far cry from the 365 FPS at 1080p Low. This stark difference indicates that while the CPU can handle high frame rates, its performance ceiling is reached when the GPU is not the bottleneck. The i7-12700K's percentile ranking of 84 versus all CPUs and its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19,784 demonstrate its strong multi-threaded capability, which is likely utilized by the game's simulation aspects. The data shows that the CPU is a capable partner, but it cannot sustain frame rates above a certain threshold when paired with the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is ranked 80th out of 3,725 tested combos for The Long Drive. This places it in the top 2.1% of all tested systems, indicating a high-performance pairing that outperforms the vast majority of configurations. The ranking reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU, where the i7-12700K's strong single-thread performance (evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and Passmark single-thread score of 4,013) complements the RTX 5090's raw graphical power.

However, the ranking also highlights that there are 79 other combos that achieve better performance in this specific game. This suggests that while this pairing is excellent, it is not the absolute best for The Long Drive. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12700KF with a deltaPct of -0.2% and the Intel Core i7-13700T with a deltaPct of -0.3%, have slightly higher average benchmark scores. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X, shows a deltaPct of -1.4%, indicating it performs slightly better in general benchmarks. These comparisons are based on aggregate scores, not game-specific results, but they provide context for the components' overall capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 365 FPS, Medium averages 333 FPS with a minimum of 283 FPS and a maximum of 383 FPS, High averages 208 FPS, and Ultra averages 144 FPS. The Medium setting's minimum of 283 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains a high frame rate, but the drop from Low to Medium is 32 FPS, which is significant.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down: Low averages 267 FPS, Medium averages 219 FPS with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 252 FPS, High averages 137 FPS, and Ultra averages 95 FPS. The Medium setting's minimum of 187 FPS is still above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors, but the High and Ultra presets show more substantial reductions. Moving to 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 148 FPS, Medium at 122 FPS with a minimum of 103 FPS and a maximum of 140 FPS, High at 76 FPS, and Ultra at 53 FPS. The 4K Medium setting's minimum of 103 FPS is the only 4K result that remains above 100 FPS, while High and Ultra dip to levels that may be less fluid for competitive play.

The data reveals a clear pattern: each increase in resolution results in a roughly 50% reduction in frame rate for the same settings, and each increase in settings tier at a fixed resolution also causes a substantial drop. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 221 FPS, while at 4K it is 95 FPS, indicating that the GPU is more stressed at higher resolutions and the settings have a proportionally smaller impact on the absolute frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset provides an average of 144 FPS, which is ideal for a 144 Hz monitor. This delivers a smooth experience with maximum visual fidelity. If a higher frame rate is preferred for competitive play, the High preset at 208 FPS offers a significant boost without the extreme demands of Ultra.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the best balance, offering 219 FPS average with a minimum of 187 FPS. This ensures a fluid experience on high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining good visual quality. The High preset at 137 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz monitors, but the Medium preset provides more headroom. For 4K resolution, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering 122 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS. This provides a playable and smooth experience, while the High preset at 76 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay but could feel less responsive. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is only suitable for cinematic experiences where frame rate is less critical.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this hardware combination across all resolutions, offering the best compromise between visual quality and performance. It consistently maintains frame rates above 100 FPS at 4K and well above 200 FPS at 1440p, making it a versatile choice for various gaming preferences.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 365, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset perform compared to 4K Medium?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 53 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 4K Medium preset's average of 122 FPS. This represents a 69 FPS difference, indicating that Ultra is very demanding on the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor. The frame rate of 365 FPS at Low settings is likely near the CPU's maximum output, as the GPU is capable of higher performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 103, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. This indicates that even in the most demanding scenes at 4K Medium, the frame rate remains above 100 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: This combo is ranked 80th out of 3,725 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2.1% of all tested systems for The Long Drive.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 resolution with High settings, the average FPS is 137. This is sufficient for a 144 Hz monitor but provides less headroom than the Medium preset, which averages 219 FPS.