The Long Drive

The Long Drive pairs the Intel Core i7-12700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, a combination that lands at rank 2021 out of 3725 tested combos in this driving simulation. The measured data covers twelve distinct scenarios, spanning three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear view of how this system behaves under varying loads. This analysis examines the performance patterns, the balance between CPU and GPU responsibilities, and what the numbers suggest about the best way to play.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 203 average FPS, but at 1440p Low that falls to 133, and at 4K Low it drops further to 74. That is a 63.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which strongly suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. The RTX 4060, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, simply cannot sustain the same frame rates when asked to push four times the pixels of 1080p.

Looking at Medium settings, the same pattern emerges but with slightly different magnitudes. At 1080p Medium, the average is 167 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it drops to 110; at 4K Medium, it bottoms out at 61 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K here shows a 44.5% reduction, while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 34.1%. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are being stretched more severely at higher resolutions. The texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s become increasingly taxed as resolution climbs.

At High settings, the pattern continues: 104 FPS at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 38 at 4K. The percentage drops are 33.7% from 1080p to 1440p, then 44.9% from 1440p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline, with 72 FPS at 1080p falling to 48 at 1440p and just 26 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is barely playable, suggesting that this preset demands far more from the GPU than it can deliver at that resolution.

What the data implies is that the RTX 4060 is the primary constraint at 4K across all settings. Even at Low, 4K only reaches 74 FPS, which is respectable but far from the 203 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, appears to have ample headroom at lower resolutions, but the GPU's 272.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM become the wall as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing, and the benchmark data shows why it rarely limits performance in The Long Drive. With 12 cores, 20 threads, a base clock of 3.60 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, this Alder Lake-S chip is built for high-throughput workloads. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28838 and single-core score of 4071 place it well above average, and the Passmark multithread score of 34092 reinforces that capability.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB provide quick access to game data, which matters in a driving simulation that likely streams terrain and physics calculations. The 3dmark scores show strong scaling from 2 threads (2065) to 16 threads (9282), indicating that the processor can handle both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded scenarios effectively. The max threads score of 9983 is only slightly higher than the 16-thread result, suggesting diminishing returns beyond that point.

In this game, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 203 FPS average suggests the GPU is still keeping pace, but the CPU is providing enough single-thread performance to feed those frames. The Geekbench single-core score of 2255 and Passmark single-thread score of 3984 indicate strong per-core efficiency, which is critical for game logic and draw call processing. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 203 FPS while 4K Low only hits 74 FPS points to the GPU being the bottleneck at higher resolutions, with the CPU capable of pushing far more frames if the graphics card could render them.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-13700T (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-13600T (deltaPct 0.2), and the Intel Core i7-12700K (deltaPct 0.2). The 12700KF sits within 0.2% of these chips, meaning its performance is essentially tied with the 12700K and closely matched with the 13th-gen T-series parts. For a driving simulation that may not be heavily multithreaded, the single-thread performance of 4071 in Cinebench R23 and 1043 in 3dmark single-thread becomes the more relevant metric, and those numbers are solid.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 167 average FPS with a minimum of 142 and maximum of 192, which is an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness. High settings at 1080p drop to 104 FPS, which is still very playable but represents a 37.7% reduction from Medium. Low settings reach 203 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial, and Ultra falls to 72 FPS, which is below the Medium result by more than half.

At 1440p, Medium settings again appear optimal, with 110 average FPS and a minimum of 93. This keeps the frame rate comfortably above 60 FPS while offering better visual fidelity than Low, which runs at 133 FPS. High at 1440p drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but close to the edge for fast-paced driving. Ultra at 1440p, at 48 FPS, is borderline and not recommended for consistent smoothness.

At 4K, the options narrow considerably. Medium settings produce 61 average FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70, which is the only 4K preset that stays above 60 FPS on average. Low reaches 74 FPS, which is smoother but sacrifices visual detail. High at 38 FPS and Ultra at 26 FPS are both too low for a playable experience in a driving game where reaction time matters.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium offers 167 FPS; at 1440p, 110 FPS; at 4K, 61 FPS. This preset consistently provides a playable frame rate while maintaining a reasonable level of graphical quality. For players with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, Low could be tempting for 203 FPS, but the jump to Medium only costs 36 FPS while likely adding significant visual improvements.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2021 out of 3725 tested combos in The Long Drive. That places it in the 54th percentile of all combinations, meaning slightly more than half of tested systems perform better in this game. The rank reflects the balanced but mid-tier nature of this pairing: the CPU is strong, but the GPU is not top-tier.

The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 61, while the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 85. This disparity suggests that the RTX 4060 is the weaker link in this pairing for this specific game. The CPU sits well above average, but the GPU is only modestly above the midpoint. The combo rank of 2021 out of 3725 aligns more closely with the GPU's percentile than the CPU's, reinforcing that the graphics card is the primary determinant of overall performance here.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 shows a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the RTX 4060 is 0.2% behind it in average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon 780M is 0.3% behind the 4060, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 is 0.5% behind. These are all older or integrated-class parts, which is surprising for a modern discrete GPU, but the average benchmark score of 17639 reflects the 4060's position in the broader GPU landscape. The Passmark G3D score of 19545 and the 3dmark Steel Nomad score of 2302 give additional context.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-13700T (deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core i5-13600T (deltaPct 0.2), with the Intel Core i7-12700K also at 0.2%. The average benchmark score of 35365 for the CPU is well above the midpoint, confirming its strong position. The combination of an above-average CPU with a mid-tier GPU produces a system that is capable but not exceptional in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. The base clock of 1830 MHz and boost clock of 2460 MHz provide the raw speed, while the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In The Long Drive, the GPU's role is central to frame rate, especially at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is a clear indicator that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are insufficient for the most demanding settings at that resolution. The texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s are respectable for a mid-range card, but they cannot overcome the memory bandwidth limitation when rendering at 3840x2160.

The FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS and the 1:1 FP16 ratio suggest the card is well-suited to modern graphics workloads, but the 4K numbers tell a different story. At 1080p, the GPU has enough bandwidth to push 203 FPS at Low and 167 FPS at Medium, but at 4K, the same settings yield 74 and 61 FPS respectively. This scaling shows that the memory subsystem is the critical constraint.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (deltaPct 0.7). These comparisons place the RTX 4060 in a mid-tier position, which aligns with its 61st percentile ranking. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 76 and DirectX 11 score of 175 indicate solid API support, while the Geekbench Vulkan score of 48643 shows good compute performance.

For a game like The Long Drive, which is a driving simulation with likely open-world elements, the GPU's 8 GB memory could become a factor at higher resolutions where textures and draw distances expand. The 4K Medium result of 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52, shows that the card can handle moderate settings at 4K, but the Ultra preset at 26 FPS is clearly beyond its capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that 1080p Medium delivers 167 average FPS with a minimum of 142, while 1440p Medium provides 110 average FPS with a minimum of 93. Both are excellent for smooth gameplay, with 1080p Medium offering the highest consistent frame rate.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Long Drive?

A: At 4K, only Low (74 FPS) and Medium (61 FPS) presets produce playable frame rates above 60 FPS on average. High drops to 38 FPS and Ultra to 26 FPS, which are not recommended for a driving game.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which places it 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M. It sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking and high single-thread scores (Cinebench R23 single-core of 4071) indicate it has ample headroom, while the GPU's 61st percentile and the steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K point to the graphics card as the constraint.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game?

A: This pairing ranks 2021 out of 3725 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the 54th percentile of all tested systems.

Q: How much does the Ultra preset cost in performance compared to Medium?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (72 FPS) is 56.9% slower than Medium (167 FPS). At 1440p, Ultra (48 FPS) is 56.4% slower than Medium (110 FPS). At 4K, Ultra (26 FPS) is 57.4% slower than Medium (61 FPS).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 74 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings yield an average of 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 70. High settings drop to an average of 38 FPS, and Ultra falls to an average of 26 FPS. The full range from Low to Ultra spans 48 FPS, with Ultra delivering only 35.1% of the Low preset's frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Low settings reach an average of 133 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 110 FPS, with a minimum of 93 and a maximum of 126. High settings average 69 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 85 FPS, with Ultra at 36.1% of Low's performance.

At 1920x1080, Low settings achieve an average of 203 FPS. Medium settings deliver an average of 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 and a maximum of 192. High settings average 104 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 131 FPS, with Ultra reaching 35.5% of Low's frame rate.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low is always the fastest, Medium offers a balanced middle ground with recorded minimums that indicate stability, High represents a significant step down, and Ultra is the most demanding but rarely playable at higher resolutions. The Medium preset's minimum FPS values (52 at 4K, 93 at 1440p, 142 at 1080p) suggest it maintains a stable frame rate without severe drops, making it the recommended choice for this hardware combination.