The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation from 2019, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combo. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering high refresh rates at 1080p, making it a balanced pairing for 1080p gaming but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is the defining characteristic of this combo in The Long Drive. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves an average of 80 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure falls to 53 FPS, a significant 33.75% reduction. At 4K, the average plummets to 29 FPS, which is 63.75% lower than the 1080p High result. This steep and consistent decline with each resolution increase points directly to the GPU as the primary limiting component. The RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus, simply does not have the pixel throughput or memory bandwidth to sustain high frame rates at 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. With Low settings, the system manages 156 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K on Low settings is 99 FPS, showing that even when the graphical load is reduced, the GPU is still the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU, a 16-core Raptor Lake part with a 5.40 GHz boost clock, is clearly not the limiting factor here; if it were, the frame rates would remain more consistent across resolutions as the GPU load increases. The data shows a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering hardware is saturated well before the processor's potential is reached.

This behavior indicates that players targeting 4K will need to make drastic compromises. The jump from Medium to Ultra at 4K is particularly punishing, with average FPS falling from 47 to 20. The frame rate is not just dropping; it is collapsing, confirming that the RTX 2060 is operating far beyond its comfortable performance envelope at this resolution. The 1080p results, conversely, show that the combo has ample headroom, with even Ultra settings maintaining a playable 56 FPS average.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks at 2937 out of 3725 combos for The Long Drive. This places it in the 21st percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs worse than the vast majority of configurations in this specific game. The ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's age and tier; the RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 20-series, and its performance is now below the mid-range of the current hardware landscape.

This low ranking is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier performer. The Core i7-13700K sits in the 89th percentile against all CPUs and is essentially neck-and-neck with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which has an average score of 46971 versus the Intel's 46881, a negligible 0.2% difference. The GPU, however, sits in the 58th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rivals in raw benchmark terms are the GeForce GTX 580 and the AMD Radeon 680M, which are separated by less than 1% in average score. This illustrates a massive imbalance in the combo's components: a high-end modern CPU is paired with a GPU from a previous generation that now competes with entry-level and integrated graphics solutions in synthetic tests.

The low combo rank is therefore almost entirely attributable to the GPU. While the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate, the RTX 2060 cannot translate that processing power into high FPS in a game with the rendering demands of The Long Drive. The result is a system that is technically functional but is held back from achieving its full potential by its graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combo achieves an average of 80 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in The Long Drive?

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is only viable with Low settings, where the average FPS is 57. At Medium settings, the average drops to 47 FPS, and at High it falls to 29 FPS, making higher quality presets unplayable.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, has a score of 15283, which is a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon 680M is also close, with a score of 15270, a 0.1% difference.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 103 on Low settings to 37 on Ultra settings. This represents a significant 64% performance decrease when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: What is the best resolution for achieving a high refresh rate experience?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 156 FPS. Even with High settings, it maintains an average of 80 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where the combo can consistently deliver frame rates suitable for high refresh rate monitors.

Q: How does the Core i7-13700K's performance compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 5900?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has a score of 46971. This is a 0.2% difference, indicating they perform nearly identically in synthetic tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance is robust. Low settings deliver an average of 156 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Medium settings still provide a smooth 128 FPS average, with minimums of 109 FPS and maximums of 148 FPS, indicating a stable frame time. High settings bring the average down to 80 FPS, while Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding a 56 FPS average. It is importantly the Medium preset shows a 20 FPS gap between its minimum and maximum, suggesting some variation in scene complexity, but it remains well within the playable range.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU's limitations become more apparent. Low settings still deliver a good 103 FPS average, but this is a 34% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 85 FPS, with a 25 FPS spread between the 72 FPS minimum and 97 FPS maximum. High settings drop to a 53 FPS average, which is starting to become marginal for fast-paced gameplay. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with the average falling to 37 FPS, a figure that may cause noticeable stuttering in a driving game.

The 3840x2160 results are the most telling. Low settings average 57 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a driving simulation where smoothness is key. Medium settings average 47 FPS, with minimums of 40 FPS and maximums of 54 FPS. High settings drop the average to 29 FPS, and Ultra settings make the game nearly unplayable with a 20 FPS average. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is severe, with the High setting average falling from 80 FPS to 29 FPS, a 63.75% reduction. This confirms that the RTX 2060 is not designed for 4K gaming in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the definitive limiting factor in this combo for The Long Drive. The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU's potential is exhausted. The card's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is a key constraint, especially at higher resolutions where the demand for memory capacity and bandwidth increases. The performance collapse at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 20, is a clear indication that the card is running out of both memory and processing power.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its position in the market. Its Passmark G3D score is 14111, and its average benchmark score is 15290. These figures place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, showing that it is an average performer. Its nearest rivals in average score are the GeForce GTX 580 and the Radeon 680M, with a 0% and 0.1% delta respectively. This proximity in benchmark performance to much older or integrated graphics underscores the fact that the RTX 2060 is a solution that has been surpassed by newer generations. In The Long Drive, this translates to a GPU that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming but is overwhelmed by the demands of 4K.

The card's architecture, Turing, supports features like DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for modern game APIs. However, the raw processing power, with 1920 shading units and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, is not sufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering in this title. The frame rate data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the bottleneck in every scenario where the resolution is high or the settings are maxed out. The 20 FPS average at 4K Ultra is a definitive result that shows the card is not suitable for this workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K plays a supporting role in this combo, providing more than enough processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in The Long Drive. With 16 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, this CPU is a high-end desktop part from Intel's Raptor Lake architecture. Its synthetic benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a Passmark multithread score of 45887. These figures place the CPU in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, showing it is a top-tier processor.

Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, with deltas of -0.2% and -0.3% respectively. This indicates that the i7-13700K is performing at the same level as its closest competitors. The CPU's single-thread performance is also strong, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2529 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4333. This is important for games that are not well-optimized for multi-core use, though The Long Drive appears to be GPU-bound in most scenarios tested.

The evidence for the CPU not being a limiting factor is the FPS scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers at 1080p and 4K, as the CPU load would not change significantly with resolution. However, the data shows a dramatic drop in performance with increasing resolution, which is the classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is clearly capable of feeding the GPU with enough data, as evidenced by the 156 FPS average at 1080p Low. The i7-13700K's role is to ensure that the RTX 2060 is the only thing holding the system back, and it does this job effectively, making it the ideal partner for this GPU at 1080p, where the combo can reach very high frame rates.