The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation from 2019, presents a unique performance profile for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, but with a few notable inflection points that separate it from typical modern AAA titles. The benchmark results indicate a setup capable of extreme high-refresh-rate play at 1080p, yet one that can be brought to its knees by the game's Ultra preset at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a significant shift in the bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 279.1 FPS, a figure that is likely constrained by the CPU's single-thread performance. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 185.4 FPS, a reduction of 33.6%. The further step to 3840x2160 yields 104.5 FPS, another 43.6% decrease. This steep decline indicates that as resolution increases, the rendering load begins to overwhelm the GPU, making it the limiting factor.

The data suggests a clear crossover point. At 1080p High, the system produces 145.2 FPS, which is still a very high number. However, at 4K High, the average drops to 54 FPS. This represents a 62.8% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at the High preset. The scaling is not linear, hinting that the game's engine becomes significantly more demanding on the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth as pixel count quadruples. The RTX 4070's 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for high refresh 1440p, but the 4K Ultra setting, which demands 34.3 FPS, shows that the card is not a 4K powerhouse in this title. The question is whether the game's Ultra preset is simply too aggressive for this hardware class.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, plays a central role in the measured results. The boost clock of 2475 MHz and the 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are key assets, but the data shows that raw compute is not the only factor. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is notable: 84.4 FPS vs 54 FPS, a 36% drop. This suggests that High preset likely introduces more complex shading and texture filtering, which taxes the 184 TMUs and the memory subsystem more heavily.

The most striking data point is the Ultra preset's performance. At 1440p, Ultra yields 66 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K, it collapses to 34.3 FPS. This is a 48% drop from the already demanding 1440p result. The low performance at 4K Ultra indicates that the settings likely enable effects that are exceptionally VRAM-hungry or computationally expensive, such as advanced reflections or draw distances. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue at these settings, but the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appears to become a limiting factor when the game attempts to stream high-resolution assets. The GPU's performance percentile of 81 versus all GPUs is reflected here: it is a strong card, but it has limits that are clearly exposed by this game's Ultra path.

FAQ

Q: What is the biggest performance difference across resolutions for this combo?

A: The most extreme change is seen on the Ultra preset. It drops from 101.6 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 34.3 FPS at 4K, representing a 66.2% total reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 sufficient for 4K gaming in The Long Drive?

A: The data suggests it is only viable at lower settings. At 4K Low, the combo averages 104.5 FPS, and at 4K Medium it averages 84.4 FPS. However, at 4K High (54 FPS) and Ultra (34.3 FPS), the frame rates fall below what most would consider smooth for a driving game.

Q: How does the CPU's performance impact the frame rate at 1080p?

A: The CPU is likely the primary limiter at 1080p. The jump from Low (279.1 FPS) to Medium (227.9 FPS) and High (145.2 FPS) shows that settings changes impact the CPU's workload, but the very high numbers suggest the i7-13700K's single-core speed, evidenced by its 5505 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is what keeps these frames high.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset (152.8 FPS) and Low preset (185.4 FPS) both exceed 144 FPS. The High preset (92.5 FPS) does not. At 1080p, all presets except Ultra (101.6 FPS) are above 144 FPS. For a 144Hz display, 1440p Medium is the ideal balance.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo is ranked 422nd out of 1734 tested combos in this game. This places it in the top 24.4% of all configurations, indicating it is a strong performer, but not at the very top tier.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 66 FPS, which is a 28.6% drop from the High preset's 92.5 FPS. The data suggests that if a stable 60 FPS is the target, Ultra is viable, but the substantial performance cost may not justify the visual gains over High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the i7-13700K and RTX 4070 deliver a wide range of performance. The Low preset averages 279.1 FPS, a figure that will satisfy the most demanding high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium follows at 227.9 FPS, and High at 145.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the outlier, dropping to 101.6 FPS, which is still a solid frame rate but represents a 55.4% reduction from Medium. This pattern suggests that the Ultra preset at 1080p introduces effects that are disproportionately heavy on the GPU, even when the CPU has ample headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very playable. Low averages 185.4 FPS, Medium 152.8 FPS, and High 92.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is on the edge of high-refresh territory. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent drop across all settings, with the High preset suffering a 36.3% loss (from 145.2 to 92.5 FPS), which is more than the Low preset's 33.6% loss (from 279.1 to 185.4 FPS). This indicates that the High preset is more sensitive to resolution increases than the Low preset.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes dramatically. The Low preset still manages 104.5 FPS, proving the GPU's strength. Medium drops to 84.4 FPS, and High to 54 FPS. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, averaging just 34.3 FPS. This data shows that 4K gaming is only feasible with lower settings. The gap between High (54 FPS) and Medium (84.4 FPS) at 4K is a 36% difference, suggesting that High enables a specific rendering feature that is very costly at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 422 out of 1734 tested combinations places it in the upper quartile of all systems tested in The Long Drive. This is a strong showing, but it is not a top-tier result. The CPU itself sits at the 93rd percentile versus all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 47282 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which is only 0.1% faster. This indicates the CPU is not the source of the combo's rank.

The GPU's percentile of 81 versus all GPUs is lower than the CPU's 93rd percentile. This suggests the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor for this specific combo's ranking. The GPU's average benchmark score of 37283 is, interestingly, 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, a much older card. This is a curious data point, but it does not reflect real-world gaming performance. The high rank of 422 is still respectable, but the data shows that to climb higher in the rankings, a more powerful GPU would be needed, as the i7-13700K has more headroom to offer.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the user's display and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 145.2 FPS is the best choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. If a 240Hz display is available, the Medium preset's 227.9 FPS is a better target, as it provides a significant FPS boost while likely retaining most visual quality. The Ultra preset at 101.6 FPS is playable but offers diminishing returns for the performance hit.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 152.8 FPS is the clear winner, providing a perfect balance for 144Hz monitors. The High preset at 92.5 FPS is still very smooth and offers better visuals, but the 60 FPS drop from Medium is substantial. The Low preset at 185.4 FPS is only recommended for competitive play or esports-style scenarios where maximum frame rate is the priority.

For 4K, the choice is more constrained. The Medium preset at 84.4 FPS is the only setting that offers a high-refresh experience. The Low preset at 104.5 FPS is also excellent, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable. The High preset at 54 FPS is playable for a cinematic experience, but the Ultra preset at 34.3 FPS should be avoided due to its low frame rate. The data indicates that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this GPU in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is a high-end processor that is clearly not the bottleneck in The Long Drive, except potentially at very high frame rates. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 are critical for a game that seems to favor strong single-thread performance. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1136 and the 2-thread score of 2262 further support this, showing a linear scaling that suggests the game is not heavily multithreaded.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low (279.1 FPS) confirms the CPU's capability. The fact that the game can push past 200 FPS in several configurations means the CPU is feeding the GPU effectively. The data suggests that in this title, the CPU is more than adequate, and the GPU is the limiting factor for most settings and resolutions. The jump from 2-thread (2262) to 4-thread (4469) scores in 3dmark shows that the CPU has plenty of headroom for any background tasks while gaming. The i7-13700K's performance is so robust that its nearest rivals, like the i7-13700KF (0.1% faster) and AMD EPYC 4364P (0.3% slower), would likely produce nearly identical results in this game, reinforcing that the GPU choice is far more consequential for The Long Drive.