The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation from 2019, presents a unique testing ground for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination. The measured data reveals a system with immense raw capability, yet one whose performance is heavily dictated by the graphics settings and resolution chosen. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results to understand the balance between the CPU and GPU in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves a staggering 371 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 244 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 135 FPS. This represents a 64% decrease in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the GPU is being increasingly taxed as the pixel count rises.

However, the scaling pattern changes significantly at higher graphical presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 132 FPS at 1080p to 87 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 48 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 45%. This steeper decline at the highest resolution suggests that the game becomes heavily GPU-bound, as the RTX 5080 struggles to maintain the frame rate with all settings maxed out at 4K.

The data implies that at lower settings and resolutions, the CPU and its high clock speeds are able to feed frames to the GPU faster than it can render them, creating a CPU-bound scenario. As resolution and settings increase, the GPU's workload becomes the limiting factor. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 87 FPS (135 vs 48), while at 1080p, this same gap is 239 FPS (371 vs 132). This widening gap confirms that the GPU's rendering capabilities, not the CPU, are the primary constraint at higher graphical loads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a formidable piece of hardware, featuring 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its core clocks are listed at a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2617 MHz. These specifications, along with its 10752 shading units, are what allow it to achieve high frame rates, but the game's demands at 4K Ultra appear to be near the limit of its capabilities.

The VRAM capacity appears sufficient for this title, as no data suggests a memory bottleneck at any tested setting. The performance degradation at 4K Ultra is more likely due to the raw compute load on the GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, even if the game doesn't heavily utilize ray tracing. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (48 FPS) is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU's processing power is the limiting factor here.

Comparing the RTX 5080 to its nearest rivals, the benchmark data shows it holds a slight edge over the AMD Radeon 8060S and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, with deltaPct values of 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. It is notably ahead of the Radeon Pro W5700X by 2.3%. However, it is 2.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. This context shows that while the RTX 5080 is a top-tier GPU, it is not unchallenged, and its performance in The Long Drive at 4K Ultra reflects a real-world scenario where even high-end hardware can be brought to its knees.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 holds a rank of 177 out of 3725 combos for this specific game. This places it in the top 4.8% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The high rank reflects the combined power of the 16-core CPU and the Blackwell-architecture GPU.

The CPU itself is a high performer, with an average benchmark score of 46881, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. It sits in a close pack with its nearest rivals, with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and the Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 being nearly identical in average score, differing by only -0.2% and -0.3% respectively. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 and AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX are also very close, with a 0.5% deltaPct. This indicates that the CPU is not the differentiating factor in the combo's rank; the GPU's high performance is what pushes this pairing into the top 200.

The rank of 177 suggests that while this is a premium setup, there are 176 other combinations that perform better in The Long Drive. These are likely to include more powerful, and more expensive, GPUs. The data, therefore, shows a system that is at the upper echelon of performance but not the absolute pinnacle.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 371, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: At 4K, the system can achieve 70 FPS on High settings, which is playable. However, on Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 48, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 305, while at 4K it is 111. This means the 1080p performance is 194 FPS higher, or roughly 2.7 times faster.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 171 and the maximum is 231, with an average of 201.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE?

A: According to benchmark scores, the RTX 5080 is 2.2% behind the RX 9070 GRE in average performance.

Q: Where does this specific CPU and GPU combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 177th out of 3725 tested combinations for The Long Drive.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its substantial L3 cache of 30 MB is shared across the cores. In a driving simulation like The Long Drive, the CPU is responsible for game logic, physics calculations, and AI, while the GPU handles rendering.

The benchmark results show that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of delivering very high frame rates, up to 371 FPS at 1080p Low. This suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in these scenarios, and its high boost clock is able to process the game's instructions quickly enough to feed the GPU. The fact that the FPS drops significantly when moving to higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, not the CPU.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116, confirm its high processing power. Its performance is nearly identical to its closest rivals, with a deltaPct of -0.2% compared to the AMD Ryzen 9 5900. This indicates that in this game, the CPU is providing a solid, consistent foundation, but it is the GPU that determines the ultimate performance ceiling at higher graphical settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For a 1080p display with a high refresh rate (e.g., 240Hz), the High settings preset, which delivers an average of 191 FPS, is the best choice for a balance of visual quality and speed. The Low preset offers 371 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too significant for a modern game.

At 1440p, the High preset at 126 FPS is ideal for 120Hz displays, providing a smooth and visually rich experience. The Medium preset at 201 FPS is also viable for very high refresh rate monitors, but the jump to High is recommended for better image quality while still maintaining a high frame rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 70 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a smooth experience on a 60Hz display. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for this resolution, as the frame rate dips below the playable threshold.

The Medium preset offers a great middle ground, with a 305 FPS average at 1080p and a 201 FPS average at 1440p. The data suggests that Medium is a very efficient setting for high-refresh-rate gaming, but High provides a significant visual upgrade for a moderate FPS cost. Ultra, while visually the most demanding, exacts a heavy toll on performance, especially at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete list of measured average frame rates for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination in The Long Drive.

1920x1080:

• Low: 371 FPS
• Medium: 305 FPS (min 259, max 351)
• High: 191 FPS
• Ultra: 132 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 244 FPS
• Medium: 201 FPS (min 171, max 231)
• High: 126 FPS
• Ultra: 87 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 135 FPS
• Medium: 111 FPS (min 95, max 128)
• High: 70 FPS
• Ultra: 48 FPS

This data clearly shows the performance hierarchy, with the 1080p Low setting being the absolute fastest and the 4K Ultra setting being the most demanding. The step-downs between settings are not always linear, with the jump from High to Ultra being particularly punishing at every resolution. For instance, at 1440p, the drop from High (126 FPS) to Ultra (87 FPS) is a 31% decrease. The data confirms that the Ultra preset is intended for lower resolutions or less demanding games, and that High is the sweet spot for this hardware in The Long Drive.