The Long Drive

# The Long Drive with Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The data for The Long Drive on this platform shows a system that handles the game comfortably across most resolutions, though the scaling behavior reveals where the bottleneck shifts as settings and pixel counts rise. With a 20-core Intel Core i7-14700F paired with a 12 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, the measured results indicate a combination that remains fluid at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K demands more careful settings selection. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows, the role each component plays, and how this pair ranks against other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 144 FPS at 1080p to 95 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 49 FPS or roughly 34%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average falls from 95 FPS to 53 FPS, a further drop of 42 FPS or about 44%. This steeper decline between 1440p and 4K indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts, as the rendering load grows quadratically with resolution.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The system delivers 280 FPS at 1080p, 184 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 45% from 1440p to 4K. These larger proportional decreases at lower settings suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the ceiling as resolution climbs. The fact that Low settings at 4K still achieves 102 FPS average indicates a well-balanced system for this title, though the gap between Low and High at 4K is substantial — 49 FPS difference.

Ultra settings tell a different story. At 1080p, Ultra averages 100 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 66 FPS; and at 4K, it falls to 36 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, suggesting that the combination of highest settings and maximum resolution pushes the RTX 4070 beyond its comfort zone in this game. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra — a 30 FPS drop — reinforces that the GPU is the dominant constraint at the highest preset.

Medium settings provide the most complete data, with min and max FPS recorded at every resolution. At 1080p, Medium averages 230 FPS with a min of 196 and max of 265. At 1440p, the average is 152 FPS with min 129 and max 174. At 4K, the average drops to 84 FPS with min 71 and max 97. The consistent ~35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and ~45% from 1440p to 4K across Medium settings mirrors the Low and High patterns, confirming that resolution scaling in this game is primarily GPU-driven once the CPU has enough headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 21 Gbps effective across a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. These specifications place the card in the 81st percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 37648.

In the context of The Long Drive, the VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth appear sufficient for the measured resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the game still averages 36 FPS, which suggests that the RTX 4070's 12 GB frame buffer is not exhausted at this settings level, as a VRAM bottleneck would typically cause severe stuttering or crashes rather than a smooth but low frame rate. The card's pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are the likely constraints at 4K, especially when comparing the Ultra and High results — a 17 FPS difference at 4K (36 vs 53) that reflects the increased shading and texture work.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database show it clustered with a mix of datacenter and older consumer cards. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 has an average score 0.1% higher, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% lower, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% lower. This tight grouping indicates that the RTX 4070's performance in synthetic benchmarks is well-understood, and the measured FPS in The Long Drive aligns with expectations for a card in this tier. The GPU's compute capability, measured at 14720 in Passmark GPU Compute and 29.15 TFLOPS FP32, provides ample headroom for the driving simulation's physics and rendering tasks, but the resolution scaling data shows that raw pixel throughput remains the primary limiter.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 257 mm². It features a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration and has a 65 W TDP. Its 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620, reflects strong multi-threaded performance from the 20 cores.

In The Long Drive, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the FPS at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 280 FPS average, which is likely near the game engine's frame rate ceiling or the CPU's ability to issue draw calls. The single-core performance, measured at 4958 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4257 in Passmark Single Thread, is adequate for the driving simulation's physics and game logic. The multi-core capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a Passmark Multi-thread score of 41317, provides headroom for background tasks and any game systems that use multiple threads.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it positioned between the Intel Xeon 6505P (0.2% lower average score), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.8% higher). This clustering indicates that the i7-14700F's synthetic performance is competitive with both server and enthusiast desktop parts. In game-specific terms, the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at these resolutions — the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load rather than showing a plateau that would indicate CPU limitation. However, the 280 FPS at 1080p Low does represent an upper bound, and it is plausible that the CPU's single-threaded performance caps the maximum achievable frame rate in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in The Long Drive?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At High settings, it delivers 95 FPS average, while Medium provides 152 FPS. Both are well above the typical 60 FPS threshold, and the 4K results at High (53 FPS) or Ultra (36 FPS) show that 4K requires compromises.

Q: Can this system run The Long Drive at 4K?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At Low settings, 4K averages 102 FPS, and at Medium it averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS. High settings drop to 53 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS. Users seeking 4K should stick to Medium or lower settings for a consistent experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P4, 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, and 1.3% lower than the AMD Radeon PRO W6400. These are small differences, indicating similar raw compute performance.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The data suggests no significant CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 280 FPS, which may be engine-limited, but at higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and strong single-core scores support this conclusion.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for Medium settings?

A: The measured minimums for Medium settings are 196 FPS at 1920x1080, 129 FPS at 2560x1440, and 71 FPS at 3840x2160. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, suggesting stable frame pacing at this preset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 886th out of 3725 tested combos, placing it in the top 24% of all configurations in the database for The Long Drive.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 886th out of 3725 tested combinations in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 24% of all configurations. This rank reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across most settings and resolutions, though it does not reach the top tier occupied by more powerful GPUs or newer processors. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and the GPU's 81st percentile ranking are both above average, and their combined performance in this title is consistent with those individual standings.

The rank suggests that while this is a strong pairing, there are 885 combinations that achieve higher performance in this specific game. Given that the measured FPS at 1080p High (144 FPS) and 1440p High (95 FPS) are both excellent, the ranking likely reflects competition from systems with higher-end GPUs that can push 4K Ultra past 60 FPS, which this combo cannot. The 36 FPS result at 4K Ultra is the weakest measured point and likely contributes to the rank not being higher. The system's 4K Medium result of 84 FPS average, however, shows that it can still handle 4K with reduced settings, which is a better outcome than many lower-ranked combos.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured data for this combo in The Long Drive is as follows. At 1920x1080, Low settings average 280 FPS, Medium averages 230 FPS with a minimum of 196 and maximum of 265, High averages 144 FPS, and Ultra averages 100 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 184 FPS, Medium averages 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 and maximum of 174, High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 102 FPS, Medium averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 and maximum of 97, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS.

The pattern across all resolutions shows a consistent ordering: Low produces the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. The gaps between presets vary by resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 180 FPS (280 vs 100), while at 4K, the difference is 66 FPS (102 vs 36). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's workload becomes more uniform across settings when pixel count is the dominant factor. The Medium preset at every resolution has recorded min and max values, providing the most reliable data for frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range from min to max is 69 FPS (196 to 265), at 1440p it is 45 FPS (129 to 174), and at 4K it is 26 FPS (71 to 97). This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU becomes the bottleneck, which is a favorable characteristic for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best experience for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium provides 230 FPS average with a minimum of 196 FPS, ensuring no drops below 60 FPS and plenty of headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, Medium averages 152 FPS with a minimum of 129 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for most monitors. At 4K, Medium averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, making it the only preset that keeps 4K comfortably above 60 FPS — High and Ultra both fall below that mark.

For users with 1080p displays, High settings at 144 FPS average are also viable, offering better visual quality while maintaining a high frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1080p (100 FPS average) is another option for those prioritizing image quality, as it remains above 60 FPS. At 1440p, High settings at 95 FPS average are acceptable for most users, though Medium's 152 FPS provides more overhead for action-heavy scenes. For 4K displays, Medium is the recommended choice; High at 53 FPS may be tolerable for less demanding play, but the minimum frame data is not available for High, so consistency cannot be confirmed.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p, as it drops to 66 FPS at 1440p and 36 FPS at 4K. The 36 FPS result at 4K Ultra is below the commonly accepted playability threshold, and even at 1440p, the 66 FPS average leaves little margin for frame drops. The Low preset, while producing the highest frame rates (280 FPS at 1080p, 184 FPS at 1440p, 102 FPS at 4K), likely sacrifices visual fidelity that the Medium preset retains at only a modest performance cost — roughly 18% lower at 1080p (230 vs 280), 17% lower at 1440p (152 vs 184), and 18% lower at 4K (84 vs 102). Given these small differences, Medium delivers the best overall balance of performance and visual quality for this hardware combination.