The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation from 2019, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and visual presets. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, using measured FPS data to understand the balance between the CPU and GPU across a range of settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance data reveals a dramatic impact of resolution on frame rates, which is typical for a GPU-bound title like this. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 376.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the average to 247.8 FPS, a reduction of approximately 34%. The scaling continues to 4K, where the Low preset yields 140.6 FPS, another substantial drop of about 43% from the 1440p figure.

This pattern indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The gap between resolutions is more pronounced at lower settings, where the CPU is less of a constraint. For instance, at Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 133.8 FPS at 1080p to 89.3 FPS at 1440p, a 33% decrease, and then to 47.6 FPS at 4K, another 47% decrease. The consistent and large percentage drops as resolution increases point to the GPU's rendering load being the decisive factor, rather than any CPU bottleneck.

The data shows that 1080p is not a challenge for this hardware combination, with even the most demanding Ultra preset producing an average of 133.8 FPS. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the system has headroom, but the scaling curve flattens out as the GPU becomes fully saturated at 4K. The difference between 140.6 FPS at 4K Low and 47.6 FPS at 4K Ultra is a stark illustration of how much the resolution and settings together can tax the graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a high-end card with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is listed at 2617 MHz. In the context of The Long Drive, this memory capacity and bandwidth are crucial for handling high-resolution textures and draw distances without stuttering. The card's performance benchmarks show a Passmark G3D score of 36565 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs.

When comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5080's average benchmark score is 59188. This is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M's score of 58239 and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580's score of 57756. Conversely, it trails the Intel Arc Pro A60 by 1.9%, which has an average score of 60326. These deltas are small, suggesting that in raw compute terms, these cards are closely matched, but the RTX 5080's advantage in memory bandwidth and architecture is likely what drives its superior performance in actual gaming workloads like The Long Drive.

The GPU's role is most evident in the resolution scaling. The RTX 5080's compute power, rated at 56.28 TFLOPS for FP32, is what allows for the high frame rates seen at 1080p. However, the 4K Ultra result of 47.6 FPS shows its limits when the pixel count and shading complexity are maximized. The card's 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs are heavily utilized at 4K, and the frame rate drop indicates that the GPU is the sole bottleneck in this scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In CPU-centric benchmarks, it scores 35443 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5003 points in single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 41765, and it holds a 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

In the context of The Long Drive, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU is most likely to be a limiting factor, the system still produces 376.4 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the i7-14700F is not a significant bottleneck at this resolution. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has an average score of 54450, which is 0.6% higher than the i7-14700F's 54097. This close margin suggests that the i7-14700F is competitive with top-tier CPUs, and its strong single-thread performance is adequate for the game's logic.

The CPU's influence is more apparent when comparing the 1080p Low and 1080p High results. The drop from 376.4 FPS to 192.5 FPS is substantial, but this is primarily a GPU workload increase. The fact that the CPU can maintain over 190 FPS in all 1080p settings except Ultra (133.8 FPS) demonstrates that it is not holding the system back. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further, as the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, with the frame rate dropping to 140.6 FPS even on Low settings. The data suggests a balanced pairing where the CPU has enough headroom to support the GPU at lower resolutions, and the GPU's performance governs the higher-resolution results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. Starting with 1080p, the system delivers an average of 376.4 FPS on Low, 310.8 FPS on Medium, 192.5 FPS on High, and 133.8 FPS on Ultra. This shows a linear scaling where each step up in settings costs a significant number of frames. The jump from Low to Medium is a 17.5% reduction, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 30.5% reduction.

At 1440p, the averages are 247.8 FPS on Low, 203 FPS on Medium, 129.3 FPS on High, and 89.3 FPS on Ultra. The pattern is similar, but the absolute numbers are lower. The difference between 1080p Ultra (133.8 FPS) and 1440p High (129.3 FPS) is minimal, suggesting that the GPU can handle a similar workload when balancing resolution and settings. Moving to 4K, the averages drop to 140.6 FPS on Low, 112.6 FPS on Medium, 69.9 FPS on High, and 47.6 FPS on Ultra.

The 4K results are the most telling. The gap between Low and Ultra is 93 FPS, which is a 66% reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset at 4K is extremely demanding for the RTX 5080. Conversely, 4K Low at 140.6 FPS shows that the card can still provide a smooth experience if settings are reduced. The data shows that the step from Medium to High at any resolution is the most costly in terms of frame rate, with a reduction of around 38-40% at 1440p and 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 4K with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS at 4K is 140.6, achieved with the Low settings preset. This is significantly higher than the 47.6 FPS seen at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its closest rival in raw benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59188. This is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M, which scores 58239, and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580, which scores 57756.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system exceed 200 FPS?

A: The system exceeds 200 FPS at 1080p on Low (376.4 FPS) and Medium (310.8 FPS), as well as at 1440p on Low (247.8 FPS) and Medium (203 FPS).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 54097.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1080p Ultra and 4K High?

A: The difference is 63.9 FPS. The system averages 133.8 FPS at 1080p Ultra, while it averages 69.9 FPS at 4K High, showing a 47.8% reduction.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the 376.4 FPS average is very high. The GPU is still largely responsible for the frame rate, but the CPU has enough headroom to support it.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the ideal settings depend on the target resolution and display refresh rate. For a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is viable, as the average of 133.8 FPS is well above the standard 60 FPS target and suitable for high-refresh monitors. However, for maximum smoothness, the High preset at 192.5 FPS offers a significant improvement with a modest visual quality reduction.

At 1440p, the High preset is the best balance, delivering 129.3 FPS. This provides a fluid experience while maintaining good visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 89.3 FPS is also playable, but the drop from High is noticeable. The Medium preset offers a higher frame rate of 203 FPS, which could be preferred for competitive play, but the visual trade-off is considerable.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The High preset achieves 69.9 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for a smooth experience. This is the recommended preset for a balance of quality and performance. The Medium preset provides a higher 112.6 FPS, which is excellent for 4K, but sacrifices some detail. The Ultra preset at 47.6 FPS is not recommended for general play, as it falls below 60 FPS and may feel less responsive. For a 4K display, starting with the High preset is the most sensible choice, with the option to switch to Medium if a higher frame rate is desired.