The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a Driving Simulation released in 2019, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination. The measured data shows a system that is exceptionally capable at high refresh rates in lower resolutions but begins to show its limits as pixel count and graphical fidelity increase. This analysis examines the resolution scaling, the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this specific combo ranks among the 1734 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a classic progression of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is heavily dependent on the quality settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 304.1 FPS, which is an extraordinarily high figure. Moving to Medium settings at the same resolution reduces the average to 250.7 FPS, while High settings yield 157.7 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, drops the average to 109.6 FPS at 1080p.

Scaling to 1440p introduces a more significant load on the graphics processor. The Low preset at 2560x1440 still produces a very high 197.4 FPS, and Medium remains fluid at 161.4 FPS. High settings at 1440p see the average drop to 103.4 FPS, which is a substantial 34% decrease from the 1080p High result. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 72.8 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as the shader workload increases.

The jump to 4K (3840x2160) is where the scaling curve steepens dramatically. At this resolution, the Low preset averages 112.1 FPS, which is still playable but far from the triple-digit extremes seen at lower resolutions. Medium settings drop further to 88.7 FPS, and High settings produce an average of 57.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding scenario tested, bringing the average down to 42.2 FPS. This pattern strongly suggests that while the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, the RTX 5070’s rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor at 4K, especially with higher quality settings. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Ultra is a stark 262 FPS drop, highlighting the immense cost of rendering at 4K with maximum visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, featuring a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its substantial core count and high boost clock are well-suited for driving high frame rates in simulation games, which often have complex single-threaded logic. In this benchmark, the CPU's strength is evident in the 1080p results, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. At such high rates, the CPU is often the component that determines the maximum achievable frame rate, and the i7-14700K’s performance is sufficient to allow the RTX 5070 to operate near its peak capacity.

The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops significantly, even though the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. This indicates that the graphics card is saturated with pixel and shader work, while the CPU has headroom to spare. The processor’s cache configuration, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache, also helps to maintain data locality, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times in a game with a persistent world. The benchmark results position this CPU in the 96th percentile when compared to all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 70074 places it nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which has a deltaPct of 0. This parity suggests that the integrated graphics on the 14700K do not impact its processing performance.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1734 tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds the 305th position. This rank places it in the top 17.6% of all tested combos, indicating a high-performance system. The ranking is a composite of all benchmark data, and in the context of this game, it reflects a system that excels in most scenarios but is not at the absolute top tier for 4K Ultra gaming.

The GPU's own performance percentile is 83rd among all GPUs, which is high but not elite. Its average benchmark score of 41687 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. The deltaPct values are minimal, with the Radeon Pro 5300 being 0.2% faster and the RTX 3090 being 0.6% faster, all within a narrow performance band. This suggests that while the RTX 5070 is a powerful card, it is not a top-tier performer in the absolute sense, which explains why the combo ranks at 305th rather than higher. The CPU's strength prevents the combo from falling further, but the GPU's mid-to-high-range positioning is the defining factor in the overall rank.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 304.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with High settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 57.1 FPS. This is just below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average is 161.4 FPS. The large drop from the 1080p Medium result (250.7 FPS) indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the workload scales with resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 5070's performance compare to a previous generation card like the RTX 3090?

A: In the average benchmark score, the RTX 5070 scores 41687, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 41441. The deltaPct is 0.6%, meaning the RTX 5070 is marginally faster in this metric.

Q: What is the combo's rank out of all tested systems?

A: The combo is ranked 305th out of 1734 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17.6% of all configurations.

Q: Does the CPU have a high core count?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i7-14700K has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, which contributes to its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical asset for higher resolutions, as it allows the GPU to handle the larger textures and geometry data required at 4K. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2512 MHz, and it has a 250 W TDP. The benchmark results demonstrate that the GPU is the primary performance limiter in this system when resolution increases.

The frame rate data shows that the RTX 5070's performance degrades significantly as the pixel count rises. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a drop from 157.7 FPS to 103.4 FPS. The further jump to 4K High reduces the average to 57.1 FPS. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is being increasingly saturated by the rendering workload. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 41687 place it in a solid mid-to-high tier, but the data indicates it is not designed for maxing out 4K Ultra settings in this particular title.

The GPU's compute capabilities, such as its 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are substantial, but they are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average dips to 42.2 FPS. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for the test scenarios, as there is no data to suggest memory capacity is a limiting factor. Instead, the raw shader and texture processing power is the bottleneck. For gamers seeking 4K High or Ultra performance in The Long Drive, the data suggests that the RTX 5070 is a capable card, but it will require adjustments to graphical settings to achieve consistently smooth frame rates above 60 FPS.