The Long Drive

The Long Drive, a driving simulation released in 2019, presents an interesting test for the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination. The benchmark data reveals a system where the CPU's substantial processing power is frequently held back by the GPU's performance ceiling, particularly at higher resolutions and graphical settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS to understand the balance between the processor and graphics card across different workloads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the rate of decline reveals crucial information about the system's bottleneck. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 72 FPS. Stepping up to 1440p Ultra drops that to 48 FPS, a 33% reduction. Moving to 4K Ultra further diminishes performance to just 26 FPS, which is a 64% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline suggests that at higher resolutions, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 becomes the primary limiting factor.

The scaling pattern is more telling when examining the High settings preset. At 1080p High, the system produces 104 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 69 FPS, and at 4K High, it bottoms out at 38 FPS. The 4K High result is only 37% of the 1080p High performance. This indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient to maintain frame rates as the pixel count increases. The RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is clearly overtaxed at 4K resolutions.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less punishing than the jump from 1440p to 4K. For example, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (167 FPS) to 1440p (110 FPS) is a 34% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (61 FPS) is a 45% reduction. This non-linear scaling suggests that while the GPU is involved at all resolutions, it hits a hard architectural wall at 4K. The data shows that 4K Ultra is nearly unplayable at 26 FPS, while 4K Low is surprisingly playable at 74 FPS, indicating that the game's lower-end settings are less demanding on the GPU's limited resources.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and can boost up to 5.60 GHz. This processor is in the 94th percentile versus all CPUs, indicating it is more powerful than 94% of all tested processors. Its benchmark scores are substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235.

In the context of The Long Drive, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, physics, and the simulation of the driving environment. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 203 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU far more frames than it can render. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the GPU is more heavily loaded, the system still manages 72 FPS, suggesting the CPU has ample headroom.

The CPU's high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 2578 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 628, is likely a key factor in maintaining high frame rates in a simulation game. The game may not fully utilize all 20 cores, but the strong per-core performance ensures that primary simulation threads are not delayed. Compared to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, the i7-14700KF has a 0.2% higher average benchmark score (70163 vs 69996), making them effectively equivalent in raw compute, though the game's performance will depend on how well it utilizes the 28 threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the clear performance limiter in this pairing. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, this GPU has 3072 shading units, 24 RT cores, and 96 tensor cores. It operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU is in the 61st percentile versus all GPUs, which is significantly lower than the CPU's 94th percentile. This percentile gap is the central story of this combo. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and Passmark G3D score of 19545 are moderate, but they are not sufficient to drive high frame rates at 4K in a demanding simulation.

The RTX 4060's performance in The Long Drive is directly tied to its memory subsystem. At 4K Ultra, the 8 GB VRAM buffer is likely exceeded, leading to the dramatic FPS drop to 26 FPS. At 4K Medium, the FPS recovers to 61, suggesting the settings are more compatible with the available memory. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the GPU's inability to maintain adequate fill rates and memory bandwidth becomes the dominant factor. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, has a 0.2% higher average score (17666 vs 17639), but this is a legacy card, and the RTX 4060's modern feature set is not reflected in raw scores. The GPU's TDP of 115 W and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are notable, but the benchmark results show that its architectural limits are reached in this game at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2021st out of 3725 total combos. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it performs better than 46% of all combos tested. This ranking is a direct consequence of the mismatch between the high-performing CPU and the mid-range GPU.

The combo rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability but rather the GPU's constraint. If the CPU were paired with a more powerful GPU, the ranking would likely be much higher, as the CPU's 94th percentile score indicates it can support significantly more graphics processing power. Conversely, if the GPU were paired with a weaker CPU, the ranking might be similar, as the GPU would still be the limiting factor. The data suggests that this combo is balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can keep up with the CPU's output, but it is unbalanced for 4K gaming, where the GPU falls short.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Long Drive at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 38, and at Ultra it drops to 26 FPS. These are below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered playable. However, at 4K Low, the average is 74 FPS, which is playable, and at Medium it is 61 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system to achieve high frame rates?

A: At 1080p, the system achieves over 100 FPS at all settings except Ultra, which is at 72 FPS. At 1440p, it achieves 69 FPS at High and 48 FPS at Ultra, which is acceptable but not ideal for high refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The benchmark scores are definitive. The CPU is in the 94th percentile, while the GPU is in the 61st percentile. The measured FPS data confirms the GPU is the limiting component, especially at higher resolutions where the frame rate drops significantly.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest competitor?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F's score of 69996, and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX's score of 69875. It is 1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X's score of 69515.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is in the 61st percentile versus all GPUs, meaning it performs better than 61% of all tested graphics cards. This places it firmly in the mid-range segment.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces an average of 133 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces an average of 48 FPS. This is a 64% reduction in frame rate, indicating a significant performance cost for the highest graphical fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination in The Long Drive.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 74 FPS
• Medium: 61 FPS (min 52, max 70)
• High: 38 FPS
• Ultra: 26 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 133 FPS
• Medium: 110 FPS (min 93, max 126)
• High: 69 FPS
• Ultra: 48 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 203 FPS
• Medium: 167 FPS (min 142, max 192)
• High: 104 FPS
• Ultra: 72 FPS

The data shows a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions: Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra is the slowest. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial; at 1080p, the difference is 131 FPS (203 vs 72), which is a 64% reduction. At 4K, the gap is 48 FPS (74 vs 26), which is also a 65% reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset has a similar relative performance cost regardless of resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for the optimal gaming experience. For users with a 1080p monitor, the High preset at 104 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, while the Medium preset at 167 FPS is ideal for competitive play or very high refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 72 FPS is still viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 69 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a solid frame rate that is near the 60 FPS standard. The Medium preset at 110 FPS is preferable if a higher refresh rate is desired, but the visual quality reduction may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 74 FPS is the only setting that consistently delivers a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 61 FPS is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 38 FPS and Ultra preset at 26 FPS are not recommended for general play, as the frame rates will likely result in a stuttering and less responsive experience. Given the GPU's limitations, 4K gaming with this combo is best suited for the Low or Medium presets.