The Long Drive

# The Long Drive with Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a high-performance configuration for The Long Drive, a driving simulation that places significant demands on both processor and graphics hardware. Measured benchmark data across three resolutions and four quality presets shows this combo achieving triple-digit frame rates in most scenarios, with the only sub-60 FPS result occurring at 4K Ultra settings. The combination ranks 223rd out of 3,725 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the top 6% of all tested combos, a strong result that reflects the balance between the 20-core processor and the 16 GB Ada Lovelace GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience at each resolution. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 127 FPS average, which is already well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while High reaches 184 FPS and Medium achieves 294 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p produces 358 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial for a driving simulation where environment detail matters. For 1080p users, the High preset represents the optimal balance: it maintains 184 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, while preserving significantly more visual fidelity than Low or Medium.

At 1440p, the High preset averages 121 FPS, which remains comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset drops to 84 FPS, still playable but approaching the threshold where frame time consistency becomes noticeable. Medium at 1440p offers 194 FPS, and Low reaches 235 FPS. For 1440p, High is the recommended preset because it retains substantial graphical quality while keeping the frame rate above 120 FPS, a figure that aligns well with 144 Hz monitors.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Ultra settings produce only 47 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay and may introduce noticeable stuttering. High at 4K averages 67 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS bar, while Medium reaches 108 FPS and Low achieves 131 FPS. For 4K users, the Medium preset is the recommended choice: it provides 108 FPS, which is both smooth and responsive, and the visual difference between Medium and High at this resolution is less pronounced than at lower resolutions due to pixel density. The data indicates that Ultra at 4K is not viable for this combination, while High is borderline; Medium offers the best experience per the measured rows.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core i7-14700KF bottleneck the RTX 4080 in The Long Drive?

A: The measured FPS scaling suggests the processor is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 358 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU far beyond typical display refresh rates. The 20-core, 28-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz provides ample headroom for this driving simulation.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 47 FPS, while Medium at 4K reaches 108 FPS. The 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, but the rendering load at Ultra settings appears to exceed what the GPU can sustain, as evidenced by the steep drop from Medium's 108 FPS to Ultra's 47 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 better than its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54,247 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209, and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54,828. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%, though these differences are small in synthetic benchmarks and may not translate to measurable FPS deltas in The Long Drive.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS at High settings?

A: Measured data shows High settings produce 184 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. All three resolutions exceed 60 FPS at High, but 4K at 67 FPS leaves little margin for demanding scenes. For consistent 60+ FPS with headroom, 1440p High is the safest choice.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in The Long Drive?

A: The combination ranks 223rd out of 3,725 tested combos, placing it in approximately the top 6% of all configurations. This top-tier ranking aligns with the strong FPS numbers across most resolution and settings combinations, though the 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS shows that even this high-end pairing has limits.

Q: What does the FPS data reveal about CPU versus GPU limitation at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the spread from Low (358 FPS) to Ultra (127 FPS) is 231 FPS, indicating the GPU is the primary performance limiter as settings increase. The CPU's ability to deliver 358 FPS at Low suggests it is not a bottleneck at any settings level, since the frame rate scales with graphical load rather than hitting a CPU ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that shifts the performance bottleneck. At High settings, the combo delivers 184 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 64% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the frame rate.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 358 FPS at 1080p drops to 235 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 131 FPS at 4K (a 63% reduction from 1080p). The similar percentage drops across High and Low settings suggest the GPU remains the dominant limiter, but the absolute FPS values at Low (131 FPS at 4K) indicate the RTX 4080 has substantial compute headroom even at maximum resolution.

The Medium preset shows the most interesting scaling curve: 294 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K. The relative drops are 34% and 63%, respectively, mirroring the pattern seen in High and Low. This consistency across presets strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU's rendering throughput rather than the CPU or memory subsystem. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 5.60 GHz boost clock, maintains sufficient performance to keep up with the GPU at all tested resolutions.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute drop: 127 FPS at 1080p falls to 84 FPS at 1440p and then to 47 FPS at 4K. The 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is consistent with the other presets, confirming that resolution scaling follows a predictable pattern regardless of settings. This data suggests that players targeting 4K should expect roughly one-third of the 1080p frame rate at the same settings, a ratio that holds across all four presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 223 out of 3,725 tested combos in The Long Drive, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations. This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS results, which show the combo delivering playable frame rates at all tested settings except 4K Ultra.

The CPU's percentile of 94 among all processors indicates it outperforms 94% of CPUs in synthetic benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 70,163. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F at 69,996 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69,875 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69,515 (0.9% behind). The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70,879, which is 1% higher. These small deltas suggest the CPU is not the differentiating factor in this combo's ranking.

The GPU's percentile of 86 among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, though slightly below the CPU's 94th percentile. The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209 (0.1% difference), and it surpasses the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 2.6% and 2.7% higher, respectively. These rival deltas are all within 3%, indicating that the GPU is competitive but not dominant among its peers.

The 223rd rank out of 3,725 combos reflects the combined strength of both components. Given that the CPU scores in the 94th percentile and the GPU in the 86th percentile, the resulting top-6% ranking in The Long Drive aligns with expectations. The combo's performance is slightly stronger than the GPU's percentile alone would suggest, indicating that the high-core-count CPU contributes positively to the game's frame rates, particularly in scenarios where simulation overhead matters.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings 20 cores and 28 threads from the Raptor Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosting to 5.60 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and a single-core score of 6,235. The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain high memory throughput for game data, while its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory offers flexibility in system configuration.

In The Long Drive, the measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not the limiting component at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 358 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 4K Low, the 131 FPS result indicates the CPU can deliver high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded. The consistent 34% and 63% FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p and 4K, respectively, across all settings presets point to GPU-bound performance scaling rather than CPU limitations.

The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 52,425 and single-thread score of 4,480 place it in the top tier of desktop processors. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, scores 69,996 on average, just 0.2% lower, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% higher at 70,879. These margins are small enough that game-specific performance differences would be minimal, supporting the interpretation that The Long Drive's frame rates are primarily determined by the GPU.

The 20-core design with 28 threads provides ample parallel processing for driving simulation physics and AI, but the game's FPS scaling suggests it does not heavily exploit multi-threading. The 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic, while the 3.40 GHz base clock guarantees consistent operation under sustained loads. The 125 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery for a processor of this capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 358 FPS average, Medium reaches 294 FPS with a minimum of 250 and maximum of 339, High achieves 184 FPS, and Ultra drops to 127 FPS. The 250 FPS minimum at Medium indicates consistent frame pacing, while the 339 maximum shows headroom for less demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds with reduced absolute values. Low averages 235 FPS, Medium reaches 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 and maximum of 223, High achieves 121 FPS, and Ultra drops to 84 FPS. The minimum of 165 FPS at Medium still exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates, making this preset viable for high-refresh gaming.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall further. Low averages 131 FPS, Medium reaches 108 FPS with a minimum of 91 and maximum of 124, High achieves 67 FPS, and Ultra drops to 47 FPS. The 91 FPS minimum at Medium 4K is notable because it remains above 60 FPS, suggesting that even in demanding scenes, this preset maintains smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset's 47 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for most players.

The Medium preset at each resolution shows the most complete data, with minimum and maximum values available. At 1080p, the range from 250 to 339 FPS spans 89 FPS, indicating variability in scene complexity. At 1440p, the range narrows to 58 FPS (165 to 223), and at 4K, it narrows further to 33 FPS (91 to 124). This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound rendering becomes more consistent as the resolution increases, with less frame time variance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, provides 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz drive 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. The GPU's FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 indicate strong raw compute capability for modern game workloads.

In The Long Drive, the GPU is clearly the primary performance limiter across all tested settings. The 34% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and 63% drop to 4K at every preset demonstrates that rendering resolution directly scales with GPU load. The RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, as evidenced by the playable 108 FPS at Medium 4K, but the Ultra preset's 47 FPS suggests that the game's highest settings exceed the GPU's compute capacity at that resolution.

The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54,209 on average, just 0.1% lower, indicating that the RTX 4080 remains competitive within its own product family. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 2.6% and 2.7% higher, respectively, but these synthetic benchmark differences do not necessarily translate to The Long Dive's specific rendering workload. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper tier, though not at the very top, which aligns with its 4K Ultra limitation in this game.

The RTX 4080's 76 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate suggest it can handle advanced graphical features, but The Long Dive's measured FPS data indicates that even without ray tracing enabled, the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits. The 47 FPS result at 4K Ultra represents the only sub-60 FPS measurement across all 12 data points, highlighting this specific configuration as the combo's weakest scenario.