The Long Drive

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for The Long Drive reveals a pronounced and consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination showing a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at lower resolutions to GPU-bound behavior at 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 358 FPS, which drops to 235 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 131 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63.4% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 63.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K—a remarkably consistent scaling pattern that indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p, the spread between Low (358 FPS) and Ultra (127 FPS) is 231 FPS, while at 1440p the spread narrows to 151 FPS (235 Low vs 84 Ultra), and at 4K the spread tightens further to 84 FPS (131 Low vs 47 Ultra). This progressive narrowing of the settings-based performance gap as resolution increases is classic evidence of the GPU becoming progressively more saturated.

Examining the Medium preset data provides the clearest picture of resolution scaling because it includes min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 294 FPS with a range from 250 to 339 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 194 FPS with a range from 165 to 223 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 108 FPS with a range from 91 to 124 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is 65.9% of the original frame rate, and from 1440p to 4K it is 55.7% of the 1440p figure. This slightly steeper drop at higher resolutions confirms that pixel throughput is becoming the dominant constraint.

The 4K High setting produces 67 FPS, which is remarkably close to the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, while 4K Ultra drops to 47 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the RTX 4080 beyond its comfortable operating range for this title. The data suggests that the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient to handle the game's demands, as the scaling pattern shows no anomalies that would indicate memory capacity or bandwidth limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 brings substantial processing resources to this pairing, featuring 20 cores and 20 threads on the Arrow Lake architecture. With a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, this processor demonstrates strong single-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample on-die storage for game data, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory interface delivers 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate it ranks in the 93rd percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640. In The Long Drive specifically, the CPU's role is most evident in the high frame rates achievable at 1080p. The fact that the system reaches 358 FPS at 1080p Low and 184 FPS at 1080p High suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU with sufficient draw calls and game state updates to support very high frame rates. However, the data does not show any scenario where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as even the lowest measured performance (47 FPS at 4K Ultra) is far above what would indicate CPU limitation.

Comparing the Core Ultra 7 265 to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database provides context for its processing headroom. The AMD EPYC 4464P scores 64823 on average, which is -0.3% different from this CPU's score. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64438, a 0.3% difference, while the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202 (0.7% higher) and the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104 (-0.7% lower). These extremely tight margins—all within 1%—indicate that the Core Ultra 7 265 is positioned squarely in a competitive cluster of high-end desktop and workstation processors.

For a driving simulation like The Long Drive, the CPU's 20 threads provide ample parallelism for physics calculations, AI for traffic, and world streaming. The PassMark multithread score of 49682 and data compression score of 522983 suggest strong general-purpose throughput, while the single-thread score of 4689 indicates the processor can handle latency-sensitive game logic efficiently. The 5.30 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for maintaining frame pacing in scenarios with many dynamic objects.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 serves as the primary performance determinant in this pairing, particularly as resolution and settings increase. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, this GPU features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI-enhanced features, though their impact on The Long Drive's measured performance cannot be directly quantified from the available data.

The GPU's memory subsystem is substantial: 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus delivers 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The 22.4 Gbps effective memory speed and 1400 MHz base memory clock ensure that texture streaming and frame buffer operations are not constrained by memory bandwidth in this title. The GPU's compute capabilities include 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s, which directly supports the resolution scaling observed in the measured data.

The RTX 4080's benchmark scores place it in the 86th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals show how closely matched the high-end GPU field is: the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209 (0.1% different), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (-1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (-2.6%), and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757 (-2.7%). The RTX 4080 sits essentially at parity with its direct successor in aggregate benchmarks, which suggests that the 4080's performance ceiling in games is well understood.

In The Long Drive, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K resolution. The drop from 131 FPS at 4K Low to 67 FPS at 4K High—a 48.9% reduction—demonstrates how sensitive the GPU is to increased shading and texture work. The further drop to 47 FPS at 4K Ultra represents a 30% reduction from High, showing that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely including increased draw distances, shadow quality, and post-processing) place significant strain on the GPU's compute and memory resources throughout the frame.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete matrix of performance across four settings presets and three resolutions, with the Medium preset being the only one that includes minimum and maximum frame rate measurements.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce 358 FPS average, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 294 FPS average with a minimum of 250 FPS and maximum of 339 FPS, indicating tight frame pacing with no severe drops. High settings reduce performance to 184 FPS, while Ultra still manages 127 FPS—all well above the refresh rates of typical gaming monitors.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload increasing. Low settings deliver 235 FPS, Medium produces 194 FPS with a range of 165 to 223 FPS, High drops to 121 FPS, and Ultra settles at 84 FPS. The 1440p Medium data shows a 58 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p Medium spread of 89 FPS, suggesting consistent frame generation under varying scene complexity.

At 3840x2160, the demands of 4K rendering become apparent. Low settings still achieve 131 FPS, which is respectable for 4K gaming. Medium produces 108 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS. High settings drop to 67 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47 FPS. The 4K Medium data shows a 33 FPS range, with the 91 FPS minimum still providing playable performance, while the 47 FPS Ultra average suggests this preset may struggle to maintain smooth motion on high-refresh displays.

The scaling between presets is non-linear. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces performance by 17.9%, from Medium to High by 37.4%, and from High to Ultra by 31.0%. At 4K, the same transitions produce reductions of 17.6%, 38.0%, and 29.9%, respectively. This consistency across resolutions indicates that each preset tier imposes a similar relative workload increase regardless of pixel count, which is a sign of well-balanced settings scaling in the game engine.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 223rd out of 3725 tested combos in The Long Drive. This places the pairing in the top 6% of all tested systems, a strong showing that reflects the high-performance nature of both components. The rank of 223 out of 3725 indicates that while this is not an absolute top-tier configuration, it sits well above the vast majority of systems that have been benchmarked in this title.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking versus all GPUs provide context for this combo rank. The combined system rank of 223rd out of 3725 (which is approximately the 94th percentile) is slightly higher than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that this pairing is particularly well-suited to The Long Drive's performance profile. The high frame rates measured at 1080p and 1440p indicate that the system is not held back by CPU limitations, while the 4K performance demonstrates that the GPU provides adequate pixel throughput for high-resolution play.

The nearest rival combos in the database would likely feature similarly high-end CPUs and GPUs, and the data shows that the Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 4080 are closely matched to their direct competitors. The CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% in average benchmark score, and the GPU's nearest rivals are within 2.7%, so the combo rank is likely determined by subtle differences in how these components interact with The Long Drive's specific engine characteristics rather than by large performance gaps.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in The Long Drive?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 358, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this configuration in the measured data.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 47, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High preset, at 67 FPS average, is the highest settings level that maintains 60 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a difference of only 0.1%. This places the two cards at near-parity in overall benchmark performance.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured range is 165 FPS minimum to 223 FPS maximum, with an average of 194 FPS. The 58 FPS spread indicates good frame pacing, though not as tight as the 1080p Medium range of 89 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 and a multi-core score of 42216. The multi-core score is approximately 7.1 times higher, reflecting the benefit of its 20 cores and 20 threads.

Q: Is the combo more limited by CPU or GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the GPU is likely the primary limiting factor, as evidenced by the significant performance drops when moving from Low (358 FPS) to Ultra (127 FPS). The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz and strong single-thread scores suggest it can feed the GPU faster than the GPU can render at these settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset at 127 FPS average provides the best visual quality while still delivering smooth performance well above typical 60 Hz refresh rates. If a high-refresh monitor (144 Hz or above) is in use, the High preset at 184 FPS or Medium at 294 FPS offers progressively higher frame rates with acceptable visual trade-offs.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 121 FPS average is the recommended choice for most users, as it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin. The Ultra preset at 84 FPS is viable for those prioritizing image quality, but the Medium preset at 194 FPS is better suited for high-refresh 1440p monitors. The Low preset at 235 FPS offers the maximum competitive advantage for players who prioritize responsiveness over visuals.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 108 FPS average delivers the best overall experience, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining reasonable visual quality. The High preset at 67 FPS is acceptable for users with 60 Hz 4K displays, but the 47 FPS average of the Ultra preset makes it difficult to recommend for smooth gameplay, particularly on displays with variable refresh rates where frame drops below 40 FPS could become noticeable.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame pacing across all resolutions, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1440p Medium, the 165 FPS minimum ensures no significant frame drops, while at 4K Medium, the 91 FPS minimum keeps performance safely above the 60 FPS threshold. For users seeking a balanced experience across all three resolutions without adjusting settings, the Medium preset provides the best combination of visual quality, average performance, and frame time consistency.