Fivem

Fivem, a multiplayer modification platform built on Grand Theft Auto V, presents a unique performance profile that diverges significantly from single-player benchmarks. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals a surprising CPU sensitivity at lower settings. The average frame rates across the board are high, but the scaling patterns indicate that the Radeon RX 7900 XT is the primary bottleneck for this specific workload, while the Core Ultra 5 235’s 14 cores are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p without holding it back. The data supports a clear verdict: this is a configuration built for high-refresh-rate 1440p play, with 4K requiring a significant compromise in visual fidelity to remain playable.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is the most telling indicator of where the performance ceiling lies. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 177 at 1920x1080 to 117 at 2560x1440, a steep 34% reduction, before dropping further to 65 at 3840x2160, a 44% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The RX 7900 XT is being pushed progressively harder as pixel count increases, and the frame rate responds accordingly. The fact that the 1080p result does not exceed 177 FPS at High settings, despite the GPU’s theoretical headroom, suggests that even at this resolution, the graphics card is still the limiting factor, though the impact of the CPU is becoming more pronounced.

A more granular view comes from comparing the Low settings across resolutions. Here, the 1080p average jumps to 281 FPS, while 1440p drops to 185 FPS (a 34% reduction) and 4K to 103 FPS (a 44% reduction from 1440p). The proportional drops are nearly identical to those seen at High settings. This consistency is critical; it demonstrates that the resolution scaling is governed by the GPU’s pixel throughput regardless of the graphical load. Even with reduced visual complexity, the RX 7900 XT’s rendering pipeline is the primary constraint. The game’s engine, which is based on an older codebase, does not show a sudden shift to CPU-boundedness at lower settings in this data, as the frame rate still scales predictably with resolution.

The data indicates that the sweet spot for this component pairing is 1440p. At that resolution, the system can deliver well over 100 FPS at High settings (117) and approach 200 FPS at Low settings (185), which are excellent numbers for a multiplayer title where responsiveness is key. The 4K performance, while playable, is less impressive. The 65 FPS average at High settings is acceptable for a single-player experience but may feel less fluid in competitive multiplayer scenarios where high frame rates are advantageous. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 50 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on many high-refresh-rate monitors. The scaling data confirms that the RX 7900 XT is the component to watch when adjusting resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, with its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, provides a substantial bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. In the context of Fivem, which is known for pulling large amounts of custom assets and textures from servers, this memory capacity is a significant asset. The benchmark results show that even at 4K Ultra, the system does not appear to be memory-constrained, as the average FPS of 50 is more likely a reflection of raw compute limits. The GPU’s boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz are high, and the 5376 shading units provide the raw throughput needed for the high frame rates observed. The data shows the GPU is the dominant factor in performance, with the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 and a Passmark G3D score of 29009 placing it in a competitive position, though its percentileVsAllGpus of 55 indicates it sits in the middle of the pack for all GPUs.

The GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals in the database is interesting. The RX 7900 XT’s average benchmark score of 13745 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 660M (13812, -0.5%) and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821, -0.5%). This is a surprising result, as the RX 7900 XT is a desktop card with far higher specifications, but the average score metric aggregates all benchmarks, including older DirectX tests. The data shows a small positive delta of 1.5% over the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, indicating that the older card holds its own against the newer generation in this aggregated metric. However, in the measured Fivem data, the RX 7900 XT demonstrates that it is more than capable of driving high frame rates, particularly at 1440p and 1080p. The 20 GB VRAM buffer is forward-looking, but the data suggests that for Fivem, the computational power of the GPU is the more critical factor.

The GPU’s memory clock of 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth are crucial for high-resolution textures. The data shows a clear correlation between settings and FPS, with the Ultra preset at 4K producing 50 FPS, which is a 23% drop from the High preset’s 65 FPS. This indicates that the extra graphical features in the Ultra preset are expensive to render, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of the system. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 110 is the lowest of its API scores, suggesting that modern API overhead is not a strength, but the game’s performance metrics are nonetheless strong. The GPU is the workhorse here, and its capabilities are the primary driver of the FPS numbers seen across all resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 117 FPS at 2560x1440 on the High preset.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate drops to 50 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the data set.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this pairing for Fivem?

A: The data shows the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the primary limiting factor. Frame rates scale predictably with resolution, dropping from 281 FPS at 1080p Low to 103 FPS at 4K Low, which is a classic GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this configuration?

A: The highest average frame rate is 281 FPS, which was recorded at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 compare to its nearest CPU rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030) and 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 4364P (45970).

Q: What is the minimum frame rate observed at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The minimum frame rate recorded at that resolution and preset is 124 FPS, with an average of 146 FPS and a maximum of 168 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset yields an average of 281 FPS, making it ideal for maximum refresh rates. The Medium preset averages 221 FPS, with a minimum of 188 and a maximum of 255. High settings still produce a very high 177 FPS average, while the Ultra preset brings the average down to 137 FPS. These numbers suggest that at 1080p, users can select any preset and still have a highly responsive experience, with even the most demanding setting delivering well over 100 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains impressive. The Low preset averages 185 FPS, which is a significant step down from 1080p but still excellent. The Medium preset averages 146 FPS, with a minimum of 124 and a maximum of 168. The High preset delivers a solid 117 FPS average, which is a comfortable zone for high refresh rate gaming. The Ultra preset averages 90 FPS, which is still playable but represents a noticeable drop. This resolution appears to be the optimal balance between visual quality and performance, with the High and Medium presets offering the best combination of fidelity and speed.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly working hard. The Low preset averages 103 FPS, which is playable but no longer in the high-refresh-rate territory. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 93. The High preset drops to 65 FPS, which is acceptable for a less competitive environment. The Ultra preset averages 50 FPS, which is the only result that dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution or settings incurs a significant FPS cost, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the configuration at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, which is an unusual configuration without hyper-threading. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz and boost clock is 5.00 GHz. In the context of Fivem, which is a multiplayer mod that can be demanding on the CPU due to server-side scripts and the presence of many players, this core count is beneficial. The benchmark data shows a solid multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 37816. The single-thread performance is also strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4516. These scores indicate the CPU is capable of handling the game’s logic and physics.

The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 89 places it in the top tier of processors, and its average benchmark score of 46062 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The data shows it is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HX. This suggests that in general compute tasks, the Core Ultra 5 235 is a high-performing part. However, the measured FPS data in Fivem does not show a scenario where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 281 FPS average is high, but it is likely not the absolute maximum the CPU could produce if the GPU were faster. The game engine’s single-threaded nature can be a limiting factor, but the Core Ultra 5 235’s high boost clock helps mitigate this.

The CPU’s architecture, Arrow Lake, and its 3 nm process node from TSMC contribute to its efficiency. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming workloads. The data suggests that the CPU provides a stable foundation for the GPU, never appearing to be the reason for frame rate drops. The Passmark physics score of 2570 is a moderate value, but it does not translate to poor gaming performance in this data. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU, and it does so effectively across all resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent resolution scaling patterns. The system is not CPU-limited in any of the measured scenarios, making the GPU the clear focus for performance tuning.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the user’s display resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is a viable choice, as it still delivers an average of 137 FPS. This allows users to enjoy maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing the high frame rates that are beneficial in Fivem’s multiplayer environments. However, for users with a high refresh rate monitor (240Hz or more), the Low preset at 281 FPS would be preferable to fully utilize the display’s capabilities. The Medium preset at 221 FPS offers a good balance for those who want some visual improvements over Low but still prioritize frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. The 117 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience for most players. The Medium preset at 146 FPS is also excellent and could be preferred if the user wants extra headroom for demanding scenes with many players. The Ultra preset at 90 FPS is still playable, but the 23% reduction in frame rate compared to High may not be worth the visual gains for competitive play. The Low preset at 185 FPS is for those who absolutely must maximize frame rate, but the visual compromises are significant at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the best compromise. The 81 FPS average is the highest result that remains consistently above 60 FPS, and the minimum of 69 FPS indicates that it holds up well under load. The High preset at 65 FPS is also viable, but it is closer to the 60 FPS boundary. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS should be avoided for any serious gameplay, as the frame rate is too low for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 103 FPS is an option for those who want to maintain high frame rates at 4K, but the lack of visual detail is stark. The measured data clearly identifies the Medium preset as the most balanced for 4K, providing a playable frame rate without the performance hit of High or Ultra.