Fivem

The pairing of Intel’s top-tier Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with AMD’s older Radeon RX 5700 XT creates a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Fivem. The CPU is a 24-core, 24-thread powerhouse with a 5.80 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is an 8 GB RDNA 1.0 part from 2019. The benchmark results reveal a system where the graphics card consistently dictates performance ceilings, yet the processor’s immense headroom ensures that frame pacing remains surprisingly stable across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and predictable collapse as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 156 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 103 FPS, a 34% decrease. Moving to 2160p Low yields just 57 FPS, representing a 63% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is steep, indicating that the RX 5700 XT’s rendering pipeline is saturated well before the CPU can become a limiting factor.

The trend becomes even more pronounced when examining High settings. The system manages 98 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 65 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 36 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and High at each resolution is substantial, but the resolution-based decline is steeper. This suggests that Fivem’s visual complexity at higher resolutions taxes the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading units far more than the CPU’s thread scheduling or cache hierarchy.

What is particularly revealing is the Ultra preset performance. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still produces 76 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra it collapses to 28 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 63%, which mirrors the Low setting drop. However, the absolute numbers at 4K are so low that they clearly point to the GPU being the sole arbiter of performance. The CPU, with its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 24 threads, is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish each frame.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is an absolute monster in synthetic benchmarks, scoring 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core. Its 24 cores and 24 threads, combined with a 5.80 GHz boost clock, place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Yet in Fivem, this raw compute power translates into headroom rather than direct performance gains. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where CPU load is typically highest, the system only reaches 156 FPS—a number that is respectable but far from the limits this CPU could theoretically enforce.

The processor’s nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has an average benchmark score of 83,807, which is just 0.2% lower than the 290K Plus’s 84,003. This tiny delta suggests that within Fivem, the 290K Plus’s additional performance over its predecessor is negligible, because the game’s engine likely cannot utilize the extra cores or clock speed beyond a certain point. The 24-thread count is overkill for a multiplayer title like Fivem, which typically relies on a few heavily loaded threads for game logic and physics.

The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 4,823 is strong, but the game’s performance at 1080p Low (156 FPS) versus 1440p Low (103 FPS) shows that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU still creates a bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the 1080p and 1440p results to be closer together, since the CPU’s workload does not scale with resolution. The fact that they diverge so significantly confirms that the RX 5700 XT is the primary constraint in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and RX 5700 XT ranks 2,752 out of 3,707 combos. This places it in the bottom 26th percentile of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly low position given the top-tier CPU. The ranking underscores the imbalance of this pairing: a flagship 2024-era processor is held back by a mid-range 2019 graphics card.

The combo rank of 2,752 suggests that many systems with significantly weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this configuration in Fivem. This is a critical insight for anyone considering a similar upgrade path. The CPU’s 96th percentile standing among all processors is meaningless if the GPU cannot feed it enough frames. The data implies that the 290K Plus’s potential is largely wasted in this context, as the RX 5700 XT’s 59th percentile GPU ranking creates a hard ceiling on achievable frame rates.

Comparing the GPU’s rivals, the RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score of 16,361 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16,351, delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16,408, delta -0.3%). This clustering means that swapping to any of these GPUs would yield virtually identical Fivem performance. The CPU’s rivals, including the AMD EPYC 4584PX (delta 1.1%) and EPYC 9135 (delta 1.2%), are all within a narrow performance band, indicating that the processor choice matters little at this GPU level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 156 FPS on Low, 123 FPS on Medium, 98 FPS on High, and 76 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, indicating a frame time variance that is acceptable for competitive play. The Ultra preset’s 76 FPS average is smooth enough for most users, though the lack of min/max data for this preset leaves some uncertainty about frame stability.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 103 FPS (Low), 81 FPS (Medium), 65 FPS (High), and 50 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset at this resolution shows a min of 69 FPS and max of 93 FPS, which represents a 24 FPS spread. This variance suggests that in busy multiplayer scenes, the frame rate can dip noticeably, but the overall experience remains fluid. The 50 FPS Ultra result at 1440p is borderline, as it sits right at the edge of what most consider playable for a fast-paced title.

At 3840x2160, the results are sobering: 57 FPS (Low), 45 FPS (Medium), 36 FPS (High), and 28 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset’s min of 38 FPS and max of 52 FPS shows that even the average is not stable, with frequent dips below 40 FPS. The 28 FPS Ultra result is effectively unplayable for a multiplayer game where quick reactions are essential. The data clearly shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo unless the user is willing to accept very low visual fidelity and sub-60 FPS performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is the defining specification for Fivem’s performance at higher resolutions. The GPU’s base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1905 MHz, combined with 2,560 shading units, deliver 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These figures place the card in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the observed performance ceilings.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 0.9% of its average score, which means the RX 5700 XT is firmly planted in a performance tier that struggles with modern multiplayer titles at high resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is particularly concerning for Fivem at 4K, as the game’s texture streaming and draw distances can quickly consume memory. However, the measured data does not show a catastrophic VRAM-related stutter; instead, the frame rates decline linearly with resolution, suggesting a pure compute and fill-rate limitation.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 benchmark score of 64 is low, but Fivem is known to rely on DirectX 11 for its rendering. The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 116 is more representative of the card’s performance in this title. The 160 TMUs and 64 ROPs are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but they are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The data indicates that the RX 5700 XT is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing, as the CPU’s massive computational resources remain largely untapped.

FAQ

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (2,752 out of 3,707) despite having a top-tier CPU?

A: The low rank is due to the GPU bottleneck. The RX 5700 XT’s 59th percentile standing limits the system to frame rates that are far below what the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus (96th percentile) can support. The GPU’s performance ceiling dictates the overall combo ranking, not the CPU’s capabilities.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming?

A: The data shows that 4K is only playable at Low settings (57 FPS). At Medium settings, the average drops to 45 FPS with minimums of 38 FPS, and at High settings, it falls to 36 FPS. Ultra settings produce an unplayable 28 FPS. Users seeking 60 FPS at 4K would need a significantly more powerful GPU.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is only 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83,807). The AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090) and EPYC 9135 (82,980) are 1.1% and 1.2% lower, respectively. This indicates that within Fivem, the CPU model has minimal impact on frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth experience with this combo?

A: According to the measured data, 1080p provides the most consistent experience. At Medium settings, the system averages 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS. Even at Ultra settings, 1080p delivers 76 FPS, which is above the threshold for smooth multiplayer gameplay.

Q: Does the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues in Fivem?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM-related stuttering or crashes. The performance decline from 1080p to 4K follows a linear pattern consistent with compute and bandwidth limitations. However, the 8 GB capacity may limit future texture pack usage, as the card’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is already strained at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the GPU rank against its closest competitors?

A: The RX 5700 XT’s average benchmark score of 16,361 is virtually identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16,351, delta 0.1%). It is 0.3% lower than the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16,408) and 0.9% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (16,504). These negligible differences mean that upgrading to any of these GPUs would not improve Fivem performance.

Settings Recommendations

For users seeking the optimal balance between visual quality and performance, the data points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot. This configuration yields 123 FPS average with a minimum of 104 FPS, ensuring that frame rates never dip below the 100 FPS mark even in demanding multiplayer scenarios. The 141 FPS maximum indicates that the system has headroom to spare, making this ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

If the user prioritizes visual fidelity over raw speed, 1080p High (98 FPS) is an acceptable alternative, as the 25 FPS drop from Medium is noticeable but still keeps the experience smooth. However, 1080p Ultra (76 FPS) begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing might feel less responsive in fast-paced firefights. At 1440p, the Medium preset (81 FPS) is the highest playable option, though the 24 FPS variance between minimum and maximum suggests occasional stutters in busy areas.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely for competitive play. Even at Low settings (57 FPS), the frame rate is insufficient for a multiplayer title. The data strongly suggests that users with this combo should remain at 1080p, as the GPU’s 9.754 TFLOPS of compute power is simply not enough to drive higher resolutions while maintaining the frame rates required for a smooth experience. The CPU’s immense power is wasted above 1080p, as the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor.