Fivem

Fivem’s performance with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT demonstrates a configuration heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the CPU providing a robust foundation that allows the GPU to become the primary scaling factor at higher resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, where it delivers a strong balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, while 4K gaming requires compromising on settings to maintain playable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the High settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 148 FPS at 1920x1080 to 98 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 50 FPS, and then further down to 54 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a significant 63.5% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The scaling is not linear, with the most substantial absolute drop occurring between 1440p and 4K, where the frame rate nearly halves.

This pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 235 at 1080p to 155 at 1440p and then to 86 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the same trend, with averages of 115, 76, and 42 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. The consistent decline across all presets confirms that the resolution is the dominant factor in determining performance, and the magnitude of the drop highlights that the Radeon RX 7800 XT's compute resources are being saturated as pixel count increases.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound in certain scenarios, as the 148 FPS High and 235 FPS Low results are substantial but not extremely high, leaving headroom that could be filled by a more powerful GPU. However, at 1440p and 4K, the GPU's workload becomes the clear bottleneck. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a 33.8% performance drop, which is a typical cost for the increased pixel density. The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even steeper at 44.9%, reflecting the doubling of pixels from 1440p to 4K. This scaling behavior indicates that for users targeting 4K, the RX 7800 XT will require aggressive settings reductions to achieve smooth gameplay, while 1440p is the sweet spot for this configuration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its high core count and strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303, provide ample processing power for Fivem's multiplayer environment. The CPU's boost clock of 5.80 GHz and base clock of 3.70 GHz contribute to its responsiveness in handling game logic and physics, which are often single-threaded or lightly threaded tasks.

In this game, the CPU's role is to ensure a stable frame delivery, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully stressed. At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 235 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to sustain such performance. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4823 and multithread score of 60860 indicate a balanced performance profile that can handle both the single-threaded nature of game simulation and the background tasks of a multiplayer environment. The L3 cache of 36 MB shared also helps in reducing latency for frequently accessed game data.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holds a dominant position. It outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K by 0.2% in average benchmark score, and is 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135. Its only relative weakness is against the AMD EPYC 7F72, where it is 1.3% behind. These small deltas in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the 290K Plus is on par with the best desktop and server processors available, but the real-world impact in Fivem is likely minimal at 1080p, as the game may not fully utilize all 24 cores.

The CPU's performance in the measured FPS data supports the notion that it is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K across all settings are more indicative of GPU limitations. However, at 1080p, the CPU's capability is what allows the GPU to reach its maximum potential, as evidenced by the 235 FPS result at Low settings. This suggests that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides a solid foundation for high-refresh-rate gaming, even if its full potential is not realized in all scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is a 16 GB GDDR6 graphics card based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, with a boost clock of 2430 MHz and a game clock of 2124 MHz. Its 60 ray tracing cores and 3840 shading units provide substantial raw compute power, with a FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS. The 256-bit memory bus and 624.1 GB/s memory bandwidth are crucial for handling high-resolution textures and large datasets common in Fivem's open-world multiplayer environment.

The GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates across all resolutions. The scaling data shows that as resolution increases, the performance drops consistently, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. At 4K High settings, the average FPS of 54 is only marginally above the 50 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for smooth gameplay, indicating that the RX 7800 XT is working near its limits. The 16 GB of VRAM is ample for this game, but the compute performance becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

In terms of its benchmark standing, the RX 7800 XT has a percentile rank of 51, meaning it is roughly in the middle of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 11627 places it in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, which has an average score of 11680 and is 0.5% faster. It also edges out the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M by 0.9% and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c by 1.3%, but is 1.8% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT. These rivalries are interesting because they suggest that the RX 7800 XT's performance in synthetic benchmarks is not exceptionally high for its class, yet in Fivem, it delivers playable 4K performance at Low settings (86 FPS) and solid 1440p performance at High settings (98 FPS).

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity is a significant asset, as it ensures that memory capacity is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution or setting. The data shows that the GPU's compute capability, not its memory, is what limits performance at 4K. The boost clock of 2430 MHz is high, but the card still cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra (42 FPS), which is a common target for demanding titles. This indicates that for Fivem, the RX 7800 XT is a capable 1440p card that can handle 4K with settings compromises, but it is not a 4K Ultra powerhouse.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gamers, the High preset at 148 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. The Low preset at 235 FPS is available for competitive play, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 186 FPS is a strong middle ground, providing a substantial boost over High with a minor visual penalty.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers a very respectable 98 FPS, which is ideal for 100 Hz or 120 Hz monitors. This is the recommended preset for 1440p, as it provides a good visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 122 FPS is also a viable option for those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, and the Low preset at 155 FPS is suitable for esports-style play. The Ultra preset at 76 FPS is playable but may not be smooth enough for fast-paced action, making it a less desirable choice unless visual quality is paramount.

For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The High preset at 54 FPS is on the edge of playability, and the Medium preset at 68 FPS is a better option for a smoother experience. The Low preset at 86 FPS is the most playable, but it sacrifices a lot of visual detail. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is not recommended for serious play, as it falls below the 45-50 FPS threshold for acceptable smoothness. Therefore, for 4K, the Medium preset is the best balance, offering a 26% improvement over High while maintaining a better visual experience than Low.

The data shows a clear trade-off between settings and resolution. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1080p Ultra (115 FPS), 1440p Ultra (76 FPS), and 4K Medium (68 FPS) are the respective best options. However, for a 120+ FPS experience, 1080p Medium (186 FPS) and 1440p Medium (122 FPS) are the top choices. Ultimately, the Medium preset at 1440p is the most versatile recommendation, as it provides a high frame rate with good visual quality, making it suitable for a wide range of gaming scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 959th out of 3005 combos in Fivem. This places it in the 68th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs better than the majority of configurations. However, this ranking is not exceptionally high, which reflects the fact that the GPU, while capable, is not a top-tier card. The CPU is a high-end part, but its performance is not fully utilized in this game due to the GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The ranking suggests that there are many other combos that can achieve higher frame rates in Fivem, likely those with more powerful GPUs. The 3005 combos tested likely include a wide range of CPUs and GPUs, and the 959th rank indicates that this system is above average but not in the top tier. The CPU's high percentile rank of 96 among all CPUs does not translate directly to a high combo rank, as the GPU's mid-tier performance (51st percentile) drags the overall system down.

This positioning is important for context. While the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a top-tier processor, its pairing with the RX 7800 XT means that the system's gaming performance is limited by the GPU. The combo rank of 959 out of 3005 suggests that for Fivem, there are roughly 2000 other configurations that perform better, likely with higher-end GPUs like the Radeon RX 7900 XTX or NVIDIA RTX 4080. Conversely, the system outperforms the majority of combos, which likely feature lower-end CPUs or GPUs. This ranking is a useful indicator that the system is a solid mid-to-high-end performer, but not a flagship gaming rig.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 235 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS, the High preset achieves 148 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 115 FPS. These results show that at 1080p, the system is capable of very high frame rates, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but drops as expected. The Low preset averages 155 FPS, the Medium preset averages 122 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, the High preset averages 98 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 76 FPS. The 1440p results are particularly noteworthy for the High preset, which at 98 FPS is right at the threshold for a 100 Hz display, and the Medium preset at 122 FPS is ideal for a 120 Hz display. The minimum FPS of 104 at Medium settings indicates that there are occasional dips, but they are not severe.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the most constrained. The Low preset averages 86 FPS, the Medium preset averages 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS, the High preset averages 54 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. The 4K results show that the system can handle 4K, but only with settings compromises. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 58 is just above the 60 FPS target, suggesting that there may be occasional stutters. The Low preset at 86 FPS is the most playable 4K option, but it sacrifices visual quality. The Ultra preset at 42 FPS is the worst performance, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. These numbers confirm that the system is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates at High settings without compromising visual fidelity.