Fivem

Fivem is a multiplayer modification framework that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on the scenario, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER shows a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across four presets and three resolutions reveal a consistent pattern: the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of VRAM and 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute limit performance well before the 24-core CPU can be fully utilized. This analysis walks through the measured results step by step, interpreting what the numbers indicate about the balance of this particular combination.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 123 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 97 FPS, High at 77 FPS, and Ultra drops to 60 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 26 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 17 FPS, indicating that the graphical fidelity gains from the higher presets come with substantial performance penalties that may not be justified for competitive play.

For players prioritizing smoothness over visual detail, the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that breaks the 120 FPS threshold, which is significant for a multiplayer environment where reaction time matters. The Medium preset still provides a very playable 97 FPS average, and the minimum FPS of 82 recorded at this setting suggests it maintains consistency even in busier scenes. The High preset at 77 FPS is acceptable for most users, but the Ultra preset's 60 FPS average is exactly at the edge of what many consider the minimum for a responsive multiplayer experience.

At 2560x1440, the situation shifts. Low produces 81 FPS, Medium 64 FPS, High 51 FPS, and Ultra 40 FPS. The Medium preset here offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the 54 FPS minimum recorded in the data indicating that it stays above the 50 FPS threshold even during demanding moments. The High preset's 51 FPS average is workable but marginal, and Ultra's 40 FPS average falls below the smoothness threshold for most multiplayer scenarios. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 45 FPS approaches playability; Medium drops to 35 FPS, High to 28 FPS, and Ultra to 22 FPS, all of which are too low for a responsive online experience.

The recommendation from the measured data is clear: for the best experience, run the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p, Medium offers 97 FPS with a recorded minimum of 82, which is a strong combination of smoothness and visual fidelity. At 1440p, Medium's 64 FPS average with a 54 FPS minimum is the highest preset that maintains consistent playability. The Low preset is the fallback for those who absolutely need maximum frame rates, especially at 1080p where it achieves 123 FPS, but the visual trade-off is steep. Ultra is not recommended at any resolution, as even at 1080p it only matches the 60 FPS baseline and at higher resolutions it becomes unplayable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component in this system for Fivem, and the data supports this conclusion through the scaling of frame rates with resolution and settings. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, and the GPU has a base clock of 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz. These specifications place the GTX 1660 SUPER in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 12986, indicating it is a mid-range part.

The performance ceiling of this GPU is evident in the measured FPS data. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 60, which is exactly the same as the 4K Ultra average of 22 FPS scaled by resolution, but the key observation is that the Ultra preset at all resolutions produces the lowest frame rates in the dataset. The GPU's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs are simply not sufficient to handle the additional draw calls and effects that the Ultra preset introduces in Fivem. The FP32 compute performance of 5.027 TFLOPS is a modest figure by modern standards, and the PassMark G3D score of 12699 confirms this card's position in the lower-middle tier.

The nearest rivals to the GTX 1660 SUPER in the benchmark database are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 580, which scores 12928 (0.4% higher). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scores 13075, which is 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870, which is 0.9% lower. These small deltaPct values indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER is in a tightly contested performance band, but in Fivem specifically, the 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely a factor at higher settings, as the game's multiplayer environments can be asset-heavy. The data shows that the GPU's VRAM and compute capabilities are the binding constraint, particularly at 1440p and 4K where frame rates drop dramatically.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the GTX 1660 SUPER scales across resolutions, and the pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload. At the Low preset, the average FPS goes from 123 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p to 45 at 4K. This represents a 34.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 63.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. At the Medium preset, the averages are 97, 64, and 35 FPS respectively, which is a 34.0% drop and a 63.9% drop. The High preset shows 77, 51, and 28 FPS, with drops of 33.8% and 63.6%. The Ultra preset has 60, 40, and 22 FPS, with drops of 33.3% and 63.3%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate drops would be less severe at higher resolutions, because the GPU would have more time to render each frame while the CPU feeds it data. Instead, the uniform scaling suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is saturated at all resolutions, and increasing the resolution simply adds more pixels for the same number of shading units to process. The 192-bit memory bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are also factors, as higher resolutions require more memory bandwidth to feed the framebuffer.

The data also shows that the gap between presets narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS (123 vs 60). At 1440p, the difference is 41 FPS (81 vs 40). At 4K, the difference is 23 FPS (45 vs 22). This narrowing is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where at higher resolutions the GPU is so overworked that the settings have less relative impact on the final frame rate. The minimum FPS values recorded at the Medium preset further illustrate this: 82 at 1080p, 54 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K, with the 4K minimum being exactly half of the 1080p minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings is playable, but the quality varies significantly. Low delivers 123 FPS average, which is the highest in the dataset and indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain a high frame rate. Medium provides 97 FPS with a minimum of 82 and a maximum of 111, showing good consistency. High drops to 77 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 60 FPS, which is the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. The 1080p data suggests that this resolution is where the GTX 1660 SUPER can still deliver a competitive experience, provided the settings are kept at Medium or below.

At 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained. Low produces 81 FPS, which is still respectable, but Medium drops to 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 73. High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 40 FPS. The 1440p Medium data shows that the minimum FPS of 54 is within 10 FPS of the average, indicating that the frame pacing is stable, but the overall performance is 33.8% lower than 1080p at the same preset. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are marginal for multiplayer, with averages that may dip below 50 FPS in heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1660 SUPER is clearly overwhelmed. Low yields 45 FPS, Medium 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 41, High 28 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 30, which is the same as the average FPS of 28 at High, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain a consistent frame rate. The 4K data is largely academic for this GPU, as none of the presets achieve the 60 FPS target, and even the Low preset at 45 FPS is below the threshold for a smooth experience. The maximum FPS of 41 at 4K Medium is lower than the minimum FPS of 54 at 1440p Medium, which highlights the steep performance cliff at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2569 out of 3005 tested combos in Fivem, placing it in the bottom 14.5% of all configurations. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is in the 96th percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 84003. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807 (0.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 4584PX, which scores 83090 (1.1% higher), showing that the 290K Plus is a top-tier processor.

The GPU, by contrast, is in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, and this mismatch is the primary reason for the low combo rank. The data indicates that the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver, as evidenced by the fact that the same CPU paired with a more powerful GPU would likely rank significantly higher. The 2569th rank out of 3005 combos suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is holding back the system in Fivem, and the measured FPS data confirms this by showing that the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions and settings.

Comparing the combo rank to the individual component percentiles provides context: the CPU is in the top 4% of all processors, while the GPU is in the middle of the pack. This disparity means that in Fivem, the system's performance is dictated almost entirely by the GPU, and the CPU's considerable headroom (24 cores, 24 threads, 5.80 GHz boost clock) is left underutilized in most scenarios. The combo rank of 2569 is a reflection of this imbalance, and it suggests that users with this CPU should consider a more powerful GPU to unlock the system's full potential in Fivem.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Fivem?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can achieve high frame rates, with the Low preset hitting 123 FPS and Medium hitting 97 FPS. At 2560x1440, the best average is 81 FPS on Low, and at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 45 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus or the GTX 1660 SUPER the bottleneck?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU is in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 53rd percentile. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions (approximately 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 63% from 1080p to 4K at all presets) are characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

Q: Can this combo run Fivem at Ultra settings smoothly?

A: No. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 60, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay, but at 2560x1440 Ultra the average drops to 40 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra it falls to 22 FPS. The Ultra preset is only playable at 1080p, and even then it offers no headroom.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores 12940, which is 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 580 scores 12928 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870 (0.9% lower).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 30, which occurs at the 3840x2160 Medium preset. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 54 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 82 FPS. The data does not include minimum FPS values for most other preset combinations.

Q: Does the CPU's high single-thread performance help in Fivem?

A: The CPU's single-core performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4823. However, the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, so these CPU strengths do not translate into higher frame rates in Fivem when paired with the GTX 1660 SUPER.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on a 3 nm process with an Arrow Lake Refresh codename. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and it has a substantial cache hierarchy including 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3. The processor's average benchmark score is 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

In Fivem, the CPU's role is to handle the game's simulation and networking logic, which is typically single-threaded or lightly threaded. The 290K Plus excels in this area, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and PassMark single-thread score of 4823. The boost clock of 5.80 GHz is particularly relevant for Fivem, as the game's performance in CPU-bound scenarios often scales with clock speed. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system, as the frame rates are consistently GPU-bound across all resolutions and presets.

The CPU's multi-core performance is also exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a PassMark multithread score of 60860. In Fivem, this headroom is largely unused, as the game does not scale well across 24 cores. The data suggests that the CPU could support much higher frame rates than the GTX 1660 SUPER can deliver, and the 2569th combo rank out of 3005 reflects this mismatch. The CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% higher score) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% higher score), are similarly powerful, but none of these processors can overcome the GPU's limitations in this pairing.