Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a commanding performance profile in Minimum, though the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the system produces exceptionally high frame rates that highlight CPU strength; at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. This combination ranks in the top tier of tested configurations, making it a formidable choice for high-refresh-rate monitors and high-resolution displays alike.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and pronounced drop in performance as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly by settings preset. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 228 FPS at 1920x1080 to 147 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 79 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35.5% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.3% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The overall scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings is a 65.4% reduction in average FPS.

The Low preset shows an even steeper curve. At 1080p, the system achieves a massive 354 FPS average. Moving to 1440p drops this to 228 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 123 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35.6%, nearly identical to the High preset, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46.1%. This consistent scaling pattern across presets suggests that the workload scaling is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The Medium preset data includes min and max FPS values, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 271 FPS with a minimum of 230 and maximum of 312. The spread between min and max is 82 FPS, indicating some variance but generally stable performance. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 175 FPS with a min of 149 and max of 201. At 4K Medium, the average is 94 FPS with a min of 80 and max of 108. The min-to-max spread narrows slightly at higher resolutions, suggesting that GPU-bound scenarios produce more consistent frame delivery.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the average is 173 FPS. This drops to 112 FPS at 1440p, and then to exactly 60 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly notable as it represents the lowest performance point in the entire dataset, with the system just maintaining a 60 FPS average at the maximum quality and resolution combination.

These results indicate that at 1080p, the system is largely CPU-bound or at least balanced. The fact that Low settings at 1080p produces 354 FPS versus 228 FPS at High settings shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER has substantial headroom when the CPU can feed it frames quickly. As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor, with the gap between Low and High settings narrowing from 126 FPS at 1080p to 44 FPS at 4K. This compression of performance deltas at higher resolutions is classic evidence of a GPU bottleneck emerging.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for Minimum, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 211 out of 2939 tested combos. This places it in the top 7.2% of all configurations, a strong showing that underscores its high-end positioning. The percentile ranking confirms that this system will outperform the vast majority of other setups in this game, with only a small fraction of combinations delivering higher frame rates.

The CPU's overall benchmark percentile reinforces this strong standing. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holds a 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs, indicating it is among the most powerful processors available. Its average benchmark score of 84,003 puts it in elite company, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (avg score 83,807, deltaPct 0.2), the AMD EPYC 4584PX (avg score 83,090, deltaPct 1.1), and the AMD EPYC 9135 (avg score 82,980, deltaPct 1.2). The data shows this CPU is essentially tied with the Core Ultra 9 285K, being just 0.2% faster, while holding a meaningful 1.1% to 1.2% advantage over the EPYC server chips.

The GPU also performs well relative to its peers. The RTX 4080 SUPER sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,209. Its nearest rival is the standard RTX 4080, which scores 54,247, a delta of -0.1% meaning the SUPER is effectively identical in average performance. The other nearby rivals — the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, deltaPct -1.1), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, deltaPct -2.7), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, deltaPct -2.8) — are all within 3% of the SUPER's score, though the SUPER trails each of them slightly in raw average benchmark terms. This indicates the GPU is well-matched to its performance class, with no single dominant rival in its immediate vicinity.

Given the combination's strong rank, the benchmark results indicate that this system will provide excellent performance in Minimum across all tested settings and resolutions. The only caveat is that at 4K Ultra, the system drops to a 60 FPS average, which may be below the threshold for competitive play on high-refresh-rate displays.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 354 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This highlights the system's capability to deliver extremely high frame rates when GPU load is minimal.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the system averages 60 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it averages 173 FPS. This represents a 65.3% reduction in performance, demonstrating the significant GPU load increase at higher resolutions with maximum quality settings.

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

A: The only minimum FPS values provided are for Medium settings. The lowest minimum is 80 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution on Medium settings. This indicates that even in the most demanding Medium preset scenario, the system maintains a playable frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 211th out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the top 7.2% of all configurations. This means it outperforms over 2,700 other tested setups in Minimum.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GPU, and why does it matter?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s across a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the 10240 shading units at 4K resolutions, where texture and geometry data demands increase substantially.

Q: What is the boost clock of the CPU, and how does it relate to the GPU?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has a boost clock of 5.80 GHz across its 24 cores. At 1080p, this high clock speed helps prevent CPU bottlenecks, allowing the GPU to reach its maximum frame output of 354 FPS at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance capabilities. The Low preset delivers an average of 354 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 271 FPS, with a recorded range of 230 to 312 FPS. The High preset averages 228 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 173 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 181 FPS, showing that settings have a substantial impact on frame rate at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset averages 228 FPS, which matches the 1080p High preset score exactly. The Medium preset averages 175 FPS, with a range of 149 to 201 FPS. The High preset averages 147 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 112 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p narrows to 116 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling is compressing the settings-based performance gap.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is more constrained. The Low preset averages 123 FPS, which is still highly playable. The Medium preset averages 94 FPS, with a range of 80 to 108 FPS. The High preset averages 79 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 63 FPS, further demonstrating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result is notable for being the only preset/resolution combination where the average FPS drops to the 60 FPS threshold, which is often considered the minimum for smooth gameplay.

The data also reveals interesting cross-resolution equivalencies. For instance, 1080p High (228 FPS) matches 1440p Low (228 FPS) exactly, suggesting that the performance cost of increasing resolution from 1080p to 1440p is roughly equivalent to the cost of increasing settings from Low to High. Similarly, 1440p Ultra (112 FPS) is close to 4K Medium (94 FPS), though not identical. These patterns indicate that users can trade off resolution and settings to achieve their target frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER plays a critical role in determining performance at higher resolutions. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the GPU provides a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This is essential for handling the increased texture and geometry data required at 4K resolutions, where the GPU must process over four times as many pixels as 1080p. The benchmark data confirms this, as the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is most pronounced, indicating that pixel throughput is a primary constraint.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2295 MHz base and 2550 MHz boost, which are relatively high for a modern graphics card. These clocks, combined with the 10240 shading units, enable a peak FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS. This raw compute power is what drives the exceptional frame rates seen at 1080p, where the GPU is not fully saturated. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU can produce 354 FPS, suggesting it has significant headroom for even higher frame rates if the CPU could feed it faster.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,209, places it firmly in the high-end segment. Its performance is nearly identical to the standard RTX 4080 (deltaPct -0.1%), indicating that the SUPER variant offers little additional performance in average benchmark terms. The closest rivals from AMD are all within 3% of its score, showing that the GPU is competitive but not dominant in its class.

In the context of Minimum, the GPU's role becomes more critical as resolution increases. At 4K, the difference between Low (123 FPS) and Ultra (60 FPS) is 63 FPS, while at 1080p it is 181 FPS. This compression of settings-based performance gaps at higher resolutions is a clear sign that the GPU's pixel processing capability is the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS average suggests that the GPU is fully utilized at this setting, delivering consistent performance at the threshold of high-refresh-rate gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus serves as the foundation of this system, providing the processing power necessary to avoid bottlenecks at lower resolutions. With 24 cores and 24 threads, the CPU operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This high boost clock is particularly important for gaming, where single-threaded performance often dictates maximum frame rates. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking, with an average benchmark score of 84,003, confirms its position among the fastest processors available.

The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks reinforces its gaming capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51,731 in multicore and 7,303 in single-core tests. The single-core score is critical for gaming, as many game engines rely heavily on a single primary thread. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 further validates this strength. These scores suggest that the CPU can handle even the most demanding game logic without becoming a limiting factor.

At 1080p, the CPU's role is most evident. The fact that the system achieves 354 FPS at Low settings indicates that the CPU can issue draw calls and process game logic fast enough to keep the GPU fully occupied. However, the data also shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck even at 1080p, as the frame rate does not plateau across different settings. The difference between Low (354 FPS) and Ultra (173 FPS) at 1080p is substantial, implying that the GPU is still doing significant work even at the lowest settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is essentially tied with it, showing only a 0.2% difference in average benchmark score. The AMD EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135 are 1.1% and 1.2% slower respectively, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% faster. These small deltas indicate that the Ultra 9 290K Plus is in a performance cluster where no single CPU has a decisive advantage.

In Minimum, the CPU's contribution to overall performance appears to be less critical than the GPU's at higher resolutions. As the resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops are consistent across all settings, suggesting that the CPU is not introducing additional bottlenecks at higher resolutions. The system's strong rank of 211 out of 2939 combos reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where the CPU provides ample headroom for the GPU to operate at its full potential, particularly at lower resolutions where high refresh rates are achievable.