Overpower

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for this AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination reveals a fascinating scaling pattern that shifts dramatically depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the frame rate barely moves when resolution climbs: 199.7 FPS at 1080p drops to 197.2 FPS at 1440p, then to 182.7 FPS at 4K. That is only an 8.5% total decline from 1080p to 4K, which is remarkably small. This suggests that at Low settings, the system is bottlenecked elsewhere — likely by the CPU or memory subsystem — because the GPU has ample headroom to render even 4K frames without breaking a sweat.

Move to Medium settings, and the scaling becomes more pronounced but still relatively gentle. The 1080p result of 169.8 FPS falls to 160.5 FPS at 1440p (a 5.5% drop) and then to 133.8 FPS at 4K (a 21.2% drop from 1080p). The increasing GPU load at 4K begins to show, but the differences remain modest. At High settings, the pattern continues: 165.3 FPS at 1080p, 147.9 FPS at 1440p (10.5% lower), and 127.2 FPS at 4K (23.0% lower). The gap between 1080p and 1440p is now larger than the gap between 1440p and 4K, hinting that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter as resolution climbs.

Ultra settings tell the clearest story. Here, the frame rates are 138.1 FPS at 1080p, 120.5 FPS at 1440p (12.7% lower), and 106.0 FPS at 4K (23.2% lower from 1080p). The scaling is nearly linear in percentage terms, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The data implies that at Ultra, the RTX 5080 is the limiting component across all resolutions, while at Low, the Ryzen 5 5500's six cores and 12 threads become the ceiling. The crossover point — where the GPU starts to dominate — appears to occur somewhere between Low and Medium settings, where the 4K-to-1080p gap widens from 8.5% to 21.2%.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This is a Zen 3 architecture part on the 7 nm process, and its benchmark results paint a picture of a mid-range processor with solid multithreaded capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and single-core score of 2319 place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 20875 sits within 0.2% of its nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-12500, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE, AMD EPYC 7J13, and Intel Core i5-12600T — which means the 5500 is neither a standout nor a laggard in synthetic tests.

In this game, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the Low settings results. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 199.7 FPS, and at 1440p Low, it achieves 197.2 FPS — essentially identical. Even at 4K Low, the system still produces 182.7 FPS. If the GPU were the bottleneck at Low settings, we would expect a much larger drop from 1080p to 4K, since the RTX 5080 would have to render four times the pixels. The fact that the drop is so small indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 is the limiting factor here. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth may be constraining how fast game logic and draw calls can be processed, even though the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates.

The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 6900 and the 3DMark max-thread score of 5411 suggest that the CPU can handle substantial parallel workloads, but the single-thread score of 836 in 3DMark is comparatively modest. This game appears to respond to both thread count and single-thread performance, as evidenced by the fact that the system cannot exceed roughly 200 FPS regardless of resolution at Low settings. The 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate there is headroom for overclocking, but the stock configuration appears to be the limiting factor in low-detail scenarios.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a formidable graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. It carries 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock of 2295 MHz boosts to 2617 MHz, and the card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. Its average benchmark score of 59188 places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Arc A570M (1.6% lower), Intel Arc Pro A60 (1.9% higher), Intel Arc A580 (2.5% lower), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (2.6% lower).

The GPU's influence on this game becomes clear when examining the Ultra settings results. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 106.0 FPS, which is 23.2% lower than the 138.1 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload — as the resolution increases, the GPU must work harder to fill more pixels, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for any of the tested settings, so memory capacity is not a constraint. The bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and memory access are not bottlenecks either.

The 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and the pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s suggest that the RTX 5080 can handle extremely high pixel throughput. Yet at Low settings, the card is clearly underutilized — the system only reaches 182.7 FPS at 4K Low, which is far below what the GPU could theoretically deliver if the CPU kept up. The measured data shows that the RTX 5080's potential is only fully realized at higher quality presets, where the GPU workload becomes substantial enough to shift the bottleneck away from the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, providing twelve data points. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 199.7 FPS, Medium 169.8 FPS, High 165.3 FPS, and Ultra 138.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 29.9 FPS (17.6%), while the gap between Medium and High is only 4.5 FPS (2.7%), and the gap between High and Ultra is 27.2 FPS (16.5%). This suggests that the Medium and High presets are relatively similar in performance impact, while Low and Ultra represent the extreme ends of the spectrum.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 197.2 FPS, Medium 160.5 FPS, High 147.9 FPS, and Ultra 120.5 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 36.7 FPS (18.6%), the Medium-to-High drop is 12.6 FPS (7.8%), and the High-to-Ultra drop is 27.4 FPS (18.5%). The pattern here is slightly different — the Medium-to-High gap is larger than at 1080p, while the High-to-Ultra gap remains substantial.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 182.7 FPS, Medium 133.8 FPS, High 127.2 FPS, and Ultra 106.0 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 48.9 FPS (26.8%), the Medium-to-High drop is 6.6 FPS (4.9%), and the High-to-Ultra drop is 21.2 FPS (16.7%). The Low-to-Medium gap is now the largest across any resolution, indicating that the Medium preset introduces a significant GPU workload increase at 4K. The system never drops below 106.0 FPS in any tested configuration, which means even the most demanding settings remain playable.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This particular combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 124th out of 1744 tested combos in this game. That places it in the top 7.1% of all systems tested, which is an impressive position given that the CPU is a mid-range part from 2022 and the GPU is a high-end card from 2025. The rank of 124 suggests that while the RTX 5080 carries most of the performance weight, the Ryzen 5 5500 does not hold the system back as much as one might expect — at least not in the higher quality presets where the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

However, the rank also implies that there are 123 other combinations that perform better. Given the CPU's position at the 79th percentile and the GPU's position at the 89th percentile, one might expect the combo to rank higher than 124th. The fact that it does not suggests that some systems with weaker GPUs but stronger CPUs may outperform this combination in certain scenarios. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500's modest single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 836) may be limiting the system's ability to fully utilize the RTX 5080's power, particularly at lower resolutions and settings where CPU-bound scenarios dominate.

The combo rank of 124 out of 1744 demonstrates the RTX 5080's raw power, but it also highlights the importance of CPU-GPU balance. A faster CPU with more cache or higher clock speeds (like the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores nearly identically to the Ryzen 5 5500) would likely not change the ranking much, but a CPU with significantly higher single-thread performance could push this combo higher up the list.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Overpower?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 199.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The same resolution at Low is the only configuration that exceeds 199 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 fully utilized at 1080p Low settings?

A: No. The frame rate at 1080p Low is 199.7 FPS, which is only 9.3% higher than at 4K Low (182.7 FPS). This small difference strongly suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at Low settings across all resolutions.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 124th out of 1744 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7.1% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between adjacent settings at any resolution?

A: The largest gap is at 3840x2160, where the difference between Low (182.7 FPS) and Medium (133.8 FPS) is 48.9 FPS, representing a 26.8% drop. This indicates that the Medium preset significantly increases GPU workload at 4K.

Q: Does the CPU's benchmark performance align with its in-game results?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 places it within 0.2% of its nearest rivals. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and single-core score of 2319 suggest a balanced processor, and the in-game data confirms that it can sustain frame rates up to ~200 FPS but cannot push beyond that in CPU-limited scenarios.

Q: Is the system ever below 100 FPS at any tested settings?

A: No. The lowest measured average FPS is 106.0, achieved at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. Every other configuration delivers at least 120.5 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset (169.8 FPS) offers a 4.5 FPS advantage over High (165.3 FPS) while likely providing similar visual quality, making Medium the best balance of performance and fidelity. At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds: Medium (160.5 FPS) beats High (147.9 FPS) by 12.6 FPS, so Medium is the recommended preset.

At 3840x2160, the choice is more nuanced. High (127.2 FPS) beats Ultra (106.0 FPS) by 21.2 FPS, and Medium (133.8 FPS) is only 6.6 FPS higher than High. Given that the High preset likely provides most of the visual benefits of Ultra with a significantly smaller performance cost, High is the recommended setting at 4K. The Ultra preset at any resolution delivers the lowest frame rates — 138.1 FPS at 1080p, 120.5 FPS at 1440p, and 106.0 FPS at 4K — and is only advisable for players who prioritize maximum visual quality and have displays that can take advantage of the higher detail levels.

For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset is the only option, delivering between 182.7 FPS and 199.7 FPS depending on resolution. However, the substantial jump from Low to Medium (between 17.6% and 26.8% at 4K) suggests that Medium offers a significantly better visual experience for a relatively modest frame rate cost. The data indicates that Medium at 1080p (169.8 FPS) is the sweet spot for competitive play, while High at 1440p (147.9 FPS) or 4K (127.2 FPS) provides the best experience for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.