Overpower

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Overpower, but the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution changes. At 1080p, the combination produces exceptional frame rates that appear limited by the CPU's single-thread performance, while at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput becomes the primary constraint. The measured results show a consistent scaling pattern across the four quality presets, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening significantly at higher resolutions, indicating that the graphics card's memory bandwidth and shading power are increasingly taxed as pixel count grows.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable curve, but the magnitude of the drop reveals important architectural characteristics. At the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 269 at 1920x1080 to 204 at 3840x2160, a decline of 65 frames per second (roughly 24%). This relatively modest reduction suggests that at Low settings, the system is not yet fully GPU-bound even at 4K, as the CPU's 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock are capable of feeding the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput without becoming a limiting factor.

The Medium preset shows a steeper drop, from 168 FPS at 1080p to 127 FPS at 4K, losing 41 FPS (approximately 24%). This pattern continues with High settings, where the average falls from 156 FPS at 1920x1080 to 118 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 38 FPS (about 24%). The Ultra preset exhibits the most significant absolute decline, dropping from 130 FPS at 1080p to 98 FPS at 4K, a loss of 32 FPS (roughly 25%).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets is notable. It suggests that the scaling penalty is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, meaning the additional pixel workload at 4K imposes a near-uniform cost regardless of visual complexity. The fact that the 4K Ultra result (98 FPS) remains above the 60 FPS threshold indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the game's most demanding configuration without catastrophic frame rate collapse.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER's specifications directly explain its behavior in Overpower. With 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the GPU possesses substantial parallel processing capability. The 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores further enhance its ability to handle the game's action-oriented rendering demands. The boost clock of 2550 MHz, combined with a base clock of 2295 MHz, allows the card to maintain high utilization across all tested resolutions.

The memory subsystem plays a critical role in the 4K results. The 16 GB GDDR6X capacity, operating at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yields 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This figure is sufficient to feed the GPU's compute units at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 98 FPS average. However, the difference between the 4K Medium (127 FPS) and 4K High (118 FPS) results indicates that texture-heavy effects begin to exert measurable pressure on the memory interface, though not enough to cause frame pacing issues (the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 108 at 4K confirms stable delivery).

The GPU's performance percentile of 86 versus all GPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 54,209 aligns closely with its nearest rivals. The RTX 4080 (non-SUPER) scores 54,247, a delta of -0.1%, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, putting the RTX 4080 SUPER 2.7% behind that card. These synthetic benchmarks correlate with the in-game results, where the card consistently delivers playable frame rates at every resolution and preset combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K's contribution to Overpower becomes most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. The processor's 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, provide substantial single-thread performance that is critical for the game's action mechanics. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,262.5 and multi-core score of 39,399.5 demonstrate the CPU's balanced capability, with the 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirming its top-tier status.

At 1080p Low, the 269 FPS average indicates that the CPU is able to maintain a very high frame delivery rate, but the scaling to 4K Low (204 FPS) shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. The 65 FPS difference between these two results is entirely attributable to the GPU's pixel throughput, since the CPU's workload remains constant regardless of resolution. The fact that the 1080p Low result (269 FPS) does not exceed 300 FPS suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance, while excellent, still imposes an upper bound on frame rate in this scenario.

The CPU's nearest rivals show minimal performance separation. The Core i9-14900KF averages 79,371 (a -0.3% delta), while the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus averages 79,574 (-0.6%). The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80,041 (-1.2%), and the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77,740 (+1.7%). These small deltas indicate that the i9-14900K is not leaving significant performance on the table in CPU-bound scenarios, which is consistent with the game's ability to maintain 269 FPS at 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. For players targeting 4K, the High preset (118 FPS) offers the best compromise between image quality and performance, as the step from High to Ultra costs 20 FPS (from 118 to 98) while the step from Medium to High costs only 9 FPS (from 127 to 118). The Ultra preset's 98 FPS remains playable, but the 17% reduction from High makes it less attractive unless absolute visual quality is paramount.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (139 FPS) is similarly optimal, with Ultra (115 FPS) representing a 24 FPS penalty for marginal visual gains. The Medium preset (150 FPS) provides a smoother experience if frame rate consistency is prioritized, and its minimum FPS of 127 ensures no noticeable stuttering. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1440p (240 FPS) delivers the highest refresh rate compatibility, though the visual downgrade is substantial.

At 1920x1080, the High preset (156 FPS) is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides a 26 FPS advantage over Ultra (130 FPS) with only modest visual differences. The Medium preset (168 FPS) offers additional headroom for high-refresh displays, and its minimum FPS of 143 guarantees smooth gameplay. The Low preset (269 FPS) is only advisable for esports-focused players who prioritize maximum frame rate over all other considerations.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The maximum measured average is 269 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The 2560x1440 Low preset achieves 240 FPS, and the 3840x2160 Low preset reaches 204 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the 3840x2160 Ultra preset yields an average of 98 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum FPS for this configuration is not listed, but the Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 108 FPS.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 26 FPS (156 to 130). At 1440p, the difference is 24 FPS (139 to 115). At 4K, the difference is 20 FPS (118 to 98).

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest gap between Low and Ultra?

A: The 3840x2160 resolution shows a 106 FPS difference (204 Low vs 98 Ultra). The 2560x1440 resolution shows a 125 FPS difference (240 Low vs 115 Ultra), and 1920x1080 shows a 139 FPS difference (269 Low vs 130 Ultra).

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU imposes an upper bound at 1080p Low, where the 269 FPS result is likely near the processor's maximum frame delivery capability. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 108, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The 2560x1440 Medium preset has a minimum of 127 FPS, and the 1920x1080 Medium preset has a minimum of 143 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results show a clear progression across settings. The Low preset averages 269 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combination. Medium produces 168 FPS with a minimum of 143 and a maximum of 193, indicating a stable frame delivery. High averages 156 FPS, while Ultra drops to 130 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not fully utilized at this resolution, as the frame rate differences between settings are relatively modest compared to higher resolutions.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute values. Low averages 240 FPS, Medium averages 150 FPS (minimum 127, maximum 172), High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 115 FPS. The 1440p Medium result's minimum of 127 FPS confirms that the system maintains smooth performance even during demanding scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p (125 FPS) is larger than at 1080p (139 FPS), reflecting the increased GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance scaling becomes more pronounced. Low averages 204 FPS, Medium averages 127 FPS (minimum 108, maximum 147), High averages 118 FPS, and Ultra averages 98 FPS. The 4K Medium result's minimum of 108 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum, but it still remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K results show that the GPU's 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for all presets, though the Ultra preset's 98 FPS average indicates that the card is approaching its practical limit at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 240th out of 3,713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the top 6.5% of all configurations. This rank reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the 4K Ultra result of 98 FPS being particularly strong. The ranking is consistent with the CPU's 95th percentile performance among all processors and the GPU's 86th percentile among all graphics cards.

The CPU's nearest rivals show minimal impact on the overall combo ranking. The Core i9-14900KF, which averages 79,371 in synthetic benchmarks (-0.3% delta), would likely produce nearly identical in-game results. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (-0.6%) and AMD EPYC 7413 (-1.2%) represent slightly higher synthetic scores, but these differences are unlikely to translate into meaningful FPS gains in Overpower given the game's GPU-bound nature at higher resolutions.

The GPU's position relative to its rivals is more relevant to the combo's rank. The RTX 4080 (non-SUPER) scores 54,247 (-0.1% delta), making the two cards virtually interchangeable in performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, -1.1%) and RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, -2.7%) show higher synthetic scores, but these do not necessarily indicate superior gaming performance. The AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, -2.8%) also scores higher, yet the RTX 4080 SUPER's in-game results at 4K Ultra (98 FPS) suggest that the card's real-world performance is competitive with these nominally faster alternatives. The rank of 240 out of 3,713 combos indicates that the i9-14900K + RTX 4080 SUPER pairing is well above average, with only a small fraction of tested configurations delivering better frame rates in this action title.