Overpower

Overpower is a 2023 action title that puts a heavy load on both the CPU and GPU, and the Intel Core i9-14900K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a playable experience across all tested settings, though the balance between the two components shifts dramatically depending on resolution. The measured data shows a system that can push high refresh rates at 1080p but settles into a more conservative 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, revealing a clear performance ceiling set by the graphics card rather than the processor.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, which tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 164 at 1920x1080 to 146 at 2560x1440, then down to 124 at 3840x2160. That is a 12% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 15% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear, which is typical for a scenario where the GPU is doing most of the work.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 102 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 11% and 15%, respectively. High settings show 95 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K, with drops of 11% and 15% again. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 79 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K, representing a 11% and 14% decline between steps.

The consistent ~11-15% drop per resolution tier indicates that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are the limiting factors, not the CPU. The i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads are more than capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, but as pixel count increases, the GPU's compute throughput and memory bandwidth become the deciding factor. The data suggests that dropping from 4K to 1440p yields a meaningful 13-18% performance uplift depending on settings, making 1440p the sweet spot for players who want higher frame rates without sacrificing visual quality.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Overpower at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, the data shows 60 FPS at 4K Ultra and 72 FPS at 4K High. The 4K Medium setting achieves 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold most players consider playable.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 164 FPS while Ultra averages 79 FPS. That is a 108% increase in frame rate when dropping from Ultra to Low, showing a massive performance headroom for competitive play.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score is 26331, which puts it 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 860M and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary. It is 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT.

Q: Does the CPU become a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: Benchmark results indicate the i9-14900K is not the limiting component in any tested configuration. The CPU scores in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, and the frame rate scaling with resolution suggests the GPU is always the bottleneck in Overpower.

Q: What is the best setting for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 146 FPS, which is the only tested configuration that comes close to 144Hz. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 102 FPS, which is also above 100 FPS. For 144Hz, you would need to use Low settings at 1440p or accept a lower resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The loss varies by preset. At Low settings, the drop is 40 FPS (164 to 124). At Medium, it is 25 FPS (102 to 77). At High, it is 23 FPS (95 to 72). At Ultra, it is 19 FPS (79 to 60). The percentage loss ranges from 24% at Low to 32% at Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of performance in Overpower, and its specifications reveal why it behaves the way it does. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is a modest memory configuration for a modern action game, and the data suggests it becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions where texture data and frame buffers demand more capacity.

The RTX 5060's clock speeds are a mixed bag for this title. The base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These are not particularly aggressive clocks, and the GPU's 3840 shading units produce a FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS. In Overpower, this translates to 164 FPS at 1080p Low, but the frame rate drops to 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 63% reduction. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its 20891 Passmark G3D score suggest a mid-range part that struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The memory bandwidth is likely the biggest constraint. At 448.0 GB/s, the RTX 5060 has less bandwidth than many higher-tier cards from previous generations. The measured frame rate differences between presets at the same resolution are telling: at 1440p, Low averages 146 FPS while Ultra averages 70 FPS, a 108% difference. This indicates that the GPU's compute units and memory subsystem are heavily taxed by the higher visual fidelity settings, which likely increase texture resolution, shadow complexity, and post-processing effects. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the card is likely hitting the memory ceiling, which explains why the average FPS at 4K Ultra is exactly 60, a common target for console-like performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of how this system performs across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 164 FPS, Medium averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 118, High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 79 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 38% performance drop, while the jump from High to Ultra is a 17% drop. This suggests that the Medium preset is a significant step up in visual quality but comes at a steep cost, while the High to Ultra step is more modest in comparison.

At 2560x1440, the data shows: Low averages 146 FPS, Medium averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 and maximum of 105, High averages 85 FPS, and Ultra averages 70 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 38%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower. The minimum FPS at Medium is 77, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the frame pacing is stable even when the average is below 100.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low averages 124 FPS, Medium averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89, High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that breaks 100 FPS at 4K, and the Ultra preset sits exactly at 60 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium is 66, which is playable but close to the edge of what most players would consider smooth. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently has the tightest min-max range, suggesting it is the most stable setting in terms of frame pacing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear recommendation for most players: the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 91 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold and provides a smooth experience on standard 60Hz and 75Hz monitors. The High preset at 1440p averages 85 FPS, which is only 6 FPS lower, but the Medium preset's tighter min-max range (77-105) suggests more consistent frame delivery.

For players with 1080p monitors, the High preset at 95 FPS is a solid choice, but the Medium preset at 102 FPS offers a 7% performance uplift with presumably similar visual quality. The data shows that the Low preset at 1080p (164 FPS) is the only configuration that can take full advantage of 144Hz or 165Hz displays, making it the pick for competitive players who prioritize frame rate over visuals.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The Medium preset at 77 FPS is the best option for smooth gameplay, as it stays above 60 FPS and has a minimum of 66 FPS. The High preset at 72 FPS is acceptable, but the Ultra preset at exactly 60 FPS leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 124 FPS is the only way to get high refresh rates at 4K, but the visual sacrifice is likely too steep for most players. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is only suitable for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate stability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for gaming workloads. In Overpower, the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain similar regardless of resolution, but the data shows a consistent drop as resolution increases.

The i9-14900K's benchmark scores reinforce this assessment. It scores 39399.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2262.5 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21697 and single-core score of 2655. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4697 is strong, and its 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates top-tier performance. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, scores 79371 on average, which is 0.3% higher, while the AMD EPYC 7413 is 1.2% higher and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is 1.7% lower.

In practical terms, the CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient for Overpower's action game workload. The game benefits from the high single-core performance for game logic and physics, and the multi-core headroom ensures that background tasks do not interfere with frame delivery. The boost clock of 6.00 GHz is particularly relevant for gaming, as it allows the CPU to reach maximum frequency on demanding threads. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU manages to feed the RTX 5060 enough data to hit 164 FPS, indicating that the processor has plenty of headroom. The data shows that upgrading the CPU would provide no measurable benefit in Overpower; the RTX 5060 is the component that determines performance in all tested configurations.