Overpower

Overpower, the 2023 action title, presents a demanding workload that stresses both the processor and graphics card. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, using only the provided benchmark data to determine optimal settings and characterize the system's capabilities across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a clear hierarchy across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 118 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this system at any resolution or setting. The Medium preset drops to 74 FPS, High to 68 FPS, and Ultra to 57 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium represents a 44 FPS loss, indicating that the Low preset is uniquely positioned to exploit the hardware's full potential at this resolution.

For players prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended choice. The data shows a 44 FPS advantage over Medium, which is a substantial margin that ensures high refresh rate displays are adequately fed. While the Medium preset at 74 FPS is still playable, the performance cost of moving from Low to Medium is disproportionately high relative to the visual gains typically expected in this genre.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low delivers 105 FPS, Medium 66 FPS, High 61 FPS, and Ultra 51 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 39 FPS, but Low remains the only preset that consistently exceeds the 100 FPS threshold. The Medium preset here provides a 66 FPS average, which remains above the 60 FPS playability standard but offers less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS except Low, which records 89 FPS. Medium falls to 56 FPS, High to 52 FPS, and Ultra to 43 FPS. Given that the Medium preset at 4K includes a measured minimum of 47 FPS, the experience can dip below smooth gameplay thresholds. The Low preset is the only option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS at this resolution.

The optimal experience across all resolutions is the Low preset. This is not a recommendation based on visual quality, but purely on the measured frame rate data. The system shows a consistent pattern where Low unlocks significantly higher performance, making it the only preset that provides both high average FPS and adequate minimum frame rate headroom for an action game where responsiveness is critical.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2334 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower. This places the system in the bottom 21.7% of all tested configurations, indicating that while the system is functional, it is not positioned for high-end performance in this title.

The CPU component of this combo, the Core Ultra 5 225, holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs. This suggests the processor is capable, but the overall combo ranking is dragged down by the GPU. The RTX 2060, with a 58th percentile among all GPUs, is the weaker link in this pairing. The data indicates that the GPU's performance ceiling, particularly its 6 GB VRAM and Turing architecture, limits the system's overall standing in Overpower.

Comparing the combo rank to the individual component percentiles reveals a significant discrepancy. The CPU's 85th percentile is far above the combo's 21.7th percentile, while the GPU's 58th percentile is also higher. This suggests that the combination of these two specific parts creates a bottleneck that neither component's individual strength can overcome. The system is held back by the GPU's inability to keep pace with the CPU's capabilities in this game's specific rendering workload.

The low combo ranking does not mean the system is unusable. The measured FPS data shows playable frame rates at lower settings. However, the ranking clarifies that this configuration is not competitive with the majority of tested systems. Users should temper expectations regarding high-settings performance, as the data consistently shows that the system's best results come from the Low preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the primary performance limiter in this configuration. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 1680 MHz and base clock of 1365 MHz define its processing throughput, which is further characterized by 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs.

In Overpower, the GPU's role is evident in the frame rate scaling across settings. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Medium costs 44 FPS, while High costs 50 FPS and Ultra costs 61 FPS relative to Low. This steep drop-off suggests that the GPU's compute resources and memory bandwidth are quickly saturated as visual complexity increases. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely a contributing factor, as higher presets typically increase texture memory usage.

The GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range category. Its average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, which scores 15283 with a 0% delta. The RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 with a 0.6% delta, and the Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171 with a 0.8% delta. These rivals all perform within 1% of each other, indicating that the RTX 2060 is firmly in a performance tier that struggles with modern action games at higher presets.

The GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 53 in Passmark is notably low, which aligns with the game's performance pattern. The RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, but the measured scores suggest that its real-world execution of modern graphics workloads is limited. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 reinforces this, showing modest performance in a current-generation test.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 118 FPS on Low, 74 FPS on Medium, 68 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset includes a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS, providing a 22 FPS variance. This resolution is the only one where the system approaches high refresh rate territory, but only on the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 105 FPS on Low, 66 FPS on Medium, 61 FPS on High, and 51 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset here records a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS, a 20 FPS variance. The drop from 1080p to 1440p costs 13 FPS on Low, 8 FPS on Medium, 7 FPS on High, and 6 FPS on Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 89 FPS on Low, 56 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 43 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset includes a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, a 17 FPS variance. The drop from 1440p to 4K costs 16 FPS on Low, 10 FPS on Medium, 9 FPS on High, and 8 FPS on Ultra.

The data reveals that the Low preset's advantage grows with resolution. At 1080p, Low is 44 FPS ahead of Medium. At 1440p, the gap is 39 FPS. At 4K, the gap is 33 FPS. While the absolute gap narrows, Low remains the only preset that maintains over 60 FPS at all resolutions. The Ultra preset never exceeds 57 FPS at any resolution, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay in this action title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for this system in Overpower?

A: The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates at every resolution. At 1920x1080 it averages 118 FPS, at 2560x1440 it averages 105 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it averages 89 FPS. No other preset exceeds 74 FPS at any resolution.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Only with the Low preset, which averages 89 FPS at 3840x2160. The Medium preset averages 56 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets average 52 FPS and 43 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290. The GTX 580 scores 15283 with a 0% delta, the Radeon 680M scores 15270 with a 0.1% delta, the RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 with a 0.6% delta, and the Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171 with a 0.8% delta. All are within 1% of each other.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 36938, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945 with a 0% delta.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The combo ranks 2334 out of 2980, which is low. The CPU's 85th percentile is much higher than the combo's rank, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The GPU's 58th percentile is also below the CPU's, supporting this conclusion.

Q: What is the frame rate variance on Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium has a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. At 2560x1440, the range is 56 to 76 FPS. At 3840x2160, the range is 47 to 64 FPS. The variance is consistent across resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 provides the computational foundation for this system. It features 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The processor is built on a 3 nm process and includes 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Its 65 W TDP indicates efficient power usage.

In Overpower, the CPU's role is best understood through its benchmark scores. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 demonstrate strong processing capability. The Passmark multithread score of 30459 and single-thread score of 4412 further confirm its competence. These scores place the CPU in the 85th percentile, suggesting it has ample headroom for gaming workloads.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor in this game. The frame rates are consistently tied to the GPU's capabilities, as evidenced by the sharp drops when increasing graphical presets. The CPU's 10-core configuration is sufficient for modern action games, which typically utilize multiple threads for physics, AI, and scene management.

The CPU's nearest rivals all have nearly identical average scores. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36945 with a 0% delta, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 with a -0.2% delta, the Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 with a -0.4% delta, and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 with a -0.5% delta. This tight grouping confirms that the Core Ultra 5 225 is competitive with other mid-range processors.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support provide sufficient data throughput for the GPU. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has a high-bandwidth connection to the rest of the system. These factors contribute to the CPU's ability to feed the GPU effectively, even if the GPU cannot fully utilize that feed.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals the system's bottleneck characteristics. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the Low preset drops from 118 FPS to 105 FPS, a 13 FPS loss. The Medium preset drops from 74 to 66 FPS, an 8 FPS loss. The High preset drops from 68 to 61 FPS, a 7 FPS loss. The Ultra preset drops from 57 to 51 FPS, a 6 FPS loss.

Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the Low preset drops from 105 to 89 FPS, a 16 FPS loss. The Medium preset drops from 66 to 56 FPS, a 10 FPS loss. The High preset drops from 61 to 52 FPS, a 9 FPS loss. The Ultra preset drops from 51 to 43 FPS, an 8 FPS loss.

The pattern shows that lower presets experience larger absolute frame rate drops with increasing resolution. This indicates that at Low settings, the system is more dependent on the GPU's pixel processing capabilities, which scale directly with resolution. At higher presets, the GPU is already limited, so adding resolution causes relatively smaller absolute losses.

The Low preset maintains playable frame rates at all resolutions, with 89 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the GPU's rasterization throughput is sufficient when the shading workload is minimized. The Medium preset falls below 60 FPS at 4K, indicating that the GPU's compute units are saturated once additional effects and lighting are enabled.

The scaling behavior confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's performance does not degrade with resolution, yet the frame rates drop by up to 29 FPS from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset. This is a GPU-bound workload where the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and Turing architecture determine the system's ultimate performance ceiling in Overpower.