Overpower

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti lands at rank 1448 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower. That places this configuration almost exactly in the middle of the database's tested pairings, which is a notable outcome given the individual components' standings. The CPU sits in the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile among all graphics cards, yet their combined performance for this specific title doesn't boost them higher than the 48.6th percentile of tested combos. This suggests that Overpower's demands don't reward the pairing as strongly as their separate benchmark profiles might imply.

The gap between the CPU's high percentile ranking and the combo's middling position hints at a workload that leans heavily on the graphics subsystem rather than the processor. The Core Ultra 5 235's average benchmark score of 46062 puts it in a tight cluster with rivals like the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, only 0.1% apart) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, 0.1% lower). Meanwhile, the RTX 3060 Ti's average score of 16129 sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16014, 0.7% off) and the Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, 1.4% higher). Neither component is a runaway leader in its class, so the combo's mid-pack ranking in Overpower reflects a balanced but not exceptional pairing.

What's more telling is that the combo rank doesn't align neatly with either component's percentile. A CPU in the top 11% globally and a GPU in the top 41% should theoretically produce a more favorable combined result. The data implies Overpower has specific bottlenecks or optimization patterns that prevent this hardware from punching above its weight. The measured FPS figures across resolutions and settings will clarify whether the limiting factor shifts between the CPU and GPU depending on the configuration.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1410 MHz with a boost up to 1665 MHz, while the memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place it as a capable mid-range card from the GeForce 30-series, built on Samsung's 8 nm process with the GA104 chip. The 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs provide the raw throughput, backed by 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores for ray tracing and DLSS workloads.

In Overpower, the GPU's influence becomes apparent when examining the FPS scaling across settings at each resolution. At 4K (3840x2160), the jump from Low to High settings drops the average FPS from 121 to 70, a 42% reduction. Moving from High to Ultra at the same resolution further reduces performance to 58 FPS. This steep decline with each settings tier indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K, as the additional graphical load directly translates to lower frame rates. The 8 GB VRAM capacity may also factor into these results, particularly at higher resolutions and settings where memory pressure increases.

The card's position among rivals reinforces its mid-range standing. The RTX 3060 Ti's average benchmark score of 16129 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 9060's 16014 (0.7% difference), suggesting these two cards would perform similarly in most titles. The Radeon Pro 5600M and RX 5700 XT score slightly higher at 16351 and 16361 respectively, each about 1.4% above the 3060 Ti. These narrow margins mean the GPU's contribution to Overpower's frame rates falls within a predictable band for its class, with no unexpected spikes or deficits visible in the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience for this combo in Overpower. Medium settings stand out as the sweet spot across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium produces 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 and maximum of 114, creating a smooth and consistent frame pacing. At 1440p, Medium yields 89 FPS with a 75-102 range, still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for responsive gameplay. Even at 4K, Medium maintains 75 FPS with a 64-87 range, making it the only settings tier that stays consistently above 60 FPS at the highest resolution.

High settings offer a modest visual upgrade but at a measurable performance cost. At 1080p, High drops to 92 FPS average, which remains playable, but at 1440p it falls to 82 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 70 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs roughly 8-10% of performance at each resolution, which may be acceptable for players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate headroom. However, the data suggests that the visual difference between Medium and High in Overpower doesn't justify the performance penalty for this hardware combination.

Ultra settings are the least advisable choice. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 77 FPS, but this falls to 68 FPS at 1440p and 58 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result dips below 60 FPS, which introduces potential stuttering on displays with variable refresh rates. Low settings, while producing the highest frame rates (159 FPS at 1080p, 142 FPS at 1440p, 121 FPS at 4K), sacrifice too much visual quality for the marginal gain over Medium. The data indicates Medium is the optimal balance, offering the best combination of frame rate stability and visual quality across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3060 Ti with the Core Ultra 5 235 delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce 159 FPS average, which represents the peak for this resolution. Medium follows at 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 and maximum of 114, showing a tight frame time distribution. High settings drop to 92 FPS, while Ultra brings up the rear at 77 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 51.6% performance reduction, indicating that each settings tier imposes a significant graphical load at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern remains consistent but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings yield 142 FPS, a 10.7% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium produces 89 FPS (75-102 range), which is 11% below the 1080p Medium score. High settings deliver 82 FPS, and Ultra falls to 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 52.1%, nearly identical to the 1080p spread, suggesting the GPU handles the resolution change proportionally across all settings.

At 3840x2160, performance takes a more significant hit. Low settings still manage 121 FPS, but Medium drops to 75 FPS (64-87 range), High falls to 70 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 58 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction at 4K is 52.1%, matching the other resolutions' scaling patterns. However, the absolute numbers reveal that 4K Medium is roughly equivalent to 1440p Ultra (75 vs 68 FPS), and 4K High barely outperforms 1440p Ultra (70 vs 68 FPS). This indicates that the GPU's capabilities are stretched thin at 4K, with only Low settings providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K varies by settings tier, which reveals how the workload scales with pixel count. At Low settings, the drop from 159 FPS at 1080p to 121 FPS at 4K represents a 23.9% reduction. Medium settings fall from 100 FPS to 75 FPS, a 25% decrease. High settings drop from 92 FPS to 70 FPS, a 23.9% reduction. Ultra settings decline from 77 FPS to 58 FPS, a 24.7% drop. These percentages are remarkably consistent across all settings tiers, hovering around 24-25%.

This uniformity suggests that the limiting component doesn't change as resolution increases. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we'd expect the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K to be smaller at lower settings (where the CPU has more work to do) and larger at higher settings (where the GPU becomes more dominant). Instead, the proportional decline remains steady, indicating that the GPU is the consistent limiting factor across all resolutions and settings in Overpower.

The 1440p results reinforce this interpretation. From 1080p to 1440p, Low settings drop from 159 to 142 FPS (10.7% decrease), Medium from 100 to 89 FPS (11% decrease), High from 92 to 82 FPS (10.9% decrease), and Ultra from 77 to 68 FPS (11.7% decrease). Again, the percentage reductions are nearly identical across settings. The step from 1440p to 4K shows larger drops (14.8% for Low, 15.7% for Medium, 14.6% for High, 14.7% for Ultra), but the consistency within each resolution step confirms the GPU-bound nature of this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 brings 14 cores and 14 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.40 GHz with a boost up to 5.00 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip, built on TSMC's 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors, features a 24 MB shared L3 cache alongside 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 per core. The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) position it as a mainstream desktop processor with solid multi-threaded capabilities.

In Overpower, the CPU's influence appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low (159 FPS), the frame rate far exceeds what most games would require from a CPU, suggesting the processor is keeping pace with the GPU's output. The Cinebench R23 scores (14769 multi-core, 2085 single-core) and Passmark results (37816 multi-thread, 4516 single-thread) indicate strong general-purpose performance that should not bottleneck this GPU in most scenarios. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus the GPU's 59 percentile further supports the notion that the processor has headroom to spare.

However, the combo's mid-pack ranking in Overpower (1448 of 2980) implies that the game doesn't heavily utilize the CPU's capabilities. If Overpower were CPU-bound, we'd expect the combo rank to align more closely with the CPU's high percentile. Instead, the GPU's lower percentile seems to dominate the combined result. The Core Ultra 5 235's nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% lower), and AMD EPYC processors (0.2% higher)—all score within a fraction of a percent, confirming the CPU is performing as expected for its class.

FAQ

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

A: Medium settings provide the optimal experience across all resolutions. The data shows 100 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 75 FPS at 4K, with minimum frame rates of 85, 75, and 64 respectively, keeping every resolution above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 235 scores 46062 on average, sitting within 0.2% of its nearest competitors. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098 (0.1% lower), and the AMD EPYC 4364P scores 45970 (0.2% lower).

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor in Overpower?

A: Yes, the data indicates the RTX 3060 Ti is the primary bottleneck. The FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K remains consistent at roughly 24-25% across all settings tiers, which would not occur if the CPU were constraining performance.

Q: Does 4K Ultra settings provide a playable experience?

A: Barely. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 58 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS standard. The minimum FPS is not recorded, but the average suggests occasional dips below 60 could occur, making this the only settings/resolution combination that fails to maintain smooth performance.

Q: How much performance is lost moving from Low to Ultra settings?

A: The reduction is approximately 51.6% at 1080p (159 to 77 FPS), 52.1% at 1440p (142 to 68 FPS), and 52.1% at 4K (121 to 58 FPS). This consistent percentage across resolutions shows the settings tiers impose a uniform graphical load.

Q: What is the GPU's standing among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti ranks in the 59th percentile with an average benchmark score of 16129. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16014 (0.7% lower), while the Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351 (1.4% higher).