Overpower

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Overpower, placing this combination in the 602nd position out of 2,980 tested combos. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows signs of CPU limitation at 1080p, particularly with lower graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of decline is not uniform across all settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 213 FPS at 1920x1080 to 190 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 23 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average falls further to 161 FPS, representing a cumulative drop of 52 FPS from the 1080p baseline. This modest scaling — only a 24.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K — suggests that at Low settings, the limiting factor shifts away from the GPU, as the RTX 4090 is not being fully stressed at lower internal resolutions.

The scaling pattern for Medium settings is more pronounced. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 133, which drops to 118 at 2560x1440 (an 11.3% decrease) and then to 101 at 3840x2160 (a 24.1% decrease from 1080p). This steeper decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, with the added pixel count directly impacting the render workload. The minimum FPS figures for Medium settings also scale accordingly, from 113 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p and finally 86 at 4K.

High settings show a similar trend, with average FPS going from 123 at 1920x1080 to 110 at 2560x1440 and 93 at 3840x2160. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 24.4%, nearly identical to the Low setting scaling, which is notable. This suggests that while the absolute frame rates are lower for High settings, the relative impact of resolution is consistent across these two presets, pointing to a similar balance between CPU and GPU load.

Ultra settings exhibit the largest absolute drop, starting at 102 FPS for 1920x1080, falling to 91 FPS at 2560x1440, and reaching 78 FPS at 3840x2160. The 23.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K is the smallest relative decline among all presets, which is counterintuitive at first glance. This behavior implies that at Ultra settings, the game’s engine is more consistently GPU-bound even at 1080p, so the incremental load from higher resolutions has a comparatively smaller effect on the frame rate. The data overall shows that this combo is capable of maintaining playable frame rates at all resolutions, but the margin for Ultra settings at 4K (78 FPS) is significantly thinner than the headroom available at Low settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it features 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs according to aggregate benchmark scores, with an average benchmark score of 34,083. The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, scores 33,989, a negligible 0.3% difference, indicating that the 165H is positioned at the upper mid-range of mobile processors.

In Overpower, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p resolution with Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 213. This figure is well above the 4K High result of 93 FPS, and the gap suggests that at lower resolutions and graphical loads, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to achieve very high frame rates. The fact that the 1080p Low score (213 FPS) is only 11.7% higher than the 1080p Medium score (133 FPS) indicates that the CPU is not the sole limiting factor even at the lowest settings; the GPU still plays a significant role.

The processor’s multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,551, suggests it can handle the background tasks and physics calculations that Overpower might demand. However, the single-core score of 1,759 in the same test is more relevant for gaming, as many game engines rely heavily on single-thread performance for main game logic. The 165H’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz likely contributes to the strong 1080p Low results, but the data does not show a scenario where the CPU becomes the sole bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 78 is likely limited by the GPU’s rendering capabilities, not the CPU, as the frame rate is substantially lower than the CPU’s demonstrated potential at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a flagship mobile GPU built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, alongside 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This hardware places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347.

In the context of Overpower, the RTX 4090’s role is to render the game’s graphical effects, and the measured FPS data reveals its dominance at all resolutions. The GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth are not likely to be a limiting factor in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 78 suggests that the GPU is being pushed to its limits but not necessarily running out of VRAM. The 24 GB frame buffer is more than sufficient for the game’s requirements at the tested settings.

The performance deltas between the RTX 4090 and its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks are minimal. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60,326, a 0% difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140, which is 0.3% lower. This indicates that the RTX 4090’s raw compute power, as measured by synthetic benchmarks, is closely matched by some workstation-oriented GPUs. However, in Overpower, the RTX 4090’s gaming-specific optimizations and driver support likely contribute to the high frame rates observed, such as the 161 FPS average at 4K Low and 213 FPS at 1080p Low.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS and its 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are likely the key factors in achieving the frame rates seen at higher resolutions. The scaling from 4K Medium (101 FPS) to 4K Ultra (78 FPS) shows a 22.8% reduction, which is a direct consequence of the increased shader complexity and texture detail at the Ultra preset. The RTX 4090’s performance in Overpower is consistently strong, with the lowest average FPS being 78 at 4K Ultra, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 213 at Low settings to 102 at Ultra settings. The Medium setting yields an average of 133 FPS with a minimum of 113 and a maximum of 153, while High settings produce 123 FPS on average. This spread of 111 FPS between the lowest and highest presets at 1080p highlights the significant impact of graphical settings on frame rate.

For 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 190 (Low), 118 (Medium), 110 (High), and 91 (Ultra). The Medium setting again shows a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 136 FPS, indicating a consistent frame pacing. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 99 FPS, which is slightly less than at 1080p, showing that the GPU’s workload increases more proportionally with resolution than with settings.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 161 (Low), 101 (Medium), 93 (High), and 78 (Ultra). The Medium setting’s minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 116 FPS show that even at 4K, the frame rate can fluctuate, but the average remains playable. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 83 FPS, which is the smallest across all resolutions, reinforcing the idea that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution regardless of the preset chosen.

The data shows that the RTX 4090 is capable of pushing Overpower to high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with even the Ultra preset at 1440p (91 FPS) exceeding the 60 FPS target. At 4K, the Ultra preset’s 78 FPS average is still playable, but the headroom is reduced. The combination of the 165H and RTX 4090 delivers a well-rounded performance profile, with no single resolution or setting showing a catastrophic drop in frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

According to the measured data, this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 602nd out of 2,980 tested combos in Overpower. This places it in the top 20.2% of all tested configurations. The ranking reflects the overall performance of the combo across all measured resolutions and settings, and it indicates that while the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU, the 165H’s mid-range CPU performance prevents this combo from reaching the very top of the rankings.

The CPU’s percentile of 84 among all CPUs and the GPU’s percentile of 88 among all GPUs suggest that this combo is well-matched in terms of tier, but the CPU’s lower relative standing compared to the GPU means that in CPU-bound scenarios, such as 1080p Low, the system does not achieve the absolute maximum possible frame rates. The rank of 602 out of 2,980 suggests that there are 601 combos that perform better in Overpower, likely featuring higher-end desktop CPUs paired with the same or similar GPUs.

The nearest rivals for the CPU in aggregate benchmarks, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H with a 0.3% higher score, indicate that the 165H is not a top-tier processor. This is reflected in the game’s rankings, where combos with CPUs that have higher single-thread performance would likely achieve higher frame rates at 1080p. However, the GPU’s strength ensures that at higher resolutions like 4K, where the GPU is the bottleneck, this combo’s performance is competitive with many others, as the RTX 4090’s raw power dominates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Overpower?*

A: The highest average FPS measured is 213, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 161 at Low settings to 78 at Ultra settings, with Medium at 101 FPS and High at 93 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The minimum FPS recorded is 86, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only measured minimum FPS below 100.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 213 suggests the CPU is not the sole bottleneck, but the difference between Low and Medium (213 vs 133 FPS) indicates the GPU still plays a significant role even at lower settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 602nd out of 2,980 tested combinations in Overpower, placing it in the top 20.2% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium setting averages 118 FPS, while the Ultra setting averages 91 FPS, representing a 27 FPS difference.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the desired frame rate and resolution. For players targeting 60 FPS or higher, all settings at all resolutions are viable, as the lowest average FPS is 78 at 4K Ultra. However, for a smooth experience with high refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 133 FPS with a minimum of 113 FPS, providing a consistent experience that is well above the 100 FPS mark. The High preset at 123 FPS is also excellent, but the Medium preset’s higher average and tighter frame pacing make it the recommended choice for competitive play. The Low preset’s 213 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices visual fidelity unnecessarily.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset again provides the best experience, with an average of 118 FPS and a minimum of 101 FPS. This ensures that even during intense scenes, the frame rate stays above 100 FPS. The High preset at 110 FPS is also playable, but the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin. The Ultra preset at 91 FPS is playable but may be less fluid on 144Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 93 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 101 FPS offers a slightly higher frame rate but with lower graphics fidelity. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is still playable for single-player experiences but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. Given the data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, combining high frame rates with moderate visual quality, while the High preset at 4K is the best option for those prioritizing resolution over frame rate.