Overpower

Overpower, the 2023 action title, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphical presets. For this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, the measured data reveals a clear performance hierarchy. This analysis breaks down the findings across settings, resolutions, and the specific roles the CPU and GPU play in shaping the final experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, the High preset delivers an average of 77 FPS, which is a substantial 16.7% improvement over the 64 FPS seen at Ultra, while still maintaining a visually rich environment. The jump from High to Medium at 1080p yields a modest 6 FPS gain (from 77 to 83 FPS), suggesting that the visual fidelity lost by dropping from High to Medium is not worth the marginal performance increase. The Low preset at 1080p is the only one to break past the 120 FPS mark, reaching 133 FPS, but this comes at a significant cost to image quality.

At 1440p, the picture is similar. The High preset averages 69 FPS, which is playable and smooth for an action game. Ultra drops to 57 FPS, which is still technically playable but begins to show the strain on the system. Medium at 1440p provides 74 FPS, again only a marginal 5 FPS improvement over High. The data suggests that High is the "sweet spot" for visual quality and performance, as the jump to Ultra costs 12 FPS at 1440p and 13 FPS at 1080p, representing a noticeable 15-17% performance penalty.

For 4K, the High preset produces an average of 58 FPS, which is right on the edge of the 60 FPS target many players prefer. Dropping to Medium yields 63 FPS, a small 5 FPS gain, while Low pushes it to 101 FPS. However, the Ultra preset at 4K falls to 48 FPS, which can feel less fluid in a fast-paced action game. The recommendation is clear: for the best frame rate without sacrificing the core visual experience, the High preset is the optimal choice at any resolution. It provides a stable foundation, with 1440p High being the standout for a high-refresh-rate experience, while 4K High offers a solid console-beating performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured data for this specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 places it at rank 1955 out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower. This puts it in the 65th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it is not a top-tier extreme performance rig, it sits comfortably in the upper-middle tier of capable gaming systems. This rank suggests that a large number of other hardware pairings can outperform it, but it also means it is significantly faster than a substantial portion of the field.

Looking at the individual component rankings provides more context. The CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, holds an 85th percentile rank against all CPUs, showing it is a very strong processor. In contrast, the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, holds a 72nd percentile rank against all GPUs. The combo's overall rank of 1955 is lower than what the CPU's percentile alone might suggest, but it is not as high as the GPU's percentile would imply either. This indicates that in this specific game, the pairing performs as a cohesive unit, with the frame rate being a product of the combined system.

The data shows the combo is more capable than the lower-ranked 1025 combinations, but it is also behind a significant number of systems. The performance gap to the top isn't defined by a single component but by the overall balance of the system. In this case, the strong CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately, and the resulting frame rates are a fair representation of where this hardware sits in the broader ecosystem of tested configurations for Overpower.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of frame rate in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions. Its performance is anchored by its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, as evidenced by the solid frame rates in the measured data. However, at 4K, the 8 GB capacity and 128-bit bus may become a limiting factor, which is reflected in the more substantial frame rate drops when moving to Ultra settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are relatively modest, with a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. The data shows that the performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, suggesting the GPU is not being held back by its core clocks. For instance, at High settings, the frame rate only drops from 77 FPS at 1080p to 69 FPS at 1440p, a 10.4% decrease, which aligns with the increased pixel count. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings sees a larger 15.9% drop (from 69 to 58 FPS), indicating the GPU is working harder to fill the 4K pixel count.

The RTX 5060's overall benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 20891, place it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, which scores 1.2% higher, and the AMD Radeon 860M, which scores 0.3% lower. This places the RTX 5060 in a competitive mid-range segment. The data suggests that for Overpower, the RTX 5060 is a capable performer at 1080p and 1440p, but it is the component that will require settings adjustments to maintain high frame rates at 4K, especially on the Ultra preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1080p:

• Low: 133 FPS average
• Medium: 83 FPS average (min 70, max 95)
• High: 77 FPS average
• Ultra: 64 FPS average

At 1440p:

• Low: 118 FPS average
• Medium: 74 FPS average (min 63, max 85)
• High: 69 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

At 4K (2160p):

• Low: 101 FPS average
• Medium: 63 FPS average (min 53, max 72)
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 48 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent performance hierarchy. The Low preset is the fastest at every resolution, providing a significant performance headroom. The Medium and High presets are closely matched, with High being only 6-7% slower than Medium across all resolutions. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, costing a significant 17-21% performance drop compared to the High preset. The min and max FPS data for the Medium preset shows a 22 FPS variance at 1080p and 19 FPS at 4K, indicating some frame time inconsistency, but the average remains stable. This data confirms that the High preset is the most efficient in terms of performance per visual quality, while the Low preset is for those seeking maximum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that both 1440p High (69 FPS) and 4K High (58 FPS) are close to the 60 FPS target. For a guaranteed 60+ FPS experience, 1440p High is the safest choice. If you prefer 4K, the High preset offers an average of 58 FPS, which is still very playable, but you may see occasional dips.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the Ultra preset take compared to High?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. Compared to High, the average frame rate drops by 13 FPS at 1080p, 12 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K. This represents a 15-17% performance penalty for the highest visual settings.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 5060 become a problem at 4K?

A: The data suggests it might be a factor. While the 4K High preset achieves 58 FPS, moving to 4K Ultra drops performance to 48 FPS. This steeper performance decline at 4K Ultra, compared to the more gradual scaling at lower resolutions, could be indicative of the 8 GB VRAM capacity or the 128-bit memory bus being a limiting factor at the highest settings.

Q: How does this combo compare to other systems in the database?

A: This specific Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 pairing is ranked 1955th out of 2980 tested combos in Overpower. This places it in the upper-middle tier, performing better than 65% of tested systems but behind a significant number of more powerful configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck for this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary scaling factor. When you keep the CPU constant and lower the resolution from 1440p to 1080p at High settings, the frame rate increases from 69 to 77 FPS. This shows the GPU has headroom to render more frames when the pixel count is reduced. The CPU is powerful enough to keep up, as evidenced by its high percentile ranking and ability to push the GPU to these frame rates.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate I can expect on the Medium preset?

A: The measured data for the Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 70 at 1080p, 63 at 1440p, and 53 at 4K. These minimum frame rates indicate that the game will remain playable even in more demanding scenes, though there is a noticeable variance from the average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. With a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, it provides substantial processing power that is more than sufficient for gaming. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5. This strong single-core performance is crucial for gaming, as it directly impacts frame pacing and the ability to feed the GPU with draw calls.

The CPU's role in Overpower is to ensure the GPU is never starved of data. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 133 FPS. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would see the frame rate plateau at a lower number regardless of the GPU's capability. Since the frame rate scales down as resolution increases (from 133 FPS at 1080p Low to 101 FPS at 4K Low), it confirms the CPU is handling the game logic and physics without being the limiting factor.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking against all CPUs further solidifies its strength. It performs nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, with a negligible -0.1% difference in average benchmark score. It is also ahead of the Intel Core 7 250H and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by -0.2% and -0.4%, respectively. This places the Ultra 9 185H as a top-tier mobile processor, ensuring that in a game like Overpower, the system's overall performance is dictated by the GPU's capabilities and the chosen settings, not the CPU's processing power.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and expected pattern of frame rate decline as resolution increases. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 77 FPS to 69 FPS, a 10.4% decrease. This is a reasonable scaling, as 1440p has 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p. The GPU is still relatively efficient at this workload.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 69 FPS to 58 FPS, a 15.9% decrease. This larger drop indicates that the GPU is becoming more heavily loaded, and the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus may be starting to constrain performance. The trend is similar across all settings. For example, at Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 11.3% (133 to 118 FPS), but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 14.4% (118 to 101 FPS).

This scaling pattern suggests that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can handle the workload with headroom. The more severe drop at 4K indicates that this resolution pushes the RTX 5060 to its limits. The data implies that for the most consistent and high-refresh-rate experience, 1440p is the ideal resolution for this hardware, offering a strong balance between visual detail and performance. 4K is playable, especially on the High preset, but the user must accept a lower frame rate that is closer to the 60 FPS threshold.