Overpower

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 sits near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for Overpower. The combo holds a rank of 2724 out of 2980 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 9% of systems. This pairing of a high-end contemporary CPU with an end-of-life graphics card creates a significant bottleneck that the benchmark data makes clear. The RX 580, with its GCN 4.0 architecture and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, consistently limits frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. While the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU's age and capability ceiling define the experience in this action title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 2724 of 2980 is a direct reflection of the GPU's standing in the broader hardware landscape. The RX 580's average benchmark score of 12928 places it at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, meaning roughly half of all graphics cards tested outperform it. The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a score of 12940 (a -0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986 (-0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon 740M at 12870 (0.5% delta), and the AMD FirePro W5100 at 12847 (0.6% delta). This cluster of scores, all within a 1% window, indicates that the RX 580 is squarely in the mid-range of GPU performance, far from the top tier required for high-refresh gaming at demanding settings.

The CPU, by contrast, is a dominant force. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus achieves an average benchmark score of 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a score of 83807 (a 0.2% delta), the AMD EPYC 4584PX at 83090 (1.1% delta), the AMD EPYC 9135 at 82980 (1.2% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7F72 at 85072 (-1.3% delta). The 290K Plus essentially trades blows with these server and high-end desktop parts, showing it is not the limiting factor in this configuration.

The disparity between the 96th percentile CPU and the 53rd percentile GPU explains the combo's low rank. The data suggests that in Overpower, the frame rate is governed almost entirely by the graphics card. This is confirmed by the measured FPS results, which show a pattern of performance consistent with GPU-bound scenarios, where reducing resolution provides diminishing returns because the GPU cannot push frames fast enough even at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh codename, built on a 3 nm process node at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB of L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

For Overpower, an action game released in August 2023, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are substantial. In Cinebench R23, the 290K Plus scores 51731 in multi-core and 7303 in single-core tests. PassMark results show a multi-thread score of 60860 and a single-thread score of 4823. These numbers position the CPU far above what any modern game would require for physics, AI, or game logic calculations.

The benchmark data indicates that the 290K Plus is not a constraint. The measured FPS values across all resolutions and settings are too low to be attributed to CPU limitations. Even at 1080p Low, where CPU-bound scenarios typically surface, the average FPS is 69, which is below what this CPU could deliver if the GPU were faster. The CPU's PassMark data compression score of 698346 and floating point math score of 214760 demonstrate its raw computational power, but this power is idle in Overpower because the GPU cannot keep up. The CPU's role in this combo is to provide a stable platform that never introduces stutter or frame drops due to processor limits; the bottleneck resides entirely with the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 580 a good match for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus in Overpower?

A: No. The data shows a severe imbalance. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 53rd percentile. The measured FPS results indicate the GPU is the limiting component, holding back the system's overall performance.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in Overpower?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 69, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average drops to 25 FPS. No tested configuration exceeds 69 FPS on average.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its closest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores 12940, a 0.1% difference. The GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986, 0.4% higher. These are all within a 1% performance band.

Q: Does the CPU's high core count help in Overpower?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 24 threads, but the measured FPS does not improve with lower resolutions, which is a typical sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 is more than sufficient for the game, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's limits.

Q: What is the RX 580's memory configuration?

A: The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 2000 MHz, or 8 Gbps effective. This is a moderate configuration that contributes to the GPU's mid-range performance.

Q: When was the RX 580 released, and is it still in production?

A: The RX 580 was released in April 2017 and its production status is listed as End-of-life. This explains its performance relative to newer GPUs in the benchmark database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Overpower provides a clear picture of the RX 580's capabilities across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the average FPS ranges from 69 at Low settings to 33 at Ultra settings. The Medium preset delivers 43 FPS on average, with a minimum of 37 and a maximum of 50. High settings produce 40 FPS on average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops. Low settings yield 62 FPS on average, which is a 7 FPS decrease from 1080p. Medium averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 44. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra drops to 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the RX 580 struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 52 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 62 FPS at 1440p. Medium settings average 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 and maximum of 38. High settings average 30 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in resolution at a given setting reduces the average FPS by a noticeable margin. The gap between Low and Ultra settings is substantial at every resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (69 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) is 36 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 32 FPS (62 to 30), and at 4K, it is 27 FPS (52 to 25). The minimum FPS values, where available, show that the Medium preset at 4K can dip to 28 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playability.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior reveals the nature of the bottleneck. From 1080p Low (69 FPS) to 1440p Low (62 FPS), the frame rate drops by 10.1%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (52 FPS), the drop is 16.1%. The total drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 24.6%. This scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU is already near its limits at 1080p, and increasing resolution reduces performance further.

A similar pattern emerges at High settings. 1080p High averages 40 FPS, 1440p High averages 36 FPS (a 10% drop), and 4K High averages 30 FPS (a 16.7% drop from 1440p). The proportional drops are consistent across settings, suggesting that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the limiting factors. The RX 580's texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s are simply insufficient for higher resolutions in this game.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K, because the CPU's workload would remain constant while the GPU's workload increases. The observed drops of 10-17% per resolution step are typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 5.80 GHz boost clock and 36 MB of L3 cache, is far more capable than what this game's engine requires, so the FPS scaling is entirely attributable to the RX 580's performance ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the most balanced experience comes from the Medium preset at 1920x1080. This configuration delivers an average FPS of 43, with a minimum of 37 and maximum of 50. The minimum FPS of 37 is above the 30 FPS threshold for playability, and the average is close to the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, though it falls short. This preset provides a reasonable visual experience without sacrificing too much frame rate.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p offers the highest average FPS of 69. This is the only tested configuration that approaches the 60 FPS mark, and it provides a responsive experience for action gameplay. However, the visual quality will be noticeably reduced.

At higher resolutions, the Medium preset becomes less viable. At 1440p, Medium averages 38 FPS with a minimum of 33, which is still playable but with a lower frame rate. At 4K, Medium averages 33 FPS with a minimum of 28, which dips below the 30 FPS playability floor. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution, as the average FPS falls to 25 at 4K and 33 at 1080p, with no minimum FPS data available to assess stability.

The data suggests that the RX 580 is best suited for 1080p gaming in Overpower. The High preset at 1080p averages 40 FPS, which is a middle ground between visual quality and performance. However, the Medium preset provides a better balance, as it offers a higher average FPS (43 vs 40) and includes minimum and maximum FPS data that indicates more stable performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is based on the Polaris 20 chip, using the GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FP32 performance is rated at 6.175 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores are consistent with its mid-range positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 1005. PassMark results show a G3D score of 8813 and a GPU compute score of 3488. The Vulkan score in Geekbench is 45173, while OpenCL is 37453. The GPU's percentile rank of 53 places it just above the median of all GPUs.

In Overpower, the RX 580's role is defined by its limitations. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates even at lower settings. The 8 GB of VRAM is not the primary constraint, as the game's demands do not appear to exceed this capacity at the tested settings. Instead, the GPU's raw compute power and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth is insufficient for higher resolutions, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops at 1440p and 4K.

The RX 580's nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database all have similar scores, indicating that it is not an outlier in its performance class. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, with a score of 12986, is only 0.4% faster, and the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile is 0.1% faster. This tight grouping suggests that the RX 580's performance in Overpower would be comparable to these cards, all of which would struggle to deliver high frame rates in this action title at demanding settings. The GPU's launch MSRP was 229 USD, but its End-of-life production status means it is no longer competitive with modern offerings, and the benchmark data confirms this in the context of Overpower.