Overpower

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 lands at rank 201 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the top 5.4% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, but the percentile gap between the CPU and GPU suggests the system’s overall standing is pulled down slightly by the graphics card’s relative position. The combo sits firmly in the upper echelon, yet the data implies that while the processor is a top-tier part, the graphics card, though capable, is not the absolute fastest available, which frames the entire performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 201 out of 3713 combos means it outperforms roughly 94.6% of all tested pairings in Overpower. That is a decisive placement in the top tier, but it is not a top-100 finish, which indicates a ceiling exists somewhere in the pipeline. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holds a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, a near-elite status, while the RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. This asymmetry is telling: the processor is doing more heavy lifting in terms of raw capability relative to its peers than the graphics card is relative to its own field. Consequently, the combo’s overall rank of 201 is likely constrained by the GPU’s performance tier, not the CPU’s. If the graphics card were swapped for a higher-percentile part, the combo rank would presumably climb, but as measured, this pairing represents a balanced yet CPU-leaning configuration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. Its cache hierarchy is substantial, featuring 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for feeding the GPU in a fast-paced action game like Overpower. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, alongside a Passmark multi-thread score of 60860 and a single-thread score of 4823. These numbers indicate a processor that excels at both heavily threaded workloads and single-threaded responsiveness, which is essential for game logic, physics, and frame pacing. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 84003 places it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, showing it is marginally faster than its nearest rivals. However, it is 1.3% behind the AMD EPYC 7F72, demonstrating that the performance lead is narrow and context-dependent. For Overpower, the high boost clock of 5.80 GHz is likely the key driver for maintaining high average FPS at lower resolutions, where the CPU can become the bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 271 FPS, which is substantially above the 4K Ultra result of 99 FPS, suggesting the CPU has ample headroom to push frames when the GPU is not saturated.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD103 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, with 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with a memory clock of 1400 MHz effective at 22.4 Gbps. It is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. In compute terms, the card delivers 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER, but 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, 2.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and 2.7% behind the AMD Radeon 8060S. This places the RTX 4080 in a tight competitive band, where it is neither the clear leader nor a laggard. In Overpower, the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the Ultra settings at 4K, where the combo still achieves 99 FPS. The card’s 256-bit memory bus and high bandwidth are likely critical for maintaining texture throughput at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 1440p and 4K at Medium settings, where FPS drops from 169 to 151 to 128, respectively. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs is reflected in the measured results: it is a strong performer, but not the ultimate one, which caps the combo’s ability to exceed certain FPS thresholds at the highest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 271 FPS on Low settings, 169 FPS on Medium, 157 FPS on High, and 130 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 194 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution. Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 241 on Low, 151 on Medium, 140 on High, and 116 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 173 FPS, which shows a tighter range than the 1080p Medium result, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor. At 3840x2160, the averages are 205 FPS on Low, 128 FPS on Medium, 119 FPS on High, and 99 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium preset records a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS, which is a notable spread of 38 FPS, indicating that frame times can vary significantly under load. Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently delivers the highest FPS, with 271 at 1080p being the peak measured value. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 99 FPS, is the lowest average, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting a playable experience even at maximum fidelity. The data shows a clear monotonic decline in FPS as both resolution and settings increase, with the steepest drops occurring between Low and Medium, rather than between High and Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not uniform across settings. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 271 at 1080p to 241 at 1440p (an 11% drop) and then to 205 at 4K (a 24% drop from 1080p). This relatively gentle scaling suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased pixel count without a dramatic performance penalty. In contrast, at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 130 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p (an 11% drop) and then to 99 at 4K (a 24% drop from 1080p). The percentage drop is similar, but the absolute FPS loss is smaller, indicating that the GPU is becoming more dominant at higher settings. The most revealing data point is the Medium preset: FPS drops from 169 at 1080p to 151 at 1440p (a 10.7% drop) and then to 128 at 4K (a 24.3% drop from 1080p). The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is nearly identical across settings, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is slightly larger at Medium (15.2%) compared to Low (14.9%) and Ultra (14.7%), suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute capacity are being taxed more heavily as resolution increases. The scaling pattern indicates that the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, but the GPU becomes the limiting component at 4K, particularly at higher settings where the 16 GB VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are fully utilized.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance is achieved at the High preset across all resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 157 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors and provides a smooth experience. At 1440p High, the average is 140 FPS, still excellent for competitive play. At 4K High, the average drops to 119 FPS, which remains highly playable and offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The High preset appears to strike the sweet spot because it delivers over 100 FPS at all resolutions, whereas Ultra settings at 4K drop to 99 FPS, which, while still playable, leaves less headroom for frame time spikes. The Medium preset is a viable alternative for those seeking higher FPS, with 169 FPS at 1080p and 151 FPS at 1440p, but the jump from Medium to High yields only a 12 FPS drop at 1440p (from 151 to 140), which is a minor cost for the visual improvement. For 4K users, High is the recommended preset, as it offers a 19 FPS advantage over Ultra (119 vs 99) while maintaining a more consistent frame rate. The Low preset is not recommended for this hardware, as the CPU and GPU are capable of much more, and the visual degradation is not justified by the FPS gains, especially at 1440p and 4K where the difference between Low and Medium is only 90 FPS and 77 FPS, respectively.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Overpower?*

A: The combo ranks 201st out of 3713 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.4% of all configurations.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER’s score of 54209, making them virtually identical in performance.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 271, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 99, and the scaling from 1440p Ultra (116 FPS) to 4K Ultra (99 FPS) shows a 14.7% drop, indicating the GPU is the limiting component at this resolution and setting.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 109, with a maximum of 147 and an average of 128.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus perform relative to the AMD EPYC 7F72?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 1.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7F72’s score of 85072, indicating the EPYC holds a slight lead in overall CPU performance.