Overpower

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a top-tier combination for Overpower, delivering frame rates that will saturate high-refresh-rate displays at every resolution. The data shows this combo ranks 61st out of 2980 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2% of all systems. This ranking is driven by a balanced pairing of a high-core-count CPU and a flagship GPU, though the benchmark results reveal specific scaling behaviors that define its performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 61 out of 2980 tested configurations is an exceptional result, placing it firmly in the top percentile of all systems benchmarked for Overpower. This position reflects a hardware pairing that is well-matched for this action title, where both the CPU and GPU contribute meaningfully to the final output. The ranking is not merely a function of the GPU's raw power; the 24-core CPU ensures that the graphics card is consistently fed with data, preventing bottlenecks at lower resolutions where the CPU often becomes the limiting factor. In the broader context of the database, this combination outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, with only a handful of configurations achieving higher average frame rates.

Looking at the individual component standings, the CPU holds a 96th percentile ranking among all processors, while the GPU sits at an 88th percentile among all graphics cards. The fact that the combo ranks higher than either component's individual percentile suggests that the synergy between the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the RTX 4090 is particularly effective in Overpower. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, posts an average score just 0.2% lower, indicating that the 290K Plus offers a marginal but measurable advantage in compute-heavy workloads. This small deltaPct is consistent with the CPU's overall benchmark average of 84003, which edges out the 285K's 83807 score. The GPU side shows a more interesting story, as the RTX 4090's nearest rivals include workstation-class cards like the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which trails by 2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710, which is 2.9% slower. These comparisons underscore that the RTX 4090, despite being end-of-life, remains a formidable gaming GPU whose performance is only matched by professional-grade hardware.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary driver of frame rates in Overpower, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the textures and assets used in this action title. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, translating to 21 Gbps effective, and this high bandwidth ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU does not experience memory starvation. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process, allows it to sustain high compute throughput across the 16384 shading units. This results in an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS, which is the theoretical ceiling for the card's rasterization capabilities.

In Overpower, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is often the limiting factor, but at 4K, the RTX 4090's raw power takes over. The data shows that at 4K High settings, the combo achieves 131 FPS, which drops to 109 FPS at Ultra settings. These numbers indicate that the GPU is fully utilized at this resolution, as the frame rate scales inversely with the graphical load. The 24 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant here, as it allows the card to hold large texture sets without swapping to system memory, which would cause stutters. The RTX 4090's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its sustained performance, even though it is now succeeded by newer hardware. The nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, matches the RTX 4090's average score almost exactly (0% deltaPct), but that comparison is misleading because the Arc Pro A60 is a professional card optimized for different workloads, not gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Overpower?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 61st out of 2980 tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of all systems benchmarked for this game.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 60347, which is essentially identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% deltaPct), but it is 2.5% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M and 2.9% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO V710. This shows it remains competitive with professional-grade cards.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking and how does it compare to the Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus holds a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 84003 is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807, indicating a slight but consistent performance advantage.

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

A: The highest average FPS is 299, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. This is the only setting/resolution combo that approaches the 300 FPS mark, suggesting a CPU-bound scenario at this level.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4090 have and why does it matter for Overpower?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. This large capacity prevents texture swapping at high resolutions and settings, ensuring consistent frame times even in graphically demanding scenes.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 still a viable GPU for Overpower given it is end-of-life?

A: Yes, the data confirms this. The RTX 4090 achieves 109 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Its 88th percentile ranking and competitive scores against newer workstation cards show it remains a top-tier gaming GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with Low settings producing an average of 299 FPS, Medium at 187 FPS, High at 173 FPS, and Ultra at 144 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is significant, a 155 FPS difference, which highlights the GPU's scaling with graphical intensity. The Medium setting at 1080p shows a minimum FPS of 159 and a maximum of 215, indicating some variance but no severe drops.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain high but begin to show a more pronounced GPU influence. Low settings yield an average of 267 FPS, Medium drops to 167 FPS, High to 155 FPS, and Ultra to 128 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 139 FPS, which is slightly smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the CPU is still contributing to performance but the GPU is taking on more load. The Medium setting at 1440p shows a min FPS of 142 and a max of 192, a 50 FPS range that indicates the GPU is working harder to maintain frame times.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings produce an average of 227 FPS, which is still very high, but Medium drops to 142 FPS, High to 131 FPS, and Ultra to 109 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 118 FPS, and the Medium setting shows a min FPS of 120 and a max of 163. This data pattern reveals that the RTX 4090's performance scales predictably with resolution, and even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate remains above 100 FPS, which is excellent for a demanding action game. The fact that the 4K Medium setting has a min FPS of 120 suggests that the combo can maintain a consistent experience without dipping into stutter territory.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into which component is limiting performance at each step. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 299 FPS, which drops to 267 FPS at 1440p Low, a 10.7% reduction. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 227 FPS, a further 15% drop from 1440p. This progressive decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card at all resolutions. However, the fact that the 1080p Low setting nearly hits 300 FPS suggests that the CPU is near its limit at this resolution, as the frame rate is likely capped by the 24-core processor's ability to issue draw calls.

Looking at Ultra settings, the scaling is more dramatic. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 144 FPS, which drops to 128 FPS at 1440p Ultra (an 11.1% reduction) and then to 109 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 14.8% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across resolutions indicate that the RTX 4090 is the primary limiter, as its performance is directly tied to pixel count and shading complexity. The CPU's role is less pronounced at Ultra settings because the GPU is working harder, but the 1080p Ultra score of 144 FPS still shows that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands. The overall scaling pattern suggests a well-balanced system: the CPU is strong enough to avoid bottlenecking at 1080p, while the GPU is powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K. If the CPU were weaker, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, but the data shows a steady increase from 4K to 1080p, confirming that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not holding the system back.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a critical role in ensuring that the RTX 4090 is never starved for data. With 24 cores and 24 threads, this processor provides substantial parallel processing capability, which is essential for handling the game's physics, AI, and rendering overhead. The base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz allow for high single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303. This is important for Overpower, which likely relies on a few main threads for game logic. The CPU's 36 MB of L3 cache, shared across all cores, reduces memory latency and improves data access patterns, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times.

The CPU's benchmark scores paint a picture of a high-end desktop processor. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 is substantial, indicating that it can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, though Overpower may not fully utilize all 24 cores. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and the single-thread score of 4823 further confirm its capabilities. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database, and its nearest rival, the Core Ultra 9 285K, is only 0.2% slower on average. This small deltaPct suggests that the 290K Plus is a refined version of the 285K, offering marginal gains that translate to a few extra FPS in CPU-bound scenarios. In Overpower, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the combo achieves 299 FPS. This near-300 FPS result indicates that the CPU is operating near its maximum capacity for frame generation, and any slower processor would likely reduce this score. The 24 threads are likely overkill for this game, but they provide headroom for background tasks and ensure that the GPU is always fed. The CPU's support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s also contributes to overall system performance, as faster memory can reduce load times and improve texture streaming. Overall, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a capable partner for the RTX 4090, and its performance in this combo is a key reason why the system ranks so highly.