Overpower

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Overpower, with the data showing a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested presets. At 4K, the system remains highly playable, though the frame rate scaling reveals a shift in bottleneck behavior that is worth examining closely. The following analysis breaks down the measured results, the roles of each component, and how this pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 117 frames per second. This is a strong result, indicating that the combo can comfortably handle high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution without needing to drop to lower presets.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 226 FPS, which is more than double the 109 FPS average recorded on the Ultra preset. This represents a 117 FPS difference, or roughly a 107% performance increase when moving from the highest to the lowest quality settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 91, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that dips below the 100 FPS mark for its minimum, suggesting that 4K Medium is the most demanding setting for sustained frame pacing.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU have a higher percentile ranking among their respective categories?

A: The CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. The GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, ranks in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. This indicates that the processor is a stronger performer relative to its peers than the graphics card is relative to its own peer group.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields 117 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 97 FPS. The difference is 20 FPS, with the Ultra preset being roughly 17% slower than High. This is a smaller relative drop than the difference seen between Low and Medium at the same resolution.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Overpower?*

A: The combo ranks 538th out of 2980 tested combinations. This places it in the top 20% of all systems tested, indicating that it is a high-performing pairing relative to the broader database of results.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of frame rate at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is a critical resource for feeding the GPU at 4K. The measured FPS data shows the GPU's scaling under load: at 1080p Low, the card produces 226 FPS, but this drops to 171 FPS at 4K Low. This 55 FPS reduction is a direct consequence of the increased pixel fill rate demand, which stresses the GPU's 80 ROPs and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The GPU's clock speeds are relatively modest, with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. However, the architecture's efficiency is evident in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. The performance trajectory across settings suggests that the RTX 5070 is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it maintains 117 FPS on High and 126 FPS on Medium. At 4K, the card is still capable, but the data shows a steeper performance cliff: the jump from Medium (107 FPS) to High (99 FPS) is only an 8 FPS drop, but moving from High to Ultra (82 FPS) is a 17 FPS drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional shading and texture demands are beginning to saturate the GPU's compute capabilities.

The GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical ceiling for its raw compute, but in Overpower, the memory subsystem appears to be the limiting factor at 4K. The 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is substantial, yet the 192-bit bus width means that the RTX 5070 must rely on high clocked GDDR7 to maintain throughput. The benchmark results, such as the Passmark G3D score of 29137, confirm that the card is a strong DirectX 12 performer, but the measured FPS data in this game reveals that it is more comfortable at 1440p than at 4K for sustained high-refresh gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium provides 141 FPS with a minimum of 120 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on standard 144Hz monitors. At 1440p, Medium delivers 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for playability and approaches the refresh rate of many high-end displays. At 4K, Medium is the only preset that maintains an average above 100 FPS, hitting 107 FPS, though its minimum of 91 FPS shows that there are moments of strain.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users who prioritize image quality over maximum frame rate. At 1080p, High runs at 131 FPS, which is only 10 FPS slower than Medium. At 1440p, High runs at 117 FPS, a 9 FPS drop from Medium. At 4K, High drops to 99 FPS, which is the first sub-100 FPS average in the dataset. The Ultra preset is not recommended for competitive play, as it drops to 109 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K. The Low preset, while achieving 226 FPS at 1080p, sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the modest gains over Medium, especially given that Medium already exceeds 120 FPS at 1080p and 1440p.

For a 1440p monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate, Medium is the clear choice, as its 126 FPS average is closest to the display's maximum refresh without exceeding it and causing potential tearing. For 4K users, Medium is the only preset that keeps the average above 100 FPS, making it the most playable option despite the 91 FPS minimum.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 538 out of 2980 tested combinations places it in the 82nd percentile of all systems tested in Overpower. This is a strong showing, but the data suggests that the CPU is the more dominant component in this pairing. The processor's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs is notably higher than the GPU's 82nd percentile ranking, and this disparity is reflected in the frame rate data at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the gap between Low (226 FPS) and Ultra (109 FPS) is 117 FPS, which is a 107% difference. This large spread indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach very high frame rates when graphical load is low. However, at 4K, the same Low-to-Ultra gap narrows to 89 FPS (171 to 82), suggesting that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases. The combo's rank of 538 suggests that it is outperformed by a significant number of systems, likely those with higher-end GPUs that can better utilize the CPU's potential at 4K.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with an average score of 83807 (a 0.2% delta) and the AMD EPYC 9135 with an average score of 82980 (a 1.2% delta). The GPU's nearest rivals are much weaker in absolute terms, with the AMD Radeon Pro 580 having an average score of 40318 (a 0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile at 39568 (a 2% delta). This suggests that the CPU is a top-tier part, while the GPU is more mid-range in its relative standing, which explains why the combo ranks where it does.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a critical role in ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. With 24 cores and 24 threads, the CPU has ample parallel processing power, and its boost clock of 5.80 GHz provides excellent single-thread performance. The Passmark single-thread score of 4823 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 confirm that the CPU can handle the game's engine logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's L3 cache of 36 MB (shared) is a key asset for gaming, as it allows for faster access to frequently used data. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (226 FPS) highlights the CPU's capability to push frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. However, the data also shows that this headroom is only realized when the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes, as the GPU's rendering load dominates the frame time.

The benchmark scores for the CPU are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and a Passmark multithread score of 60860. These scores suggest that the CPU is not only fast for gaming but also a powerhouse for productivity tasks. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, indicate that it is a slight improvement over its predecessor, though the practical difference in gaming FPS is likely minimal. The CPU's 125 W TDP is a moderate power draw, but the data does not include any thermal throttling indicators, so its sustained performance in Overpower appears stable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 226 FPS. Medium steps down to 141 FPS, with a minimum of 120 FPS and a maximum of 162 FPS. High runs at 131 FPS, and Ultra drops to 109 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra is 117 FPS, which is the largest absolute difference in the entire dataset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are predictably lower. Low produces 201 FPS, Medium delivers 126 FPS with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS, High achieves 117 FPS, and Ultra falls to 97 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with roughly a 10-15% reduction in performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. Low runs at 171 FPS, Medium drops to 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS, High manages 99 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 82 FPS. The 4K Medium result is notable, as it is the only 4K configuration with a recorded minimum FPS, and the 91 FPS minimum shows that the system can experience noticeable frame dips even on this preset.

The data reveals that the scaling between settings is not linear. The jump from Low to Medium is significant at all resolutions (85 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, 64 FPS at 4K), but the jump from High to Ultra is smaller (22 FPS at 1080p, 20 FPS at 1440p, 17 FPS at 4K). This suggests that the Ultra preset's incremental visual improvements come at a disproportionately high performance cost.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 226 FPS at 1080p to 171 FPS at 4K, a 55 FPS reduction (24.3%). At Medium settings, the drop is from 141 FPS to 107 FPS, a 34 FPS reduction (24.1%). At High settings, the drop is from 131 FPS to 99 FPS, a 32 FPS reduction (24.4%). At Ultra settings, the drop is from 109 FPS to 82 FPS, a 27 FPS reduction (24.8%).

The consistency of this percentage drop across all settings is striking. It suggests that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is primarily driven by the GPU's pixel processing capability, which is resolution-dependent. The RTX 5070's 80 ROPs and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the physical limits here, and the data shows that doubling the pixel count (from 1080p to 4K) results in a roughly 24% performance penalty, not the 50% penalty that would be expected if the GPU were purely fill-rate bound. This indicates that the GPU is not fully saturated at 4K, and that other factors, such as memory bandwidth or driver overhead, are partially mitigating the resolution scaling.

However, the absolute frame rates tell a different story about the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system hits 226 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. This suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution and setting. But as the resolution increases, the GPU becomes more loaded, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The fact that the 4K Low (171 FPS) is still higher than the 1080p Ultra (109 FPS) indicates that the GPU has headroom even at 4K when settings are lowered, but the CPU is also capable of pushing beyond 200 FPS at 1080p. This points to a balanced system where the CPU can support very high frame rates, but the GPU is the more limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Medium result, with its 91 FPS minimum, shows that the system is approaching the edge of its capability at this resolution, where the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being pushed to their limits.