Pc Building Simulator

Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER presents a fascinating case study in Pc Building Simulator, a game where the data reveals a stark contrast between CPU-bound and GPU-bound scenarios. The benchmark results show that this combination is overwhelmingly capable, delivering playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, yet the scaling patterns expose a system that is heavily influenced by the CPU's raw power at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the hardware's standing among rivals, and provides actionable settings guidance based solely on the provided data.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 73 FPS. This is a playable result for a simulation title, though it is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807. This makes the 290K Plus the top performer in its immediate peer group listed in the data.

Q: What is the single best frame rate recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 468, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates a massive headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors when visual fidelity is not a priority.

Q: Is the GPU's performance closer to its predecessor or an AMD rival?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 54209, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 4080's score of 54247. It is, however, 2.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S's score of 55757, making the RTX 4080 the most comparable rival in terms of score.

Q: At which resolution does the FPS drop suggest a transition from a CPU bottleneck to a GPU bottleneck?

A: The data shows a significant drop from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, but the most dramatic scaling occurs between 2560x1440 and 3840x2160. For instance, at High settings, the FPS drops from 148 to 77, a 48% reduction, suggesting the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 295 on Low to 141 on Ultra. This represents a 52% performance reduction for the highest visual quality, showing a clear trade-off between fidelity and frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver for visual output in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, a crucial asset for handling high-resolution textures in a simulation game that may load complex scenes. The GPU's boost clock of 2550 MHz and its 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance give it substantial raw power. Its percentile ranking of 86 among all GPUs indicates it is a high-tier part, but its benchmark score of 54209 places it remarkably close to its rivals: it is just 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 and 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X.

The GPU's role becomes clear when examining the measured FPS. At 4K, the frame rates are the lowest in the dataset. For example, at 3840x2160 on High settings, the average is 77 FPS, and on Ultra, it drops to 73 FPS. While these are playable numbers, they demonstrate the heavy load placed on the GPU at this resolution. The game's demands at 4K are substantial enough to bring this top-tier card down from the triple-digit frame rates seen at lower resolutions. The GPU's 80 RT cores and 320 Tensor cores are part of the Ada Lovelace architecture, but their specific impact on Pc Building Simulator is not detailed in the FPS data; the overall rasterization performance is the key factor here, as shown by the PassMark G3D score of 34245. The data implies that while the RTX 4080 SUPER is exceptionally fast, it is the component that determines the upper limit of performance at 4K, as the CPU has enough headroom to push higher frame rates if the GPU could render them.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions tells a compelling story about the limiting component in this system. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS at High settings drops from 234 to 148, a 37% decrease. This significant drop suggests that the CPU is still a major factor at 1080p, but the GPU is beginning to take on more work. However, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is far more dramatic. At High settings, the FPS falls from 148 to 77, a 48% reduction. This steep decline is a classic indicator of a GPU bottleneck; the RTX 4080 SUPER is now working at its maximum capacity, and the number of pixels being rendered is the primary constraint.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the FPS goes from 468 at 1080p to 295 at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 154 at 4K (a 48% drop). The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than from 1080p to 1440p, confirming that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as evidenced by the extremely high frame rates of 468 FPS on Low, which far exceed what the GPU's raw rendering power would suggest if it were the sole bottleneck. The data shows a system that is incredibly fast at lower resolutions, with the CPU providing ample headroom, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities are eventually saturated as the pixel count increases, capping performance at around 73-77 FPS at 4K Ultra/High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. With Low settings, the average FPS is 468. Moving to Medium, the average is 331, with a minimum of 282 and a maximum of 381 FPS. High settings yield an average of 234 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of 223 FPS. Even at the highest settings, the frame rates are more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate display.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very strong. Low settings achieve an average of 295 FPS. Medium settings average 209 FPS, with a range of 178 to 240 FPS. High settings average 148 FPS, and Ultra settings average 141 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable but does not compromise the experience, as all settings maintain averages above the 140 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the strain. Low settings still deliver a high average of 154 FPS. Medium settings average 109 FPS, with a minimum of 93 and a maximum of 126 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 77 FPS, and Ultra settings are the most demanding, averaging 73 FPS. While these numbers are lower, they remain in the playable range for a simulation game, indicating that 4K is viable, but with a significant compromise on frame rate compared to lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested configurations for Pc Building Simulator, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 146th out of 3002 combos. This places it in the top 5% of all tested systems, proof of its high-end components. The data indicates this is a top-tier pairing, but not the absolute best, as there are 145 other combinations that achieve higher average frame rates in this specific game.

The rank is influenced by both components. The CPU's percentile of 96 and the GPU's percentile of 86 are both high, but the combination's rank suggests that other pairings may be more optimized for this particular title. For example, a system with a slightly slower CPU but a faster GPU might rank higher if the game is more GPU-bound at high resolutions. The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals are all within 1.3% of its score, showing that the 290K Plus is not dramatically faster than its nearest competitors, like the AMD EPYC 9135. This suggests that the CPU's contribution to the overall rank is significant, but the GPU choice could be the differentiating factor, as the RTX 4080 SUPER's performance is so close to that of the standard RTX 4080.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a critical role in this combo, particularly at lower resolutions. With 24 cores and 24 threads, this processor lacks hyper-threading but compensates with a high boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This combination of high core count and high clock speed is ideal for Pc Building Simulator, which likely benefits from both multi-threaded physics and simulation calculations, as well as single-threaded game logic. The CPU's L3 cache of 36 MB shared is also a substantial resource for keeping frequently accessed data close to the cores.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 highlight its prowess in both areas. This is reflected in the game's performance at 1080p, where the frame rates are exceptionally high. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 468 FPS, a number that is almost certainly limited by the GPU's ability to process frames, not the CPU's ability to feed it data. This shows the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. Its average benchmark score of 84003 puts it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, confirming its position as a top-tier performer. The CPU's role is to provide enough headroom so that the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor at higher resolutions, which the data confirms by showing a clear GPU bottleneck at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 displays, Ultra settings are recommended. The average of 223 FPS is so high that there is no reason to compromise visual quality, as the frame rate remains far above the 144Hz or even 240Hz refresh rates common on such monitors. Even the Medium setting's minimum of 282 FPS highlights the massive headroom, but Ultra is the best choice for the full experience.

For 2560x1440 displays, High settings provide the best balance. With an average of 148 FPS, it comfortably supports high-refresh-rate gaming. The Ultra preset's 141 FPS is also viable, but the 5% reduction in frame rate from High may not be worth the marginal visual gain, depending on user preference. For those with a 144Hz monitor, Ultra is perfectly adequate, but for 165Hz or higher, High is the safer choice to ensure the frame rate stays near the maximum.

For 3840x2160 displays, the choice is more nuanced. High settings, with an average of 77 FPS, are the highest quality preset that maintains a solid 60+ FPS experience. The Ultra preset drops to 73 FPS, which is still playable but does not offer a significant visual improvement over High in many games. For a smoother experience, Medium settings average 109 FPS, which is a substantial jump in performance. However, given that the game is a simulation, the visual fidelity of High is likely preferred. Therefore, High is the recommended setting for 4K to balance visual quality with a stable, playable frame rate.