Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not, a tactical shooter built around close-quarters engagements and methodical clearing, presents a distinct set of performance demands. This analysis examines the measured frame rates for the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. The data provides a clear picture of how this high-end mobile platform handles the game's Unreal Engine, revealing a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but demonstrates significant headroom at 1080p. The following sections break down the scaling, ranking, and component roles based strictly on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K is a textbook illustration of GPU load scaling. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 292 FPS at 1920x1080 to 185 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 107 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields an average of 96 FPS, a substantial 196 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the rendering resolution is the primary factor limiting performance, which is expected for a game with detailed environments and dynamic lighting.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, on the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 369 FPS at 1080p to 233 FPS at 1440p and finally to 122 FPS at 4K. Similarly, the Ultra preset sees averages of 206 FPS at 1080p, 130 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. The consistent proportional drops across presets confirm that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the bottleneck; as the pixel count increases, the GeForce RTX 4090's workload grows correspondingly, while the CPU has ample capacity to feed it frames.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system may be partially CPU-limited or hitting an engine-level frame cap, as the gap between the Low (369 FPS) and High (292 FPS) presets is relatively narrow compared to the gap between High and Ultra (206 FPS). This compression at lower resolutions implies that the CPU, while powerful, cannot fully utilize the RTX 4090's potential when the GPU's workload is light. At 1440p and 4K, the spread between presets widens, confirming a transition to a purely GPU-bound scenario where the graphics card's fill rate and shader processing become the definitive constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a strong position for Ready Or Not. The combo rank is 635 out of 2947 tested combinations, placing it firmly in the upper quartile of systems. This ranking reflects the raw power of both components, but it also indicates that other configurations, likely with desktop-class CPUs or higher-clocked variants, deliver superior frame rates in this specific title.

The ranking reflects the balance of the system. While the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU, its performance in this benchmark is measured against a wide array of setups. The 635th rank out of 2947 suggests that while this combo is exceptionally fast, there are 634 other combinations that achieve higher average frame rates. This could be due to the mobile nature of the CPU, which, despite its high core count, may have thermal or power constraints that prevent it from sustaining peak boost clocks as effectively as a desktop processor, particularly in CPU-light scenarios at lower resolutions.

The data implies that the system's overall standing is more heavily influenced by the GPU's performance than the CPU's. The RTX 4090's high pixel rate and texture rate are the key drivers for the high scores at 1440p and 4K. The rank, while not number one, confirms that this is a premium-tier gaming platform capable of delivering a high-refresh-rate experience in most scenarios, with the primary limitation being the resolution and settings chosen by the user.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate rows, the optimal settings balance depends entirely on the target display resolution and refresh rate. For a 4K display, the High preset emerges as the most sensible choice. It delivers an average of 96 FPS, which is perfectly playable for a tactical shooter that benefits from smoothness but doesn't require esports-level frame rates. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops the average to 68 FPS, which might be less desirable for fast-paced reactions. The Low preset at 4K provides 122 FPS, but the visual compromise in a game that relies on spotting enemies in dark environments is likely too steep.

At 1440p, the system has enough headroom to push for higher visual fidelity. The High preset delivers a very high 185 FPS, and even the Ultra preset maintains a solid 130 FPS. For users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the Ultra preset is a viable option to maximize visual quality while staying above the refresh rate threshold. For those with 240Hz displays, the High preset's 185 FPS offers a smoother experience, though it falls short of the maximum refresh rate. The Low preset's 233 FPS would be the choice for competitive play, but the High preset is the recommended middle ground for most players.

At 1080p, the system is massively overprovisioned. The High preset achieves 292 FPS, and the Medium preset hits 322 FPS. Even the Ultra preset manages 206 FPS. The data shows that the CPU becomes a limiting factor here, as the frame rate gaps between presets are smaller than at higher resolutions. For 1080p, users should select the highest preset that their monitor's refresh rate can display. If a user has a 360Hz monitor, the Low preset's 369 FPS is the only one that can fully saturate it. For 240Hz displays, the High preset is sufficient, and for 144Hz displays, the Ultra preset can be enabled without any noticeable performance penalty.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p on the High preset?

A: The measured average frame rate for the High preset at 2560x1440 is 185 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to the High preset at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 68 FPS, which is 28 FPS lower than the High preset's 96 FPS average at the same resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is more likely to be a limiting factor at 1920x1080, as the frame rate differences between Low (369 FPS) and High (292 FPS) presets are relatively small, indicating the GPU is not fully saturated.

Q: What is the best preset to use for a 4K 120Hz display?

A: Based on the measured data, the High preset is the best choice, as it is the only one that achieves an average frame rate (96 FPS) that closely approaches the 120Hz target while maintaining higher visual fidelity than the Low preset.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded in the data?

A: The only minimum frame rate recorded is for the Medium preset, which shows 273 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 635th out of 2947 tested combinations for Ready Or Not, placing it in the top quarter of all tested systems.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed driver of high frame rates in this configuration. Its specifications, including a boost clock of 2520 MHz and 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, provide the bandwidth and processing power necessary for the high-resolution rendering that Ready Or Not demands. The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are directly responsible for the high average FPS observed at 1440p and 4K.

The 24 GB VRAM buffer is more than sufficient for this title, ensuring that texture streaming and geometry data are readily available without stutter. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s allows the GPU to quickly access these assets, preventing bottlenecks that could occur on lower-bandwidth cards. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution; as the pixel count increases, the average frame rate decreases, reflecting the increased demand on its shading units and ROPs.

The RTX 4090's role is also evident in the settings scaling. The difference between Low and High presets at 4K is 26 FPS (122 vs 96), while the difference between High and Ultra is 28 FPS (96 vs 68). This indicates that the GPU is handling the increased shader complexity and post-processing effects of the higher presets efficiently. The card's position in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, despite being end-of-life, confirms its status as a top-tier performer, and its nearest rivals in the database show it is still highly competitive, with a performance delta of just 2.9% against the AMD Radeon PRO V710.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX plays a supporting but crucial role in this system. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, it provides ample processing power to ensure the game logic and physics calculations are never starved. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz is essential for maintaining high minimum frame rates and preventing stutters, particularly in complex scenes with multiple AI enemies and destructible environments.

The benchmark data indicates that the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up with the GPU at higher resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates are entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering speed, as the CPU has plenty of headroom to prepare the next frame. However, at 1080p, the CPU's capabilities become more evident. The relatively small performance gap between the Low and High presets (369 vs 292 FPS) suggests that the CPU is nearing its limit in terms of how many draw calls it can process per second, effectively becoming a secondary bottleneck.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3907, place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. This performance level ensures that it can handle the game's single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads without issue. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, shows a near-identical average benchmark score (76155 vs 76212), indicating that the Ryzen 9 is at the top of its class for mobile processors, providing a strong foundation for the RTX 4090.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates offers a granular view of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 369 FPS on Low, 322 FPS on Medium, 292 FPS on High, and 206 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 273 FPS and a maximum of 370 FPS, showing the frame time variance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 233 FPS on Low, 203 FPS on Medium, 185 FPS on High, and 130 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 173 FPS and a maximum of 233 FPS. This resolution provides a strong balance of visual fidelity and performance, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a high average.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 122 FPS on Low, 106 FPS on Medium, 96 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 122 FPS. The data reveals a clear hierarchy of performance, with the High preset at 4K offering the best compromise between visual quality and smoothness, while the Ultra preset requires a significant performance sacrifice for marginal visual gains.