Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not presents an interesting case study in how a top-tier CPU and GPU combination behaves across different resolution and settings presets. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable, but the scaling patterns reveal where the performance ceiling lies. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the combo's standing relative to other tested configurations, and the individual roles of the processor and graphics card in shaping the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The most revealing data point is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 519 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 327 FPS, a 37% reduction. Stepping up to 4K brings the average down to 171 FPS, which is another 48% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep scaling curve indicates that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, as the GPU's workload increases dramatically with pixel count.

However, the scaling pattern shifts when looking at higher settings presets. At Ultra settings, the 1080p average is 289 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 182 FPS (a 37% decrease), and at 4K it falls to 95 FPS (a 48% decrease from 1440p). The relative percentage drops are nearly identical between Low and Ultra presets, which suggests that the game's settings are not heavily CPU-bound in a way that would flatten the curve at lower resolutions. Instead, the consistent scaling points to a purely GPU-limited scenario across all measured configurations.

The gap between the Low and Ultra presets also tells a story about the limiting component. At 1080p, the difference between Low (519 FPS) and Ultra (289 FPS) is 230 FPS. At 4K, that same gap narrows to 76 FPS (171 vs 95). This compression of the settings spread at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck—when the pixel workload is massive at 4K, the relative cost of each setting level becomes a smaller fraction of the total render time. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p, but at 4K the GPU's raw throughput is the defining factor.

The Medium preset with its min/max data provides additional insight. At 4K Medium, the average is 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 and a maximum of 172. The 45 FPS spread between min and max indicates some scene complexity variation, but the average remains high. At 1080p Medium, the average is 452 FPS with a min of 385 and max of 520, showing a 135 FPS spread. This wider variation at lower resolutions is typical when the CPU is more involved in frame pacing, but the absolute numbers are so high that it does not indicate a practical problem.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and RTX 4090 combination holds a rank of 134 out of 3714 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This places it in the top 3.6% of all configurations tested, which is an exceptionally strong showing. The rank reflects the overall performance across all measured settings and resolutions, and the data suggests that this pairing is near the upper echelon of what is possible for this game.

Looking at the individual components, the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 90, meaning it outperforms 90% of tested processors in general benchmarks. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 88, placing it above 88% of tested graphics cards. These component-level percentiles are slightly lower than the combo's overall rank might suggest, which indicates that the pairing is well-balanced for this specific title. The RTX 4090's massive memory bandwidth and shading power are particularly well-suited to Ready Or Not's rendering demands.

The combo rank of 134 out of 3714 means there are 133 tested combinations that perform better. These would presumably include higher-end CPUs or multi-GPU setups, but the data does not specify which combinations surpass it. The fact that this pairing ranks so highly despite the GPU being listed as end-of-life and the CPU being a mid-range 14th-gen part underscores the efficiency of this specific match. The system is not just fast on paper; it translates that hardware potential into actual in-game performance at an elite level.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 136 FPS. This is a very playable frame rate for a tactical shooter, offering smooth motion even on high-refresh-rate 4K displays.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 327 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 182 FPS. The Low preset is 79.7% faster, a significant difference that may be worthwhile for competitive play where maximum frame rates are prioritized over visual fidelity.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data shows the 1080p Low average is 519 FPS, which is extremely high. There is no indication of a CPU bottleneck in the measured results, as the frame rates continue to scale with settings changes. The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are sufficient to keep the RTX 4090 well-fed at this resolution.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 149 FPS while the High preset averages 136 FPS. The difference is 13 FPS, a relatively small drop of 8.7% for the visual improvements High settings typically provide.

Q: What is the lowest measured average FPS in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 95 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, demonstrating that even the most demanding configuration remains playable.

Q: How does the combo rank in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF + RTX 4090 combination ranks 134th out of 3714 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This places it in the top 4% of all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to the High preset as the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. At 4K High, the average FPS is 136, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay and offers headroom for frame-time spikes. At 1440p High, the average jumps to 260 FPS, which is exceptional for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset avoids the steep performance cost of Ultra while delivering most of the visual improvements.

The Ultra preset, while playable, shows the largest performance penalty. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 95 FPS, and at 1440p it falls to 182 FPS. The 41 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1440p (260 vs 182) is a 22.5% reduction that may not be justified by the visual gains, especially in a tactical shooter where clarity and responsiveness matter more than minor graphical flourishes. The Medium preset sits between these two, offering 149 FPS at 4K and 286 FPS at 1440p, but it does not provide the same visual polish as High.

For competitive play, the Low preset is the clear choice. At 1080p Low, the system produces 519 FPS, which is more than enough for a 360Hz or 500Hz monitor. Even at 1440p Low, the 327 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays. The Low preset reduces visual clutter and can improve target visibility in a game where spotting enemies is critical. However, for single-player or immersive play, High at 1440p or 4K provides the best combination of frame rate and image quality, with the data showing a consistent and comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the averages are 519 FPS for Low, 452 FPS for Medium, 411 FPS for High, and 289 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 385 FPS and a maximum of 520 FPS, indicating a wide range of frame times depending on scene complexity, but the floor remains very high.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 327 FPS for Low, 286 FPS for Medium, 260 FPS for High, and 182 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 243 FPS and a maximum of 328 FPS. The 1440p results show that even the most demanding setting, Ultra, stays above 180 FPS, which is a strong result for a game with this level of environmental detail.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 171 FPS for Low, 149 FPS for Medium, 136 FPS for High, and 95 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 127 FPS and a maximum of 172 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 95 FPS is the only measured configuration that dips below 100 FPS, but it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution follows a predictable curve, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra—a 41 FPS difference at 1080p, a 78 FPS difference at 1440p, and a 41 FPS difference at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings 14 cores and 20 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,544 and a single-core score of 4,594. The Geekbench results show 17,085 for multi-core and 2,445 for single-core. These figures place the CPU in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, demonstrating that it is a high-performing processor in general workloads.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (519 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor, as this frame rate is far above what most games can achieve. The 20 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's AI and physics systems, which are common in tactical shooters. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing latency for frequently accessed game data.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.3% faster), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% faster), and Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% faster). These are all close in raw compute performance, but the i5-14600KF's boost clock of 5.30 GHz gives it an edge in lightly-threaded scenarios that often dictate frame pacing. The CPU's architecture, Raptor Lake, is designed for high single-thread performance, which directly benefits game engines that still rely on a primary thread for rendering commands.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates across all resolutions. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with an effective speed of 21 Gbps. The GPU has 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units, along with 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores.

The compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. The pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s. These figures translate directly to the measured in-game performance, where even at 4K Ultra the GPU maintains an average of 95 FPS. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking versus all GPUs is slightly lower than its raw specs might suggest, but this is due to the presence of newer or workstation-class cards in the benchmark pool.

The GPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% difference) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% slower). These comparisons are based on synthetic benchmark averages, not in-game performance, so the RTX 4090's dominance in Ready Or Not is more pronounced than these delta percentages imply. The 5 nm process node and Ada Lovelace architecture contribute to high clock speeds and efficiency, allowing the GPU to sustain these frame rates without thermal throttling in most scenarios. The 24 GB of VRAM is far more than Ready Or Not requires at any resolution, ensuring that texture streaming and high-resolution assets are never a bottleneck.