Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not, a tactical shooter that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on the scene, shows a distinctive performance curve for the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination. The measured frames per second reveal a system that is heavily reliant on the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the processor’s strength becomes apparent only when the workload shifts. The data indicates a pairing that is capable of high refresh rate play at 1440p, but requires careful settings management to maintain fluidity at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic drop in average frame rates, confirming that the RTX 4060 is the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 148.3 at 1920x1080 to 95.4 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 36% from the 1080p baseline. Scaling further to 3840x2160 yields just 49.3 FPS, a 67% decrease compared to the 1080p Ultra result. This steep decline is typical of a GPU that is limited by its memory bandwidth and raw throughput when pushing 4K pixel counts.

The pattern persists across all quality presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 266.5 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 169.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 87.6 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is significant in every case, with the 4K result consistently being roughly half of the 1440p figure. For instance, High settings produce 134.7 FPS at 1440p versus 67.7 FPS at 4K, while Medium yields 145.0 FPS at 1440p compared to 77.3 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior suggests that the CPU, the Intel Core i9-14900K, is not the limiting factor at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p, even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains an average above 148 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to indicate that the processor can feed the GPU without issue. However, the massive performance hit at 4K points directly at the RTX 4060’s 128-bit memory interface and 8 GB frame buffer. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high refresh rates, rather than 4K, where it falls below the 60 FPS threshold on the Ultra preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and 18,900 million transistors. Its core configuration includes 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines, with a boost clock rated at 2460 MHz. The memory subsystem is a critical factor here: 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. This bandwidth figure is modest for a modern GPU, and the measured results show that it becomes a wall at 4K resolutions.

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU’s performance scales almost linearly with the quality preset, but only within a given resolution. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 266.5 FPS down to 148.3 FPS, showing that the GPU still has headroom even when the CPU is not stressed. At 1440p, the same preset change results in a range from 169.9 FPS down to 95.4 FPS. The 4K results compress further, with Low achieving 87.6 FPS and Ultra dropping to 49.3 FPS. This compression at 4K indicates that the GPU’s compute units and memory bandwidth are saturated, leaving little room for quality improvements without significant frame rate penalties.

The RTX 4060’s percentile ranking among all GPUs is 66, placing it above the median but well below the top tier. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and the Intel Arc B580, with the RTX 4060 being roughly 0.7% faster than the Arc B580 and about 0.6% slower than the RX 6600M based on average benchmark scores. In Ready Or Not specifically, the 4K Ultra result of 49.3 FPS is below the ideal 60 FPS target, which suggests that users should avoid maxing out settings at this resolution. The GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity is likely a contributing factor, as higher presets at 4K demand more frame buffer than this card can comfortably provide.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor scores in the 97th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. The data does not show the CPU being a limiting factor in Ready Or Not, as the frame rates at 1080p are consistently high across all presets.

At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 148.3 FPS, which is still a very playable frame rate. This suggests that the i9-14900K’s high single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 7040 score in Cinebench R23 single-core, is sufficient to keep up with the game’s simulation and AI logic. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, has an average score that is 0.7% higher, while the AMD EPYC 7413 is 0.3% lower, indicating that the i9-14900K is well within the expected range for its class.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent when looking at the scaling from 1080p to 1440p. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 266.5 FPS at 1080p to 169.9 FPS at 1440p, which is a 36% reduction. This drop is larger than what would be expected if the CPU were the bottleneck, as the GPU is clearly being tasked more heavily at the higher resolution. The fact that the 1080p Low result exceeds 260 FPS indicates that the processor has significant headroom, and the frame rate is being capped by the GPU’s pixel throughput rather than the CPU’s processing speed.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Ready Or Not, the Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1012 out of 1748 total combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s mid-range positioning. The CPU is a top-tier part, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the RTX 4060’s performance ceiling, particularly at higher resolutions.

The combo’s rank of 1012 out of 1748 suggests that there are many other pairings that achieve higher average frame rates in this game. This is expected, as the RTX 4060 is a mainstream GPU, and the data shows that it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. However, the rank is not a measure of playability at lower resolutions. At 1440p High settings, the combo delivers 134.7 FPS, which is a strong result that would rival many higher-tier GPUs. The rank reflects the average across all tested resolutions and presets, and the 4K results are likely pulling the overall position down.

For context, the GPU’s percentile rank of 66 and the CPU’s percentile rank of 97 highlight the imbalance. The CPU is in the top 3% of all processors, while the GPU is in the top 34%. This means the combo’s performance is almost entirely GPU-bound, and users looking to improve their results would need to upgrade the graphics card first. The data shows that the CPU offers no meaningful constraint in this game, as even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate is high enough to suggest the GPU is the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets produce playable results, but the High preset with 208.4 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset, while achieving 148.3 FPS, provides diminishing returns for the significant frame rate cost. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Medium preset at 229.8 FPS is the best choice, as it stays well above 200 FPS while still offering reasonable visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the clear recommendation, delivering 134.7 FPS. This is high enough for a 144Hz monitor and provides a good level of graphical detail. The Ultra preset drops to 95.4 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the headroom needed for consistent high refresh rate gameplay. The Low preset at 169.9 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual quality loss is substantial. The Medium preset at 145.0 FPS is a viable middle ground, though High offers only a 10% reduction in frame rate for noticeably better visuals.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Ultra preset at 49.3 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided. The High preset at 67.7 FPS is the best option for a playable experience, as it stays above 60 FPS while offering the highest visual quality among the viable options. The Medium preset at 77.3 FPS is also acceptable, but the difference in quality between Medium and High is noticeable. The Low preset at 87.6 FPS is the only way to get a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual fidelity. For 4K play, the data suggests that High settings are the maximum recommended, with Medium being a safer choice for ensuring stable frame rates in demanding scenes.