Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not is a demanding tactical shooter that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a performance profile that is strong at high refresh rates but requires careful settings management for 4K. The data shows a combo that ranks in the 683rd position out of 2947 tested combinations, placing it comfortably in the top quarter of all systems. This ranking indicates a well-balanced pairing capable of high frame rates, but the measured results reveal a significant performance cliff at the highest visual settings, particularly at 4K resolution, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 683 out of 2947 tested combos places it in the 77th percentile of all tested systems, a solid position that reflects the synergy between the Core Ultra 5 225 and the RTX 4070. This is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, but it is a high-mid-range pairing that outperforms the vast majority of systems in the database. The CPU itself sits in the 85th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 36938, while the GPU is in the 81st percentile with an average score of 37648. The near-identical percentile rankings suggest a balanced system where neither component is drastically outclassing the other, which is often the recipe for consistent performance across various workloads.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 225 is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a deltaPct of 0. It is also within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and the Intel Core i9-12900T. This clustering indicates that the 10-core, 10-thread Arrow Lake processor delivers performance that is highly competitive with established mid-range options. For the GPU, the RTX 4070 is similarly locked in a tight battle, with its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, being just 0.1% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% behind, and the RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% ahead, which shows that the desktop RTX 4070 is performing at the expected level for its class, neither over- nor under-achieving in synthetic benchmarks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the workhorse of this combo, and its specifications directly explain the frame rates observed in the game. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, the GPU features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is crucial for feeding the high-resolution textures and complex geometry found in Ready Or Not. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz allow it to sustain high throughput, as evidenced by its 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power.

The VRAM capacity is a key factor at higher resolutions. The 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra settings, the game’s demand for memory and fill rate pushes the GPU to its limits. The data confirms this, as the average FPS drops from 96 at 4K High to a playable-but-strained 67 at 4K Ultra. This is not a CPU limitation; it is the GPU running out of headroom. The RTX 4070’s 64 ROPs, while adequate for 1440p, struggle to maintain the same pixel throughput at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that while the card is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at 1080p, its performance curve flattens significantly as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU with this memory bus width and ROP count.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, which tells a definitive story about which component is the limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 291 FPS. This drops to 184 FPS at 1440p and further to 96 FPS at 4K. This is a 36.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.8% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steep decline from 1440p to 4K, where the pixel count more than doubles, shows that the RTX 4070 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The scaling on Low settings is even more telling. At 1080p Low, the system produces a massive 367 FPS, which drops to 232 FPS at 1440p and 121 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Low result (121 FPS) is lower than the 1080p High result (291 FPS) underscores that the CPU has plenty of headroom; the GPU is simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels. The gap between the 1440p and 4K results widens as settings increase, from a 47.8% drop at High to a 43.3% drop at Ultra (from 129 to 67 FPS). This consistent pattern confirms that for this game, the RTX 4070 is the performance ceiling, and the Core Ultra 5 225 is more than capable of feeding it data at all tested resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally fast across all presets. The Low preset yields an average of 367 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of any standard monitor. The Medium preset produces 320 FPS with a minimum of 272 FPS, ensuring a perfectly smooth experience. High settings drop to 291 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 204 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is entirely GPU-bound, and the CPU is never a constraint. The minimum FPS of 272 at Medium and 368 max FPS show a stable frame time distribution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very high, but the scaling begins to show. The Low preset delivers 232 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings produce 202 FPS with a minimum of 172 FPS, keeping the experience fluid. High settings average 184 FPS, and Ultra drops to 129 FPS. The 1440p results are ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming, as even the Ultra preset stays above the 120 FPS threshold, which confirms the RTX 4070’s capabilities at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. The Low preset delivers a playable 121 FPS, while Medium drops to 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS, which is still smooth for most players. However, the Ultra preset falls to an average of 67 FPS, which is a significant drop. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K is a 30% performance loss, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional graphical effects are too demanding for the RTX 4070 to handle at this resolution. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only viable on this combo with Medium or High settings, and that Ultra should be reserved for 1440p or lower.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It has a 20 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 25891 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3655 in single-core, which are strong numbers for a non-unlocked desktop chip. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4412 is particularly high, which is important for games like Ready Or Not that often rely on a few heavily loaded threads.

In this game, the CPU’s role is to maintain high minimum frame rates and ensure the GPU is never starved of draw calls. The data shows that at 1080p, where the CPU load is relatively higher compared to the GPU, the system still achieves 291 FPS on High settings. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 has ample single-thread performance to handle the game’s AI and physics calculations. The high boost clock of 4.90 GHz is a key factor here, as tactical shooters often have complex simulation logic that benefits from high clock speeds. The CPU’s performance is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which is known for its strong gaming performance, confirming that the Core Ultra 5 225 is not a weak link in this pairing. The 65W TDP also suggests that it can sustain these clocks without thermal throttling, ensuring consistent performance over long gaming sessions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 users, the Ultra preset at 204 FPS is the clear choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while still delivering frame rates far above any 144Hz monitor’s capability. If a player has a 240Hz or 360Hz display, dropping to High settings at 291 FPS will provide a competitive advantage, though the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal in fast-paced scenarios. The Medium preset’s 320 FPS is only necessary for esports-level play where every millisecond counts, as the minimum FPS of 272 ensures no dips below 240Hz.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset at 129 FPS is the sweet spot for a 120Hz or 144Hz monitor, providing the full visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 184 FPS is ideal for 165Hz or 180Hz displays, and it offers a significant performance buffer over Ultra. The data shows that the jump from High to Ultra at 1440p is a 30% performance hit (from 184 to 129 FPS), so players who prioritize frame rate over visual effects should stick with High. The Medium preset at 202 FPS is overkill for most monitors, but it does provide the highest minimum FPS of 172, which ensures no stutters.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is to avoid the Ultra preset entirely. The 67 FPS average is below the 72 FPS threshold needed for a truly smooth experience on many 4K displays, and the lack of a minimum FPS measurement suggests potential dips. The High preset at 96 FPS is the balanced choice, providing good visual quality with a comfortable frame rate. For players who want maximum frame rate at 4K, the Medium preset at 106 FPS is better, with a minimum of 90 FPS that keeps the action fluid. The Low preset at 121 FPS is viable for high-refresh 4K gaming, but the visual sacrifices are significant. Given the data, the High preset is the best overall experience at 4K, offering a 43% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a level of detail that is still visually rich for a tactical shooter.