Ready Or Not

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination delivers a compelling experience in Ready Or Not, a tactical shooter that demands precise frame pacing and consistent performance. The measured data reveals a system that excels at high refresh rates, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, while still managing respectable 4K performance. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, offering practical settings guidance and examining the distinct roles the CPU and GPU play in shaping the final experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings preset for this combo based on the measured FPS?

A: The data suggests 1440p with High settings is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 142 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining frame rates well above the 100 FPS threshold. For competitive play, 1080p Low at 284 FPS average offers the highest performance, while 4K is only viable at Low settings (94 FPS) or Medium settings (82 FPS).

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 225 FPS at 1920x1080 to 142 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 74 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a substantial 67% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes heavily loaded at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 1282nd out of 2947 tested combos for Ready Or Not. This places it in the upper half of all systems, showcasing that it is a capable performer, though not at the absolute top tier for this specific title.

Q: How does the RTX 5060's VRAM capacity potentially affect 4K Ultra performance?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 128-bit bus. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS plummets to 52, the lowest of any measured configuration. While other factors like raw compute power play a role, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely a limiting factor at this extreme resolution and preset, potentially causing texture thrashing or reduced frame pacing.

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

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 179 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 100 FPS. This is a 79 FPS or roughly a 44% reduction in average frame rate. The Medium preset (156 FPS) and High preset (142 FPS) sit between these two extremes.

Q: Does the CPU's single-threaded performance appear sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The Core Ultra 5 235 has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and scores 2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core. The high 1080p performance, including a 284 FPS average at Low settings, indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at these settings. The game appears capable of fully utilizing the CPU's high-frequency cores.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and the player's priorities. For players with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, the Low preset at 284 FPS average is the clear choice for maximum responsiveness. The game's tactical nature often benefits from higher frame rates to ensure smooth target tracking. However, the High preset at 225 FPS still provides an excellent experience with better visual fidelity, and the Ultra preset at 158 FPS is perfectly playable for those who want the best graphics. Medium (247 FPS) is a strong middle ground, offering a 37 FPS advantage over High with minimal visual compromise.

The 1440p resolution presents a more balanced scenario. The High preset, with an average of 142 FPS, is the recommended starting point. It offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining a frame rate that comfortably exceeds the 120 FPS mark for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 100 FPS is still viable, but the 42 FPS drop from High suggests a heavy performance penalty for the extra visual effects. The Low preset (179 FPS) is for players who prioritize frame rate above all else, while Medium (156 FPS) is a good compromise.

For 4K gaming, the situation is more constrained. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS average is not recommended for a tactical shooter, as frame pacing and responsiveness are critical. The High preset at 74 FPS is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 82 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS is likely the best balance for a playable 4K experience. The Low preset at 94 FPS offers the most consistent performance, but the visual downgrade may be too significant for some. For most players, the data suggests that 1440p is the "sweet spot" resolution for this hardware, with High settings providing the best overall combination of visual quality and performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. Its specs include 8 GB of GDDR7 memory, a 128-bit memory bus, and 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. Its 3840 shading units and 30 RT cores are designed for modern DirectX 12 Ultimate titles like Ready Or Not. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 20891 and its 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate a solid mid-range performer.

The benchmark data shows a clear GPU bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 225. At 1440p High, it drops to 142. At 4K High, it falls to 74. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 5060's performance is strong enough to drive high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a notable concern for 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 52. This suggests that the memory capacity, rather than raw compute power, may be the primary constraint at that extreme setting.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is adequate for the game's data requirements at 1080p and 1440p. However, the 128-bit bus width might limit performance when the game needs to stream large textures at higher resolutions. The measured data does not show a catastrophic failure, but the performance at 4K Ultra is noticeably lower than what might be expected from the GPU's other characteristics. The RTX 5060 appears to be a capable 1440p card for this title, with 4K being a stretch goal only at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 achieves a rank of 1282 out of 2947 total tested combos for Ready Or Not. This places the system in the 43rd percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly 57% of all systems tested. This is a respectable position for a mid-range desktop setup, indicating that it delivers above-average performance for the game.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 46062, which places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (score 46030, 0.1% higher) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (score 46098, 0.1% lower). This shows that the Ultra 5 235's raw compute performance is on par with some high-end laptop and desktop chips. The GPU's average benchmark score is 26331, placing it in the 72nd percentile. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (26401, 0.3% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26421, 0.3% higher). Interestingly, the GPU's synthetic scores are close to those of some integrated and entry-level discrete GPUs, though the RTX 5060's real-world gaming performance is likely much better due to its dedicated hardware and drivers.

The game-specific rank of 1282 out of 2947 is lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This indicates that Ready Or Not has specific performance characteristics that this combo doesn't perfectly align with. The game may be more sensitive to certain GPU features or memory configurations. The combo's rank shows that while the system is good, there are many other combinations that perform better in this particular title, likely due to the game's unique engine demands.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU features 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 14769 for multi-core and 2085 for single-core. This single-core performance is crucial for Ready Or Not, which is a tactical shooter that often relies on strong per-core performance for game logic and AI.

The data shows that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an average of 284 FPS. This high frame rate is only possible if the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game state updates. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock and 2085 single-core score appear sufficient for this task. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average is 158 FPS, which is still very high and suggests the CPU is keeping up.

However, the CPU's multi-core performance may play a role at lower settings where the GPU is less stressed. The multi-core score of 14769 is solid, but it is not exceptional. The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is interesting. It is 0.1% slower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX in average synthetic score, but 0.2% faster than the AMD EPYC 4364P. These differences are negligible in synthetic benchmarks. In game, the CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads are likely more than enough for Ready Or Not, which may not be heavily multi-threaded. The data implies that the CPU's high clock speed and strong single-thread performance are the key attributes for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers outstanding performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 284 FPS, making it ideal for high refresh rate displays. The Medium preset averages 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 FPS and a maximum of 285 FPS. High settings yield 225 FPS average, and even Ultra settings maintain a solid 158 FPS average. This shows that at 1080p, the combo has ample headroom for any settings configuration.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows a clear scaling trend. The Low preset averages 179 FPS, which is a 37% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 156 FPS with minimum and maximum of 133 and 180 FPS, respectively. High settings deliver 142 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 100 FPS average. The 79 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution highlights the significant impact of the Ultra preset's added effects. The High preset's 142 FPS is a sweet spot, offering a good balance.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 94 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings average 82 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, indicating some frame dips. High settings drop to 74 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of only 52 FPS. This makes 4K Ultra effectively unplayable for a game requiring precise aim. The 4K results show that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the performance drop from 1440p is substantial across all settings. The data suggests that 4K is only recommended with the Low or Medium presets for a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck characteristics. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 225 at 1080p to 142 at 1440p, and then to 74 at 4K. This represents a 37% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 4K drop being more severe. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases dramatically with pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling shows a similar trend but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS drops from 284 at 1080p to 179 at 1440p (a 37% drop), and then to 94 at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). The percentage drops are similar to High settings, which suggests that the GPU is consistently the limiting factor across all settings presets. However, the 1080p Low result of 284 FPS is exceptionally high, indicating that the CPU is capable of delivering high frame rates when the GPU is not fully loaded.

The scaling data implies that the RTX 5060's performance is the primary constraint at 1440p and above. The CPU's role becomes less significant as resolution increases, as the GPU takes more time to render each frame. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is particularly telling. The drop from 1080p Ultra (158 FPS) to 4K Ultra (52 FPS) is a 67% reduction. This suggests that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus may be struggling to handle the game's higher-resolution textures and effects. The data indicates that for the best experience, players should target 1080p or 1440p, where the combo's strengths are fully realized, rather than pushing to 4K where the GPU's limitations become apparent.