Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not is a tactical shooter that scales aggressively with hardware, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance across all tested settings. At 1080p, this pairing produces frame rates well beyond the refresh rate of any mainstream display, while at 4K it remains highly playable, though the gap between quality presets becomes more pronounced. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is the most demanding option, while the Medium preset offers a balanced experience that maintains high frame rates with minimal compromise.

Settings Recommendations

The measured results show a clear hierarchy across the four quality presets at every resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 519 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combination. The Medium preset follows at 452 FPS, High at 411 FPS, and Ultra drops to 289 FPS. While the Low preset offers the maximum performance, the gap between Low and Medium is only 67 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High is 41 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 122 FPS. This data suggests that Medium provides the best experience per measured row, as it retains a substantial 452 FPS average while offering improved visual fidelity over Low without the significant performance penalty seen with High and Ultra.

At 1440p, the same pattern emerges. Low delivers 327 FPS, Medium 286 FPS, High 260 FPS, and Ultra 182 FPS. The Medium preset again stands out as the sweet spot, with a 41 FPS advantage over High and a 104 FPS advantage over Ultra. The 1440p Medium result also includes a minimum FPS of 243 and a maximum of 328, indicating consistent frame pacing. At 4K, the differences become more critical. Low achieves 171 FPS, Medium 149 FPS, High 136 FPS, and Ultra falls to 95 FPS. Here, the Medium preset at 149 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 144 FPS for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, while High at 136 FPS is also viable but with less headroom. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 95 FPS, is playable but noticeably more demanding, and the data shows it is the only preset at any resolution that dips below the 100 FPS threshold.

The benchmark results indicate that Medium is the optimal setting for this hardware combination across all resolutions. It delivers 452 FPS at 1080p, 286 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 4K, which are all strong numbers that balance visual quality with performance. Players seeking absolute maximum frame rates can use Low, but the gains are modest compared to the visual trade-offs. Conversely, Ultra is only recommended for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate, as it reduces performance by 36% at 4K compared to Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU features a large cache hierarchy, including 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for a tactical shooter like Ready Or Not, which relies on single-thread performance for game logic and AI, but can also leverage multiple cores for physics and scene complexity.

Benchmark data for this CPU shows strong multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. The PassMark multi-thread score is 60,860, and the single-thread score is 4,823. These scores place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance. The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has an average benchmark score of 83,807, which is only 0.2% lower than the 290K Plus’s average of 84,003. This marginal difference suggests that the 290K Plus offers a slight edge over its immediate predecessor, but the performance delta is negligible in real-world gaming.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU’s role is evident in the frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU must keep up with the high frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combination achieves 519 FPS, which likely approaches the CPU’s limit for this game. The boost clock of 5.80 GHz and high single-thread score of 7,303 in Cinebench R23 indicate that the CPU has sufficient headroom to handle the game’s logic at these high frame rates. However, the fact that the 1080p Low score (519 FPS) is lower than the theoretical maximum suggests that the CPU is a limiting factor at this extreme, though the game remains highly playable.

The CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads are also relevant for Ready Or Not, which can utilize multiple threads for AI-driven enemy behavior and environmental interactions. The PassMark physics score of 3,315 indicates robust physics processing, which is important for the game’s destructible environments and ballistic simulations. Overall, the data shows that the 290K Plus is more than capable of feeding the RTX 4090 at all tested settings, with the CPU being the primary bottleneck only at 1080p Low where frame rates exceed 500 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. It has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The GPU’s memory clock is 1313 MHz, with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps. This configuration delivers an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s.

The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of VRAM is a significant asset for Ready Or Not, which can use high-resolution textures and complex environments. At 4K Ultra, the game likely consumes a substantial amount of VRAM, and the 24 GB capacity ensures there is no memory bottleneck. The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its dominance: a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271,631. The GPU has a percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs, which is high but not the absolute top, indicating that some newer or specialized GPUs may outperform it in specific workloads.

In Ready Or Not, the GPU’s role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate drops from 171 FPS at Low to 95 FPS at Ultra, a reduction of 76 FPS. This scaling is primarily due to the GPU’s workload, as the CPU is less stressed at 4K due to lower frame rates. The RTX 4090’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are sufficient to handle the game’s rendering demands, but the Ultra preset at 4K clearly pushes the GPU to its limits, resulting in an average of 95 FPS.

The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is also crucial for texture streaming at 4K, and the data suggests that the RTX 4090 handles this task effectively, as the Medium preset at 4K achieves 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS. The GPU’s 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are not directly measured in the provided data, but they contribute to the overall performance. The RTX 4090’s nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, has an average benchmark score of 60,326, which is essentially identical to the RTX 4090’s average of 60,347, though this comparison is misleading given the vast difference in gaming performance. The data clearly shows that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of frame rates in Ready Or Not at 4K, where the CPU has ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 117th out of 2,947 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This places it in the top 4% of all configurations, indicating exceptional performance. The rank is based on the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, and the high position reflects the strength of both components. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking contribute to this strong overall result.

Compared to other combos, this pairing excels at 1080p, where the CPU’s high single-thread performance allows the RTX 4090 to reach frame rates exceeding 500 FPS at Low settings. At 1440p, the combo maintains excellent performance, with all presets exceeding 180 FPS. At 4K, the combo still delivers playable frame rates, with Medium at 149 FPS being the standout result. The rank of 117 out of 2,947 suggests that while there are 116 combos that perform better, likely featuring newer or more specialized hardware, this pairing is among the elite for this game.

The data shows that the combo’s performance is well-balanced, with neither component being a significant bottleneck at most resolutions. The CPU’s 24 cores and high boost clock, combined with the GPU’s massive memory bandwidth and compute power, create a system that can handle the game’s most demanding scenarios. The rank also implies that the combo is more than sufficient for competitive play, where high and consistent frame rates are critical. The only area where the combo falls short is at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 95, but this is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 411 FPS, which drops to 260 FPS at 1440p and 136 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. Similarly, at Medium settings, the FPS drops from 452 FPS at 1080p to 286 FPS at 1440p and 149 FPS at 4K, a 37% and 67% reduction, respectively. At Low settings, the drop is from 519 FPS at 1080p to 327 FPS at 1440p and 171 FPS at 4K, a 37% and 67% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 289 FPS at 1080p to 182 FPS at 1440p and 95 FPS at 4K, a 37% and 67% reduction.

The consistent percentage drops across all presets indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when scaling resolutions. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but as the resolution increases, the GPU’s workload becomes more demanding, leading to proportionally lower frame rates. This is typical for a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090, which has the raw power to handle 4K but still experiences a significant performance penalty compared to 1080p.

The data also shows that the scaling is linear, with the same percentage drop for each preset, suggesting that the game’s rendering workload scales uniformly with resolution. At 4K, the frame rates remain playable across all presets, with Low at 171 FPS and Medium at 149 FPS being the most comfortable. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is the only one that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, but it is still above it, indicating that the combo can handle 4K gaming without significant issues. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, while the CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice for 4K, delivering an average of 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS. This provides a smooth experience while maintaining good visual quality. The High preset at 136 FPS is also viable, but Ultra drops to 95 FPS, which is less ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional performance, with the Low preset achieving 519 FPS, Medium at 452 FPS, High at 411 FPS, and Ultra at 289 FPS. These frame rates are far beyond the refresh rate of any standard monitor, making the CPU the limiting factor at this resolution, particularly at Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, where frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, especially at Low settings where the frame rate reaches 519 FPS, indicating the CPU’s single-thread performance is the ceiling.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its nearest rival?

A: The 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K’s score of 83,807. This indicates a marginal performance advantage, but the difference is negligible in practical gaming scenarios.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 117th out of 2,947 tested configurations in Ready Or Not, placing it in the top 4% of all combinations. This is a strong result, indicating that this pairing is among the best for this game, though not the absolute top.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s 24 GB of VRAM matter for this game?

A: While the provided data does not measure VRAM usage directly, the 24 GB capacity ensures that memory is not a limiting factor at any resolution or preset. The GPU’s performance at 4K Ultra, with an average of 95 FPS, suggests that the game’s memory demands are well within the card’s capabilities.