Ready Or Not

Ready Or Not, a tactical shooter from 2021, presents an interesting testbed for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The measured data shows this combination producing extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, indicating a system with substantial performance headroom. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, examining how the CPU and GPU contribute to the experience and how the combo ranks against other tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Ready Or Not compared to other tested systems?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 78th out of 2947 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top percentile of all systems benchmarked.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 resolution, the average frame rate drops from 175 FPS on Low settings to 98 FPS on Ultra settings, a significant 77 FPS reduction for the highest visual fidelity.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 139 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay in a tactical shooter.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is a mere 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807, indicating nearly identical multi-core performance.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and size, and how might this benefit the game?

A: The RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This large memory pool and high bandwidth are more than sufficient for the game's assets and should prevent any texture streaming bottlenecks.

Q: Is there a measurable difference in average FPS between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 463, while at 2560x1440 it drops to 292. This represents a 171 FPS decrease when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for Ready Or Not suggests that the "High" preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 4K, the High preset delivers an average of 139 FPS, which is only 14 FPS lower than the Medium preset's 153 FPS but provides a substantial visual upgrade. The jump to Ultra at 4K results in a more significant performance cost, dropping the average to 98 FPS. While still playable, this represents a 41 FPS loss over High, a steep price for the extra visual effects.

At lower resolutions, the High preset continues to be the most sensible choice. At 1440p, it achieves an average of 266 FPS, and at 1080p, it reaches 421 FPS. These numbers are so high that the visual fidelity of the High preset is easily justified. Choosing Low or Medium at these resolutions would only serve to maximize an already excessive frame rate at the expense of image quality. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the High preset is the clear winner, as it provides a significant visual enhancement over Medium while still delivering frame rates that far exceed the refresh rate of most displays.

The Ultra preset, while offering the best visuals, shows a disproportionate performance penalty. At 4K, the drop from High to Ultra is 41 FPS (139 to 98), which is a 29.5% decrease. This pattern is consistent across all resolutions, suggesting that the Ultra preset enables particularly demanding effects. Given the data, the High preset appears to be the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance for this specific CPU-GPU combination.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of how performance scales with resolution. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves an average of 421 FPS. Moving to 1440p, this drops to 266 FPS, a 36.8% decrease. The jump to 4K results in a further drop to 139 FPS, which is a 47.7% decrease from the 1440p figure. This scaling indicates that the system is becoming increasingly GPU-bound as the resolution increases, which is expected due to the higher pixel count.

The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, but the system remains exceptionally fast. However, the transition from 1440p to 4K shows an even larger relative decline, pointing to the RTX 5090's rendering workload at 4K being the primary limiting factor. The CPU, with its high core count and boost clock, is clearly capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 531 FPS at 1080p Low. At 4K, the data suggests the GPU is working much harder, and its performance ceiling is what determines the final frame rate.

This analysis is further supported by the fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra is 98 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 175 FPS at 4K Low. The scaling between settings at the same resolution is more pronounced than the scaling between resolutions at the same setting, indicating that the game's graphical options have a significant impact on the GPU load. The data implies that for this combo, the CPU has ample headroom, and the resolution and settings are the primary levers for performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in the 78th position out of 2947 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This is a strong ranking, placing the system in the top 2.6% of all configurations tested. The high rank confirms the sheer performance of both components, though the data suggests that other combos may achieve higher frame rates, likely due to different CPU or GPU configurations that are better optimized for this specific title.

The CPU itself has a percentile rank of 96 against all tested CPUs, and the GPU has a percentile rank of 92 against all tested GPUs. This indicates that both components are at the top of their respective performance tiers. However, the combo's rank in this specific game is lower than the individual percentile ranks might suggest, implying that the game's engine may not fully utilize the strengths of this particular pairing. The data suggests there may be diminishing returns with this high-end setup, as other combinations might offer a better performance balance for Ready Or Not.

The rank is a single point of reference, and the measured FPS data provides a more granular view. The system is capable of delivering exceptional performance, but its position in the overall ranking shows that it is not the absolute fastest combination for this game. This could be due to a variety of factors, including driver optimization or specific game engine bottlenecks that favor other hardware configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a dominant force in these benchmark results. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth ensure that memory capacity and bandwidth are never limiting factors in Ready Or Not. The GPU's high base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with its 21760 shading units, provide the raw computational power needed to drive the high frame rates seen in the data. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate drops to 98 FPS, indicating the immense workload of rendering at that resolution with maximum settings.

The GPU's performance is also reflected in its benchmark scores. Its Passmark G3D score of 39650 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355 demonstrate its top-tier capabilities. The data implies that the RTX 5090 is not just capable but overkill for this game at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor, a scenario reversed at 4K where the GPU's rendering capabilities take precedence. The GPU's role is therefore dynamic, shifting from a co-star at 1080p to the main event at 4K.

The near-zero performance delta with its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a 0.3% difference, is misleading in a gaming context. The Tesla P100 is a compute-focused card, and its similar average benchmark score does not translate to gaming performance. In this game, the RTX 5090's gaming-specific features and drivers are what allow it to achieve the high FPS numbers recorded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The average frame rates are 531 FPS on Low, 463 FPS on Medium, 421 FPS on High, and 296 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a min FPS of 394 and a max of 533, showing a relatively tight frame time distribution. These numbers indicate a system that is heavily CPU-bound at this resolution, as even the most demanding settings cannot push the frame rate low enough to stress the GPU fully.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very high. The average FPS figures are 335 for Low, 292 for Medium, 266 for High, and 187 for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min of 248 and max of 336 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a clear performance hit, but the system still delivers frame rates that are more than sufficient for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive but shows the GPU starting to work harder. The average FPS values are 175 for Low, 153 for Medium, 139 for High, and 98 for Ultra. The Medium preset has a min of 130 and max of 176 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is particularly steep, representing a 41 FPS decrease. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that are extremely taxing on the GPU at 4K resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, provides a robust foundation for the system. Its boost clock of 5.80 GHz is a key factor in its ability to maintain high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 highlight its strong all-around performance. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary driver of performance, as the frame rates are high enough that the GPU is not the limiting factor.

The CPU's performance is closely matched with its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, with a delta of only 0.2%. This indicates that in this game, the 290K Plus does not offer a significant performance advantage over its predecessor. The CPU's role in Ready Or Not appears to be more about maintaining a high minimum frame rate and ensuring the GPU is fed with data, rather than being the sole determinant of maximum FPS.

The data implies that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, even at 4K. The frame rates at 4K are primarily dictated by the GPU's performance. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 4823, is likely crucial for the game's AI and physics calculations, which are often single-threaded in nature. This ensures that the game world remains responsive and consistent, even when the GPU is under heavy load.