Roblox

Roblox, a sandbox title from 2006, presents an unusual performance profile for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination. The measured data shows that this pairing is highly capable of running the game, with frame rates that far exceed typical display refresh rates at every tested resolution. The analysis below interprets the measured FPS across resolution and settings, examining the respective roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this specific combo ranks against others in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant but not catastrophic, revealing a system that remains fluid even under maximum pixel load. At 1080p with Low settings, the average frame rate is 252 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 168 FPS, a reduction of 84 FPS (33.3%). At 4K, the average falls further to 95 FPS, which is a 157 FPS reduction from the 1080p baseline (62.3%). This scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1070 is the primary limiter at higher resolutions, but the CPU is strong enough to maintain high minimums.

The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the average FPS decreases proportionally, but the game remains playable even at 4K. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS goes from 203 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p (a 33.5% drop) and then to 77 at 4K (a 62.1% drop from 1080p). The 4K results suggest that the GPU is approaching its limits, as the scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper than from 1080p to 1440p. Specifically, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 68 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 58 FPS at High settings, indicating a more pronounced GPU bottleneck at the highest resolution.

The fact that the 4K Ultra preset still achieves an average of 62 FPS is notable, as this is a demanding setting for a GPU from the Pascal generation. The gap between 4K Low (95 FPS) and 4K Ultra (62 FPS) is 33 FPS, showing that while the GPU is stressed, it is not completely overwhelmed. In contrast, the gap between 1080p Low (252 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (165 FPS) is 87 FPS, suggesting that at lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU are working in a more balanced way, but the GPU still dictates the final output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, built on the 16 nm Pascal architecture with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, plays a decisive role in the measured results. The GPU has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, with a memory clock of 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specifications, paired with a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s, are sufficient to drive the frame rates observed. The GPU’s 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs contribute to its pixel throughput of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a key factor in maintaining performance at 4K. Roblox, with its user-generated content, can be demanding on memory, and the 8 GB allocation appears adequate for the tested presets. The fact that the 4K High preset achieves 77 FPS and the 4K Medium preset achieves 87 FPS (with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not running out of memory, which would cause severe stuttering. Instead, the performance is limited by the GPU’s raw compute power, which is rated at 6.463 TFLOPS FP32.

The GTX 1070’s percentile rank of 47 among all GPUs indicates it is in the mid-range of the database’s tested hardware. Its average benchmark score of 9780 places it close to rivals like the AMD FirePro W5000, which is 0.2% slower, and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, which is 0.5% slower. The nearest rival that is faster is the NVIDIA Tesla C2070, which is 0.7% ahead. This positioning shows that while the GTX 1070 is not a top-tier card, it offers reliable performance for a game like Roblox, which does not require the latest ray tracing or tensor core features.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is an exceptionally powerful processor, and its capabilities are evident in the high frame rates at lower resolutions. This CPU, part of the Core Ultra Series 2, features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s are more than sufficient to feed the GTX 1070. The CPU’s single-core performance is particularly relevant for Roblox, which often relies on a few primary threads.

Benchmark results show the CPU’s strength in both single and multi-threaded workloads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51731 in multi-core and 7303 in single-core, while in Cinebench R20 it scores 21727 and 3067 respectively. The Passmark single-thread score is 4823, and the multi-thread score is 60860. These scores place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is faster than 96% of the processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 84003 is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX.

The CPU’s role in this combo is to ensure that the GPU is the limiting factor, which is the ideal scenario for consistent performance. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 252 is likely near the CPU’s output limit for this game, but it is still high enough to avoid any perceptible bottleneck. The fact that the FPS scales down smoothly as resolution increases suggests that the CPU is never causing a stall. Even at 4K Ultra, the CPU is capable of supplying the GPU with enough data to maintain 62 FPS, demonstrating that the 290K Plus is not a hindrance in this workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds a rank of 3051 out of 3711 combos for Roblox. This rank places it in the lower 18th percentile of all tested configurations, which may seem surprising given the high frame rates. The ranking is likely influenced by the GPU’s mid-range status; many other combos use newer or more powerful GPUs that achieve even higher FPS, especially at 1080p where the CPU is less of a factor.

The combo’s rank is predominantly determined by the GTX 1070’s performance, as the CPU is among the best available. The GPU’s percentile of 47 means that half of the GPUs in the database are faster, and those faster GPUs, when paired with similarly strong CPUs, will produce higher frame rates. For example, a combo with a GPU that has a higher average benchmark score would likely rank higher in Roblox, as the game’s performance scales with GPU power at higher resolutions. The fact that this combo still achieves 4K Ultra at 62 FPS indicates that the GPU is not a poor match for the game, but rather that the competition is stiffer.

The data shows that the combo is capable of exceeding 60 FPS at 4K on the High preset, which is a solid result for a GPU of this era. However, the rank of 3051 suggests that users seeking the absolute highest FPS in Roblox would need a more powerful GPU. The CPU’s high percentile (96) ensures that it will not be a bottleneck in other, more CPU-intensive games, but for Roblox, the GPU is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s display resolution and target frame rate. For a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 165 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on such monitors. If a user prefers maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 252 FPS offers a significant boost, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth it given the already high frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset (135 FPS) and Ultra preset (110 FPS) are both excellent options. The High preset provides a frame rate that is suitable for 144 Hz displays, while Ultra offers a higher visual fidelity with only a 25 FPS penalty. The Medium preset at 153 FPS is a good middle ground, but the High preset is often considered the sweet spot for visual quality and performance. The Low preset at 168 FPS is only 15 FPS faster than High, making High the more sensible choice.

For 4K, the recommended settings are more nuanced. The High preset at 77 FPS is the best choice for a smooth experience on a 60 Hz display, as it maintains a comfortable margin above the refresh rate. The Medium preset at 87 FPS offers a slight performance boost, but the High preset’s visual improvements are worth the 10 FPS cost. The Ultra preset at 62 FPS is playable, but it is very close to the 60 FPS threshold, and any complex scene could cause a dip below it. The Low preset at 95 FPS is the fastest, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. For a balanced experience at 4K, the High preset is the recommended choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed view of the combo’s performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are uniformly high. The Low preset averages 252 FPS, the Medium preset averages 230 FPS with a minimum of 195 FPS and a maximum of 264 FPS, the High preset averages 203 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 165 FPS. This shows a clear progression, with the Ultra preset being 34.5% slower than Low.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but still keep the game well above 100 FPS. The Low preset averages 168 FPS, the Medium preset averages 153 FPS (min 130, max 176), the High preset averages 135 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 110 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 58 FPS, or 34.5%, which mirrors the percentage drop seen at 1080p. This consistency suggests that the GPU is scaling predictably with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1070’s limits are more apparent. The Low preset averages 95 FPS, the Medium preset averages 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), the High preset averages 77 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 33 FPS, or 34.7%, which is a similar percentage to the other resolutions. However, the absolute numbers are lower, and the minimum FPS of 74 at Medium shows that the GPU can dip below 75 FPS under load. The 4K results confirm that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, but it can still handle 4K with a reduction in settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate is 203 FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to the Ultra preset at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS. The Low preset is 33 FPS faster, which is a 53.2% improvement.

Q: Does the combo achieve a playable frame rate at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 62 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, but it is a close margin.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 130 FPS, with an average of 153 FPS and a maximum of 176 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 9780, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M’s score of 9832.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 7303 points in the Cinebench R23 single-core test, which is a strong result that helps maintain high FPS in Roblox.