Roblox

Roblox is a sandbox title with a release date of 2006-08-31, and the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet reveals a surprising CPU ceiling at 1080p. The data set includes 12 measured FPS rows across three resolutions and four settings presets, all indicating that this combination delivers extremely high frame rates that far exceed the refresh rate capabilities of most displays. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, the role of the GPU and CPU individually, the combo’s standing among 3010 tested combinations, and provides specific recommendations based on the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 produces a clear and predictable pattern of FPS decline, but the magnitude of the drop between the first two resolutions is smaller than the drop between the second and third. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 536 at 1080p to 358 at 1440p, a reduction of 178 frames, while moving from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) drops the average from 358 to 202, a reduction of 156 frames. This indicates that the scaling is not perfectly linear, with the 1080p to 1440p step costing slightly more in absolute terms, but the relative percentage drop is similar.

Looking at the Low preset, the same pattern emerges but with higher absolute numbers: 667 FPS at 1080p, 445 FPS at 1440p, and 252 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 222 frames, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 193 frames. For Medium settings, the averages are 606, 405, and 229 FPS respectively, showing a consistent trend where each resolution step costs roughly 200 frames at the lower resolutions and slightly less at the higher ones. The Ultra preset shows the lowest frame rates across the board: 435, 290, and 164 FPS.

The data strongly suggests that at 1080p, the system is not fully GPU-limited, as the frame rates are extraordinarily high, but the CPU begins to become a more significant factor. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as evidenced by the fact that even at Low settings, the average FPS drops to 252, which is still very high but represents a 62% reduction from the 667 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper in percentage terms for the Low preset (a 43% drop) compared to the High preset (a 44% drop), suggesting that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The GPU has 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, with 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 56.28 TFLOPS, and it achieves a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s.

In Roblox, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 164, which is the lowest measured value in the entire data set. This indicates that the GPU is being heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Roblox, as the game is not known for requiring large memory pools, but the memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s helps maintain high frame rates even at 4K. The boost clock of 2617 MHz is relatively high, and the data suggests that the GPU is able to sustain near-peak performance across all settings, as the FPS differences between Low and Ultra at each resolution are substantial but not catastrophic.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 8060S, scores 55757, which is 0.6% lower, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is positioned at the high end of the performance spectrum, and the measured FPS in Roblox reflects that positioning. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 36565 and DirectX 12 score of 151 are notable, but the Roblox results are more directly relevant to understanding its real-world gaming performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 195th out of 3010 tested combos in Roblox, placing it in the top 6.5% of all combinations. This is a strong showing, but it is not at the very top, which suggests that there are other CPU-GPU pairings that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game. The rank is determined by the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, and the data shows that this combo excels at high frame rates but may be limited by the CPU at lower resolutions.

The CPU itself ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with an average score of 83807 (0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4584PX with 83090 (1.1% higher), and the AMD EPYC 9135 with 82980 (1.2% higher). The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% lower. This puts the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus in a tightly contested group, but its performance in Roblox is more dependent on the GPU than the CPU.

The combo rank of 195 suggests that while this is a very fast system, it is not the absolute fastest for Roblox. The fact that the combo ranks lower than the individual component percentiles might indicate that Roblox is more sensitive to certain CPU or GPU characteristics that this pairing does not maximize. For example, the CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads are likely overkill for a game like Roblox, which may not scale well beyond a few cores, but the high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303) helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Roblox?

A: The highest average FPS is 667, measured at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS achieved?

A: The lowest average FPS is 164, measured at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 195th out of 3010 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.5%.

Q: What is the GPU’s launch MSRP?

A: The launch MSRP is 999 USD.

Q: Which resolution shows the smallest performance gap between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (667 FPS) and Ultra (435 FPS) is 232 FPS, while at 3840x2160 the gap is 88 FPS (252 vs 164), showing the smallest absolute gap at 4K.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics?

A: Yes, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus includes Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, but the measured FPS data is for the discrete RTX 5080.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 667 FPS, Medium settings produce 606 FPS, High settings produce 536 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 435 FPS. The Medium preset includes a minimum FPS of 515 and a maximum of 697, while the other presets do not have min/max values recorded. This shows a clear linear progression where each step up in settings reduces the average FPS by roughly 60 to 70 frames.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 445 FPS for Low, 405 FPS for Medium, 358 FPS for High, and 290 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 344 FPS and a maximum of 465 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all settings, with the Low preset losing 222 FPS, Medium losing 201 FPS, High losing 178 FPS, and Ultra losing 145 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 252 FPS for Low, 229 FPS for Medium, 202 FPS for High, and 164 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 195 FPS and a maximum of 263 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is less pronounced in absolute terms but still significant: Low loses 193 FPS, Medium loses 176 FPS, High loses 156 FPS, and Ultra loses 126 FPS. The data shows that the system maintains very high frame rates even at 4K, with the lowest average still exceeding 160 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors and a die size of 243 mm². The CPU has an L3 cache of 36 MB shared, with per-core L1 and L2 caches of 192 KB and 3 MB respectively. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and it uses the Intel Socket 1851.

In Roblox, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 500 FPS on all settings. The single-thread performance is critical here, and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 indicates strong per-core performance. The multithreaded score of 51731 in Cinebench R23 shows that the CPU has immense parallel processing power, but Roblox likely does not utilize all 24 cores effectively. The PassMark single-thread score of 4823 and multithread score of 60860 further confirm this.

The CPU’s boost clock of 5.80 GHz is a key factor in maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions, as the game’s physics and game logic are likely single-threaded. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 667 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game. At 4K, the CPU becomes less relevant, as the GPU is the bottleneck, but the high boost clock still ensures that the CPU does not hold back the GPU. The 125 W TDP is modest for a 24-core processor, and the data suggests that thermal throttling is not a concern, as the frame rates are consistently high across all settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings produce average FPS well above 400, so users can freely choose Ultra settings for the best visual quality, as the 435 FPS average is still exceptionally high. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers a 19% reduction in FPS compared to High (536 vs 435), but the visual improvement may be worth it.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 290 FPS, which is still very high, but the High preset at 358 FPS offers a better balance for users who prefer higher frame rates. The Medium preset at 405 FPS is also viable, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High is typically more noticeable than between High and Ultra. For competitive play, the Low preset at 445 FPS would provide the maximum frame rate, but the visual trade-offs may be significant.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 202 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a good balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. The Ultra preset at 164 FPS is still playable, but the 19% drop from High may not be justified by the visual improvements. The Medium preset at 229 FPS and Low at 252 FPS are also excellent options, especially for users with high refresh rate 4K displays. The data shows that the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at 4K on High settings, which is a strong result for a sandbox game. For the best overall experience, the High preset at 1440p or 4K provides the most consistent performance, while the Medium preset offers the highest frame rates without sacrificing too much visual quality.