Undisputed

Undisputed, the boxing simulation from 2023, presents an interesting stress profile for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a component dynamic that is not immediately obvious from the raw specifications alone. This combination, ranked 1704 out of 2813 tested combos in this specific title, shows that the experience is highly dependent on the graphical preset selected, with the data suggesting a notable shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution and quality scales.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K under the "High" preset is the most telling indicator of system balance. At 1920x1080, the combo produces an average of 144 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average only drops to 104 FPS, a reduction of 40 FPS. However, the jump to 3840x2160 sees a more severe decline to 66 FPS, a further 38 FPS loss. This pattern—a moderate drop from 1080p to 1440p followed by a steep decline to 4K—is classic evidence of a GPU-bound scenario emerging at higher pixel counts.

The "Low" preset scaling amplifies this finding. At 1080p Low, the system achieves a very high 242 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it still manages 175 FPS, but at 4K Low, it falls to 111 FPS. The fact that the frame rate is still so high at 1440p Low suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor as the pixel load increases. The performance delta between 1080p and 4K on the Low preset is a massive 131 FPS, indicating that the RTX 4060's fillrate and shading capabilities are being saturated at the higher resolution, even with minimal graphical effects.

Comparing the "Medium" preset scaling provides nuance. The 1080p Medium average is 174 FPS, which drops to 126 FPS at 1440p and then to 80 FPS at 4K. This scaling is more linear than the High preset, suggesting a more balanced load between the CPU and GPU across resolutions. However, the 4K result on Medium (80 FPS) is still substantially higher than the 4K Ultra result (42 FPS), which underscores that the most demanding settings have a profound impact on the GPU. The data implies that for this specific game, the RTX 4060 is the primary component dictating performance at 4K, regardless of the preset, while at 1080p, the Core Ultra 5 135H is capable of providing enough throughput to allow very high frame rates, particularly on lower settings.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H a capable processor for this game?

A: Yes, the benchmark data indicates it is more than sufficient. Its average benchmark score of 29093 places it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, and its performance is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, which has an average score of 29123 (a delta of -0.1%). The high frame rates achieved at 1080p on lower settings, such as 242 FPS on Low, suggest the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios tested.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's performance compare to its direct rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7790, which scores 17666, a negligible difference of only -0.2%. This puts it in a performance class with older, mid-range cards, despite being a modern architecture.

Q: What is the best resolution for the "Ultra" preset?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 Ultra, the system only manages an average of 42 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth play. At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average rises to 67 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for many users. Therefore, 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo when using the highest graphical preset.

Q: Can this system achieve high refresh rate gaming at 1080p?

A: Yes, for this specific game, it can. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 is 144 on High settings and 174 on Medium settings. These scores indicate that the combination can comfortably drive a 144Hz or even 165Hz monitor at 1080p with high-quality visuals.

Q: How much of a performance hit is taken by enabling "Ultra" settings over "High"?

A: The penalty is substantial, particularly at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 104 on High to 67 on Ultra, a 37 FPS reduction. At 3840x2160, the drop is even more severe, falling from 66 FPS on High to 42 FPS on Ultra, a 24 FPS reduction. This suggests the Ultra preset includes features that heavily tax the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's 8GB of VRAM a limiting factor in Undisputed?

A: The benchmark data does not directly measure VRAM usage or capacity-related stutters, but the performance drop from 1440p Medium (126 FPS) to 4K Medium (80 FPS) suggests a steep increase in rendering load. The significant frame rate decrease at 4K on all settings, including Medium, implies the GPU's processing power and memory subsystem are being heavily utilized, and the 8GB capacity may be a contributing factor at the highest resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination is ranked 1704 out of 2813 tested combos for Undisputed. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum, which is a surprising result given the strong individual benchmark scores of the components. The CPU sits in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, yet their pairing only achieves a 60.6th percentile ranking among tested combos. This suggests that in this specific game, the combination's performance is not as high as the sum of its parts might indicate.

The ranking implies that there are many other CPU-GPU pairings that achieve higher frame rates in Undisputed. This could be due to the game's engine favoring different hardware configurations, or it could indicate that the specific balance of this CPU and GPU creates an inefficiency in this title. The data shows that the CPU is powerful enough to push high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU's performance at higher resolutions, especially with the Ultra preset, may be dragging the combo's overall ranking down. The fact that the GPU's nearest rivals include older cards like the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and the integrated AMD Radeon 780M suggests that raw GPU throughput is the more limiting factor in this particular game, preventing the combo from climbing higher in the rankings relative to other systems with more powerful graphics cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable, with an average of 242 FPS on Low, 174 FPS on Medium, 144 FPS on High, and 93 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 200 FPS, indicating a stable experience. These numbers demonstrate that for 1080p gaming, the combo offers a wide range of options, from extremely high frame rates on lower settings to a very playable 93 FPS on the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains solid. The average FPS is 175 on Low, 126 on Medium, 104 on High, and 67 on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance, with even the High preset delivering a smooth 104 FPS average. The Ultra preset, at 67 FPS, is on the edge of what is considered optimal for fast-paced action but may be acceptable for a slower-paced sports simulation.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. The average FPS is 111 on Low, 80 on Medium, 66 on High, and only 42 on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS. While 4K is playable on Low and Medium settings, the 66 FPS average on High is borderline, and the 42 FPS on Ultra is not smooth. This resolution clearly requires significant compromises in settings to maintain a playable frame rate, confirming the GPU as the primary bottleneck at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. Its specifications are a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with a TDP of 115 W. It has 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 15.11 TFLOPS. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s.

In the context of Undisputed, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K results show a steep drop-off, particularly on the Ultra preset (42 FPS), which is a fraction of the 1080p Low result (242 FPS). This 200 FPS difference is primarily due to the GPU's rendering workload. The memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, while adequate for 1080p, may be a limiting factor at 4K, where the demand for texture data increases exponentially. The 8 GB VRAM capacity could also be a constraint, as modern games at 4K with high-quality textures can exceed this limit, potentially leading to performance dips, which the data hints at with the severe scaling.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 19545 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 95057, show its computational capability. However, its percentile rank of 61st versus all GPUs indicates it is not a top-tier performer. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, is an older card, which puts the RTX 4060's performance into perspective. The data suggests that while this GPU is efficient and modern, its absolute performance is mid-range, and it is the limiting component for achieving high frame rates at 4K in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the "High" preset is the clear recommendation. It delivers an average of 144 FPS, which is perfect for high refresh rate monitors, and it offers a significant visual improvement over the "Medium" preset, which averages 174 FPS but with lower fidelity. The "Ultra" preset at 93 FPS is also viable for those who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, but the 51 FPS difference between High and Ultra is a substantial cost for the extra visual effects.

For 2560x1440, the "High" preset is again the best choice. It provides an average of 104 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The "Medium" preset at 126 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual step up to High is worth the 22 FPS reduction. The "Ultra" preset at 67 FPS is playable but may not feel as fluid, especially during intense boxing exchanges. The data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this resolution, balancing image quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The "Medium" preset, with an average of 80 FPS and a minimum of 68 FPS, is the highest quality setting that provides a consistently smooth experience. The "High" preset at 66 FPS is borderline and may experience noticeable dips. The "Ultra" preset at 42 FPS is not recommended for regular play. Therefore, for 4K gaming, the "Medium" preset is the best option to ensure a stable frame rate, as it offers a playable experience without the severe performance penalty of the higher presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor from the Meteor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process. It features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its TDP is 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 18 MB of L3 cache. Its memory support is dual-channel DDR5, with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In this benchmark data, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU in Undisputed. The high frame rates at 1080p, particularly on Low settings (242 FPS), indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic and physics at high speeds. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and single-core score of 1700 suggest a strong performer. The fact that it holds its own against the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, with a delta of only -0.1% in average benchmark score, confirms its competence.

However, the data implies that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, as the frame rate scaling is more closely tied to resolution and GPU workload. At 4K, even on Low settings, the frame rate drops to 111 FPS, which is still high but significantly lower than the 242 FPS at 1080p Low. This drop is more attributable to the GPU's fillrate limitations than to CPU constraints. The CPU's 18 threads may also be beneficial for the game's AI and simulation aspects, but the measured FPS data does not show a clear CPU bottleneck at any resolution or setting, suggesting that the Core Ultra 5 135H provides a solid foundation without limiting the system's overall performance in this title.