Undisputed

Undisputed is a boxing title that depends more on GPU throughput than most sports games, and this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a clear pattern: the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom to push very high frame rates at 1080p. The measured data shows a playable experience across most settings, but the drop-off at 4K Ultra is steep enough that you will need to make deliberate trade-offs.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals exactly where this combo's bottleneck sits. At 1080p Low, the system produces 209 FPS, which is a very high number that indicates the CPU is doing its job without holding the GPU back. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 151 FPS, a 27.8% decrease, and 4K Low lands at 95 FPS, which is 54.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that is becoming more stressed as pixel count rises, though the low settings still leave enough headroom for smooth play at all three resolutions.

The more demanding settings tell a different story. At High settings, the system goes from 124 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p (a 27.4% drop) and then to 57 FPS at 4K (a 54.0% drop from 1080p). The percentage losses are nearly identical between Low and High when scaling from 1080p to 1440p, which suggests the game's rendering load scales linearly with resolution. However, the absolute numbers at 4K High (57 FPS) are borderline for a smooth experience on a 60Hz display, and the Ultra preset makes the situation worse.

At Ultra settings, the RTX 2060 starts to struggle. The 1080p Ultra result is 80 FPS, which is fine, but 1440p Ultra drops to 58 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 37 FPS. That 4K Ultra number is a 53.8% reduction from 1080p Ultra, and it is below the 60 FPS threshold that most builders consider the minimum for a responsive experience. The data indicates that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are simply not sufficient for the highest preset at 4K in this title.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data set, with min and max FPS recorded at every resolution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 150 FPS with a min of 128 and max of 173. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 109 FPS with a min of 92 and max of 125. At 4K Medium, the average is 69 FPS with a min of 58 and max of 79. The min FPS at 4K Medium (58) is remarkably close to the average FPS of other settings, which shows that the Medium preset delivers more consistent frame pacing than the higher presets.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Undisputed at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. The measured data shows 95 FPS at 4K Low and 69 FPS at 4K Medium. At High settings, 4K drops to 57 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 37 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1080p, the system can exceed 144 FPS on Low (209 FPS) and Medium (150 FPS), but High settings at 124 FPS fall just short of the 144 FPS target. At 1440p, only the Low preset reaches 151 FPS; Medium (109 FPS) and High (90 FPS) are better suited to 60Hz or 100Hz displays.

Q: How much performance do you lose going from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The loss is roughly consistent across presets. At Low, 1080p gives 209 FPS and 1440p gives 151 FPS, a 27.8% reduction. At High, the drop is from 124 FPS to 90 FPS, a 27.4% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 80 FPS to 58 FPS, a 27.5% reduction.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 the limiting factor in this build?

A: The data strongly suggests yes. The CPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 235, has 14 cores and 14 threads with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it scores in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The FPS scaling with resolution changes is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the difference between the Ultra and High presets?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, High produces 124 FPS while Ultra produces 80 FPS, a 35.5% reduction. At 1440p, High gives 90 FPS and Ultra gives 58 FPS, a 35.6% reduction. At 4K, High gives 57 FPS and Ultra gives 37 FPS, a 35.1% reduction. The performance cost is consistently around one-third.

Q: Does the game use the CPU's full potential?

A: The high frame rates at 1080p Low (209 FPS) and 1080p Medium (150 FPS) indicate that the CPU is not the primary constraint at those settings. The Core Ultra 5 235 has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085, which are strong numbers, but the game's performance ceiling appears to be set by the RTX 2060, especially at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium as the sweet spot for this combination. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 150 FPS average with a minimum of 128 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and even sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The min FPS of 128 suggests that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below playable levels. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average is 109 FPS with a min of 92 FPS, which is still excellent for a 60Hz or 100Hz monitor, and the 92 FPS minimum means you will not experience stutter.

For 4K users, the Medium preset is the only reasonable choice among the tested options. The 4K Medium result of 69 FPS average with a 58 FPS minimum is playable, though the minimum is close to the 60 FPS line. The 4K High preset at 57 FPS average is just below that threshold, and 4K Ultra at 37 FPS is not recommended for any serious play. If you want to play at 4K, the Medium preset gives you the best combination of visual quality and performance, and the min FPS data shows it is more stable than the High preset, which has no recorded min FPS.

The Low preset is not necessary for most users. At 1080p Low, the system produces 209 FPS, which is excessive for any monitor on the market, and the visual downgrade is not worth the extra frames when Medium already provides 150 FPS. At 1440p Low, 151 FPS is still very high, but the Medium preset at 109 FPS is a better trade-off between quality and speed. The only scenario where Low makes sense is if you are using a 240Hz monitor at 1080p, but even then, the 150 FPS from Medium is close enough that the visual improvement is likely worth the slight frame rate reduction.

The High preset is a middle ground that works well at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p High, 124 FPS is solid for a 120Hz display, and at 1440p High, 90 FPS is good for a 90Hz or 100Hz monitor. However, the lack of min FPS data for High settings means we cannot verify frame pacing consistency. The Medium preset, with its recorded min and max values, offers more predictable performance. For most builders, the recommendation is to start with Medium and only move to High if you are playing at 1080p and want slightly better visuals, accepting that the average frame rate will drop from 150 to 124.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in Undisputed is 2220 out of 2813 tested combinations. This places the system in the lower half of all tested combos, which is not surprising given the age and tier of the RTX 2060. The GPU's average benchmark score of 15290 puts it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (score 15283, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon 680M (score 15270, delta 0.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (score 15199, delta 0.6%). The RTX 2060 is essentially tied with these cards in synthetic benchmarks, which means the performance ceiling in this game is similar to what you would get from an integrated Radeon 680M.

The CPU, however, is a much stronger component. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (score 46030, delta 0.1%), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (score 46098, delta -0.1%), and the AMD EPYC 4364P (score 45970, delta 0.2%). This means the CPU is performing at a level comparable to high-end mobile and server processors, but that performance is not fully utilized in Undisputed because the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The rank of 2220 out of 2813 indicates that this combo is not competitive with top-tier gaming systems in this title. The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile explains why the system can produce very high frame rates at 1080p Low but falls behind when the resolution increases. If you are comparing this build to others, the data suggests that the CPU has significant headroom for a future GPU upgrade, but as configured, the RTX 2060 limits the overall experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. The PassMark multi-thread score is 37816, and the single-thread score is 4516. These numbers place the CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of processors on the market.

In the context of Undisputed, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 209 FPS, which is a very high number that indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. If the CPU were weak, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at a lower value regardless of the resolution or settings. Instead, the FPS scales with resolution and settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload.

The CPU's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz and strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085) are important for a sports game like Undisputed, which likely relies on single-threaded game logic. The 14 cores provide plenty of multi-threading headroom, but the game does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the FPS results. The data shows that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's demands, and the performance ceiling is set by the RTX 2060.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and DDR5 support also contribute to its ability to keep the GPU fed, but in this game, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU. The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 192-bit bus, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide fast access to frequently used data, which helps maintain consistent frame delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. On Low settings, the average FPS is 209. On Medium settings, the average is 150 FPS with a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 173 FPS. High settings produce 124 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 80 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with Ultra being 61.7% slower than Low.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops across all presets. Low settings give 151 FPS average. Medium settings give 109 FPS average with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 125 FPS. High settings produce 90 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 58 FPS average. The Medium preset at 1440p is the best balance, with the 92 FPS minimum ensuring smooth gameplay even in heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 begins to show its limitations. Low settings produce 95 FPS average, which is still playable. Medium settings give 69 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. High settings drop to 57 FPS average, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Ultra settings fall to 37 FPS average, which is not recommended for any serious play.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all three resolutions. This allows for a more detailed analysis of frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the spread between min (128) and max (173) is 45 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 33 FPS (92 to 125). At 4K Medium, the spread is 21 FPS (58 to 79). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is working closer to its maximum capacity, which reduces the variance between the easiest and hardest scenes.

The data shows that the system is capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, with the Low and Medium presets both exceeding 144 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset just barely exceeds 144 FPS at 151, but the Medium preset at 109 FPS is more realistic for a 100Hz monitor. At 4K, the system is limited to 60Hz gameplay, and only the Low and Medium presets can maintain an average above 60 FPS. The High preset at 4K (57 FPS) is borderline, and the Ultra preset (37 FPS) is best avoided.