Undisputed

# Undisputed with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a playable experience across most settings in Undisputed, with the data showing a clear pattern: the RTX 5050 becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the 24-core CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions. Measured results span from 42 FPS at 4K Ultra to 241 FPS at 1080p Low, placing this combo at rank 1722 out of 2813 tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck sits. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 144 FPS at 1920x1080 to 104 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 66 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 28% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 37% reduction moving from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative drop from 1080p High to 4K High is 54%, indicating that pixel throughput demands scale aggressively with resolution.

Looking at Ultra settings reveals an even steeper curve: 92 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 27%, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 37%. This pattern suggests the GPU's 8 GB framebuffer and 128-bit memory interface begin to struggle as the render target grows, since the relative performance loss accelerates at higher resolutions.

Low settings show the most dramatic scaling: 241 FPS at 1080p, 174 FPS at 1440p, and 110 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 28% and 37% respectively, mirroring the High preset's scaling almost exactly. This consistency across presets indicates that resolution scaling is primarily a function of GPU fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than shading complexity, since the relative losses remain constant regardless of how much work the shaders are doing.

The Medium preset provides the only min/max frame data in the measurements, offering insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 147-200 FPS with an average of 173 FPS, meaning the average sits about 13% above the minimum. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 107-144 FPS with an average of 125 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 67-91 FPS with an average of 79 FPS. The consistency of the average-to-minimum ratio (around 15-18% above the low point) suggests stable frame delivery rather than intermittent stuttering.

GPU Role

The RTX 5050's specifications directly explain the measured performance envelope. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card is positioned for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K. The boost clock of 2572 MHz and 2560 shading units provide the raw compute throughput, but the memory subsystem appears to be the constraining factor at higher resolutions where larger textures and buffers demand more bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark results place it at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 21035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% faster), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (1% faster), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% slower), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (1.6% faster). This clustering indicates the RTX 5050 sits in a densely packed performance tier where small percentage differences separate competitors.

In Undisputed specifically, the GPU's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for the game's sports-genre visuals. The data shows that at 1080p, even Ultra settings maintain 92 FPS, suggesting the game is not overly demanding at this resolution. However, the 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS reveals that the card's 32 ROPs and 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot keep pace with the pixel count at maximum settings and maximum resolution simultaneously.

The memory clock of 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) combined with the 128-bit bus produces that 320.0 GB/s figure, which is modest by current standards. This explains why resolution scaling follows such a predictable pattern: as the framebuffer grows, the memory bandwidth per pixel decreases, directly impacting fill-rate-limited scenarios. The 8 GB capacity also becomes a consideration at 4K, where texture sets and geometry buffers can approach or exceed this limit, though the measured data does not indicate outright failures.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides overwhelming computational headroom for Undisputed. With 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, this processor is far beyond what a sports title like Undisputed requires. The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its position: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 place it at the 96th percentile among all CPUs.

The processor's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks show it is virtually tied with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% faster), while leading the AMD EPYC 4584PX by 1.1% and the AMD EPYC 9135 by 1.2%. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% faster. This grouping shows the Ultra 9 290K Plus performs at the top of the desktop CPU hierarchy, though the margins over its closest competitor are negligible.

In the context of Undisputed's measured FPS, the CPU's role is largely to stay out of the way. At 1080p Low, the combination reaches 241 FPS, which is likely approaching the engine's frame rate ceiling or the display refresh limit rather than any CPU constraint. Even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at 42 FPS, the CPU is not presenting any limitation, as evidenced by the consistent scaling patterns across resolutions.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide ample data delivery for the game's physics and AI calculations. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 indicate strong performance in both lightly and heavily threaded workloads, which matters for a sports game that may use a few cores for simulation while others handle rendering tasks. The data compression score of 698346 and encryption score of 52563 further demonstrate the CPU's capability, though these are not directly relevant to gaming performance.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 2813 tested combinations in Undisputed, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1722nd. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution, which is somewhat surprising given the CPU's top-tier status. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the average benchmark score of the RTX 5050 (21035) is far below that of the CPU (84003).

The CPU's 96th percentile standing among all CPUs contrasts sharply with the GPU's 66th percentile, creating a significant imbalance. This configuration prioritizes processor performance over graphics throughput, which is evident in the measured FPS results showing GPU-bound behavior across most resolution and settings combinations. The rank of 1722 out of 2813 means approximately 61% of tested combos perform better in this game, though many of those likely feature stronger GPUs paired with weaker CPUs.

The delta between this combo's rank and what the CPU alone would suggest demonstrates that Undisputed is primarily GPU-limited in this configuration. The game's sports genre typically does not stress CPU physics or AI as heavily as strategy or simulation titles, so the Ultra 9 290K Plus's massive multi-core advantage remains largely untapped. The result is a combo that ranks lower than the CPU's percentile would imply, but higher than the GPU's percentile alone might suggest, since the CPU prevents any potential frame dips in CPU-intensive moments.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, Ultra settings provide 92 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and within reach of higher refresh rate displays. For players with 144Hz monitors, High settings at 1080p deliver 144 FPS, exactly matching common refresh rates, while Medium reaches 173 FPS for those seeking maximum smoothness.

At 1440p, High settings provide 104 FPS, which is a solid experience for most displays. Ultra drops to 67 FPS, still playable but approaching the lower bound where motion smoothness diminishes. Medium at 125 FPS offers the best combination of visual fidelity and headroom for variable refresh rate displays, while Low at 174 FPS is excessive for most monitors and sacrifices too much visual quality.

At 4K, the situation changes fundamentally. High settings achieve 66 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold and representing the highest visual quality that maintains playability. Medium at 79 FPS provides more comfortable headroom, while Low at 110 FPS is the smoothest option. Ultra at 42 FPS falls below acceptable playability for most users, making it unsuitable for competitive or even casual play.

The data indicates that Medium settings offer the most consistent frame delivery, as it is the only preset with min/max measurements showing stable ranges at every resolution. For the best experience per the measured rows, Medium settings at 1440p (125 FPS average) or 1080p (173 FPS average) provide the strongest combination of visual quality and performance, while at 4K, High settings at 66 FPS is the recommended ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range was measured. Low settings produce 241 FPS average, Medium produces 173 FPS with a range of 147-200 FPS, High produces 144 FPS, and Ultra produces 92 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 62% reduction in frame rate as settings increase from minimum to maximum, with each step from Medium to High costing 17% and from High to Ultra costing 36%.

At 2560x1440, the measured results show 174 FPS at Low, 125 FPS at Medium with a range of 107-144 FPS, 104 FPS at High, and 67 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 61%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. The Medium preset's range of 107-144 FPS shows a 37 FPS spread, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p Medium range of 53 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are 110 FPS at Low, 79 FPS at Medium with a range of 67-91 FPS, 66 FPS at High, and 42 FPS at Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra reduction is 62%, maintaining the consistent scaling pattern across all resolutions. The Medium range of 67-91 FPS shows a 24 FPS spread, which is the tightest absolute range measured, indicating more stable frame delivery at higher resolutions where the GPU is more consistently utilized.

The consistency of the setting-to-setting scaling across all three resolutions is notable. From Low to Medium, the average reduction is approximately 28%; from Medium to High, it is approximately 19%; from High to Ultra, it is approximately 36%. This pattern suggests that Ultra settings impose a disproportionately large performance penalty regardless of resolution, likely due to specific effects or rendering features that are significantly more demanding than High.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Undisputed at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K, High settings achieve 66 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings provide 79 FPS for more headroom, while Ultra drops to 42 FPS, which is below playable levels.

Q: What is the best settings preset for competitive play?

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 241 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate and ideal for maximum responsiveness. Medium at 173 FPS is also sufficient for high refresh rate displays while offering better visuals.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 1722nd out of 2813 tested combinations in Undisputed. The CPU is at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 66th percentile, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck at most settings and resolutions. The FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, and the CPU's 24 cores and high benchmark scores far exceed what the game demands.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 1440p Medium, the measured average is 125 FPS with a range of 107-144 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with good visual quality and consistent frame delivery.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM limit performance at 4K?

A: The 4K results show significant performance drops at higher settings, with Ultra at 42 FPS and High at 66 FPS. The 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus appear to constrain performance at this resolution, though the game remains playable at Medium (79 FPS) and Low (110 FPS).