SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 235A + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Get a comprehensive performance analysis of your gaming rig with detailed benchmarks, bottleneck detection, and upgrade recommendations

93 / 100
ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 7% of systems. Capable of 4K Ultra gaming and advanced rendering.

4K 60+ FPSVR ReadyRay Tracing

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
Well Balanced
CPU
94%
VS
GPU
92%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 235A

48,201 Benchmark Score
Top 6% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

23,172 Benchmark Score
Top 8% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →

Market Position

How your build compares to others
Budget
0-30
Mid-Range
30-60
High-End
60-85
Enthusiast
85-100
Your Build

Game Performance Benchmarks

Real-world 4K FPS in popular titles
View All Games →

Performance Insights

Tips to maximize your system

Optimal Performance

Your system is in the top tier. You can run any modern game at maximum settings.

4K Gaming Ready

Consider a 4K 144Hz monitor to fully utilize your hardware capabilities.

Compatible Games See what you can play Compare CPUs Find upgrades Compare GPUs Find upgrades

Performance Tiers Explained

90-100

Ultimate

4K Ultra gaming, VR ready, ray tracing enabled, professional workloads

4K 60+ FPS VR Ready
70-89

High-End

1440p Ultra or 4K High settings, excellent for modern AAA titles

1440p Ultra 4K High
50-69

Mid-Range

1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, great value for most gamers

1080p Ultra 1440p Med
30-49

Entry Level

1080p Medium settings, suitable for eSports and older titles

1080p Med eSports
0-29

Legacy

Basic gaming, older titles, consider upgrading for modern games

720p-1080p Low Older Games

# Intel Core Ultra 5 235A + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080: A Desktop Analysis

This pairing combines a 14-core Arrow Lake desktop processor with an Ampere-generation GPU that remains a popular choice for high-refresh gaming. The data indicates a system that occupies the 79th combined percentile across all CPU-GPU pairings, with the CPU performing strongly at the 90th percentile among all processors while the GPU sits at the 68th percentile among all graphics cards. This imbalance sets the stage for an analysis of where each component excels and where the pairing may leave performance on the table.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235A uses the Intel Socket 1851 platform, which is the foundation for the Core Ultra Series 2 family. This is a desktop-class build, and the socket supports DDR5 memory through a dual-channel memory bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The platform does not support ECC memory, which influences workstation suitability. The CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the processor itself, enabling fast connectivity for modern NVMe storage and graphics cards.

The CPU has a TDP of 65 watts, a modest figure for a 14-core desktop part. The GPU, however, is a different story: the RTX 3080 has a TDP of 320 watts, and the suggested PSU for the graphics card alone is 700 watts. This means the power supply headroom in this build is dictated almost entirely by the GPU, not the CPU. A sensible next upgrade path would involve keeping the platform and replacing the GPU first, since the CPU's 90th percentile standing among all processors suggests it has ample headroom for a more powerful graphics card. The motherboard's PCIe Gen 5 support also means future GPUs will not be bottlenecked by the bus interface, as the current RTX 3080 uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

The CPU is not multiplier-unlocked, which limits overclocking potential, but its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide solid out-of-the-box performance. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 24 execution units offers a fallback display output, but gaming workloads will rely entirely on the discrete RTX 3080. For users considering a platform upgrade, the Socket 1851 interface means that swapping to a higher-tier Core Ultra Series 2 processor is the logical move, but the data suggests the current CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Balance and Bottleneck

The combined percentile of 79, while respectable, reveals a notable gap between the CPU and GPU percentiles. The CPU's 90th percentile score against all CPUs is significantly higher than the GPU's 68th percentile against all GPUs, indicating that in pure computational workloads, the processor is the stronger component. This imbalance typically manifests in gaming at lower resolutions, where the GPU is not saturated and the CPU's higher relative performance can push frame rates higher, versus at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

Benchmark results support this interpretation. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 38392 and single-thread score of 4557 are strong figures, while the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25086 places it in a mid-to-upper tier but not at the top. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32633 indicates substantial parallel processing capability, which is useful for productivity tasks. In gaming, the bottleneck will shift depending on the title and settings. At 1080p with high refresh rates, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4607) will keep frame rates high, but the GPU may struggle to maintain those rates in demanding titles. At 4K, the GPU's 68th percentile position becomes the clear limiting factor, as the rendering load overwhelms the graphics card's capabilities.

The data shows no measured FPS rows for this exact combination, so all gaming frame rate discussions are estimates based on the benchmark scores. Given the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407 and the CPU's strong PassMark physics score of 2437, the pairing is likely balanced for 1440p gaming, where neither component is drastically over- or under-powered relative to the other. For compute-heavy workloads like 3D rendering, the CPU will finish tasks faster than the GPU can process frames, but for general gaming, the GPU will be the component that determines maximum settings and resolution.

Benchmark Performance

The CPU's average benchmark score is 48201, placing it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals show a tight cluster of competition: the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380 scores 48171 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (0.6% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 9 3900 scores 47918 (0.6% lower). This indicates the Core Ultra 5 235A sits in a highly competitive performance band, trading blows with both mobile and server-class parts. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32633 and single-core score of 4607 show balanced performance across both multi-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 23172, placing it in the 68th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are less flattering: the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23276 (0.4% higher). These rivals are a mix of older workstation and mobile parts, suggesting the RTX 3080's average score is being pulled down by some legacy tests. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25086 is more representative of its gaming capability, while its Geekbench OpenCL score of 152423 indicates strong compute performance.

The combined picture shows a CPU that outperforms its immediate rivals by a hair and a GPU that sits just below several older competitors in average score. This suggests the CPU is the stronger half of this pairing, and the overall 79th combined percentile reflects that the GPU holds the system back from higher-tier status. The CPU's PassMark data compression score of 393800 and floating point math score of 118778 are particularly strong, indicating excellent throughput for data-heavy and scientific workloads.

Who Should Build It

This desktop pairing suits users who prioritize CPU-intensive productivity while still wanting capable gaming performance. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking makes it ideal for content creators who work with video editing, 3D rendering, and software compilation, where the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32633 and PassMark multithread score of 38392 will noticeably cut render times. The GPU's 68th percentile means gamers at 1440p resolution will find a capable experience, though those seeking maximum settings at 4K may need to lower expectations.

Students and small business workstation users benefit from the CPU's strong single-thread score of 4557 in PassMark, which handles everyday office applications and web browsing with ease, while the 14 cores provide headroom for occasional multi-threaded tasks like data analysis or virtual machines. The lack of ECC memory support, however, makes this less suitable for mission-critical error-sensitive workloads, pointing more toward general productivity than server-grade reliability.

Developers will appreciate the CPU's PassMark extended instructions score of 31625, which accelerates encryption and hashing tasks, and the data encryption score of 30136 supports secure compilation pipelines. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient for most development workloads, including shader compilation and local machine learning experiments, though the 68th percentile GPU position means large model training will be slow. Gamers who play at 1080p or 1440p and are willing to adjust settings will find this a balanced system, but the data suggests the CPU has more to give than the GPU can deliver in GPU-bound scenarios.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: The CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4607) supports high frame rates in esports titles, and the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25086 can drive 144Hz displays at 1080p in many games, though the 68th percentile GPU position means demanding titles will require settings adjustments to maintain those refresh rates.

Streaming: The CPU's 14 cores and PassMark multithread score of 38392 provide ample headroom for encoding while gaming, as the NVENC encoder on the RTX 3080 offloads the video encoding task from the CPU, allowing the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32633 to focus on game logic and physics.

Video editing: The CPU's PassMark data compression score of 393800 and floating point math score of 118778 accelerate codec operations and effects rendering, while the GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and Geekbench OpenCL score of 152423 handle GPU-accelerated effects and timeline scrubbing efficiently.

3D rendering: The CPU's Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 13705 and PassMark integer math score of 88626 provide solid CPU-based rendering performance, while the GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 compute and PassMark GPU compute score of 14397 handle GPU-accelerated renderers like Blender Cycles or Octane, though the 68th percentile GPU position means it is not a top-tier renderer.

Software development: The CPU's PassMark extended instructions score of 31625 and data encryption score of 30136 speed up compilation and code signing, while the 14 cores handle parallel builds efficiently, and the GPU's Vulkan score of 33620 supports graphics debugging and testing.

Student and office work: The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4557 ensures responsive application usage, and the 65-watt TDP keeps power consumption low for all-day operation, while the integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics provides a fallback if the discrete GPU is not needed, reducing overall system power draw.

GPU Analysis

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA102 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for high-resolution textures and compute workloads. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, and the GPU's base clock of 1440 MHz boosts to 1710 MHz under load.

The GPU contains 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, producing a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s. The 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration, respectively, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs. The FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1) indicate strong compute throughput for both gaming and professional workloads.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407 places this GPU in the 68th percentile, meaning it outperforms most graphics cards but trails the high-end tier. The PassMark G3D score of 25086 is more favorable, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 152423 shows solid general-purpose compute. The GPU's 320-watt TDP and 700-watt suggested PSU requirement mean this card demands a robust power supply, and its dual-slot design with a 285 mm length requires a spacious case. The 1x 12-pin power connector is notable, as it may require an adapter for older power supplies.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235A is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. This is a desktop-class part with a 65-watt TDP, featuring a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The 3 nm process node gives it a significant efficiency advantage over larger-node competitors, which is reflected in the modest TDP for the core count.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration supports the PassMark single-thread score of 4557 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4607, which indicate strong per-core performance. The lack of hyperthreading (14 threads for 14 cores) means the multi-threaded scores rely on physical cores alone, yet the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32633 and PassMark multithread score of 38392 remain competitive.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it clustered with the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380 (0.1% higher average score), Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (0.2% higher), AMD EPYC 4345P (0.6% higher), and AMD Ryzen 9 3900 (0.6% lower). This indicates the Core Ultra 5 235A delivers performance comparable to both mobile and server parts, making it a versatile choice for desktop builds. The PassMark physics score of 2437 and integer math score of 88626 further demonstrate its capability in real-world workloads, from gaming physics to data processing.

FAQ

Q: What socket does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235A use?

A: It uses the Intel Socket 1851 platform, which supports the Core Ultra Series 2 family of desktop processors.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of this CPU?

A: The CPU supports DDR5 memory through a dual-channel bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 support ray tracing?

A: Yes, it has 68 dedicated RT cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and type?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 320-bit bus and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 48201, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380's score of 48171.

Q: What is the suggested power supply for this GPU?

A: The suggested PSU for the RTX 3080 is 700 watts, given its 320-watt TDP.

Q: Does this CPU support ECC memory?

A: No, ECC memory is not supported, which may affect workstation use cases requiring error correction.

Gaming Performance

No measured FPS data exists for this exact CPU-GPU combination, so all frame rate figures are estimates derived from the benchmark scores. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4607) and the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25086 suggest this pairing can handle 1080p gaming at high refresh rates in most titles, with the CPU providing enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in CPU-light scenarios. At 1440p, the GPU's 68th percentile position becomes the limiting factor, and frame rates will depend heavily on game optimization and graphics settings.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407 indicates solid DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for modern titles, while the 10 GB of GDDR6X memory may be sufficient for current games at 1080p and 1440p, though some ultra-texture packs at 4K could exceed this capacity. The GPU's pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s support high-resolution rendering, but the 68th percentile ranking suggests it will not match the highest-end cards in demanding titles. For esports games, the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4557 should sustain high frame rates, while AAA titles at maximum settings will likely see frame rates in the 60-100 FPS range at 1440p, with lower settings required for 4K.

Build Overview

This desktop build pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 235A, a 14-core Arrow Lake processor, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, an Ampere-generation GPU. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all processors makes it a high-tier component, while the GPU's 68th percentile position places it in the upper-mid range of graphics cards. The combined percentile of 79 indicates an overall solid system, but the imbalance is clear: the CPU is the stronger component, and the GPU holds the system back from reaching higher tier status.

The desktop class designation is appropriate, as both components are designed for full-size systems with adequate cooling and power delivery. The CPU's 65-watt TDP and the GPU's 320-watt TDP mean the system's power requirements are dominated by the graphics card, and the 700-watt suggested PSU provides sufficient headroom. This pairing is best suited for users who need strong multi-threaded CPU performance for productivity tasks while still enjoying capable gaming at 1080p or 1440p resolution, with the understanding that the GPU is the primary constraint in graphics-intensive workloads.