SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 235A + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

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

95 / 100
ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 5% 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
97%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 235A

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

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

56,083 Benchmark Score
Top 3% 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 5080: A Desktop Powerhouse Analysis

This pairing combines Intel's 14-core Arrow Lake desktop processor with NVIDIA's flagship Blackwell 2.0 GPU, creating a system that sits at the 89th percentile overall among all CPU+GPU combinations in the database. The CPU alone ranks in the 90th percentile against all processors, while the GPU holds the 87th percentile position against all graphics cards. No measured FPS data exists for this exact combination, so all gaming performance discussions are estimated from the individual component benchmark scores and their relative positions within the broader hardware landscape.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: The RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provide the raw throughput needed for demanding titles. The Core Ultra 5 235A's single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4607 places it in elite territory for CPU-bound scenarios, while the GPU's Passmark G3D score of 36565 (87th percentile) suggests frame rates well beyond 60 FPS at high refresh rates. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures textures and geometry stream without bottlenecking the rendering pipeline.

Streaming and content creation: The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 38392 and data compression score of 393800 indicate strong parallel processing capability for encoding and transcoding workflows. The GPU's 336 tensor cores and 84 RT cores accelerate AI-enhanced streaming features and real-time effects. The combination of 14 CPU threads and the GPU's massive compute resources handles simultaneous game rendering and stream encoding without contention, though the 65W TDP CPU may rely on the GPU for some acceleration tasks.

Video editing: The CPU's Cinebench R20 multicore score of 13705 and R23 multicore score of 32633 demonstrate robust multi-threaded performance for timeline rendering and effects processing. The GPU's Geekbench OpenCL score of 235901 and Vulkan score of 255450 indicate exceptional acceleration for GPU-accelerated effects, color grading, and export tasks. The 16 GB VRAM capacity allows for large project files and 4K+ timelines without memory swapping.

3D rendering: The CPU's Passmark floating point math score of 118778 and integer math score of 88626 provide solid foundation for simulation and physics calculations. The GPU's 10,752 shading units and 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput deliver substantial ray tracing and rasterization performance. The 84 RT cores specifically accelerate ray-traced rendering workloads, while the 336 tensor cores handle denoising and AI-accelerated render features.

Software development: The CPU's Passmark extended instructions score of 31625 and data encryption score of 30136 indicate strong performance for compilation, code analysis, and cryptographic operations. The 14 cores and 24 MB shared L3 cache provide ample resources for parallel builds and multi-container development environments. The DDR5 dual-channel memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth supports rapid data access during large-scale builds and testing.

Student and office work: The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4557 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 464 deliver snappy responsiveness for everyday applications. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 24 execution units provides basic display output and hardware acceleration for office productivity. The 65W TDP keeps power consumption manageable for all-day academic use, while the GPU's 360W TDP remains available for demanding visualization tasks when needed.

FAQ

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 235A compare to its closest rival?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 48201 places it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380 (48171) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 3900 (47918). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX by 0.2% (48287) and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.6% (48470), showing extremely tight competition at this performance tier.

Q: What is the GPU's performance position relative to AMD competitors?

A: The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56083 places it 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698). It sits 2.3% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828) but trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57367) by 2.2%.

Q: Does this CPU support overclocking?

A: The multiplier is locked (multiplierUnlocked: false), meaning users cannot adjust the CPU clock multiplier for overclocking. The boost clock reaches 5.00 GHz automatically, and the base clock runs at 3.40 GHz, with performance governed by Intel's turbo behavior rather than manual tuning.

Q: What memory type and configuration does this platform use?

A: The CPU supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. ECC memory is not supported. The GPU uses 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the CPU's production status and release timeline?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235A is listed as Active in production status with a release date of July 28, 2025. It belongs to the Core Ultra Series 2 family and uses the Arrow Lake-S architecture on Intel Socket 1851.

Q: What PCIe capabilities does this system offer?

A: The CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, while the GPU uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. This ensures high-bandwidth communication between the processor and graphics card for data-intensive workloads.

Q: How large is the GPU physically?

A: The RTX 5080 measures 304 mm in length, 137 mm in height, and 40 mm in width, occupying a dual-slot form factor. It requires a single 16-pin power connector and works with a suggested 750W PSU.

Benchmark Performance

The Core Ultra 5 235A achieves a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48201. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32633 and single-core score of 4607 demonstrate balanced performance across both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Passmark suite shows particular strength in data compression (393800) and floating point math (118778), while extended instructions (31625) and multithread (38392) scores confirm broad compute capability. The CPU sits in a tight competitive cluster: 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380, 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 3900, 0.2% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, and 0.6% behind the AMD EPYC 4345P.

The RTX 5080 holds an 87th percentile position among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 demonstrates strong modern API performance, while Geekbench scores of 235901 (OpenCL) and 255450 (Vulkan) indicate excellent compute acceleration. The Passmark G3D score of 36565 and GPU compute score of 21789 show substantial rendering and general-purpose compute abilities. The GPU's competitive positioning shows a 0.6% lead over the AMD Radeon 8060S, 0.7% over the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and 2.3% over the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%.

The combined picture reveals a system where both components perform at near-elite levels, with the CPU in the top decile and GPU in the top 13% of their respective categories. The 89th combined percentile suggests excellent overall system balance, with neither component dramatically outperforming the other to create obvious bottlenecks.

Who Should Build It

Gamers at 1440p and 4K: The RTX 5080's 16 GB GDDR7 VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for high-resolution textures and ray tracing. The CPU's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 4607) ensures minimal frame pacing issues in CPU-bound titles. This system targets enthusiasts seeking maximum detail settings at high refresh rates without compromise.

Content creators and video editors: The CPU's Cinebench R20 multicore score of 13705 and R23 multicore score of 32633 handle rendering and export tasks efficiently. The GPU's 10,752 shading units and 84 RT cores accelerate effects, color grading, and GPU-accelerated encoding workflows. The combination supports 4K video editing timelines with real-time preview and fast final renders.

3D artists and animators: The GPU's 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 336 tensor cores provide substantial muscle for viewport rendering and AI-accelerated denoising. The CPU's Passmark floating point score of 118778 handles physics simulations and complex scene calculations. The 14 cores and 24 MB L3 cache support large scene files and multi-object manipulation.

Software developers: The CPU's data encryption score of 30136 and extended instructions score of 31625 support secure development practices and modern instruction sets. The 14 threads handle parallel builds, container orchestration, and virtual machine workloads effectively. The DDR5 memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s facilitates rapid compilation and testing cycles.

Students and small business workstations: The 65W TDP CPU keeps energy costs predictable while delivering 90th percentile performance for academic and professional applications. The integrated graphics provide reliable display output for office tasks, with the RTX 5080 available for specialized workloads like CAD, data visualization, or machine learning experimentation when required.

Balance and Bottleneck

The system exhibits strong balance with a combined percentile of 89, but workload-specific analysis reveals where each component takes the lead. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 87th percentile creates a slight processor advantage in raw percentile terms, though the gap is minimal. In CPU-intensive workloads like data compression (393800 Passmark score) and integer math (88626), the Core Ultra 5 235A drives performance, with the GPU contributing little. Conversely, GPU-heavy tasks like 3D rendering and gaming leverage the RTX 5080's massive compute resources (56.28 TFLOPS FP32) while the CPU provides scene setup and physics calculations.

The FPS scaling picture, estimated from benchmark scores, suggests that at lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 4607) becomes increasingly important, potentially limiting frame rates in esports titles. At 4K resolution, the GPU's 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 10,752 shading units become the primary driver, with the CPU providing adequate support. The 102.4 GB/s system memory bandwidth could create a bottleneck in data-heavy scenarios where large datasets transfer between system RAM and VRAM, though the PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes helps mitigate this.

The 65W TDP CPU paired with the 360W TDP GPU creates an interesting power dynamic. The processor's modest power envelope means it rarely thermally throttles, while the GPU's substantial power draw requires robust cooling and a 750W suggested PSU. This asymmetry suggests the GPU may hit power limits before the CPU in sustained workloads, making the graphics card the primary performance constraint in GPU-bound scenarios.

Gaming Performance

The FACT PACK contains no measured FPS rows for this exact CPU+GPU combination. All gaming figures discussed here are estimates derived from the component benchmark scores and their percentile positions relative to other hardware in the database. The RTX 5080's Passmark G3D score of 36565 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 indicate strong DirectX 12 gaming performance, while the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4607 suggests minimal CPU-induced frame drops in most titles.

For competitive esports titles at high refresh rates, the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's 56.28 TFLOPS compute should support frame rates well beyond 144 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, though exact numbers depend on specific game engines and optimization. The GPU's 84 RT cores provide dedicated hardware for ray-traced effects, potentially enabling high-quality ray tracing with acceptable performance in supported titles. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures texture-heavy games at 4K resolution avoid memory swapping, while the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth maintains steady frame pacing during rapid scene changes.

Modern AAA titles at 4K with maximum settings will likely stress the GPU more than the CPU, with the RTX 5080's 87th percentile positioning suggesting strong but not absolute top-tier performance. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking provides sufficient headroom for game logic, physics, and AI computation without becoming the limiting factor in most scenarios. Games that heavily utilize multi-threading will benefit from the CPU's 14 cores and 24 MB L3 cache, while single-threaded titles will leverage the 5.00 GHz boost clock.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235A features 14 cores and 14 threads operating at a base clock of 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Built on TSMC's 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, this Arrow Lake-S architecture represents Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 desktop lineup. The processor uses Intel Socket 1851 and supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial data storage for frequently accessed information.

Benchmark results show the CPU's Cinebench R15 multicore score of 3289 and single-core score of 464, with R20 scores of 13705 multicore and 1934 single-core. The R23 results demonstrate significant scaling: 32633 multicore versus 4607 single-core, indicating a strong multi-threaded advantage. Passmark tests reveal specialized strengths including data compression at 393800, floating point math at 118778, and integer math at 88626. The extended instructions score of 31625 and data encryption score of 30136 show modern instruction set support for diverse workloads.

The 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs places this processor in the top decile, competing closely with the AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO 380 (0.1% ahead), Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (0.2% behind), and AMD EPYC 4345P (0.6% behind). These tight margins indicate that the Core Ultra 5 235A delivers performance comparable to much more expensive and power-hungry processors, making it a strong choice for desktop builds requiring high compute density without excessive power consumption.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The Core Ultra 5 235A uses Intel Socket 1851, providing a modern platform with PCIe Gen 5 support across 20 CPU lanes. The GPU connects via PCIe 5.0 x16, ensuring maximum bandwidth for current and near-future graphics cards. DDR5 memory support with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth allows for system memory upgrades to match evolving workload requirements. The 65W TDP CPU leaves significant thermal and power headroom within most desktop chassis, while the GPU's 360W TDP and 750W suggested PSU provide guidance for system power requirements.

The platform supports the Arc Xe-LPG integrated graphics with 24 execution units, offering a fallback display output and basic acceleration if the discrete GPU is removed or fails. The unlockable multiplier is not available (multiplierUnlocked: false), meaning CPU performance upgrades come from platform-level improvements or replacement rather than overclocking. A sensible next upgrade path involves increasing system memory capacity or speed within DDR5 specifications, adding PCIe Gen 5 storage devices to leverage the available lanes, or potentially upgrading to a higher-tier Arrow Lake processor within the same socket generation.

The 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU provide substantial bandwidth for multiple high-speed devices, supporting NVMe storage arrays or additional accelerators. The GPU's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth limitation for current graphics workloads, while the 16-pin power connector and 750W PSU recommendation provide clear power delivery requirements for system builders. The DDR5 memory bus with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth may become a limiting factor in memory-intensive workloads, suggesting that memory capacity planning should consider future application requirements.

Build Overview

This desktop build pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 235A with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, creating a high-performance system targeting the 89th combined percentile among all CPU+GPU pairings. The CPU's 90th percentile and GPU's 87th percentile positions indicate a well-matched configuration where both components operate in the upper echelon of their respective categories. The build class is desktop, designed for stationary use with full-size components and expansion capabilities.

The system represents a premium-tier configuration suitable for demanding applications including high-refresh gaming, content creation, 3D rendering, and software development. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock provide robust processing power, while the GPU's 16 GB GDDR7 memory and 84 RT cores deliver exceptional graphics and compute performance. The combined percentile of 89 places this system in the top 11% of all analyzed configurations, indicating near-flagship performance without reaching the absolute top tier.

The 65W TDP CPU and 360W TDP GPU create a power profile that requires a 750W suggested PSU, making this a substantial but not extreme power consumer. The dual-slot GPU with 304 mm length requires adequate chassis clearance, while the Intel Socket 1851 platform provides modern connectivity options. This build targets users who demand high performance across diverse workloads without requiring the absolute fastest components available.

GPU Analysis

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, operating at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2617 MHz. The GB203 chip contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die using TSMC's 5 nm process with a transistor density of 120.6 million per mm². The GPU includes 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, delivering 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and matching FP16 performance at 1:1 ratio. The 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI acceleration.

Benchmark results show the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637, Geekbench OpenCL score of 235901, and Vulkan score of 255450. The Passmark G3D score of 36565 and GPU compute score of 21789 demonstrate strong rendering and general-purpose compute capabilities. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s indicate substantial fill rates for high-resolution rendering. The 87th percentile ranking places this GPU in the upper tier, with competition from AMD Radeon 8060S (0.6% behind), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.7% behind), and AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (2.3% behind), while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity supports high-resolution textures and large datasets for professional visualization tasks. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth enables rapid data transfer for 4K gaming and GPU-accelerated compute workloads. The RT cores accelerate ray-traced rendering in supported applications, while the tensor cores enable DLSS and AI-based features. The dual-slot design with 304 mm length and 1x 16-pin power connector requires compatible chassis and PSU, with a suggested 750W power supply. Display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, supporting modern high-refresh monitors and multi-display configurations.