SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 245K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

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

96 / 100
ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 4% 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
95%
VS
GPU
97%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K

54,053 Benchmark Score
Top 5% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

60,347 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

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop build that combines a strong 14-core processor with a flagship-class graphics card. The combined percentile ranking of 90 places this pairing in the top tier of all systems in the database, indicating a high-performance configuration. However, the benchmark data reveals a notable imbalance: the CPU sits at the 91st percentile, while the GPU also ranks at the 88th percentile, yet the CPU's average benchmark score of 54053 is relatively modest compared to the GPU's average score of 60347, highlighting the GPU as the dominant component in this pairing.

FAQ

Q: What processor architecture is used in the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K uses the Arrow Lake architecture, specifically the Arrow Lake-S variant, built on a 3 nm process node at TSMC. It is part of the Core Ultra Series 2 generation, with a die size of 243 mm² and 17,800 million transistors.

Q: What is the memory configuration and bandwidth of this CPU?

A: The CPU supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. It also supports ECC memory, which is a key feature for workstation stability and data integrity.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245K perform in single-threaded tests?

A: The processor achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2132 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4714. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for lightly-threaded workloads and gaming.

Q: What is the PCIe specification and lane count for this CPU?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K provides 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU only. This is a high-bandwidth interface that supports the latest NVMe SSDs and graphics cards, though the RTX 4090 in this build uses PCIe 4.0 x16.

Q: What is the TDP of the RTX 4090 and what PSU is suggested?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W and a suggested power supply of 850 W. It uses a triple-slot cooling design and a single 16-pin power connector, making it a power-hungry component that requires a robust PSU.

Q: What is the L3 cache size on the Core Ultra 5 245K?

A: The CPU features a shared 24 MB L3 cache. Additionally, it has 192 KB of L1 cache per core and 3 MB of L2 cache per core, which helps with data locality and reduces latency for frequently accessed data.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 245K an unlocked processor?

A: Yes, the multiplier is unlocked, allowing for overclocking. The base clock is 4.20 GHz, and the boost clock is 5.20 GHz, giving users headroom to increase performance beyond stock settings if their cooling and motherboard permit.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is built for the Intel Socket 1851 platform, which is the foundation for this desktop build. The socket supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel interface, with a peak bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, and the CPU itself provides 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. This is a forward-looking platform, as PCIe Gen 5 offers double the bandwidth of the previous generation, making it suitable for next-generation storage devices. The CPU also includes integrated graphics in the form of Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, which provides a fallback display output if the discrete GPU is removed or fails.

Given the GPU's power requirements, the platform needs a robust power delivery system. The RTX 4090 has a TDP of 450 W and a suggested PSU of 850 W, so any upgrade path must account for this. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W, which is modest by comparison, meaning the motherboard's VRM needs to handle the combined load of the CPU and GPU. The platform supports ECC memory, which is a feature typically reserved for workstation-class systems, so users looking to upgrade memory can opt for ECC modules to improve data reliability in compute-heavy tasks.

The GPU uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, which is compatible with the CPU's PCIe Gen 5 lanes, though it will run at Gen 4 speeds. This is not a bottleneck in practice, as the RTX 4090's bandwidth requirements are fully met by PCIe 4.0. A sensible next upgrade for this platform would be adding more PCIe Gen 5 NVMe storage, leveraging the CPU's 20 lanes for ultra-fast data transfer. The CPU's unlocked multiplier also means that users can pair this processor with a high-end air cooler or liquid cooler to push the boost clock beyond 5.20 GHz, though the exact thermal solution is not specified in the data.

The platform is currently active in production, with a release date of October 23, 2024. The CPU has a launch MSRP of $319, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, though the GPU is now end-of-life. For users considering an upgrade, the CPU's socket and memory support are current, but the GPU's successor, the GeForce 50 series, has been released, making the RTX 4090 a previous-generation part. However, the platform itself remains viable for high-end workloads, as the CPU's performance is competitive with newer parts in the same socket.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. The lack of hyper-threading is a deliberate design choice, as the architecture relies on physical cores for performance, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W, which is reasonable for a desktop part with this core count, and it includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core. The 3 nm process node allows for high transistor density, with 17,800 million transistors packed into a 243 mm² die.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 25066 in multi-core and 2132 in single-core. The multi-core score places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database. The single-core score is strong, indicating that the architecture is efficient at handling lightly-threaded tasks, which is essential for gaming and everyday responsiveness. The CPU's average benchmark score is 54053, and it is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, 0.7% delta) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620, 0.8% delta), showing that it sits in a competitive performance tier.

The Passmark results provide a deeper look into specific workloads. The CPU scores 43047 in multithread, which is high, and 4714 in single-thread. In integer math, it scores 98524, and in floating-point math, it scores 130678, indicating strong computational throughput for scientific and engineering applications. The data compression score of 458817 and encryption score of 33286 are notable, showing that the CPU can handle data-heavy tasks efficiently. The extended instructions score of 37617 suggests good support for modern instruction sets, which is beneficial for software development and media encoding. The physics score of 3081 is relatively lower, but this is a specific test that may not reflect real-world gaming physics performance.

The CPU's performance is well-rounded, with no significant weaknesses in the benchmark data. The 3 nm process node gives it an efficiency advantage, though the TDP of 125 W is higher than some lower-core-count parts. For real workloads, this CPU is capable of handling multi-threaded rendering, compilation, and data analysis, thanks to its 14 physical cores. The single-core performance is also strong enough for high-refresh-rate gaming, as it avoids bottlenecks in CPU-bound titles. Overall, the Core Ultra 5 245K is a solid mid-to-high-end desktop processor that offers a balance of core count and clock speed.

Who Should Build It

This build is targeted at users who need a high-end desktop system for both gaming and productivity, with a strong emphasis on GPU compute. The RTX 4090 is a flagship graphics card, and the Core Ultra 5 245K provides enough CPU power to feed it in most scenarios. Gamers at 4K resolution will benefit the most, as the GPU is the primary bottleneck at that resolution, and the CPU's 91st percentile performance ensures it won't hold back frame rates. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4714 is also sufficient for esports titles at high refresh rates, though the GPU will be the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

Content creators who work with video editing, 3D rendering, and large datasets will find this build appealing. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25066 indicates strong rendering performance, and the GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability accelerates tasks like ray tracing and AI-based effects in software. The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on the GPU is also valuable for large textures and complex scenes, making this a viable workstation for 3D artists. Software developers will appreciate the CPU's extended instructions score of 37617, which supports modern compiler optimizations, and the 14 threads are useful for parallel builds.

Students in engineering or data science fields can leverage the CPU's ECC memory support for reliable computation, though the overall cost of the system may be prohibitive. Small business workstations that run virtualization or database workloads will benefit from the CPU's multithread score of 43047 and data encryption score of 33286. The GPU's compute performance, as measured by the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 9223 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 255416, makes this a capable machine for GPU-accelerated workloads like machine learning inference. However, the build is overkill for basic office tasks, where the CPU's integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU would be sufficient on its own.

The target user is someone who wants a single system that can handle anything thrown at it, from AAA gaming to professional content creation. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking mean that this build is in the top 10% of all systems, making it suitable for enthusiasts and professionals who require maximum performance. The GPU's end-of-life status suggests that early adopters of the RTX 40-series are looking to maximize their investment, and the CPU's active production status ensures long-term support.

Benchmark Performance

The combined benchmark picture shows a system that is strong overall but heavily skewed toward GPU performance. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 54053, placing it at the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU has an average score of 60347, placing it at the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The combined percentile for this pairing is 90, indicating that the system as a whole is in the top 10% of all builds. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 25066 in multi-core and 2132 in single-core, which are solid numbers for a 14-core part. The Passmark multithread score of 43047 further confirms the CPU's multi-core strength.

The GPU's benchmark scores are dominated by compute-oriented tests. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 9223, which is a high result for a DirectX 12 workload. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 255416 and Vulkan score of 271631 indicate strong compute performance for general-purpose GPU tasks. The Passmark G3D score of 38194 is a measure of graphics rendering, while the G2D score of 1299 is lower, reflecting that 2D performance is not a focus for this card. The GPU compute score of 26613 shows that the RTX 4090 is a compute powerhouse, which is expected given its 16384 shading units and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 throughput.

When comparing to rivals, the CPU is 0.7% faster than the Intel Xeon 6505P and 0.8% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700F, but 1.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D. This puts the Core Ultra 5 245K in a tight competitive band, where the differences are within a few percentage points. The GPU is virtually tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, with deltas of 0% and 0.3% respectively, but it is 2.5% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M and 2.9% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO V710. These rival comparisons show that the GPU is not the absolute fastest in the database, but it is within striking distance of the top performers.

The combined picture is one of a balanced high-end system, but the CPU is the weaker link in terms of percentile ranking. The CPU's 91st percentile is slightly higher than the GPU's 88th percentile, but the GPU's absolute scores are higher, meaning the GPU is doing more heavy lifting in compute-intensive tasks. The data shows that this build is optimized for GPU-bound workloads, such as 3D rendering and AI inference, where the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 and 24 GB of memory are the primary assets. For CPU-bound tasks, the Core Ultra 5 245K holds its own, but the performance gap between the two components is clear.

Usage Scenarios

High-Refresh Gaming: At 1080p or 1440p, the CPU's single-core performance, with a Passmark score of 4714, is sufficient to drive high frame rates, but the GPU will be the limiting factor. The RTX 4090 is capable of extremely high frame rates, estimated from its 88th percentile ranking, but the CPU's 14 cores and 5.20 GHz boost clock ensure that it won't bottleneck the GPU in most titles.

Streaming: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25066 provides enough headroom for encoding video while gaming. The GPU's NVENC encoder is not explicitly benchmarked, but the GPU's compute scores, including a Geekbench OpenCL score of 255416, suggest it can handle streaming tasks without impacting frame rates significantly.

Video Editing: The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 43047 and the GPU's FP32 compute of 82.58 TFLOPS make this a strong system for video editing. Timeline scrubbing and effects rendering will be fast, and the 24 GB of GPU memory can handle large 8K projects, though the exact performance is estimated from the benchmark scores.

3D Rendering: The GPU is the dominant component here, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 9223 and a Passmark G3D score of 38194. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25066 also contributes to CPU-based rendering, making this a dual-purpose system for both GPU and CPU rendering workloads.

Software Development: The CPU's extended instructions score of 37617 and data encryption score of 33286 indicate strong performance for compilation and cryptographic tasks. The 14 threads are useful for parallel builds, and the ECC memory support ensures data integrity during long compile sessions, making this a reliable development workstation.

Student and Office Work: This build is vastly overqualified for basic tasks like word processing and spreadsheets. The CPU's integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU could handle these tasks without the discrete GPU, but the system's raw power is wasted on such workloads. The high cost and power draw make it impractical for typical student use, though it would excel at any computational task a student might encounter.

Gaming Performance

No measured FPS data exists for this exact CPU and GPU combination, as the FACT PACK contains no measuredFpsUltraByGame entries. All FPS figures discussed here are estimates derived from the benchmark scores. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2132 and the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 9223 can be used to project gaming performance. In ultra settings, the RTX 4090 is expected to deliver very high frame rates at 1440p and 4K, given its 88th percentile ranking and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is well-suited for high-resolution textures.

At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread score of 4714 in Passmark becomes more relevant, as lower resolutions are more CPU-bound. The Core Ultra 5 245K should be able to keep up with the GPU in most esports titles, but the exact FPS is unknown. At 1440p, the balance shifts more toward the GPU, and the RTX 4090 is estimated to maintain high frame rates in AAA games. At 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is less critical, so the system is expected to deliver playable frame rates in all but the most demanding titles.

The lack of measured FPS data means that these are estimates, and real-world performance can vary based on game optimization and driver maturity. The GPU's Passmark DirectX 12 score of 150 is notably low, which could indicate poor performance in some DX12 titles, but this is an anomaly compared to the high 3DMark Steel Nomad score. Overall, the system is expected to be a top-tier gaming machine, with the GPU providing the bulk of the performance, and the CPU ensuring no significant bottlenecks at standard gaming resolutions.

Build Overview

This is a desktop build that pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The CPU is a 14-core, 14-thread part based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz and a TDP of 125 W. The GPU is a flagship Ada Lovelace part with 16384 shading units, 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, and a TDP of 450 W. The build class is "desktop," and the combined percentile ranking is 90, placing it in the top 10% of all systems in the database. The CPU's percentile is 91, and the GPU's percentile is 88, indicating a slight imbalance in favor of the CPU.

The overall tier of this build is high-end, aimed at enthusiasts and professionals who need maximum performance. The CPU's average benchmark score of 54053 and the GPU's average score of 60347 show that the GPU is the more powerful component, but both are in the upper echelon of their respective categories. The launch MSRP for the CPU is $319, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, though the GPU is now end-of-life. This is not a budget build, but rather a performance-first configuration that prioritizes raw compute power.

The combination of a 14-core CPU and a flagship GPU makes this a versatile system for gaming, content creation, and compute workloads. The CPU's 14 threads are sufficient for multi-tasking, and the GPU's 24 GB of memory is ample for large datasets. The system's combined percentile of 90 means it outperforms 90% of all builds, making it a top-tier choice for users who demand the best. The build is constrained by the GPU's power requirements, with a suggested PSU of 850 W, but the CPU's 125 W TDP is manageable.

Balance and Bottleneck

The benchmark data shows a clear division of labor in this build. The CPU is the weaker component in terms of absolute performance, with an average score of 54053 compared to the GPU's 60347. However, the CPU's percentile ranking (91) is actually higher than the GPU's (88), which means the CPU is closer to the top of its category than the GPU is. This suggests that the GPU is the component that limits overall performance in most workloads, as it has more room to fall behind its peers.

In CPU-bound workloads, such as software compilation or data compression, the Core Ultra 5 245K will be the limiting factor. The Passmark data compression score of 458817 and encryption score of 33286 are strong, but they are not as high as the GPU's compute scores. The CPU's 14 threads and 5.20 GHz boost clock are adequate for most tasks, but they may struggle to keep up with the GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 in highly parallel workloads like AI training. In these cases, the GPU is the bottleneck, as it can process data faster than the CPU can feed it.

In gaming, the bottleneck shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor, as the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as it is fully utilized while the CPU has spare capacity. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K would show this trend, with diminishing frame rate gains at higher resolutions. The CPU's single-thread score of 4714 is strong enough to avoid severe bottlenecks at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw power is the defining factor in this build.

The combined picture is that the GPU is the dominant component, driving performance in GPU-accelerated tasks and high-resolution gaming. The CPU is a capable partner, but it is not in the same performance tier as the GPU. For users who prioritize CPU-bound tasks, this build may be unbalanced, but for those who focus on GPU compute and gaming, the RTX 4090 is the star of the show. The data indicates that the system is well-suited for workloads that leverage the GPU's massive compute throughput, while the CPU handles the supporting tasks without becoming a major bottleneck.