SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 245K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

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
95%
VS
GPU
91%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K

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

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

21,035 Benchmark Score
Top 9% 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 245K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050: A Desktop Pairing Analysis

This desktop build pairs Intel's Core Ultra 5 245K processor with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card, combining a 14-core Arrow Lake CPU with an entry-level Blackwell GPU. The FACT PACK contains no measured FPS rows for this exact combination, so all frame rate discussions below are estimated from the benchmark scores rather than direct game testing data. The CPU sits in the 91st percentile among all processors, while the GPU lands in the 66th percentile among all graphics cards, giving this pairing a combined percentile of 79.

Gaming Performance — measured FPS by game and resolution from measuredFpsUltraByGame (or, if dataIsMeasured is false, frame expectations qualitatively from the benchmark scores and say the figures are estimates)

Since no measured FPS data exists for this exact CPU-GPU combination, all gaming performance figures presented here are estimates derived from the individual benchmark scores of each component. The RTX 5050's PassMark G3D score of 17,326 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,502 suggest a GPU capable of 1080p gaming at medium-to-high settings in most modern titles, with the 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,066 and single-core score of 2,132 indicate sufficient processing headroom to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in most gaming scenarios.

At 1080p resolution, the estimated frame rates for this pairing would likely be constrained primarily by the GPU's compute capabilities. The RTX 5050's FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS positions it as an entry-level 1080p card, and the 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and DLSS features respectively. The estimated 1080p performance would likely deliver playable frame rates in esports titles and moderate settings in AAA games, though the exact figures cannot be confirmed without measured data.

At 1440p resolution, the estimated performance would show a more significant drop-off, as the 8 GB VRAM capacity and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors for texture-heavy workloads. The 66th percentile GPU ranking places it below many mid-range options, suggesting that 1440p gaming would require reduced settings to maintain acceptable frame rates. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4,714) would help maintain minimum frame rates, but the GPU would likely be the primary constraint.

At 4K resolution, the estimated performance would be marginal at best, with the RTX 5050's 32 ROPs and 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate limiting fill-rate-heavy scenarios. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2,502, which represents a modern DX12 workload, suggests that 4K gaming would require substantial settings reductions or upscaling techniques to achieve playable frame rates. The 20 RT cores provide some ray tracing capability, but the overall GPU compute power is not aligned with 4K-class rendering demands.

Usage Scenarios — grounded in the scores: high-refresh gaming, streaming, video editing, 3D rendering, software development, student and office work. One short paragraph per scenario, citing the numbers that support the verdict

High-refresh gaming: The CPU's 5.20 GHz boost clock and PassMark single-thread score of 4,714 indicate strong per-core performance for driving high frame rates in competitive titles. However, the GPU's 66th percentile ranking and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance suggest that 144Hz+ gaming would be achievable primarily at 1080p with competitive settings, not at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM may also cap texture quality in newer titles.

Streaming: The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads provide adequate multi-tasking headroom, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 43,047 supporting simultaneous game capture and encoding workloads. The GPU's 80 tensor cores and NVENC-equivalent capabilities (implied by the 50-series architecture) would assist with hardware-accelerated encoding, though the lack of measured streaming-specific benchmarks means exact performance remains estimated.

Video editing: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,066 and PassMark floating-point math score of 130,678 indicate solid computational throughput for video processing tasks. The GPU's 13.17 TFLOPS FP16 performance (1:1 ratio) supports accelerated effects and rendering in compatible applications, while the 8 GB VRAM may limit working with very large timelines or 4K+ source material.

3D rendering: The CPU's 14 cores deliver strong multi-threaded rendering performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 15,368. The GPU's 2,560 shading units and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate contribute to GPU-accelerated rendering, though the 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 figure places it below professional-class renderers. The 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die (113.4M transistors per mm²) indicate a dense but modest-scale GPU design.

Software development: The CPU's PassMark data compression score of 458,817 and integer math score of 98,524 suggest strong performance for compilation workloads and data processing tasks. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth support large codebases and parallel build processes, while the 91st percentile CPU ranking ensures responsive development environments.

Student and office work: The CPU's 4.20 GHz base clock and PassMark single-thread score of 4,714 deliver snappy application responsiveness for everyday tasks. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU provides a fallback display output, and the 125 W TDP allows for standard desktop cooling solutions. The GPU's 130 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement indicate modest power demands suitable for typical office environments.

Balance and Bottleneck — which component limits which workload, using percentiles and FPS scaling as evidence

The performance balance between the Core Ultra 5 245K and RTX 5050 is heavily skewed toward CPU capability. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking versus the GPU's 66th percentile creates a significant mismatch that manifests differently across workloads. In gaming scenarios, the GPU is almost certainly the limiting factor at standard resolutions, as the CPU's strong single-thread performance (2,132 in Cinebench R23 single-core) provides ample headroom for frame generation while the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2,502 caps overall throughput.

The FPS scaling evidence from the benchmark scores suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU bottleneck becomes more pronounced. At 1080p, the CPU's fast cores (5.20 GHz boost) can potentially push frame rates higher than the GPU can render, but the RTX 5050's 32 ROPs and 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate will limit pixel throughput. At 1440p and above, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly restrictive, with texture streaming and memory bandwidth acting as hard ceilings.

For compute-heavy workloads, the balance shifts. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,066 and PassMark multi-thread score of 43,047 demonstrate substantial parallel processing capability, while the GPU's PassMark GPU compute score of 9,184 shows more modest compute throughput. In rendering and encoding tasks, the CPU would likely finish work faster than the GPU can process, creating a CPU-bound scenario in GPU-accelerated pipelines.

The 79th combined percentile reflects this imbalance — the pairing is stronger than the GPU alone but weaker than the CPU alone. The nearest rival data reinforces the CPU's strength: the Core i7-14700F scores 0.8% lower, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 1.3% lower. For the GPU, the RX 5600 XT is 1.6% lower, and the RTX A4000 Mobile is 1.6% higher, indicating the RTX 5050 sits in a tightly contested mid-range GPU tier.

Who Should Build It — target users and industries (gamers at specific resolutions, content creators, developers, students, small business workstations) tied strictly to the measured performance

1080p gamers are the primary target audience for this build, as the GPU's 66th percentile ranking and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance align with 1080p gaming expectations. The CPU's 5.20 GHz boost clock ensures that frame rate ceilings are not CPU-limited, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential in this resolution class.

Content creators working with 1080p or 1440p video would benefit from the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,066 for export and encoding tasks, while the GPU's 80 tensor cores provide AI-accelerated features in compatible software. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p timelines and moderate 1440p projects, though 4K work would strain the memory capacity.

Software developers and programmers would find the CPU's PassMark integer math score of 98,524 and data compression score of 458,817 valuable for compilation, testing, and data processing workflows. The 14 cores provide parallel build capability, and the 91st percentile CPU ranking ensures the system remains responsive during heavy development loads.

Students and small business users would appreciate the balanced performance for mixed workloads, with the CPU's 4,714 single-thread PassMark score handling office applications smoothly and the GPU providing adequate acceleration for presentation graphics and light creative work. The 125 W CPU TDP and 300 W suggested PSU requirement make this a practical desktop configuration for shared or individual workspaces.

Enthusiast builders seeking a platform with upgrade potential would be drawn to the Intel Socket 1851 platform, which supports DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes. The unlocked multiplier on the 245K allows for overclocking, and the 130 W GPU TDP leaves substantial PSU headroom for future GPU upgrades.

CPU Analysis — cores, clocks, architecture, what the benchmark scores mean for real workloads

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture using TSMC's 3 nm process node. It houses 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The chip features a three-level cache hierarchy: 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3, providing a total of 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth with ECC support.

The benchmark results paint a picture of a strong multi-threaded performer with excellent single-thread capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,066 places it in the upper tier of desktop processors, while the single-core score of 2,132 demonstrates that the 5.20 GHz boost clock delivers real-world responsiveness. The PassMark multi-thread score of 43,047 and single-thread score of 4,714 corroborate these findings, showing balanced performance across both parallel and serial workloads.

The 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs is validated by the nearest rival data: the Intel Xeon 6505P scores 0.7% lower, the Core i7-14700F scores 0.8% lower, and the Xeon Phi 7290 scores 1.1% lower. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 1.3% higher, placing the 245K in a competitive position against both Intel and AMD offerings. The PassMark extended instructions score of 37,617 indicates robust SIMD and vector processing capability, while the floating-point math score of 130,678 supports scientific and engineering workloads.

The 125 W TDP with a 5.20 GHz boost clock represents a balance between performance and power efficiency, enabled by the 3 nm TSMC process. The 14 threads (matching the 14 core count, with no hyper-threading) mean that heavily threaded workloads will use all cores equally, but the lack of additional threads per core may limit performance in workloads that benefit from more threads than physical cores.

GPU Analysis — VRAM, bandwidth, clocks, RT/tensor hardware, what the benchmark scores mean for rendering

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, housing 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2,317 MHz and boost clock of 2,572 MHz, with memory running at 2,500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest for modern gaming workloads.

The GPU's 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs deliver 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 13.17 TFLOPS of FP16 performance (1:1 ratio). The 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide dedicated hardware for ray tracing and AI-accelerated features, respectively. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s define the GPU's fill-rate capabilities, which are entry-level for the 50-series lineup.

The benchmark scores reveal a GPU that performs near the 66th percentile among all graphics cards. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,502 demonstrates modern gaming workload performance, while the PassMark G3D score of 17,326 and GPU compute score of 9,184 provide additional context. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 90,334 and Vulkan score of 89,381 show consistent cross-API performance.

The nearest rival data places the RTX 5050 in close competition with several mid-range cards: the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 0.6% lower, the Radeon HD 8970M scores 1% lower, and the RX 5600 XT scores 1.6% lower. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 1.6% higher, indicating the RTX 5050 sits in a tightly packed performance tier where small differences separate competitors.

For rendering workloads, the 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 performance (1:1 ratio) suggests capable GPU-accelerated rendering in applications that support Blackwell architecture. The 8 GB VRAM may limit scene complexity, while the 320.0 GB/s bandwidth could bottleneck texture-heavy renders. The 20 RT cores provide ray-traced rendering capability, though the overall compute throughput places this GPU below professional rendering solutions.

FAQ — 5-7 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data (format: Q: ... A: ...)

Q: What is the combined performance percentile of this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: The combined percentile of this desktop build is 79, reflecting the CPU's 91st percentile and GPU's 66th percentile rankings.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245K compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D in average benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54,762, which is 1.3% higher than the Core Ultra 5 245K's average score of 54,053.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 5050?

A: The RTX 5050 has a launch MSRP of 249 USD.

Q: How much L3 cache does the Core Ultra 5 245K have?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245K has 24 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 192 KB L1 per core and 3 MB L2 per core.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 5050?

A: The RTX 5050 has 320.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, provided by 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus running at 2,500 MHz (20 Gbps effective).

Q: What PCIe interface does the RTX 5050 use?

A: The RTX 5050 uses a PCIe 5.0 x8 bus interface, while the CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT in average benchmark scores?

A: The RX 5600 XT has an average score of 20,713, which is 1.6% lower than the RTX 5050's average score of 21,035.

Build Overview — what this CPU+GPU pairing is, its class (desktop/laptop from buildClass), and overall tier from the percentiles

This is a desktop-class build pairing the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050. The CPU is a 14-core Arrow Lake processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, released on 2024-10-23 with a launch MSRP of $319. The GPU is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture card from the GeForce 50-series, released on 2025-06-30 with a launch MSRP of 249 USD. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking places it in the upper tier of all processors, while the GPU's 66th percentile places it in the mid-range of all graphics cards.

The combined 79th percentile indicates that this build sits above the majority of desktop configurations, with the CPU providing the stronger half of the performance equation. The system occupies a unique position: the CPU is capable of competing with much higher-end processors (within 1.3% of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D), while the GPU is competitive with mid-range options like the RX 5600 XT (1.6% difference). This creates a desktop system that excels in CPU-bound workloads while offering adequate GPU performance for 1080p gaming and general graphics tasks.

Benchmark Performance — exact CPU and GPU scores, percentile positions, and what the combined picture is

The Core Ultra 5 245K achieves an average benchmark score of 54,053 across all CPU tests, placing it in the 91st percentile of all processors. Key CPU benchmarks include: Cinebench R23 multi-core at 25,066 and single-core at 2,132; Cinebench R20 multi-core at 15,368 and single-core at 2,169; Cinebench R15 multi-core at 3,850 and single-core at 322; PassMark multi-thread at 43,047 and single-thread at 4,714. Additional PassMark scores include data compression at 458,817, data encryption at 33,286, extended instructions at 37,617, floating-point math at 130,678, integer math at 98,524, physics at 3,081, and random string sorting at 55,098.

The RTX 5050 achieves an average benchmark score of 21,035 across all GPU tests, placing it in the 66th percentile of all graphics cards. Key GPU benchmarks include: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 2,502; Geekbench OpenCL at 90,334 and Vulkan at 89,381; PassMark G3D at 17,326, GPU compute at 9,184, DirectX 10 at 103, DirectX 11 at 150, DirectX 12 at 66, DirectX 9 at 186, and G2D at 1,113.

The combined picture shows a system where the CPU significantly outperforms the GPU in relative terms. The CPU's 91st percentile versus the GPU's 66th percentile represents a 25-point gap, which is notable in a balanced build. The nearest rival comparisons reinforce this: the CPU trades within 1.3% of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, while the GPU trades within 1.6% of the RX 5600 XT — two components from entirely different performance tiers. This suggests the build is CPU-forward, with the GPU potentially being the first upgrade target for users seeking more balanced performance.

Upgrade Path and Platform — socket, memory support, PCIe, PSU headroom from suggestedPsu/tdp, what a sensible next upgrade looks like

The Core Ultra 5 245K uses Intel Socket 1851, which supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, while the RTX 5050 uses PCIe 5.0 x8, meaning the GPU does not fully utilize the CPU's lane allocation. This leaves PCIe bandwidth headroom for additional Gen 5 devices, such as NVMe storage or other expansion cards. The CPU's ECC memory support adds flexibility for workstation-style configurations.

The system's power requirements are modest: the CPU has a 125 W TDP, and the GPU has a 130 W TDP with a 300 W suggested PSU rating. This combination leaves substantial PSU headroom for upgrades, as the suggested 300 W PSU accounts for the GPU's requirements but the total system draw including the CPU would typically be higher. The GPU uses a single 8-pin power connector, which is standard for mid-range cards.

A sensible next upgrade path would focus on the GPU, given the CPU's strong 91st percentile ranking. The RTX 5050's 66th percentile and 8 GB VRAM represent the primary performance ceiling, so upgrading to a higher-tier GPU would better utilize the CPU's capabilities. The 130 W GPU TDP and 300 W suggested PSU mean that a higher-power GPU would require a PSU upgrade as well. The CPU's unlocked multiplier and 125 W TDP also provide overclocking headroom for users seeking additional CPU performance without hardware changes.

The Intel Socket 1851 platform supports DDR5 memory, which is currently the mainstream standard, and the PCIe Gen 5 connectivity ensures compatibility with next-generation storage and expansion cards. The 20 CPU lanes provide sufficient bandwidth for a high-end GPU (typically 16 lanes) plus additional devices. For users building from scratch, this platform offers a clear upgrade trajectory within the same socket generation, with the possibility of moving to higher-tier Core Ultra processors or adding more capable GPUs as needs evolve.