SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

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

Build Configuration

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PROCESSOR (CPU)

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GRAPHICS CARD (GPU)

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94 Score

Top 6% Ranking

94 / 100

ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 6% 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

96%

GPU

92%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

66,855 Benchmark Score

Top 4% Market Ranking

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GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

23,172 Benchmark Score

Top 8% Market Ranking

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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

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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.

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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

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in this pairing is built on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. The GPU's memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6X across a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that remains substantial for 1440p and even some 4K workloads despite the card's age. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. The base clock is 1440 MHz and the boost clock reaches 1710 MHz, providing the raw clock headroom that Ampere's design relies upon for sustained throughput.

The RTX 3080's compute configuration is substantial: 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. For ray tracing, there are 68 dedicated RT cores, and for AI-accelerated workloads, 272 tensor cores are present. The pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 465.1 GTexel/s, both of which indicate strong fill-rate capabilities for traditional rasterization. The FP32 throughput is 29.77 TFLOPS, with FP16 running at the same 29.77 TFLOPS in a 1:1 ratio — a notable characteristic of this generation where consumer cards did not double FP16 throughput.

Benchmark results for the GPU show a mixed but generally capable picture. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the card scores 4407 points, which reflects modern DirectX 12 rendering workloads. Geekbench OpenCL delivers 152,423 points, while Geekbench Vulkan reaches 33,620 points — the large gap between these two suggests that the OpenCL path is better optimized for this architecture than the Vulkan compute path. Passmark results are more granular: DirectX 9 scores 258, DirectX 10 scores 170, DirectX 11 scores 207, and DirectX 12 scores 100. These numbers indicate that the card's relative strength diminishes with newer API generations, which is expected given the architectural age. The Passmark G3D score is 25,086, with a GPU compute score of 14,397.

For rendering workloads, the combination of 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores means the RTX 3080 can handle hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS-style AI upscaling, though the 10 GB VRAM capacity is a limiting factor for very high-resolution texture sets. The bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s helps mitigate the VRAM size constraint in many scenarios, but texture-heavy scenes at 4K with maximum quality presets may exceed the frame buffer. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits above the median but is far from top-tier in the current landscape. The Passmark G2D score of 1054 is modest, reflecting that 2D desktop workloads are not where this card's investment pays off.

# Benchmark Performance

The exact CPU benchmark scores for the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus are as follows: Cinebench R15 multi-core scores 4640 points and single-core scores 328 points. Cinebench R20 multi-core reaches 18,442 points with a single-core score of 2603. Cinebench R23 multi-core hits 30,867 points and single-core scores 2261. Passmark results include multi-thread at 51,596, single-thread at 4757, data compression at 568,721, data encryption at 42,144, extended instructions at 44,565, find prime numbers at 486, floating point math at 162,692, integer math at 125,091, physics at 3494, and random string sorting at 69,090. The average benchmark score across all tests is 66,855.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 93, placing it in the top 7% of all processors in the database. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 4465P scores 66,925 with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Xeon 6515P scores 67,006 with a delta of -0.2%, the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX scores 67,469 with a delta of -0.9%, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus scores 66,159 with a delta of +1.1%. This means the 250K Plus is effectively at parity with a server-grade EPYC and a Xeon, while sitting just under the higher-tier Ultra 9 mobile chip and just above its own KF variant by a hair over one percent.

The GPU benchmark scores for the RTX 3080 are: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 at 4407, Geekbench OpenCL at 152,423, Geekbench Vulkan at 33,620, Passmark DirectX 9 at 258, DirectX 10 at 170, DirectX 11 at 207, DirectX 12 at 100, G2D at 1054, G3D at 25,086, and GPU compute at 14,397. The average benchmark score for the GPU is 23,172, with a percentile of 68 vs all GPUs. The nearest rivals show a tight pack: the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23,249 (-0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23,250 (-0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23,273 (-0.4%), and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23,276 (-0.4%). The RTX 3080's average score is remarkably close to these rivals — within a fraction of a percent — despite being a much more powerful card in real-world terms. This suggests the average benchmark score may underweight the GPU's actual gaming and rendering capabilities.

The combined percentile for this CPU+GPU pairing is 81, indicating that the build sits above 81% of all recorded system configurations in the database. The combined picture is one of a very strong CPU paired with a mid-upper-tier GPU; the CPU's 93rd percentile dominates the system's overall percentile, while the GPU's 68th percentile drags it down slightly, resulting in an 81st percentile overall.

# CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh codename. It is manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The CPU has 18 cores and 18 threads — notably, there is no hyperthreading, so thread count equals core count. The base clock is 4.20 GHz and the boost clock reaches 5.30 GHz. The thermal design power is 125 W, and the multiplier is unlocked, enabling overclocking.

The cache hierarchy consists of 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 in dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. ECC memory is supported, which is a feature typically associated with workstation or server-class processors. The PCIe interface is Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU. Integrated graphics are present in the form of Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units.

The CPU's benchmark scores paint a picture of a processor that excels in multi-threaded workloads while maintaining strong single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30,867 is the headline figure, indicating that the 18 physical cores can sustain high throughput under sustained all-core loads. The single-core score of 2261 in R23 is competitive for the boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The Passmark multi-thread score of 51,596 and single-thread score of 4757 are consistent with this profile.

The data compression score of 568,721 is exceptionally high, suggesting that the CPU's memory bandwidth and cache design are well-suited for compression workloads. Data encryption at 42,144 is more moderate, which is typical for CPUs without dedicated AES acceleration optimizations that stand out from the pack. Floating point math at 162,692 and integer math at 125,091 show strong arithmetic throughput. The extended instructions score of 44,565 indicates robust SIMD capability. Physics at 3494 and find prime numbers at 486 are lower, reflecting that these workloads depend more on specific architectural features than raw core count.

The 93rd percentile ranking means this CPU outperforms 93% of all processors in the database. The nearest rival comparisons show that it trades blows with server-grade AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon parts, which is notable for a mainstream desktop chip. The Core Ultra 9 275HX, a mobile flagship, edges it out by 0.9%, while the KF variant (without integrated graphics) trails by 1.1%. For real workloads, this means the CPU is well-suited for video encoding, 3D rendering, software compilation, and any multi-threaded task that can utilize 18 cores. The single-thread performance is sufficient for gaming and general desktop responsiveness, though it is not the absolute fastest available.

# Balance and Bottleneck

The balance between the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and the RTX 3080 is asymmetric. The CPU operates at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs. This creates a scenario where the CPU is significantly stronger relative to its own market segment than the GPU is relative to its segment. In CPU-bound workloads — such as physics simulation, data compression, or software compilation — the CPU will not be the limiting factor. The Passmark physics score of 3494 and multi-thread score of 51,596 indicate that the CPU can feed even demanding compute tasks without bottlenecking.

In GPU-bound workloads — particularly gaming at high resolutions — the RTX 3080 will be the limiting factor. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 25,086 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4407 are respectable but not top-tier. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (4757 in Passmark single-thread) will allow the GPU to reach its maximum frame output. At 4K, the GPU will be the constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom to process game logic and draw calls while the GPU struggles with pixel fill rates.

The combined percentile of 81 reflects this imbalance: the system is stronger than the individual GPU percentile suggests, but weaker than the CPU percentile alone would imply. The nearest rival data for the GPU shows that it is within 0.4% of much weaker cards (P106-100, Radeon Pro Vega 16, RX 6600M, R9 M290X) in average benchmark score, which indicates that the GPU's average score may not capture its real gaming advantage. However, for the purposes of balance analysis, the data shows that any FPS scaling in CPU-heavy scenarios will be limited by the GPU's rasterization throughput, while CPU-heavy productivity tasks will run at near-peak efficiency.

The memory configuration also matters here: the CPU's dual-channel DDR5 with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the 18-core design, but the GPU's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is far higher, meaning the GPU's frame buffer is not constrained by the system memory bottleneck. The PCIe Gen 5 interface on the CPU (20 lanes) is backward compatible with the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, so there is no bandwidth limitation between the two components.

# Who Should Build It

This build targets users who prioritize CPU-heavy productivity while still wanting solid gaming performance. The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus sits at the 93rd CPU percentile, making it an excellent choice for content creators who run multi-threaded rendering workloads — the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30,867 is strong for a mainstream desktop chip. Video editors working with high-resolution footage will benefit from the data compression score of 568,721 and the 18 physical cores. Software developers compiling large codebases will see fast build times due to the high multi-thread throughput.

Gamers at 1080p and 1440p will find the RTX 3080 adequate for high-refresh gaming, though the GPU's 68th percentile means it is not a top-tier card for 4K ultra settings. The CPU's strong single-thread score of 4757 in Passmark ensures that game physics and AI logic will not bottleneck the GPU. Students and small business workstations that run scientific computing or engineering simulations will benefit from the ECC memory support and the CPU's 93rd percentile ranking.

The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 EUs provides a fallback display output for troubleshooting or basic desktop use, though it is not intended for gaming. The production status of the GPU is end-of-life, so new builds using this card are likely sourced from existing inventory or used markets. The CPU is active in production, with a launch MSRP of $199, and its unlocked multiplier makes it suitable for enthusiasts who want to overclock.

# Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: At 1080p and 1440p, the RTX 3080 can push high frame rates in most titles, and the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus's single-thread score of 4757 ensures the CPU keeps up with the GPU's frame output. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 throughput provides ample rasterization power for competitive shooters and fast-paced action games. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1440p textures in most titles, though some modern games with high-resolution texture packs may approach the limit.

Streaming: The CPU's 18 cores provide plenty of headroom for software encoding while gaming, and the Passmark data encryption score of 42,144 indicates that encryption overhead for streaming protocols will be minimal. The GPU's NVENC encoder is not explicitly benchmarked in the data, but the 272 tensor cores can handle AI-based encoding features where applicable. The combination of strong multi-thread CPU performance and capable GPU makes this a viable streaming setup.

Video editing: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30,867 and data compression score of 568,721 are directly relevant to video editing workloads, where timeline scrubbing, export encoding, and effect rendering benefit from high multi-core throughput. The GPU's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth helps with real-time preview of effects and color grading. The 10 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p editing timelines with multiple layers.

3D rendering: The CPU's 18 cores will accelerate CPU-based renderers, while the GPU's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray-traced rendering and AI denoising. The FP32 throughput of 29.77 TFLOPS is sufficient for GPU-based renderers like Blender Cycles or Octane, though the 10 GB VRAM may limit scene complexity. The Passmark GPU compute score of 14,397 indicates solid compute performance for rendering tasks.

Software development: The CPU's multi-thread performance (51,596 in Passmark multi-thread) speeds up code compilation and test execution. The ECC memory support is valuable for long-running build servers or development workstations where data integrity is critical. The PCIe Gen 5 interface provides high-bandwidth connectivity for fast NVMe storage, reducing I/O bottlenecks during builds.

Student and office work: The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking means it will handle any productivity application with ease, and the integrated graphics provide a display output for basic tasks. The single-thread score of 4757 ensures responsive desktop interaction. The GPU is overkill for office work, but its presence means the system can handle occasional gaming or creative tasks without compromise. The 125 W TDP for the CPU and 320 W TDP for the GPU mean a substantial power supply is required (suggested PSU is 700 W), which is a consideration for dorm rooms or small offices with limited power budgets.

# Gaming Performance

No measured FPS rows exist for this exact CPU+GPU combination — the data contains no measured frame rate information for any game or resolution. All FPS discussion below is estimated from the benchmark scores, not measured results. The RTX 3080's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407 and Passmark G3D score of 25,086 provide a baseline for expectation. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking suggests it will perform well at 1080p and 1440p in most titles, with 4K performance varying by game optimization.

At 1080p ultra settings, the GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput should deliver high frame rates in esports titles and competitive games, potentially exceeding 144 FPS in well-optimized titles. At 1440p ultra, the GPU's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 96 ROPs should maintain 60-100 FPS in most AAA titles, with ray tracing enabled dropping performance due to the 68 RT cores' workload. At 4K ultra, the 10 GB VRAM and the GPU's overall compute throughput will likely limit frame rates to 30-60 FPS in demanding titles, with lower settings required for higher refresh rates.

The CPU's strong single-thread performance (4757 in Passmark single-thread, 2261 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that game logic and physics will not be a bottleneck at any resolution. The 18-core design provides ample background processing headroom for overlays, streaming software, and voice chat applications. The combination of a 93rd percentile CPU with a 68th percentile GPU means that in gaming scenarios, the GPU will be the limiting factor in virtually all cases, and the estimated FPS figures are driven entirely by GPU capability.

# FAQ

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread count?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus has 18 cores and 18 threads, with no hyperthreading. The base clock is 4.20 GHz and the boost clock is 5.30 GHz.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3080 have, and what type is it?

A: The RTX 3080 has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s and a memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

Q: What is the combined performance percentile of this build?

A: The CPU+GPU pairing has a combined percentile of 81, meaning it outperforms 81% of recorded system configurations in the database. The CPU alone is at the 93rd percentile, and the GPU is at the 68th percentile.

Q: Does this CPU support ECC memory?

A: Yes, the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus supports ECC memory, which is a feature typically found in workstation or server-class processors. Memory support is DDR5 in dual-channel configuration.

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

A: The suggested PSU for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 700 W. The GPU has a TDP of 320 W and uses a 1x 12-pin power connector. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 250K Plus's average benchmark score of 66,855 is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 4465P (66,925), 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon 6515P (67,006), 0.9% behind the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (67,469), and 1.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus (66,159).

Q: What is the GPU's architecture and process node?

A: The RTX 3080 uses the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It has 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, with a transistor density of 45.1 million per mm².

# Build Overview

This is a desktop build pairing the Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. The CPU is a 3 nm Arrow Lake Refresh part with 18 cores, a 5.30 GHz boost clock, and a 125 W TDP. The GPU is an 8 nm Ampere card with 10 GB of GDDR6X, 8704 shading units, and a 320 W TDP. The combined percentile of 81 places this build above 81% of recorded systems in the database.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking makes it the dominant component in this pairing, while the GPU's 68th percentile is respectable but clearly lower. The system is best characterized as a productivity-first desktop with strong gaming capability, rather than a pure gaming rig. The CPU's 18 cores, ECC memory support, and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth make it suitable for workstation-class tasks, while the GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS and 68 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for rendering and ray tracing. The build class is desktop, and the production status of the CPU is active while the GPU is end-of-life.

# Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus uses the Intel Socket 1851 platform, which is the socket for the Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and ECC memory is supported. The PCIe interface is Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU, providing high-bandwidth connectivity for GPUs and NVMe storage. The GPU uses PCIe 4.0 x16, which is backward compatible with the CPU's Gen 5 interface, so there is no bandwidth bottleneck.

The suggested PSU for the RTX 3080 is 700 W, and the GPU has a TDP of 320 W with a 1x 12-pin power connector. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W. This leaves headroom for additional components such as multiple NVMe drives or additional cooling. The GPU's power connector is a single 12-pin, which may require an adapter for older power supplies that lack this connector. The card is dual-slot, 285 mm long, 112 mm high, and 40 mm wide, so case compatibility is important.

For a sensible next upgrade, the GPU is the primary candidate for replacement, given its 68th percentile ranking and end-of-life production status. The CPU's 93rd percentile and active production status mean it has a longer useful life. A GPU upgrade would improve gaming performance and potentially raise the combined percentile, while a CPU upgrade would offer diminishing returns given the already-high ranking. The platform supports PCIe Gen 5, so a next-generation GPU using PCIe Gen 5 would be fully compatible. The 700 W suggested PSU may need to be upgraded if a more power-hungry GPU is installed, but for the current configuration, it is sufficient.

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Apex Performer

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

Market Position

Game Performance Benchmarks

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

Performance Insights

Optimal Performance

4K Gaming Ready

Performance Tiers Explained

Ultimate

High-End

Mid-Range

Entry Level

Legacy

4K Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1440p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1080p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

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