SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus + Intel Arc A350

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

85 / 100
HIGH-END

Power Build

Top 15% of systems. Excellent for 1440p Ultra or 4K High gaming.

1440p Ultra4K High

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
GPU Bottleneck
CPU
96%
VS
GPU
74%

Your GPU is limiting system performance. Consider upgrading to a more powerful graphics card to better utilize your CPU.

PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus

66,159 Benchmark Score
Top 4% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

Intel Arc A350

0 Benchmark Score
Top 26% 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

Strong Performance

Excellent for 1440p gaming. Most games will run at high/ultra settings smoothly.

Bottleneck Detected

GPU Bottleneck - Upgrading the weaker component will improve overall performance.

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 250KF Plus pairs with the Intel Arc A350 in a desktop build that sits at the 72nd percentile overall, combining a 93rd-percentile CPU with a 50th-percentile GPU, though no measured FPS data exists for this exact combination, so all gaming performance must be estimated from synthetic benchmark scores.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The platform centers on the Intel Socket 1851, which anchors the Core Ultra Series 2 family. Memory support covers DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. The memory controller also supports ECC memory, a feature that matters for workstation reliability but is less critical for gaming-focused builds. Storage and expansion run through PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes available from the CPU, giving ample headroom for a modern NVMe SSD or a high-bandwidth add-in card, though the GPU itself uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface.

The power envelope is straightforward. The CPU carries a TDP of 125 W, while the GPU is remarkably efficient at 25 W. The suggested PSU for the graphics card is 200 W, which means a modest power supply can handle the entire system. A 200 W PSU rating is low enough that even a basic ATX unit with decent 12V rail capacity will run this pairing without strain. There is no need for a high-wattage PSU here; the combined load of a 125 W CPU and a 25 W GPU leaves substantial margin within that 200 W suggestion, even before accounting for motherboard, RAM, and storage draw.

The upgrade path depends on which side of the pairing you want to grow. On the CPU side, the unlocked multiplier (the "K" designation) allows overclocking to push the 5.30 GHz boost clock further, though the 3 nm process node from TSMC already delivers strong efficiency. The GPU, however, is the limiting factor for gaming. The Arc A350 is end-of-life, and its successor is Battlemage, so a future upgrade would likely replace the GPU entirely rather than add a second one. The PCIe 4.0 x8 slot is sufficient for a mid-range replacement, and the 200 W suggested PSU leaves room for a card with a higher TDP, though you would need to verify the new card's power requirements against the existing PSU.

A sensible next upgrade, based on the data, is a stronger GPU. The CPU has massive headroom — its 93rd-percentile ranking versus all CPUs means it can feed a much faster graphics card. Swapping the Arc A350 for a higher-tier GPU would immediately improve gaming performance without touching the CPU, RAM, or PSU, provided the new card fits within the PCIe 4.0 x8 bandwidth and the PSU's capacity. Alternatively, if the workload is CPU-bound, the 18 cores and 18 threads can be overclocked, and the platform supports future Arrow Lake Refresh chips on the same socket, though the data does not specify which specific SKUs share compatibility.

Benchmark Performance

The CPU delivers strong multi-core performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 42,718 multi-core and 6,030 single-core. The R20 results show 17,941 multi-core and 2,532 single-core, while R15 shows 4,305 multi-core and 607 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,159. Relative to its nearest rivals, the CPU is nearly identical to the Intel Core 9 273PQE, which scores 66,099 and is only 0.1% slower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D trails by 0.4% with a score of 65,914. The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, a sibling variant, is 1% faster at 66,855, and the AMD EPYC 4465P leads by 1.1% at 66,925. The 250KF Plus is effectively tied with the 273PQE and 7950X3D, within a single percentage point of all four rivals.

PassMark results reinforce the multi-threaded strength. The multithread score is 50,146, with integer math at 123,030 and floating-point math at 159,824. Data compression hits 553,155, while encryption is 41,292 and extended instructions score 42,880. Random string sorting is 67,209, and the physics test reaches 3,183. Single-thread performance is solid at 4,698.

The GPU, in contrast, has no benchmark scores in the data pack — its benchmark array is empty, and its average benchmark score is listed as 0. The only performance metric is its percentile rank of 50, which places it exactly at the median of all GPUs. The GPU's FP32 throughput is 3.072 TFLOPS, and its FP16 is 6.144 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio. Pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures indicate an entry-level part, and the fact that it sits at the 50th percentile means it is neither a high-end nor a low-end GPU — it is squarely mid-pack by this metric, though the lack of benchmark scores means that percentile may be based on specifications or limited testing.

The combined picture is a heavily CPU-favored system. The CPU is a top-tier performer, while the GPU is average. In CPU-bound workloads, this system will excel; in GPU-bound tasks, it will be held back by the graphics card. The combined percentile of 72 reflects that imbalance, pulling the overall rating down from the CPU's 93rd percentile to a middle-ground score.

Balance and Bottleneck

The bottleneck is unambiguous: the GPU limits gaming performance. The CPU's 93rd-percentile rank versus the GPU's 50th-percentile rank shows a massive gap. In any game where the GPU is the primary renderer, the Arc A350 will cap frame rates long before the CPU breaks a sweat. The CPU can process game logic, physics, and AI far faster than the GPU can draw frames, so the GPU will be saturated while the CPU idles.

Evidence comes from the CPU's PassMark physics score of 3,183, which indicates strong simulation performance, and its multi-core Cinebench scores, which show it can handle heavy threaded workloads. The GPU's 3.072 TFLOPS FP32 rate is modest; a modern game at high settings can easily exceed that in pixel shader work. The GPU's 4 GB VRAM is also a constraint — modern games at 1080p with high textures can exceed 4 GB, forcing the GPU to drop settings or resolution.

Conversely, in CPU-bound workloads like data compression, encryption, or 3D rendering, the CPU will be the star. The 553,155 data compression score and 42,718 R23 multi-core score demonstrate that the CPU can chew through parallel tasks quickly. The GPU's role in rendering is limited to GPU-accelerated effects, but for pure compute, the CPU dominates.

FPS scaling is estimated, not measured, because no measured FPS rows exist for this exact combination. Based on the benchmark scores, the system will deliver playable frame rates at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p with medium or low settings, the GPU's 50th-percentile standing suggests it can handle esports titles and older games. At 1440p or 4K, the GPU will struggle due to its 4 GB VRAM and 124.0 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU will not be the limiting factor at any resolution; the GPU will hold the system back at higher settings.

Who Should Build It

The target user is a professional or enthusiast who needs heavy CPU compute but only light GPU duties. The 93rd-percentile CPU makes this ideal for content creators who work in video editing or 3D rendering, where the 18 cores and 18 threads shine. The 42,718 R23 multi-core score indicates strong performance in Blender, Premiere Pro, or similar applications that scale across cores. The GPU, while modest, is sufficient for basic display output — though the card has no display outputs, so it cannot drive a monitor directly.

Software developers will benefit from the CPU's strong single-thread score of 6,030 in R23 and 4,698 in PassMark, which speeds up compilation of single-threaded build steps, while the multi-core scores accelerate parallel builds. Students and small business workstations that run office productivity, web development, or data analysis tools will find the CPU more than adequate, and the low 25 W GPU TDP keeps the system quiet and cool.

Gamers at 1080p with modest settings are the only gaming audience this build serves. The GPU's 50th-percentile rank and 3.072 TFLOPS FP32 suggest it can handle older or less demanding titles, but it is not a high-refresh-rate or high-fidelity gaming card. Gamers at 1440p or 4K should look elsewhere, as the 4 GB VRAM will choke on modern textures. The CPU, however, is a future-proof choice — a gamer could buy this CPU now and upgrade the GPU later without replacing the motherboard or RAM.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus is an 18-core, 18-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It uses a 3 nm process node from TSMC, with a die size of 243 mm² and 17,800 million transistors. The base clock is 4.20 GHz, boosting to 5.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. The multiplier is unlocked, allowing overclocking beyond the boost clock.

The "KF" suffix indicates no integrated graphics — the data confirms integrated graphics as N/A — so a discrete GPU is mandatory. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with ECC, which is a workstation-class feature. The 125 W TDP is moderate for an 18-core chip, thanks to the efficient 3 nm process.

Benchmark scores place it at the top tier. The R23 multi-core score of 42,718 is strong for an 18-core chip, and the single-core score of 6,030 is competitive with the best. The PassMark multithread score of 50,146 and single-thread score of 4,698 confirm balanced performance. The data compression score of 553,155 is particularly high, indicating excellent performance in file archiving and compression workloads. The floating-point math score of 159,824 is also noteworthy, suggesting strong performance in scientific computing and simulation.

Real-world workloads will see the CPU excel in tasks that use all 18 cores. Video encoding, 3D rendering, and software compilation will run far faster than on a typical 6-core or 8-core CPU. The 30 MB L3 cache helps with data-heavy workloads, and the dual-channel DDR5 bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s is adequate, though not exceptional. The CPU's 93rd-percentile rank means it outperforms 93% of all CPUs in the database, placing it in the same league as the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and high-end Intel parts.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: This scenario is limited by the GPU. The Arc A350's 3.072 TFLOPS FP32 and 4 GB VRAM will not sustain high frame rates at 1440p or 4K. At 1080p with low settings, the 50th-percentile GPU may reach 60 FPS in esports titles, but the CPU's 93rd-percentile rank is wasted in this scenario. Users seeking 144 Hz or higher should upgrade the GPU.

Streaming: The CPU can handle encoding and game logic simultaneously. The 18 cores provide ample headroom for x264 encoding while gaming, and the 42,718 R23 multi-core score indicates strong performance for software encoding. The GPU's lack of dedicated tensor cores or strong encoding hardware (the data does not list NVENC or similar) suggests CPU-based encoding is the better path, which the CPU handles easily.

Video editing: The CPU is excellent for this workload. The 42,718 R23 multi-core score and 159,824 floating-point math score accelerate timeline scrubbing, effects rendering, and export. The GPU can assist with GPU-accelerated effects, but its 4 GB VRAM limits the complexity of effects. For 1080p editing, this is a strong system; for 4K with heavy effects, the GPU will bottleneck.

3D rendering: CPU rendering is the GPU's weakness here. The 18 cores will render scenes in Blender or Cinema 4D's CPU engine quickly — the 93rd-percentile rank confirms top-tier performance. GPU rendering, however, will be slow due to the Arc A350's modest 3.072 TFLOPS. Users should stick to CPU rendering with this build.

Software development: Compilation benefits from both multi-core and single-core performance. The 6,030 R23 single-core score speeds up compilers that are single-threaded, while the 50,146 PassMark multithread score handles parallel builds. The 4,698 PassMark single-thread score is also strong. The 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth helps with large codebases.

Student and office work: This build is overkill for basic tasks. The CPU's 93rd-percentile rank means web browsing, word processing, and spreadsheets will run instantly. The low 25 W GPU TDP keeps power consumption minimal, and the 200 W suggested PSU means a quiet, efficient system. The ECC memory support is a bonus for data integrity in academic research.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus have integrated graphics?

A: No. The integrated graphics field is listed as N/A, and the "F" in the name indicates no iGPU, so a discrete GPU is required for display output.

Q: What is the CPU's performance rank relative to other CPUs?

A: The CPU is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,159. It is 0.1% faster than the Intel Core 9 273PQE and 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does the system support?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. ECC memory is also supported.

Q: Is the GPU's 4 GB VRAM sufficient for modern gaming?

A: The 4 GB VRAM is the main limitation for gaming. Modern games at 1080p with high textures can exceed 4 GB, so users should plan for lower settings or resolution. The GPU is at the 50th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Can the CPU be overclocked?

A: Yes, the multiplier is unlocked. The base clock is 4.20 GHz and the boost clock is 5.30 GHz, and overclocking can push beyond that.

Q: What power supply is recommended for this build?

A: The suggested PSU for the GPU is 200 W. The CPU has a TDP of 125 W, so a 200 W PSU provides adequate headroom for the whole system, though a slightly larger unit would offer more margin for upgrades.

Q: What is the GPU's production status?

A: The Intel Arc A350 is end-of-life, with its successor being Battlemage. The GPU is based on the Xe-HPG architecture and uses the DG2-128 chip on a 6 nm process.

Build Overview

This is a desktop build pairing the Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus with the Intel Arc A350. The CPU is a top-tier desktop processor, ranked in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is a mid-range card at the 50th percentile. The combined percentile for the build is 72, reflecting the CPU's dominance over the GPU. The system is designed for CPU-intensive workloads where the GPU plays a secondary role, such as rendering, compilation, and data processing, rather than high-end gaming.

The build class is desktop, indicating a full-sized tower or workstation form factor. The CPU's 125 W TDP and the GPU's 25 W TDP make this an efficient system that does not require exotic cooling — a capable air cooler suffices (the data does not specify a cooler, but the TDP is modest). The 18-core CPU provides immense compute power, while the GPU is sufficient for basic display output and light GPU-accelerated tasks. The overall tier is upper-midrange, driven almost entirely by the CPU's performance.

GPU Analysis

The Intel Arc A350 is an entry-level GPU based on the Xe-HPG architecture, using the DG2-128 chip manufactured on a 6 nm process from TSMC. The die contains 7,200 million transistors across a 157 mm² area, with a transistor density of 45.9 million per mm². The card has 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units. It includes 6 ray tracing cores, though no tensor cores are listed.

Memory consists of 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 64-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 124.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1,937 MHz, translating to 15.5 Gbps effective. The GPU clock runs at a flat 2000 MHz for both base and boost. Compute throughput is 3.072 TFLOPS for FP32 and 6.144 TFLOPS for FP16 at a 2:1 ratio. Pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s.

The card has no display outputs, which is unusual — it appears designed for compute or as a secondary card, not for driving a monitor directly. The TDP is just 25 W, and the suggested PSU is 200 W. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x8, which is narrower than the typical x16 but sufficient for a low-power card. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Benchmark scores are absent from the data pack, so the 50th-percentile rank is the only performance indicator. That rank places it exactly in the middle of all GPUs, but the specification sheet suggests it is a low-end part. The 3.072 TFLOPS FP32 rate is roughly a quarter of what a high-end card would offer, and the 4 GB VRAM is below the 8 GB minimum for modern gaming at high settings. The 124.0 GB/s bandwidth is also modest.

For rendering workloads, the GPU can accelerate effects in DirectX 12 or Vulkan applications, and the 6 RT cores provide some ray tracing capability, though at low resolution and settings. The FP16 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS is useful for AI inference in supported applications. However, the lack of display outputs means the GPU cannot be the sole graphics solution in a system — it must be paired with another GPU or used purely as a compute accelerator. The end-of-life status and successor named Battlemage indicate this is a legacy part, best suited for budget compute or as a placeholder until a stronger GPU is installed.