SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL + NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation

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

70 / 100
HIGH-END

Power Build

Top 30% of systems. Excellent for 1440p Ultra or 4K High gaming.

1440p Ultra4K High

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
CPU Bottleneck
CPU
41%
VS
GPU
99%

Your CPU is limiting system performance. Consider upgrading to a faster processor to better utilize your GPU.

PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL

0 Benchmark Score
Top 59% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation

135,218 Benchmark Score
Top 1% 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

CPU 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

This desktop pairing combines Intel’s low-power Core Ultra 7 155UL processor with NVIDIA’s workstation-class RTX 4000 Ada Generation GPU. Benchmark data places this combination at the 73rd percentile overall, indicating a system that sits above the median but below the top tier of enthusiast builds. Notably, the database contains no measured frame-rate rows for this exact CPU+GPU combination, so all gaming performance figures discussed here are estimates derived from the individual component benchmark scores rather than direct testing.

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

The NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm TSMC process node. The chip, designated AD104, packs 35,800 million transistors onto a 294 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.8 million per square millimeter. This is a workstation-focused card despite being listed under the GeForce 40-series family, and its specifications reflect a deliberate balance between compute throughput and memory capacity.

Memory configuration is a standout feature: 20 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus delivers 360.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective data rate. This capacity is unusual for a single-slot card and directly supports large datasets in rendering, simulation, and AI inference workloads. The 160-bit bus width is narrower than what typical gaming flagships use, but the high capacity compensates by allowing larger working sets to remain resident on the GPU without spilling to system memory.

Compute resources include 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. The card also features 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores, making it well-equipped for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-accelerated tasks such as DLSS or denoising. Clock speeds are set at a 1500 MHz base and 2175 MHz boost, which translate to pixel and texture rates of 139.2 GPixel/s and 417.6 GTexel/s respectively. Floating-point throughput is rated at 26.73 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1), indicating symmetrical compute capability for mixed-precision workloads.

Benchmark scores reinforce the GPU’s strong standing. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 146,593, while the Vulkan test yields 123,842. The average benchmark score across these tests is 135,218, placing the RTX 4000 Ada at the 95th percentile among all GPUs. This puts it in the top 5% of graphics hardware, a position that suggests it can handle demanding professional workloads with headroom. The nearest rivals are all within one percentage point: the NVIDIA A10M scores 135,230 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 scores 135,396 (-0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo scores 135,774 (-0.4%), and the AMD Radeon PRO V620 scores 136,472 (-0.9%). This clustering indicates that the RTX 4000 Ada trades blows with other high-end workstation cards, with performance differences that are effectively noise-level in real-world terms.

For rendering, the combination of 20 GB VRAM, 48 RT cores, and 192 tensor cores suggests strong capabilities in ray-traced scenes and AI-accelerated workflows. The FP32 throughput of 26.73 TFLOPS provides substantial raw compute for viewport rendering and simulation. The 95th percentile ranking means this GPU outperforms the vast majority of installed graphics hardware, making it suitable for professional 3D workloads where rendering times directly correlate with compute throughput.

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

The balance between the Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL and the RTX 4000 Ada Generation is asymmetric, and the data highlights where each component takes the lead. The CPU sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it is exactly average in the database’s distribution. The GPU, by contrast, sits at the 95th percentile. This 45-percentage-point gap suggests that in most graphics-intensive workloads, the GPU will be the star performer, but the CPU may become the limiting factor in scenarios that demand high single-thread responsiveness or rapid data feeding.

The CPU’s specifications support this interpretation. With 12 cores and 14 threads, it is a modest multi-threaded part, and its 15 W TDP indicates a design philosophy centered on energy efficiency rather than raw throughput. The base clock of 1.70 GHz is low, though the boost clock of 4.80 GHz provides a significant peak capability for bursty single-threaded tasks. This wide clock range suggests the CPU can handle light loads efficiently while still offering competitive performance when a quick boost is needed.

In gaming, the bottleneck will almost always be the CPU at lower resolutions where the GPU has excess headroom. The RTX 4000 Ada’s high percentile ranking means it can render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls in many titles. At higher resolutions such as 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU’s mid-pack standing is less relevant because frame rates are constrained by pixel throughput rather than CPU instruction throughput. The data shows no measured FPS rows, but the percentile disparity strongly implies that this system will exhibit CPU-limited behavior in esports titles and GPU-limited behavior in visually demanding AAA games at high resolutions.

For productivity workloads, the balance shifts. The GPU’s 20 GB VRAM and tensor cores make it well-suited for AI inference and rendering, where it will not be bottlenecked by the CPU. However, software development and compile-heavy tasks will rely entirely on the CPU, where the 50th percentile ranking indicates average performance that could feel sluggish in large build projects. The 15 W TDP also suggests that sustained multi-core loads will be constrained by thermal and power limits, potentially reducing boost clocks during long renders or compilations.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 4000 Ada Generation support hardware ray tracing?

A: Yes, the GPU includes 48 dedicated RT cores as part of the Ada Lovelace architecture, which provides hardware acceleration for ray-traced rendering and lighting calculations.

Q: How much memory does the RTX 4000 Ada Generation have and what is its bandwidth?

A: The card has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 360.0 GB/s of bandwidth with an effective data rate of 18 Gbps.

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

A: The build sits at the 73rd percentile overall, which combines the CPU’s 50th percentile ranking with the GPU’s 95th percentile ranking.

Q: What socket does the Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL use?

A: The CPU uses Intel Socket 1851, and it supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, though the exact memory configuration depends on the motherboard.

Q: Is the RTX 4000 Ada Generation a single-slot card?

A: Yes, the card is single-slot in width, measuring 245 mm in length and 112 mm in height, and it requires a single 16-pin power connector.

Q: What is the TDP of each component in this build?

A: The CPU has a TDP of 15 W, while the GPU has a TDP of 130 W. The recommended power supply for the GPU alone is 300 W.

Q: How does the RTX 4000 Ada Generation compare to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA A10M?

A: The RTX 4000 Ada scores 135,218 on average, which is a 0% delta compared to the NVIDIA A10M’s score of 135,230, indicating essentially identical performance.

Who Should Build It

This pairing targets professionals and power users who prioritize GPU compute over CPU throughput. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation’s 95th percentile ranking and 20 GB VRAM make it ideal for 3D artists, video editors working with high-resolution footage, and engineers running simulation software. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores specifically benefit those using ray-traced rendering or AI-accelerated tools in applications like architectural visualization or product design.

Gamers at 4K resolution would also find value here, as the GPU’s high percentile ensures smooth frame rates in demanding titles, and the CPU’s 50th percentile is adequate at that resolution where GPU load dominates. However, competitive gamers seeking 360 Hz or higher refresh rates at 1080p would be better served by a stronger CPU, as the 155UL’s mid-pack ranking could limit frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

Content creators working with large video projects will appreciate the 20 GB VRAM, which allows entire timelines to reside on the GPU for faster previews and exports. The FP32 and FP16 throughput of 26.73 TFLOPS provides substantial compute for effects and color grading. Software developers, on the other hand, should note the CPU’s average ranking and consider whether the 12-core configuration meets their build times, as this system is clearly optimized for GPU-heavy workflows rather than compilation speed.

Students and small business workstations could benefit from the energy efficiency of the 15 W CPU, which reduces cooling requirements and power draw. The single-slot GPU also fits into compact chassis, making this a viable option for space-constrained environments. However, the lack of ECC memory support on the CPU side may be a consideration for mission-critical financial or scientific computing where data integrity is paramount.

Benchmark Performance

The combined benchmark picture for this system is defined by a stark contrast between its components. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL achieves a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 0, indicating that no CPU-specific benchmark data exists in the database. This places it exactly at the median, suggesting typical performance for a modern desktop processor.

The GPU tells a different story. The RTX 4000 Ada Generation scores 146,593 in Geekbench OpenCL and 123,842 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average score of 135,218. This places it at the 95th percentile among all GPUs, a position that reflects its workstation-class compute capabilities. The nearest rivals are remarkably close: the NVIDIA A10M at 135,230 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon PRO W6800 at 135,396 (-0.1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo at 135,774 (-0.4%), and the AMD Radeon PRO V620 at 136,472 (-0.9%).

The combined percentile for this pairing is 73, which is lower than the GPU’s individual percentile because the CPU drags the average down. This figure suggests that the system as a whole performs better than 73% of all builds in the database, but it also signals an imbalance: the GPU is a top-tier component while the CPU is merely average. For workloads that heavily utilize the GPU, this system will feel exceptional; for CPU-bound tasks, it will feel unremarkable.

The delta percentages against rivals are all within one point, indicating that the RTX 4000 Ada Generation is effectively tied with its closest competitors in raw compute. This means buyers choosing between these cards should base their decision on features like VRAM capacity, power consumption, or software ecosystem rather than raw performance, as the numbers are statistically indistinguishable.

Gaming Performance

The database contains no measured FPS rows for this exact CPU+GPU combination, so all gaming figures discussed here are estimates derived from the benchmark scores rather than direct testing. The GPU’s 95th percentile ranking suggests that it can drive high frame rates in most titles, but the CPU’s 50th percentile ranking introduces variability depending on the game’s engine and resolution.

At 1080p with ultra settings, the system is likely CPU-limited in many titles. The Core Ultra 7 155UL’s 4.80 GHz boost clock helps in lightly threaded games, but the 12-core/14-thread configuration with a 15 W TDP may struggle to maintain high frame rates in competitive shooters that favor strong single-core performance. Expect frame rates that are good but not exceptional, with the GPU often waiting on the CPU to issue draw calls.

At 1440p, the balance shifts toward the GPU. The RTX 4000 Ada’s 26.73 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 360.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased pixel load, and the CPU’s mid-pack performance becomes less of a constraint. Frame rates here should be solidly playable in most AAA titles, with the GPU’s 20 GB VRAM ensuring that high-resolution textures do not cause memory overflow.

At 4K, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, which is a positive outcome for this pairing. The RTX 4000 Ada’s 95th percentile ranking means it outperforms the vast majority of GPUs, and at this resolution, the CPU’s limitations are masked by the sheer pixel workload. Expect smooth frame rates in visually demanding games, though the lack of measured data means these are estimates based on the GPU’s strong benchmark scores and the CPU’s adequate performance.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL is a 12-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, built on the Meteor Lake architecture with a 7 nm process node at Intel’s foundry. The base clock is 1.70 GHz, boosting up to 4.80 GHz, which provides a wide dynamic range for power management. The 15 W TDP underscores an energy-efficient design, likely targeting systems where low power draw and heat output are priorities over raw performance.

Cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is modest for a modern desktop CPU, and the 12 MB L3 may limit performance in workloads with large working sets that require frequent memory access. Memory support includes dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, though the exact memory type depends on the motherboard. The CPU does not support ECC memory, which may be a consideration for professional workstations requiring error correction.

The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 64 execution units, providing a basic display output capability. The CPU uses Intel Socket 1851 and supports PCIe Gen 4 with 8 lanes from the CPU, which is fewer than typical desktop processors that offer 16 or 20 lanes. This could limit expansion options, though the GPU uses its own PCIe 4.0 x16 interface and is not affected by the CPU’s lane count. The launch MSRP is $426, and the CPU is currently in active production with a release date of April 2024.

The 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates average performance. Without specific benchmark scores in the database, it is difficult to quantify exactly where it falls, but the percentile suggests it is neither a standout performer nor a laggard. The low base clock and high boost clock imply that the CPU excels in bursty workloads but may throttle under sustained load due to the 15 W TDP. For real-world work, this means snappy responsiveness in everyday tasks but potentially slower multi-threaded renders or compiles compared to higher-TDP processors.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The platform is built around Intel Socket 1851, which is the foundation for the Core Ultra Series 1 processors. This socket supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and the CPU’s memory bandwidth is rated at 89.6 GB/s. The motherboard choice will determine the exact memory speed and capacity limits, as the CPU’s support is generic for DDR5. The CPU provides PCIe Gen 4 with 8 lanes, which is sufficient for a single GPU or a couple of NVMe drives, but it limits the number of high-bandwidth expansion cards compared to platforms with more lanes.

The GPU uses PCIe 4.0 x16, which is fully compatible with the CPU’s PCIe Gen 4 support, though the CPU only provides 8 lanes directly. This means the GPU will run at x8 bandwidth if connected to the CPU’s native lanes, which may slightly reduce performance in bandwidth-sensitive workloads, though the impact is likely minimal for gaming and most professional applications. The RTX 4000 Ada has a TDP of 130 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, which is modest for a workstation GPU. The CPU’s 15 W TDP means the total system power draw is low, allowing for a compact power supply in most builds.

A sensible next upgrade would be a higher-performance CPU on the same socket, if one exists in the Core Ultra Series 1 lineup. The current CPU’s 50th percentile ranking is the weakest link in this system, and upgrading to a processor with more cores or a higher TDP would improve multi-threaded performance and reduce CPU bottlenecks in gaming. However, the 8 PCIe lanes from the CPU may limit future GPU upgrades, as high-end cards often benefit from x16 bandwidth. For the GPU, the RTX 4000 Ada is already at the 95th percentile, so upgrading would require a significant investment for marginal gains, as the nearest rivals are all within 1% performance.

Build Overview

This build pairs the Intel Core Ultra 7 155UL with the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation in a desktop form factor. The CPU is a 12-core, 14-thread processor from the Meteor Lake architecture, released in April 2024, with a 15 W TDP and a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The GPU is a workstation-class card from the Ada Lovelace architecture, released in August 2023, with 20 GB of VRAM and a 95th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The combined percentile for this pairing is 73, placing it above the majority of builds in the database. This is a system that excels in GPU-intensive workloads, such as 3D rendering, video editing, and AI inference, thanks to the RTX 4000 Ada’s strong compute performance and large memory capacity. The CPU’s average ranking means the system is less suited to CPU-bound tasks like software compilation or heavily threaded physics simulations, where it would perform at the median level.

The overall tier is upper-midrange, with the GPU raising the system’s capabilities significantly. The 73rd percentile indicates that this build outperforms 73% of all configurations in the database, but it is not in the top tier, which would require a stronger CPU to match the GPU’s high standing. For users who prioritize GPU compute and are willing to accept average CPU performance, this is a well-balanced system for its intended professional use case.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: The RTX 4000 Ada’s 95th percentile ranking ensures high frame rates, but the CPU’s 50th percentile and 4.80 GHz boost clock may limit 1080p performance in CPU-bound titles. At 1440p and above, the GPU takes over, and the system should deliver smooth gameplay in most AAA games, though the lack of measured FPS data means these are estimates.

Streaming: The GPU’s 192 tensor cores and 48 RT cores can handle encoding and ray-traced effects simultaneously, while the CPU’s 14 threads provide adequate headroom for streaming software. The 15 W TDP means the CPU runs cool, reducing thermal impact on the GPU during long streaming sessions.

Video editing: The 20 GB VRAM is the standout feature here, allowing large timelines and high-resolution footage to reside on the GPU. The 26.73 TFLOPS of compute accelerates effects, color grading, and export times, making this a strong system for professional editors, though the CPU’s average ranking may slow preview generation in CPU-dependent workflows.

3D rendering: The GPU’s 48 RT cores and 26.73 TFLOPS provide substantial ray-tracing and compute throughput, placing it at the 95th percentile. The 20 GB VRAM handles complex scenes without memory swapping, and the nearest rivals are within 1% performance, confirming this is a top-tier rendering GPU.

Software development: The CPU’s 50th percentile ranking means average compilation times and IDE responsiveness. The 12 cores and 14 threads handle parallel builds adequately, but the low TDP may cause throttling during long compiles, making this a less ideal choice for developers who prioritize build speed.

Student and office work: The 15 W TDP CPU and single-slot GPU make this an energy-efficient and compact system for general productivity. The CPU’s 4.80 GHz boost clock ensures responsive everyday tasks, and the GPU’s compute power is available for any specialized academic workloads, though it is overkill for basic office applications.