SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX + Intel Arc A550M

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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96 Score

Top 4% Ranking

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

96%

GPU

96%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX

63,173 Benchmark Score

Top 4% Market Ranking

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GRAPHICS CARD

Intel Arc A550M

49,737 Benchmark Score

Top 4% 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

# CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread mobile processor built on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, marking Intel's second-generation Core Ultra Series 2 lineup. It uses a 3 nm TSMC process node with 17,800 million transistors packed into a 243 mm² die. The base clock sits at 2.60 GHz with a boost capability reaching 5.30 GHz, allowing the chip to scale from efficiency-oriented workloads to bursty single-threaded tasks. The TDP is rated at 55 W, which is modest for a 20-core part, indicating that power management and thermal headroom are critical design considerations for this mobile-focused processor.

The cache hierarchy is substantial: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. This arrangement supports high-bandwidth access patterns for multi-threaded workloads, while the dual-channel DDR5 memory interface delivers 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the processor itself, enabling fast connectivity to GPUs and NVMe storage. An integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU unit provides basic display output and light graphics acceleration, though discrete GPU pairing is the primary use case for this platform.

Benchmark results place this CPU in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 63,173. In Cinebench R23, the multicore score reaches 40,642, while the single-core score is 5,737. The R20 results show 17,069 multicore and 2,409 single-core, and R15 shows 4,096 multicore and 578 single-core. These numbers indicate strong multi-threaded performance for mobile workloads, with single-core performance that competes well with desktop parts from previous generations. PassMark tests reinforce this picture: multithread score of 47,985, single-thread score of 4,500, integer math at 126,954, floating-point math at 161,605, and data compression at 511,817. The extended instructions score of 40,741 suggests good SIMD throughput, while the physics score of 2,978 reflects gaming-relevant computational capability.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 7 265HX is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-13790F, showing a deltaPct of 0.1% (the 265HX is 0.1% ahead). It trails the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G by 0.2%, leads the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 by 0.5%, and outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX by 0.7%. These margins are small, meaning that in real-world multi-threaded tasks, the 265HX will feel indistinguishable from these alternatives, with differences well within run-to-run variance. The practical implication is that the 265HX delivers flagship-class multi-core performance in a mobile form factor, but it does not establish a clear lead over its closest competitors.

For real workloads, the R23 multicore score of 40,642 indicates that video encoding, 3D rendering, and compilation tasks will complete quickly, while the single-core score of 5,737 ensures responsive application launching and snappy single-threaded performance. The data encryption score of 39,472 and random string sorting score of 62,458 suggest strong cryptography and data processing throughput, useful for database operations and secure communications.

# Balance and Bottleneck

The balance between the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and the Intel Arc A550M is defined by their respective percentiles and benchmark scores. The CPU sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU reaches the 86th percentile among all GPUs. The combined percentile for this pairing is 90, indicating a well-matched system where neither component dramatically overshadows the other in aggregate terms. However, the nature of workloads determines which component becomes the limiting factor.

For multi-threaded CPU-bound tasks, the 265HX's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 40,642 and PassMark multithread score of 47,985 show a processor that can sustain heavy parallel loads. The GPU's compute capability, measured at 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 49,894, is sufficient for graphics and compute acceleration but will not outpace the CPU in pure logic-heavy tasks. In CPU-bound scenarios like software compilation, data compression (511,817 PassMark score), and encryption (39,472), the CPU is the primary engine, and the GPU remains largely idle.

In GPU-bound workloads, such as high-resolution gaming or 3D rendering with ray tracing, the Arc A550M becomes the limiting factor. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and entry-level 1440p gaming but will constrain performance at higher resolutions or with demanding textures. The CPU's single-core score of 4,500 in PassMark ensures that it will not bottleneck the GPU in most gaming scenarios, as modern game engines rarely require more than a fraction of this processing power for game logic and physics.

FPS scaling data is not available for this exact combination, as no measured FPS rows exist in the dataset. Based on the benchmark scores, the CPU's physics score of 2,978 in PassMark suggests it can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and physics calculations to keep frame rates stable. The GPU's pixel rate of 131.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 262.4 GTexel/s indicate it can handle fill-rate-heavy scenes at 1080p, but the 16 ray tracing cores will be the bottleneck in RT-enabled titles, as ray tracing demands significantly more compute throughput than rasterization.

The balance is therefore workload-dependent: CPU-heavy tasks will see the processor operating at its full potential with the GPU underutilized, while GPU-heavy tasks will be limited by the Arc A550M's compute and memory bandwidth. For mixed workloads like game streaming, the CPU's 20 cores provide ample headroom for encoding while the GPU handles rendering, though the encoder's efficiency will depend on the software implementation rather than raw hardware specs.

# Gaming Performance

No measured FPS data exists for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX with the Intel Arc A550M combination — the FACT PACK contains no measuredFps rows for this pairing. All frame rate discussion below is estimated from the benchmark scores and should be treated as qualitative expectations rather than verified results.

Based on the GPU's Geekbench Vulkan score of 49,580 and OpenCL score of 49,894, the Arc A550M is positioned in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, suggesting it can handle modern titles at 1080p with high to ultra settings in most cases. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is a common configuration for mid-range mobile GPUs, and the 128-bit bus width will be a limiting factor at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase significantly. At 1080p, the pixel rate of 131.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 262.4 GTexel/s should sustain smooth frame rates in rasterized games, though demanding titles with heavy post-processing effects may push the GPU to its limits.

The CPU's contribution to gaming is primarily in frame pacing and minimum frame rates. With a PassMark single-thread score of 4,500 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,737, the 265HX provides strong per-core performance that avoids CPU bottlenecks in most game engines. The physics score of 2,978 indicates adequate computational throughput for game physics, and the 20 cores ensure that background tasks like Discord, browser tabs, or streaming software will not starve the game of processing resources.

For esports titles like Counter-Strike, Valorant, or League of Legends, the combination should deliver high frame rates at 1080p with competitive settings, as these games are typically GPU-light and CPU-bound. The CPU's strong single-thread performance will be the primary driver. For AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Assassin's Creed, the GPU will be the limiting factor, and players should expect to adjust settings to high rather than ultra to maintain smooth frame rates, particularly if ray tracing is enabled given the 16 RT cores.

At 1440p, the GPU's memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s will become a more significant constraint, and players may need to reduce texture quality or resolution scaling to maintain playable frame rates. At 4K, the A550M is likely insufficient for anything beyond light or older titles, as the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus will struggle with the memory demands of modern games at that resolution. The CPU would not be the bottleneck in these scenarios; the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

# FAQ

Q: How many cores and threads does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX have?

A: The CPU has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The Intel Arc A550M has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F?

A: The Ultra 7 265HX is 0.1% ahead of the Core i7-13790F in average benchmark score, with scores of 63,173 and 63,080 respectively.

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

A: The combined percentile is 90, with the CPU at the 93rd percentile and the GPU at the 86th percentile among all components.

Q: Does the CPU support PCIe Gen 5?

A: Yes, the Ultra 7 265HX supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

Q: What is the GPU's ray tracing capability?

A: The Arc A550M has 16 ray tracing cores, based on the Xe-HPG architecture, and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate.

Q: Is the CPU's integrated graphics sufficient for basic display output?

A: Yes, the CPU includes Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units, which is suitable for display output and light graphics tasks.

# Benchmark Performance

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX achieves an average benchmark score of 63,173 across all tests, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F, scores 63,080, representing a deltaPct of 0.1% — the 265HX is marginally ahead. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G scores 63,331 and is 0.2% ahead of the 265HX, while the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 scores 62,839 and trails by 0.5%. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX scores 62,738, which is 0.7% behind. These tight margins indicate that the 265HX sits in a performance cluster where differences are negligible in practice.

The Intel Arc A550M GPU achieves an average benchmark score of 49,737 (computed from Geekbench OpenCL of 49,894 and Vulkan of 49,580), placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti with a score of 49,957, which is 0.4% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 scores 50,001 and is 0.5% ahead, while the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 50,951 and leads by 2.4%. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 48,477, which is 2.6% behind the A550M. The GPU's performance is competitive with high-end desktop parts from previous generations, though the mobile form factor and power envelope of 60 W will affect sustained performance.

The combined picture shows a system at the 90th percentile overall, with the CPU providing flagship-tier multi-core performance and the GPU delivering upper-midrange graphics capability. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 40,642 and the GPU's FP32 throughput of 8.397 TFLOPS indicate a balanced platform for content creation and gaming. The data shows that the CPU is the stronger component relative to its peers, with a 7-percentile-point advantage over the GPU, suggesting that CPU-heavy workloads will benefit more from this pairing than GPU-bound tasks.

# Usage Scenarios

High-Refresh Gaming: At 1080p with competitive settings, this pairing can drive high frame rates in esports titles, supported by the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,500 and the GPU's pixel rate of 131.2 GPixel/s. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking indicates it can handle most games at medium-to-high settings, though not at maximum frame rates in demanding AAA titles.

Streaming: The 20-core CPU with a multithread score of 47,985 provides ample headroom for encoding while gaming, and the physics score of 2,978 ensures game logic continues smoothly. The GPU's Vulkan score of 49,580 supports modern graphics APIs used by streaming overlays and capture software.

Video Editing: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 40,642 and PassMark floating-point math score of 161,605 indicate strong performance for video encoding and effects rendering. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth can handle 1080p timelines with multiple tracks and effects, though 4K editing may see memory limitations.

3D Rendering: The CPU's R23 multicore score of 40,642 and the GPU's 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 performance combine for solid rendering throughput in CPU-based and GPU-accelerated renderers. The GPU's 16 RT cores support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, though the 60 W TDP limits sustained rendering performance.

Software Development: The CPU's data compression score of 511,817 and integer math score of 126,954 indicate fast compilation and data processing. The 30 MB L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth support large codebases and parallel build systems.

Student and Office Work: The CPU's single-thread score of 4,500 provides responsive application performance, while the integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics handles display output for productivity tasks. The 55 W CPU TDP and mobile form factor enable all-day battery life in light workloads, and the 20 cores ensure smooth multitasking across office suites and web browsers.

# GPU Analysis

The Intel Arc A550M is built on the Xe-HPG architecture with the DG2-512 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm TSMC process with 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 900 MHz with a boost clock of 2050 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective speed. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a common configuration for mobile mid-range GPUs but will limit performance at higher resolutions.

The GPU features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. It includes 16 ray tracing cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and while tensor cores are not listed, the architecture supports AI acceleration through other means. The pixel rate is 131.2 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 262.4 GTexel/s, indicating balanced rasterization throughput. FP32 performance is rated at 8.397 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 16.79 TFLOPS using a 2:1 ratio.

The GPU's Geekbench OpenCL score of 49,894 and Vulkan score of 49,580 place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, scores 49,957 and is 0.4% ahead, while the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 50,951 and leads by 2.4%. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT scores 48,477 and trails by 2.6%. These comparisons show the A550M performing at a level comparable to high-end desktop GPUs from previous generations, though its mobile 60 W TDP will result in lower sustained clocks than desktop counterparts.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, covering modern graphics APIs. The bus interface is PCIe 4.0 x16, which is a generation behind the CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support but provides sufficient bandwidth for this GPU class. The display outputs are marked as "Portable Device Dependent," reflecting its mobile IGP form factor where the laptop manufacturer determines connectivity.

For rendering workloads, the GPU's 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 and 16 RT cores provide moderate compute capability. The 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth will be the limiting factor for large textures and complex scenes, while the 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p rendering but may be insufficient for 4K or high-detail scenes with extensive texture sets.

# Build Overview

This is a laptop build combining the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX processor with the Intel Arc A550M GPU. The CPU is a 20-core, 20-thread mobile processor based on Arrow Lake-HX architecture, targeting the performance segment of the laptop market. The GPU is an Intel Arc A550M based on Xe-HPG architecture, positioned as a mid-range mobile graphics solution with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory.

The overall tier of this pairing is high, with a combined percentile of 90. The CPU is at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, indicating flagship-level multi-threaded performance for a mobile part. The GPU is at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, placing it in the upper echelon of graphics processors but not at the very top. The system is well-balanced for a mobile platform, with the CPU providing more relative performance than the GPU.

This pairing is suitable for a performance laptop designed for content creation, gaming at 1080p, and multi-threaded productivity tasks. The 55 W CPU TDP and 60 W GPU TDP combine for a total power draw that requires adequate cooling but is manageable in a larger laptop chassis. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics in the CPU provides a fallback for power-saving modes or light workloads where the discrete GPU can be disabled.

The production status of the CPU is Active, while the GPU is End-of-life, which may affect long-term availability and driver support. The CPU was released on 2025-01-12, indicating it is a recent addition to Intel's mobile lineup. The GPU's lack of a release date in the data suggests it has been in the market for some time, and its End-of-life status means it is being phased out in favor of newer Arc products.

# Who Should Build It

Gamers targeting 1080p high-refresh-rate play will find this pairing suitable, as the CPU's single-thread score of 4,500 ensures no CPU bottleneck, and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking handles most titles at high settings. For 1440p gaming, the GPU will be the limiting factor, and users should expect to lower settings or accept lower frame rates in demanding titles.

Content creators working with video editing, 3D rendering, and graphic design will benefit from the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 40,642 and the GPU's compute capability of 8.397 TFLOPS. The 20 cores provide fast rendering times, and the 8 GB VRAM supports mid-size projects without exceeding memory limits.

Software developers compiling large codebases will appreciate the CPU's integer math score of 126,954 and data compression score of 511,817, which accelerate build processes and data processing. The 30 MB L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth reduce latency for frequently accessed data.

Students and professionals in office environments will find the single-thread performance of 4,500 sufficient for daily tasks, and the integrated GPU provides a power-efficient option for battery conservation. The 55 W CPU TDP allows for extended battery life when the discrete GPU is not in use.

Small business workstations requiring multi-threaded performance for financial modeling, data analysis, or virtualization will benefit from the CPU's 20 cores and 47,985 PassMark multithread score. The system can handle multiple virtual machines or parallel data processing tasks without significant performance degradation.

# Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX uses the Intel BGA 2114 socket, which is a soldered mobile platform, meaning CPU upgrades are not possible in the traditional sense — the processor is permanently attached to the motherboard. The memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel interface, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, and ECC memory is not supported.

The platform supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU, which is backward compatible with PCIe Gen 4 devices. The GPU uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, which is one generation behind the CPU's capability but provides sufficient bandwidth for the Arc A550M's 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 performance. Upgrading the GPU would require replacing the entire laptop or using an external GPU enclosure, as the discrete GPU is typically soldered in mobile platforms.

The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 execution units provides a fallback display output and light graphics acceleration. The CPU's TDP is 55 W, and the GPU's TDP is 60 W, suggesting a combined power draw of approximately 115 W for the primary compute components. The suggested PSU is not specified in the data, and the GPU has no power connectors listed, indicating it draws power from the motherboard rather than external connectors.

A sensible next upgrade for this platform would be increasing system RAM to the maximum supported capacity, as memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is a potential bottleneck for the 20-core CPU in memory-intensive workloads. Storage upgrades via NVMe drives using the PCIe Gen 5 lanes would also provide tangible benefits for loading large datasets or games. For users seeking better gaming performance, the GPU is the limiting factor, but upgrading it would require a new laptop rather than a component swap. The End-of-life status of the GPU suggests that future driver optimizations may be limited, and users should consider this when planning long-term use.

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX + Intel Arc A550M

Apex Performer

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX

Intel Arc A550M

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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