SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core Ultra 9 288V + Intel Arc A550M

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

91 / 100
ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 9% 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
86%
VS
GPU
96%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core Ultra 9 288V

23,219 Benchmark Score
Top 14% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

Intel Arc A550M

49,737 Benchmark Score
Top 4% 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

This CPU and GPU pairing represents a mobile platform built around Intel’s Lunar Lake architecture and the Alchemist-generation Arc graphics. The data shows a processor that excels in single-threaded responsiveness and a graphics solution that punches well above its class in raw compute benchmarks, landing the combination in the 81st percentile overall. This is a laptop-class build, and its performance profile suggests a system designed for demanding creative work and high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p, rather than for heavy multi-threaded rendering or 4K gaming.

Usage Scenarios

For high-refresh gaming, the Intel Arc A550M is the star. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 49580 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and it sits within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti in average benchmark score. This level of graphics compute is well-suited to driving high frame rates at 1080p in most modern titles. The CPU’s single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1950 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4274, ensures that the processor can keep up with the GPU in frame generation, avoiding CPU-bound bottlenecks in typical esports and action games.

For streaming, the combination of a powerful iGPU and a discrete GPU is less clear-cut. The Arc A550M’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is ample for encoding and game capture simultaneously. The CPU’s 8 threads, while not a multi-threading powerhouse, are sufficient for streaming overhead when the game is primarily GPU-bound. However, the lack of dedicated tensor cores on the GPU means that any AI-accelerated encoding features are not available, relying instead on standard encoder blocks. The CPU’s Passmark data encryption score of 14141 indicates solid performance for encrypting stream data, but the overall multi-thread score of 19810 suggests that heavy encoding tasks will consume significant CPU resources.

For video editing, this platform is a strong contender. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 8.397 TFLOPS and texture rate of 262.4 GTexel/s provide substantial acceleration for effects, color grading, and timeline rendering in applications that leverage GPU acceleration. The 16 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) mean that modern effects and ray-traced previews will function correctly. The CPU’s Passmark floating-point math score of 59536 and integer math score of 44019 are respectable for codec handling and timeline operations, though the 8-core/8-thread configuration will be the limiting factor for pure CPU-based exports.

For 3D rendering, the data suggests this is not the primary strength of the build. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10178 places the CPU in the 76th percentile, but its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-11900F, is only 0.2% faster, showing that the 288V is competitive but not dominant. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 8.397 TFLOPS FP32 performance are modest compared to desktop-class render monsters, meaning that GPU-based renders in Blender or Octane will be workable but not fast. For CPU-based rendering, the 8 threads will be a significant constraint, as the Passmark multithread score of 19810 is just a fraction of what high-core-count desktop chips achieve.

For software development, the architecture is well-balanced. The high single-core score of 4274 on Passmark and 1950 on Cinebench R23 indicates excellent responsiveness for compilation of single translation units and IDE interactions. The Passmark extended instructions score of 15613 shows good SIMD and vectorization performance for code that uses modern instruction sets. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 2.5 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample working set for compilers. The data compression score of 186521 indicates fast archive operations, which is useful for managing dependencies. The 30 W TDP for the CPU suggests it can sustain boost clocks under load without excessive thermal throttling in a well-designed laptop chassis.

For student and office work, this build is overkill but undeniably smooth. The single-core performance ensures that document processing, spreadsheet calculations, and web browsing feel instantaneous. The Arc 140V integrated graphics alone would be sufficient for these tasks, but the presence of the A550M adds capability for occasional light gaming or GPU-accelerated productivity apps. The CPU’s Passmark find prime numbers score of 195 and physics score of 1637 are low, but these are not representative of office workloads. The 136.5 GB/s memory bandwidth supports fast data movement for large documents and multitasking. This is a premium productivity machine that can also game.

GPU Analysis

The Intel Arc A550M is a mobile GPU based on the DG2-512 chip, built on a 6 nm process at TSMC. The chip contains 21,700 million transistors on a 406 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 53.4M / mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 900 MHz and boosts to 2050 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The compute configuration includes 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 64 render output units (ROPs). The pixel rate is 131.2 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 262.4 GTexel/s. The GPU features 16 ray tracing cores, though it has no dedicated tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 8.397 TFLOPS, with FP16 performance at 16.79 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This is a 60 W part, classified as an IGP (integrated GPU) in terms of slot width, meaning it is soldered to the motherboard.

Benchmark results show the A550M achieving a Geekbench OpenCL score of 49894 and a Vulkan score of 49580. This places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 49737 is remarkably close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, which scores 49957 (a 0.4% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, which scores 50001 (a 0.5% difference). It is 2.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (score 50951) and 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (score 48477). For rendering, these scores translate to strong performance in GPU-accelerated workloads like Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Blender Cycles, where the raw compute and memory bandwidth are heavily utilized. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p rendering with high textures, but may be limiting for 4K scenes with massive asset loads.

Benchmark Performance

The CPU benchmarks show a clear picture of a high-performance mobile processor. In Cinebench R15, the 288V scores 1583 in multi-core and 301.5 in single-core. In R20, the scores are 7069 multi-core and 997 single-core. In R23, the multi-core score is 10178 and the single-core score is 1950. Passmark results include a multithread score of 19810, a single-thread score of 4274, floating-point math at 59536, integer math at 44019, data compression at 186521, data encryption at 14141, and extended instructions at 15613. The average benchmark score for the CPU is 23219, placing it in the 76th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in average score are the Intel Core i9-11900F (23254, -0.2% delta), the AMD EPYC 4124P (23167, +0.2% delta), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (23277, -0.2% delta), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 266V (23297, -0.3% delta). This means the 288V performs essentially identically to these chips in aggregate, despite being a low-power mobile part. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 49737, placing it in the 86th percentile.

The combined picture is a system that is significantly stronger in graphics than in CPU multi-threading. The GPU sits in the 86th percentile while the CPU sits in the 76th percentile, and the combined percentile is 81. This indicates that the GPU is the more dominant component relative to its peers. The data suggests that this laptop will perform exceptionally well in GPU-bound tasks like gaming and 3D rendering, while CPU-bound tasks like video encoding or software compilation will be competent but not class-leading.

Balance and Bottleneck

The benchmark data indicates a system where the GPU is the more powerful component relative to its competition. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking versus the CPU’s 76th percentile suggests that in most gaming scenarios, the CPU will be the limiting factor. Specifically, the CPU’s 8 threads and 12 MB of L3 cache are modest by modern standards, and its Passmark multithread score of 19810 is low for a flagship part. In CPU-intensive games, this could cause frame rate dips when many AI agents or physics calculations are active.

However, the CPU’s single-core performance is exceptional. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1950 and Passmark single-thread score of 4274 are high enough to prevent the CPU from being a bottleneck in most games, which typically rely on one or two threads for the main game loop. The data shows that the CPU is within 0.3% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 266V and 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H in average score, meaning it is not an outlier in either direction.

For productivity workloads, the bottleneck shifts. In video editing, the GPU will be the primary accelerator for effects and rendering, but the CPU’s multi-thread performance will limit export speeds. The Passmark data compression score of 186521 suggests fast asset loading and packing, but the physics score of 1637 indicates that CPU-based physics simulations in 3D applications will be slow. The balance is best described as a GPU-first system with a strong single-core CPU; it is ideal for gamers and creative professionals who use GPU-accelerated tools, but less ideal for those who rely on multi-threaded CPU processing.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Arc A550M suitable for 4K gaming?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit bus, but its FP32 performance of 8.397 TFLOPS and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are more aligned with high-refresh 1080p or 1440p gaming. It is within 2.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in average score, but the memory capacity and bandwidth would be a limiting factor for 4K textures in demanding titles.

Q: How does the CPU compare to a desktop processor like the Core i9-11900F?

A: The Core Ultra 9 288V has an average benchmark score of 23219, which is 0.2% lower than the Core i9-11900F’s score of 23254. This means the mobile chip is essentially on par with that desktop part in aggregate benchmarks, despite having only 8 threads compared to the i9’s higher core count.

Q: Does the GPU support ray tracing?

A: Yes, the Intel Arc A550M includes 16 dedicated ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which includes DirectX Raytracing. It also supports Vulkan 1.4, which includes ray tracing extensions.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the CPU and GPU?

A: The CPU supports LPDDR5X memory with a bandwidth of 136.5 GB/s on a dual-channel bus. The GPU has its own dedicated 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s.

Q: Is this build good for software development?

A: Yes, the high single-core performance (Passmark single-thread score of 4274) is excellent for compilation and IDE responsiveness. The Passmark data compression score of 186521 also indicates fast file operations, which is useful for managing large codebases.

Q: What is the overall performance tier of this laptop?

A: The combined percentile is 81, meaning it outperforms 81% of all tested configurations. The GPU is in the 86th percentile, and the CPU is in the 76th percentile.

Q: Does the CPU have integrated graphics?

A: Yes, the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V includes integrated graphics in the form of the Arc 140V. This allows the laptop to run basic display tasks even if the discrete A550M is disabled or not in use.

Who Should Build It

This laptop is for the high-refresh gamer who wants a portable machine capable of exceeding 60 FPS in modern titles. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking and proximity to desktop-class cards like the RX 6800 XT mean that 1080p gaming at high settings is well within reach, and 1440p is likely playable in most titles.

It is also for the content creator who works primarily in GPU-accelerated applications. Video editors using Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve will benefit from the 2048 shading units and 8.397 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The 16 ray tracing cores also enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing in 3D applications like Blender, providing previews that are more accurate than software rendering.

The software developer will find this a capable workstation. The strong single-core performance and 12 MB L3 cache make compilation and code navigation snappy. The 30 W TDP for the CPU means it can run at high clocks without causing the laptop to throttle excessively, which is crucial for sustained build times.

For students, this is a premium machine that handles all academic workloads with ease, from writing papers to running virtual machines or data analysis in Python. The fast data compression and encryption scores also indicate that file archiving and secure operations are efficient.

Finally, small business workstations that handle data processing, financial modeling, and light CAD will find this build more than adequate. The GPU’s compute power can accelerate spreadsheet simulations and report rendering, while the CPU’s single-thread performance ensures smooth interaction with business applications.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 9 288V is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Lunar Lake architecture using a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has 8 cores and 8 threads, meaning no hyper-threading, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The TDP is 30 W, and it uses the Intel BGA 2833 socket. It supports LPDDR5X memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 136.5 GB/s.

The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 2.5 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports PCIe Gen 5 with 4 lanes for the CPU. The integrated graphics are the Arc 140V. The production status is active, with a release date of September 2024.

Benchmark results show a processor that is heavily optimized for single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1950 is excellent, and the Passmark single-thread score of 4274 confirms this. However, the multi-thread scores are less impressive. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10178 and Passmark multithread score of 19810 are moderate, reflecting the lack of multi-threading. The Passmark floating-point math score of 59536 and integer math score of 44019 show strong ALU performance, while the extended instructions score of 15613 indicates good SIMD capabilities.

The average benchmark score of 23219 places the CPU in the 76th percentile. Its nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.3% of its score, including the Intel Core i9-11900F and AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, which are both excellent desktop and mobile parts respectively. This suggests that the 288V is a very efficient processor that delivers desktop-class performance in a low-power mobile package. For real workloads, this means snappy application launches, fast web browsing, and responsive coding environments. The multi-thread performance is adequate for everyday tasks like video conferencing and document editing, but it will be the limiting factor in heavy rendering or video encoding.

Build Overview

This build pairs the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V with the Intel Arc A550M in a laptop form factor, as indicated by the build class. It is a high-end mobile platform that combines a flagship mobile CPU with a mid-to-high-range discrete GPU. The combined percentile is 81, placing it in the top fifth of all tested configurations. The CPU is in the 76th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

This is not a budget or entry-level machine. It is a premium product designed for users who need significant performance in a portable package. The 30 W TDP of the CPU and 60 W TDP of the GPU suggest that the laptop will require a substantial cooling solution, likely with dual fans and multiple heat pipes. The use of LPDDR5X memory for the CPU and GDDR6 for the GPU means that memory is soldered on, so upgradability is limited to storage. The overall tier is high-performance mobile, suitable for gaming and creative work. The data does not include any measured FPS figures, so all gaming performance estimates are based on the benchmark scores.

Gaming Performance

No measured FPS data exists for this exact CPU+GPU combination. The FACT PACK contains no measuredFps rows, so the following analysis is estimated from the benchmark scores and should be treated as an approximation rather than empirical results.

Based on the GPU’s average benchmark score of 49737 and its 86th percentile ranking, the Intel Arc A550M is expected to deliver excellent 1080p gaming performance. The similarity in score to the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (within 2.6%) suggests that in traditional rasterized games, the A550M will perform at a level comparable to that desktop card, though with less VRAM. For esports titles like Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, the high single-core CPU performance and strong GPU compute will likely result in frame rates well above 144 FPS at 1080p.

For AAA titles at 1080p with ultra settings, the 8 GB of VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth should be sufficient for most games, delivering estimated frame rates in the 60-100 FPS range depending on the title’s optimization. At 1440p, the performance will drop, but the GPU’s FP32 compute of 8.397 TFLOPS suggests that many games will still be playable at high settings. The 16 ray tracing cores will enable ray-traced effects, but the lack of tensor cores means that DLSS-style upscaling is not available; users will rely on native resolution or AMD FSR if the game supports it.

The CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that it will not bottleneck the GPU in most gaming scenarios. The potential bottleneck is the 8-thread limit, which could cause stuttering in heavily threaded titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Starfield during busy scenes. Overall, the estimated gaming performance is that of a capable 1080p high-refresh machine with solid 1440p capability, making it a strong choice for gamers who prioritize frame rate over resolution.