A massive evolution with physically based rendering and fluid animations. The high density of effects creates a heavy load on both CPU and GPU. It scales well up to 16 threads.
Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors
Performance Report
At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 98 FPS. At 1440p, all settings exceed 80 FPS. At 4K, frame rates range from 45 to 83 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is 170% above the recommended GPU (GeForce RTX 2060) for Path of Exile 2. The Core Ultra 5 228V is 24% below recommended, but 81% above minimum.
The Core Ultra 5 228V sets the FPS ceiling at all 1080p settings, all 1440p settings, all 4k settings, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has headroom.
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $1944. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 98 FPS, equivalent to 0.05 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.093 fps/$ | 0.075 fps/$ | 0.061 fps/$ | 0.050 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.076 fps/$ | 0.060 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.041 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.043 fps/$ | 0.037 fps/$ | 0.030 fps/$ | 0.023 fps/$ |
* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)
This chart answers a simple question: which upgrade is more likely to increase FPS first? In this case, the answer is clearly the CPU.
The largest gap appears at 1080p Low, where the Core Ultra 5 228V reaches about 180 FPS, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has headroom up to roughly 308 FPS.
That means the Core Ultra 5 228V is hitting its performance ceiling first, leaving a 42% gap versus the GeForce RTX 4090's available headroom in the most unbalanced scenario. Across all tested settings, this pairing is CPU-limited in 12 out of 12 cases, with 0 GPU-limited and 0 balanced results.
Overall, this is a clearly CPU-bound combination in this game.
The Core Ultra 5 228V is consistently the limiting part in this game, so upgrading the CPU is more likely to deliver a larger FPS gain than upgrading the GPU.
This chart shows which upgrade is more likely to unlock more FPS in each tested setting. The lower line represents the part that reaches its limit first. When the CPU and GPU lines stay close together, the system is more balanced. When the gap widens, one component is more clearly holding the other back. Hover any setting to inspect it.
The lower line is the current limiter. The closer the two lines are, the more balanced the CPU and GPU are for this game.
Each line represents an estimated FPS ceiling for one component, rather than live usage alone.
To estimate the CPU ceiling, we pair the Core Ultra 5 228V with GeForce RTX 5090, our current GPU anchor. To estimate the GPU ceiling, we pair the GeForce RTX 4090 with Ryzen 9 9950X3D, our current CPU anchor.
The lower line indicates the current limiter, since that component reaches its FPS ceiling first. In most scenarios, that is also the part most likely to deliver the bigger performance uplift if upgraded first.
The percentage shown represents the gap between the two ceilings. In practical terms, it shows how much of the stronger component's potential is left unused because the weaker one becomes the bottleneck first.
See how your processor and graphics card compare against the game official minimum and recommended system specs. The placement of your hardware is calculated using relative synthetic performance scores to help you gauge overall playability.
Your CPU is 24% below recommended and your GPU is 170% below recommended, but both meet minimum specs. Playable at Low/Medium settings, 1080p or below.
-24%vsrecommended
+170%vsrecommended
+81%vsminimum
+380%vsminimum
Yes, the Core Ultra 5 228V paired with the GeForce RTX 4090 can run Path of Exile 2 smoothly up to 1440p achieving around 80 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 170% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 24% below the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $1,944 ($295 CPU + $1,649 GPU). Since the CPU is the main limiting factor, investing in a stronger processor will improve your framerates and overall value. For example, the Core i9-14900HX is a great upgrade option for around $668 (Rank #12 for value).
For Path of Exile 2, upgrading the CPU would usually improve performance first. In the Performance Limiter Analysis, the Core Ultra 5 228V is the side that most often caps the frame rate, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has additional headroom in the tested presets. The main bottleneck appears on the CPU side. The largest gap shows up at 1080p Low, where the CPU reaches about 180 FPS while the GPU still has headroom up to roughly 308 FPS. Across all tested settings, the distribution is 0/12 GPU-limited, 12/12 CPU-limited, and 0/12 balanced.
Path of Exile 2 does not currently support Frame Generation technologies like DLSS 3 or FSR 3. Your performance is based entirely on native rendering. If the game adds support in a future update, newer GPUs will benefit the most.
Path of Exile 2 requires at minimum a Core i7-7700 (CPU) and GeForce GTX 960 (GPU) with 8 GB RAM and 100 GB storage. For the recommended experience, you need a Core i5-10500 and GeForce RTX 2060 with 16 GB RAM. Your setup meets the minimum requirements but falls short of the recommended specs. You may need to lower some settings for smooth performance.
These Path of Exile 2 FPS results are not arbitrary numbers. They come from calculations informed by thousands of real gaming benchmarks, and the typical accuracy range is around 10% to 15%. That makes them far more useful than generic FPS calculators that simply invent values without a benchmark foundation. Actual in-game performance can still vary with drivers, updates, RAM configuration, cooling, and the exact scene being rendered.
Performance estimates are based on synthetic benchmarks and hardware capabilities.
Results may vary based on drivers, OS, and background processes.
