Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and Ultra 5 245K review: gaming losses, content creation wins

Gaming benchmarks: Dragon's Dogma 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield.

Review by Will Judd Deputy Editor, Digital Foundry

Published on Oct. 24, 2024

Our Ryzen 9000 reviews in August this year marked the adoption of a new benchmarking system at Digital Foundry, based on CapFrameX and bespoke game integrations. It's a nifty system, and we've expanded the number of games it supports to 11 - including the three recent CPU-punishing RPGs on this page.

Our benchmark results are presented a little differently to what you might be used to elsewhere on the internet. On mobile, you'll get a basic overview, with metadata from the PresentMon-based capture of each CPU generating simple bar charts with average frame-rate and lowest one per cent measurements for easy comparisons.

On a desktop-class browser, you'll get an interactive bar chart with average frame-rates and highest/lowest one percent scores, with the option to click to swap between absolute and percentage measurements. You also get live metrics when you hit play on the embedded YouTube video.

Dragon's Dogma 2

Dragon's Dogma 2: DX12, Max, DLSS performance

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a new game to our test suite, and as we found on both our PC and console testing of the game its cities can be extremely punishing even when graphics settings are maxed out. DLSS performance mode helps keep this title CPU-limited, but you'll see similar degrees of CPU bottlenecking even on less aggressive settings.

There are three CPUs that immediately set themselves apart in DD2 by virtue of their higher frame-rates: the 14900K, 14700K and 7800X3D, all of which enter the low 80s at 1080p. You'll note the 285K and 245K aren't part of that list, and indeed the 245K's 64fps places it between the Core i5 12600K and Core i5 14600K - not a great start.

The 285K does a little better, with a 75fps result that outperforms all non-X3D AMD competition - though the 14900K and 14700K are 10 percentage points clear of the new Intel flagship.

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3: DX11, Ultra, DLSS Performance

Another fantasy RPG, another game that runs brilliantly in the wilderness and the one-horse towns... and slows down considerably once you hit the big city. We're again using a bespoke game integration for our route through Baldur's Gate, but this time the 245K and 285K are some way behind their rivals.

The 14600K and 14900K are both 17 percent faster than their respective new-gen counterparts, while AMD's 9600X and 9950X accomplish the same feat by 13 and 23 (!) percentage points respectively.

Starfield

Starfield: DX12, Ultra, DLSS Performance

Our third fly-through is in a slightly more exotic but no less demanding location of Akila City from Starfield. As the benchmark ends above the starport, looking down on the city, a miracle appears: the 285K effectively ties the 14900K, with a 120fps average only a percentage point or two behind the venerable flagship. In fact, the 285K is otherwise unopposed on the board, with a nice eight percent lead over the 7800X3D and a 10 percent lead over the 9950X.

The 245K is slightly less exciting by comparison, recording a decent 98fps average that nonetheless outperforms the 9600X by six points but only outdoes the 12600K. In fact, the 14600K is 12 percent faster than the 245K, a considerable gulf.