Gaming Performance: (A-D)
We are testing only at 1080p to isolate CPU performance. We are using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition video card with driver version 595.97. All games are generally being run in their highest settings, though some of the games have had to be lowered to “High” settings so that we could get a more meaningful CPU-limited test. We are running at 1080p native resolution, and no Ray Tracing is turned on in the games that have the option. The same DDR5 7600MT/s RAM was used for both CPUs.
Importantly, we are using ALL manual run-throughs for every game here except two. For Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 we are using the built-in multiplayer benchmark, and for DOOM: The Dark Ages, we are also using the “Reckoning” benchmark. However, we are using Frameview to caputure 1% Lows in these games. For every other game, we are using long manual run-throughs in-game of actual gameplay. We are also recording AVG FPS and 1% Lows and reporting them in the graphs.
Alan Wake 2
In Alan Wake 2 at 1080p “High” settings, the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is 8% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K for the AVG FPS and 8% faster for the 1% Lows. This is pretty significant in this game, which is typically a very graphics-oriented game, but there are some real positive gains here with the new Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. It’s actually amazing to see the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus be faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in gaming in this game. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus allows a real advantage, and really improves upon those 1% Lows more than we would have thought possible.
Battlefield 6
In Battlefield 6, the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is only 0.5% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K for the AVG FPS, and 0.6% faster for the 1% Lows. We are running “Overkill” graphics, but still, we are getting upwards of 200 FPS on the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, so it delivers excellent framerates regardless of high-end GPUs. Perhaps if we lowered the in-game settings, there might be greater separation, but we wanted to show these results since the framerate was very high to begin with.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the performance is so close between the CPUs for the AVG FPS that it is only within 0.2% of each other, so pretty much identical. However, what is not identical is the 1% Lows. We are seeing some major 1% Low performance uplifts on the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K in this game compared to the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K’s 1% Lows are 36% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus. This is the only exception we see where the 1% Lows are this drastically apart in all the games we tested, so it could be some kind of game glitch or bug; further testing would have to be done.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 we did have to set the game down to the “High” graphics settings instead of Epic, because at Epic it was still far too GPU-bound with similar results around 90FPS between both CPUs. On the “High” game setting, we can see that the performance is exactly identical between the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K for AVG FPS and 1% Lows, same performance, no differences.
Crimson Desert
We are using Crimson Desert for the first time, and we have a long manual run-through once inside the world. We can walk through town areas with NPCs for CPU testing, and other areas for GPU testing. Note that for the tests shown above, we are using the game patched to version 1.03.00 dated 4/11. This represents a much more up-to-date performance comparison with the game, with recent fixes and improvements in the game. Though we have the “Cinematic” option quality enabled, we have manually turned off Ray Tracing.
In Crimson Desert, we also experienced exactly identical AVG FPS performance between the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. Both CPUs perform the same in this game. However, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K did have a leg up on 1% Lows by 5%.
Cyberpunk 2077
Keep in mind that Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the games on the Intel Binary Optimization Tool list for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, while APO is also supported on both CPUs. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is 6% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 6% faster for the 1% Lows.
Doom: The Dark Ages
In Doom: The Dark Ages, we are running at the “Ultra Nightmare” settings, which are the highest settings. The new Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is 5% faster on AVG, and 5% faster on 1% Lows compared to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.