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

RAM gaming benchmarks: Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, Flight Sim 2020.

Review by Will Judd Deputy Editor, Digital Foundry

Published on Oct. 24, 2024

We performed the bulk of our testing with DDR5-6000 CL30 RAM, but we also had a Cras V kit from Klevv rated for DDR5-8400 CL40. Does the extra frequency allow for a performance advantage versus the recognised DDR5-6000 sweetspot? To find out, we tested the new 8400MT/s kit against our default 6000MT/s kit and a JEDEC 4800MT/s configuration to see whether faster RAM is really worth paying for if you're considering a 285K system.

As usual, our results are presented in two ways - mobile viewers get a table summary, while full-fat internet browsers on desktop-class machines get an embedded YouTube video of our test scene. Press play to see the metrics play out in real time, or check the bar graph below to see how the three RAM speeds compare on the 285K. Remember that you can hover to see various metrics and click to switch the chart from absolute to percentage mode.

Cyberpunk 2077

DDR5 test - Cyberpunk 2077 2.0, RT Ultra, DLSS Performance

Cyberpunk 2077 was an unusually poor performer on the 285K, so perhaps faster RAM can spice it up a bit? Here the 285K does show a nice four percent performance uptick at 1080p in our CPU-limited scenario in the busy night market. However, the gap from DDR5-6000 to DDR5-8400 is understated compared to the advantage from getting off base-spec DDR5-4800 up to DDR5-6000. Here, the advantage is a more noticeable 10 percentage points!

Far Cry 6

DDR5 test - Far Cry 6: Ultra, TAA

Far Cry 6 is another title that tends to scale well with faster memory, and again we see a measurable three percentage point advantage - with a corresponding lift to minimum frame-rates - with the extreme-end RAM installed. Again though, getting from DDR5-4800 to DDR5-6000 gets you most of the way there, with an eight percent improvement at 1080p.

Flight Sim 2020

DDR5 test - Microsoft Flight Simulator, Ultra, DLSS Quality

Flight Sim 2020 continues the trends we've seen in the other two games, with a massive 12 percent gulf from DDR5-4800 to DDR5-6000, but then only a three percent further lift from going all the way up to DDR5-8400.

Based on this quick look, I'd say that for a truly meaningful advantage you'd need to get even faster DDR5 RAM - patch notes on our motherboard bios mention speeds in excess of DDR5-9066! - or perhaps the same speed but lower latency. Either way, DDR5-8400 RAM is a nice flex if you can manage it, but it doesn't really move the needle even in three titles cherry-picked for their reliance on fast RAM.