Baldur's Gate 3
A dense RPG where Act 3 becomes a CPU stress test due to the high number of NPCs. An SSD is vital for loading times. 16GB of RAM is recommended, and the game benefits greatly from upscaling tech like DLSS and FSR.
Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors
Performance Report
At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 178 FPS, suitable for 144Hz+ monitors. At 1440p, all settings exceed 125 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 82 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 5090 is 136% above the recommended GPU (GeForce RTX 2060 Super) for Baldur's Gate 3. The Core i9-12900F is 103% above the recommended CPU (Core i7-8700K).
The GeForce RTX 5090 sets the FPS ceiling at 1080p ultra, 1440p (medium/high/ultra), 4k (medium/high/ultra), while the Core i9-12900F still has additional frame-generation headroom. The FPS ceiling is closely matched at 1080p (low/medium/high), 1440p low, 4k low.
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $3070. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 178 FPS, equivalent to 0.06 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.090 fps/$ | 0.081 fps/$ | 0.067 fps/$ | 0.058 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.055 fps/$ | 0.050 fps/$ | 0.048 fps/$ | 0.041 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.034 fps/$ | 0.032 fps/$ | 0.030 fps/$ | 0.027 fps/$ |
* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)
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This chart answers a simple question: which upgrade is more likely to increase FPS first? In this case, the answer is more often the GPU.
The largest gap appears at 1440p Ultra, where the GeForce RTX 5090 reaches about 100 FPS, while the Core i9-12900F still has headroom up to roughly 125 FPS.
That means the GeForce RTX 5090 is hitting its performance ceiling first, leaving a 20% gap versus the Core i9-12900F's available headroom in the most unbalanced scenario. Across all tested settings, this pairing is GPU-limited in 7 out of 12 cases, with 0 CPU-limited and 5 balanced results.
Overall, this is a GPU-leaning combination in this game.
The GeForce RTX 5090 is more often the limiting part in this game, so a GPU upgrade is somewhat more likely to deliver the bigger FPS gain than a CPU upgrade.
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 i9-12900F with GeForce RTX 5090, our current GPU anchor. To estimate the GPU ceiling, we pair the GeForce RTX 5090 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 103% above and your GPU is 136% above the recommended specs. Ultra settings at 1080p, or High at 1440p/4K.
+103%vsrecommended
+136%vsrecommended
+504%vsminimum
+303%vsminimum
Yes, the Core i9-12900F paired with the GeForce RTX 5090 can run Baldur's Gate 3 smoothly up to 4k achieving around 82 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 136% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 103% above the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $3,070 ($370 CPU + $2,700 GPU). Your GeForce RTX 5090 provides phenomenal top-tier performance but at a premium enthusiast price. Since you are essentially at the ceiling of current hardware capabilities, there are no meaningful performance upgrades available. However, if you wanted a more cost-effective build that still delivers a great experience, you could theoretically step down to a high-end card with a significantly better value rating.
Your GeForce RTX 5090 is already a top-tier graphics card. In the Performance Limiter Analysis, it is still the side that most often reaches its FPS ceiling first, but there is no meaningful upgrade path that would drastically improve your Baldur's Gate 3 performance right now. The main bottleneck appears on the GPU side. The largest gap shows up at 1440p Ultra, where the GPU reaches about 100 FPS while the CPU still has headroom up to roughly 125 FPS. Across all tested settings, the distribution is 7/12 GPU-limited, 0/12 CPU-limited, and 5/12 balanced.
Baldur's Gate 3 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.
Baldur's Gate 3 requires at minimum a Core i5-4690 (CPU) and GeForce GTX 970 (GPU) with 8 GB RAM and 150 GB (SSD) storage. For the recommended experience, you need a Core i7-8700K and GeForce RTX 2060 Super with 16 GB RAM. Your Core i9-12900F and GeForce RTX 5090 both exceed the recommended specs, so you're well-positioned for a great experience.
These Baldur's Gate 3 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.
