Rainbow Six Siege
This tactical shooter uses the AnvilNext 2.0 engine and features procedural environmental destruction, which can be taxing on the CPU. The Vulkan API helps older hardware maintain performance by better utilizing available resources. Siege is sensitive to RAM speed and latency. The HD Texture Pack can push VRAM usage over 6GB, so cards with 8GB or more are recommended for the best visual experience at 1080p or 1440p.
Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors
Performance Report
At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 355 FPS, suitable for 144Hz+ monitors. At 1440p, all settings exceed 290 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 175 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 5090 is 625% above the recommended GPU (GeForce GTX 670) for Rainbow Six Siege. The Core Ultra 5 235 is 505% above the recommended CPU (Core i5-2500K).
The Core Ultra 5 235 sets the FPS ceiling at all 1080p settings, all 1440p settings, all 4k settings, while the GeForce RTX 5090 still has headroom.
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $2969. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 355 FPS, equivalent to 0.12 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.198 fps/$ | 0.161 fps/$ | 0.138 fps/$ | 0.120 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.151 fps/$ | 0.127 fps/$ | 0.110 fps/$ | 0.098 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.095 fps/$ | 0.081 fps/$ | 0.072 fps/$ | 0.059 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 clearly the CPU.
The largest gap appears at 1080p Low, where the Core Ultra 5 235 reaches about 589 FPS, while the GeForce RTX 5090 still has headroom up to roughly 757 FPS.
That means the Core Ultra 5 235 is hitting its performance ceiling first, leaving a 22% gap versus the GeForce RTX 5090'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 5 235 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 5 235 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 505% above and your GPU is 625% above the recommended specs. Ultra settings at 1080p, or High at 1440p/4K.
+505%vsrecommended
+625%vsrecommended
+1666%vsminimum
+1608%vsminimum
Yes, the Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the GeForce RTX 5090 can run Rainbow Six Siege smoothly up to 4k achieving around 175 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 625% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 505% above the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $2,969 ($269 CPU + $2,700 GPU). Since the CPU is the main limiting factor, investing in a stronger processor will improve your framerates and overall value. For example, the Ryzen 9 9950X is a great upgrade option for around $649 (Rank #4 for value).
For Rainbow Six Siege, upgrading the CPU would usually improve performance first. In the Performance Limiter Analysis, the Core Ultra 5 235 is the side that most often caps the frame rate, while the GeForce RTX 5090 still has additional headroom in the tested presets. If you want to move closer to the current market ceiling, a stronger processor like Ryzen Threadripper 9980X for around $4,999 would be the clearest next step. The main bottleneck appears on the CPU side. The largest gap shows up at 1080p Low, where the CPU reaches about 589 FPS while the GPU still has headroom up to roughly 757 FPS. Across all tested settings, the distribution is 0/12 GPU-limited, 12/12 CPU-limited, and 0/12 balanced.
Rainbow Six Siege 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.
Rainbow Six Siege requires at minimum a Core i3-560 (CPU) and GeForce GTX 460 (GPU) with 6 GB RAM and 61 GB storage. For the recommended experience, you need a Core i5-2500K and GeForce GTX 670 with 8 GB RAM. Your Core Ultra 5 235 and GeForce RTX 5090 both exceed the recommended specs, so you're well-positioned for a great experience.
These Rainbow Six Siege 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.
