Minecraft

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 run Minecraft at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows playable performance at 4K on High, Low, and Medium settings, with High being the best playable preset at an average of 74 FPS. Ultra falls below the playable threshold, averaging only 46 FPS.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1440p, delivering an average of 88 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, is essentially identical with a score of 15283 and a delta of 0%. The AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% behind, the RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% behind.

Q: What CPU benchmark score does the i5-9400 achieve in multi-core tests?

A: The i5-9400 scores 2784 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, 668 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, and 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. Its overall average benchmark score is 2254, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: Yes, the gap is substantial. Low settings produce an average of 355 FPS, while Ultra yields 139 FPS. That is a difference of 216 FPS, or roughly 2.6 times the performance of Ultra when running Low.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to the Intel Core i7-10710U?

A: The i5-9400 has an average score of 2254, while the i7-10710U scores 2248. The i5-9400 is 0.3% ahead, a difference that is negligible in real-world gaming terms.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2881 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft in the database. That places this configuration in the lower-middle portion of all recorded system combinations, around the 22nd percentile of tested setups. This may seem surprising given the strong raw FPS numbers, but Minecraft's measured FPS ceiling for this combo is extremely high, and many competing builds with newer CPUs or faster GPUs push frame rates even higher.

The rank reflects the entire combo against every other CPU and GPU pairing in the database, not just the individual component percentile standings. The CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. Neither component is a top-tier part, and the combination lands in a similar relative position within the game's tested hierarchy. The data shows that this is a competent setup that handles Minecraft comfortably, but it does not challenge the upper echelons of the database rankings.

CPU and GPU Roles

Minecraft's performance scaling across resolutions reveals a pattern where the GPU becomes more influential as resolution increases, while the CPU maintains a strong baseline. At 1920x1080, the system produces extremely high frame rates across all presets: 355 FPS on Low, 281 on Medium, 223 on High, and 139 on Ultra. These numbers are so far above the 60 FPS threshold that neither component is likely to be the sole bottleneck; both are feeding the pipeline efficiently.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 224 FPS on Low, 177 on Medium, 141 on High, and 88 on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of roughly 37% to 43% depending on preset, indicating that the GPU is taking on more work per frame as pixel count rises. The RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased load without collapsing frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the pattern accelerates. Low settings still deliver 117 FPS, Medium drops to 93 FPS, and High falls to 74 FPS. Ultra, however, collapses to 46 FPS, below the playable threshold. The steep drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K, a 47 FPS reduction, points to the GPU as the limiting factor at the highest preset. The RTX 2060's 1920 shading units and 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are being saturated by the combination of 4K resolution and Ultra settings.

The CPU's role is consistent across resolutions. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, keep the game logic and chunk processing moving. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the system still manages 355 FPS, showing that the CPU does not bottleneck the frame rate at this resolution. The data indicates that the CPU is sufficient for Minecraft at all tested presets, and the GPU is the component that determines whether Ultra settings are viable at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are close enough that swapping to any of them would produce nearly identical frame rates. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. None of these differences would be perceptible in Minecraft gameplay, so a system with any of these CPUs paired with an RTX 2060 would behave essentially the same.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are also tightly clustered. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has an average score of 15283, essentially identical to the RTX 2060's 15290 with a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, just 0.1% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, 0.6% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, 0.8% lower. In practical terms, any of these GPUs would deliver comparable Minecraft performance, meaning the frame rates recorded for this combo would hold up nearly unchanged if the RTX 2060 were replaced with one of these alternatives.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 139 FPS. This is the clear choice for 1080p gaming, as it provides the highest visual quality while still delivering more than double the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the best playable preset, averaging 88 FPS. This remains comfortably above 60 FPS, making 1440p Ultra a viable configuration for this system.

At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS is High, averaging 74 FPS. Medium also qualifies at 93 FPS, and Low at 117 FPS, but High offers the best visual quality among the playable options.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Minecraft. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 139 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with Ultra at 88 FPS. At 3840x2160, three of the four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold: High at 74 FPS, Medium at 93 FPS, and Low at 117 FPS. Only Ultra at 4K falls short, averaging 46 FPS.

For players with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, this system offers the full range of settings with no compromises. For 4K users, the recommendation is to run High settings, which still provides a smooth experience at 74 FPS while maintaining substantial visual fidelity over Medium. The data shows this is a well-balanced pairing for Minecraft, with no resolution or preset combination other than 4K Ultra failing to reach the playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 355 FPS on Low, 281 FPS on Medium, 223 FPS on High, and 139 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one at this resolution with recorded min and max values, showing a range of 239 to 323 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 224 FPS on Low, 177 FPS on Medium, 141 FPS on High, and 88 FPS on Ultra. Medium has a recorded min of 151 FPS and max of 204 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 117 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium, 74 FPS on High, and 46 FPS on Ultra. Medium is again the only preset with min and max values recorded, spanning 79 to 107 FPS.

The frame rate drops between presets follow a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the step from Low to Medium costs 74 FPS, from Medium to High costs 58 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 84 FPS. At 1440p, the steps are 47 FPS from Low to Medium, 36 FPS from Medium to High, and 53 FPS from High to Ultra. At 4K, the steps are 24 FPS from Low to Medium, 19 FPS from Medium to High, and 28 FPS from High to Ultra. The absolute gaps shrink as resolution rises, but the proportional cost of Ultra remains steep, especially at 4K where it pushes the system below the playable threshold.