Allods Online

Allods Online, a 2010 MMORPG, presents an interesting case study with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060. The measured data reveals a configuration that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to strain under the demands of 4K. The performance scaling across different settings and resolutions indicates a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases, while the six-core processor provides a stable foundation. This analysis explores the measured FPS data to understand the balance between CPU and GPU roles, offering recommendations based on the empirical results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 97 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in performance from the lowest to the highest resolution tested. The scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM and memory bandwidth become increasingly stressed.

At 1080p, the system produces frame rates that are more than sufficient for smooth gameplay, even at Ultra settings. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p results in a significant 36 FPS drop (from 97 to 61 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset applies a heavy load that the GPU can only barely manage at this resolution. Moving to 1440p, the High preset still holds at 61 FPS, but the Ultra preset falls to 38 FPS, showing a clear boundary where visual fidelity comes at a direct cost to fluidity.

The 4K results reveal the most dramatic scaling curve. At Low settings, the system manages 65 FPS, but this falls to 51 FPS at Medium and 32 FPS at High. The Ultra preset at 4K yields just 20 FPS, which is essentially unplayable. The data suggests that at 4K, the RTX 2060 is the limiting component, as the CPU has more headroom to work with at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 45 FPS, showing that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the primary constraint when pushing this many pixels.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, built on the Turing architecture and fabricated on a 12 nm process, is the central figure in this performance story. Its specifications include a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 1920 shading units and 120 TMUs. The memory subsystem consists of 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These numbers are directly reflected in the benchmark results, where the GPU achieves a passmark_g3d score of 14111 and a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 1242.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is tight, with the nearestRivals data showing deltas of around 0.6% or less. For instance, the RTX 2060 scores 15290 on average, nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 at 15283 and the AMD Radeon 680M at 15270. This indicates that while the RTX 2060 is not a top-tier card (it sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs), it is competitive with other mid-range options of its era.

In the context of Allods Online, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (51 FPS) versus 4K Low (65 FPS) shows a 14 FPS difference, which is less than the 27 FPS difference seen at 1080p between the same settings (154 vs 176 FPS). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing settings has diminishing returns, pointing to a hard memory bandwidth or compute limit. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 445 mm² die size are factors that contribute to this ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides the computational backbone for this system. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, drawing 65 W TDP. The Comet Lake architecture, on a 14 nm process, includes 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 10283 in cinebench_r23_multicore and 1451 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, placing it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows a narrow spread. It averages 14185 across benchmarks, with the Intel Xeon 6756E at 14163 (0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C at 14277 (-0.6% delta). This indicates that the i5-10400F is a solid mid-pack performer, though not exceptional in any single metric. The 3dmark_max_threads score of 4735 versus the 3dmark_2_threads score of 1350 shows that the CPU scales reasonably well with thread count, which is relevant for an MMORPG that may have multiple background threads.

In Allods Online, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p where frame rates are highest. At 1080p Low, the system hits 176 FPS, and at Medium it reaches 154 FPS. These high frame rates suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain these levels. However, the fact that performance drops to 61 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor even at this resolution when settings are maxed out. The CPU's 12 threads provide sufficient parallelism for an older game engine, but the data shows that the RTX 2060 is the component that determines the final frame rate in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Allods Online?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the most balanced resolution. At High settings, it delivers 97 FPS, which is smooth, while 2560x1440 at High drops to 61 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. The 4K results at High (32 FPS) are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset affect performance compared to High?

A: The Ultra preset imposes a significant penalty. At 1080p, it drops from 97 FPS (High) to 61 FPS (Ultra), a 37% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 61 to 38 FPS, and at 4K, from 32 to 20 FPS. The data suggests Ultra is only viable at 1080p if 60 FPS is the target.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at 1440p. While the CPU can push 124 FPS at Low settings, the High preset yields 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 38 FPS. This scaling with settings points to the RTX 2060 being the bottleneck, as the CPU has enough headroom to handle lower settings without frame rate collapse.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K at Medium settings?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The measured average FPS at 4K Medium is 51 FPS, with a min of 43 and max of 58. This is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The data shows that 4K Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above 50 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in raw benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283) and AMD Radeon 680M (15270). It is slightly ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (15199) and RX 7600 (15171), with deltas of 0.6% and 0.8% respectively. This shows it is competitively positioned in its class.

Q: What does the 68th percentile CPU rating mean for gaming?

A: The i5-10400F sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it outperforms a majority of processors in general benchmarks. For Allods Online, this translates to sufficient single-thread performance (evidenced by 1451 in cinebench_r23_singlecore) and multi-thread capability (10283 in multicore) to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at most settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the High preset is the best choice at 1440p, delivering exactly 61 FPS. At 1080p, High achieves 97 FPS, providing a smooth experience with room to spare, while Medium reaches 154 FPS for those with high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p if the user prioritizes visuals over frame rate, as it averages 61 FPS but may dip in demanding scenes.

For 4K, the data suggests that Medium settings are the sweet spot. The 51 FPS average is borderline for smooth gameplay, but the min of 43 FPS could cause noticeable stutter in crowded MMORPG environments. Low settings at 4K offer 65 FPS, which is more comfortable, but the visual compromise is significant. The Ultra preset at 4K (20 FPS) is not viable for any practical gameplay scenario.

The measured data shows that the Medium preset provides a balanced experience across all resolutions, with frame rates of 154 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. This preset appears to be well-optimized for the RTX 2060's capabilities, likely leveraging the 6 GB VRAM efficiently without overloading the memory bus. For most users, the recommendation is to start with Medium and adjust based on personal preference, as it offers the best performance-to-quality ratio in the measured results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this configuration is as follows. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 176 FPS on Low settings, 154 FPS on Medium (with a measured range of 131-177 FPS), 97 FPS on High, and 61 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression of increasing visual quality leading to decreasing frame rates, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 115 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are 124 FPS on Low, 97 FPS on Medium (ranging from 82-112 FPS), 61 FPS on High, and 38 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p matches the High preset at 1080p in terms of average FPS, highlighting the resolution scaling penalty. The drop from Medium to High at 1440p is 36 FPS, which is identical to the drop from High to Ultra at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 65 FPS on Low, 51 FPS on Medium (ranging from 43-58 FPS), 32 FPS on High, and 20 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results are the most constrained, with only the Low preset maintaining a frame rate above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers a playable experience, but the minimum FPS of 43 suggests potential frame time spikes. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that drops below 30 FPS, making it unsuitable for gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2928 out of 3670 tested combos in Allods Online. This places it in the lower half of all configurations tested, which is notable given the individual components' mid-range status. The CPU sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU at the 58th percentile, yet their combined performance in this specific game yields a rank that is below the 50th percentile.

This ranking suggests that Allods Online may be particularly demanding on the GPU, as the RTX 2060's position in the 58th percentile of GPUs does not translate to a higher combo ranking. The 3670 combos tested likely include more powerful GPUs that can handle the game's rendering requirements more effectively, particularly at higher resolutions. The rank of 2928 indicates that there are 742 combos that perform worse, but the majority of test configurations outperform this setup.

The data implies that for optimal performance in Allods Online, a more powerful GPU than the RTX 2060 would be beneficial, especially for users targeting 1440p or 4K gaming. However, at 1080p, this combo provides a very playable experience across most settings, with even Ultra maintaining 61 FPS. The low ranking is likely influenced by the game's scaling characteristics, which heavily favor GPUs with more memory bandwidth and compute power than what the RTX 2060 offers.