Allods Online

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a fascinating bottleneck scenario in Allods Online, where the aging six-core processor consistently limits the flagship GPU’s potential. Benchmark results indicate that while the RTX 4090 is capable of delivering playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, the CPU’s modest single-thread performance prevents the combo from reaching the high refresh rates that the GPU could otherwise achieve at lower resolutions. This pairing ranks in the 37th percentile of tested combinations, underscoring that the processor is the primary constraint in this MMORPG.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic CPU-bound pattern, with the gap between resolutions narrowing as the GPU workload increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 176 FPS at 1920x1080 to 122 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 30.7% performance loss when moving to 4K. This relatively modest decline suggests that at 1080p Low, the i5-10400F is already struggling to feed frames to the RTX 4090, and the GPU is not being fully utilized until the resolution increases.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the 1080p average of 113 FPS falls to 51 FPS at 4K, a 54.9% reduction. This steeper drop indicates that at Ultra quality, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role, though the absolute numbers remain far below what the RTX 4090 could theoretically deliver. The data shows that at 1440p Ultra, the combo achieves 97 FPS, which is still well above the 4K result but notably lower than the 1080p figure, suggesting that the CPU bottleneck persists across all tested resolutions.

The Medium settings results provide the clearest evidence of the bottleneck dynamic. At 1080p Medium, the average is 161 FPS, which drops to 138 FPS at 1440p and 111 FPS at 4K. The incremental declines of 14.3% and 19.6% between successive resolution steps are relatively consistent, indicating that neither component completely dominates the other at this quality level. However, the fact that 1080p Medium cannot exceed 161 FPS despite the RTX 4090’s immense compute power points directly to the processor as the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Comet Lake architecture processor, built on a 14 nm process, demonstrates its age through benchmark scores that place it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. The single-thread performance, measured at 688 in 3DMark and 1451 in Cinebench R23, is particularly relevant for Allods Online, an MMORPG that typically relies heavily on single-core performance for game logic and network processing.

The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are more robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10283 and a Passmark multithread score of 12115. However, these scores do not translate into proportional gaming performance gains, as the game’s engine appears to scale poorly beyond a few cores. The data shows that the CPU’s 3DMark scores progress from 1350 with 2 threads to 4748 with 16 threads, but the gaming results suggest that the title primarily leverages single-thread performance.

The i5-10400F’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate memory throughput for the game, but the processor’s overall capability is clearly below what the RTX 4090 requires to operate at full capacity. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p, where the GPU is largely idle while waiting for the processor to deliver frames. This is evident in the relatively small FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at lower resolutions, which would be much larger if the GPU were the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 1361 out of 3670 tested combos in Allods Online, placing it in the 37th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is notably lower than what the GPU alone would suggest, given that the RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy between the GPU’s high percentile and the combo’s middling rank highlights the significant bottleneck created by the processor.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in overall benchmark performance provide context for its limitations. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163 with a delta of 0.2%, while the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 with a delta of 0.5%. These comparisons show that the i5-10400F is positioned among server-class and workstation processors in raw compute, but these rivals are not necessarily better suited for gaming workloads. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which scores 14277 with a -0.6% delta, is closer in architecture to a consumer processor but still does not approach the gaming performance needed to fully utilize an RTX 4090.

The combo’s ranking suggests that while the RTX 4090 is an exceptionally powerful GPU, its capabilities are largely wasted in this configuration. The 37th percentile ranking means that a majority of tested combos outperform this pairing, primarily due to the processor’s inability to keep pace with the GPU’s frame generation capabilities. This is a clear case where the synergy between components matters more than the individual performance of either part.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear progression from Low to Ultra settings. Low settings produce an average of 176 FPS, Medium achieves 161 FPS, High reaches 135 FPS, and Ultra drops to 113 FPS. The Medium settings also recorded a minimum of 137 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS, providing a range that suggests some frame time variance. These numbers indicate that even at the highest settings, the combo never approaches the refresh rates that the RTX 4090 could theoretically support, with the CPU limiting performance at every quality level.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all settings. Low settings average 151 FPS, Medium averages 138 FPS with a range of 117 to 159 FPS, High averages 116 FPS, and Ultra averages 97 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU begins to contribute more to the overall performance, as the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens from 63 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p. However, the absolute numbers remain below what would be expected from a top-tier GPU in a well-balanced system.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly, with Low settings averaging 122 FPS, Medium averaging 111 FPS with a range of 95 to 128 FPS, High averaging 81 FPS, and Ultra falling to 51 FPS. The 4K results finally show the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor, as the gap between Low and Ultra settings expands to 71 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K is the only configuration where the combo falls below 60 FPS, indicating that this is the most demanding scenario for the pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a flagship GPU built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for any modern game at 4K resolution. The GPU’s 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate are exceptional, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

Despite these impressive specifications, the RTX 4090’s performance in this combo is constrained by the CPU. The GPU’s benchmark scores, including a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 9223, demonstrate its raw capability, but the measured game FPS does not reflect this potential. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a delta of 0% and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 with a delta of 0.3%, show that the RTX 4090 is closely matched with professional workstation cards in synthetic benchmarks, yet none of these would be expected to deliver significantly different gaming performance with the same CPU.

The GPU’s role becomes more apparent at higher resolutions and settings, where the measured FPS scales more dramatically with quality changes. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers only 51 FPS, which is a 71% reduction from the 4K Low result of 122 FPS. This scaling indicates that the RTX 4090 is finally being tasked with meaningful work, but the overall performance remains limited by the processor’s inability to provide frames quickly enough at lower resolutions. The GPU’s 88th percentile ranking suggests that it is among the best available, but this ranking does not translate to top-tier gaming performance when paired with a mid-range processor from an older generation.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU-GPU pair?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 Medium provides a balanced experience with 161 FPS average and a range of 137 to 185 FPS. For higher visual quality, 2560x1440 High delivers 116 FPS, while 3840x2160 Low achieves 122 FPS. The 4K Ultra setting drops to 51 FPS, which may be too low for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 being fully utilized in this configuration?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-10400F limits the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 176 FPS, which is far below what the RTX 4090 could deliver if the CPU were not the bottleneck. The GPU only becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: How does the i5-10400F compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, placing it in the 68th percentile. It is within 0.6% of the Intel Xeon 6756E, AMD EPYC 7552, and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, with deltas ranging from -0.6% to 0.5%. These scores indicate that the CPU performs similarly to these alternatives in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1361 out of 3670 tested combos in Allods Online, which places it in the 37th percentile. This ranking is significantly lower than the GPU’s 88th percentile, highlighting the processor as the primary performance limiter.

Q: How much FPS does the combo lose when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The loss varies by settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 176 to 122, a 30.7% reduction. At Medium, it falls from 161 to 111, a 31.1% reduction. At High, it drops from 135 to 81, a 40.0% reduction. At Ultra, it decreases from 113 to 51, a 54.9% reduction.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s 24 GB VRAM provide any advantage in this game?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Allods Online, as the game does not appear to be VRAM-limited at any tested resolution or setting. The GPU’s memory capacity is unlikely to be a factor in the measured performance differences.