Fivem

# Fivem with Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT produces a distinctly GPU-limited experience in Fivem at higher resolutions, yet the data reveals a more balanced picture at 1080p where the CPU's six threads begin to show their influence. With a combo rank of 1319 out of 1792 tested configurations, this setup sits in the lower-middle tier of the database, suggesting that while it can deliver playable frame rates, it is far from the top of the charts. The measured FPS values across three resolutions and four quality presets tell a story of rapid scaling and diminishing returns, one that invites a closer examination of where each component's role begins and ends.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic collapse in performance that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 159.2 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 101.2 FPS, a 36.4% decline, and then 4K Low falls to 59.8 FPS, another 40.9% drop from 1440p. This steep curve is characteristic of a graphics card being pushed to its limits, as the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained with each pixel count increase.

What is more revealing is the scaling pattern at higher settings. At Ultra, the frame rate falls from 79.7 FPS at 1080p to 51.7 FPS at 1440p (a 35.1% reduction) and then to 27.9 FPS at 4K (a 46.0% reduction from 1440p). The percentage loss grows as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's compute resources—its 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs—are being saturated well before the CPU becomes a limiting factor. The data suggests that at 4K, regardless of quality setting, the RX 5700 XT is operating near its ceiling, with even Low settings failing to break 60 FPS.

At 1080p, however, the scaling tells a different story. The gap between Low (159.2 FPS) and Ultra (79.7 FPS) is a 49.9% reduction, which is substantial but not as severe as the resolution-based drops. This implies that at 1080p, the CPU's six cores and six threads at a boost clock of 4.10 GHz are better able to feed the GPU, allowing the graphics card to become the more dominant constraint even at lower quality presets. The i5-9400's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient to keep the RX 5700 XT reasonably occupied, though the frame rates at 1080p Low suggest there is still headroom on the GPU side that the CPU cannot fully exploit.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, built on the 7 nm RDNA 1.0 architecture with the Navi 10 chip, demonstrates its strengths and limitations through these measured results. Its boost clock of 1905 MHz and game clock of 1755 MHz provide the raw throughput needed for 1080p gaming, but the 4K results reveal that its 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not sufficient for demanding resolutions in Fivem. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is adequate for the textures used at High and Ultra settings, yet the frame rate collapse at 4K Ultra (27.9 FPS) points to memory bandwidth and pixel throughput constraints rather than capacity issues.

The RX 5700 XT's pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s are impressive on paper, but the measured data shows that these translate into playable performance only up to 1440p. At 1440p High, the combo reaches 66.4 FPS, which is smooth for most multiplayer scenarios, and 1440p Medium hits 78.8 FPS. The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database—the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Arc A350M (0.3), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (0.6)—are all within 0.9% of its average benchmark score, suggesting that the RX 5700 XT is competitively positioned for its era, even if newer mobile parts now match it.

The 4K Low result of 59.8 FPS is particularly telling: it shows that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU cannot push past 60 FPS at that resolution, indicating a hard architectural limit rather than a settings-driven bottleneck. This is consistent with the GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards, a respectable but not elite position.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 101.2, and at Medium it is 78.8. High settings drop to 66.4 FPS, which is still above 60, but Ultra falls to 51.7 FPS, below the threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this setup?

A: The data shows 1080p is the sweet spot. All four quality presets exceed 79 FPS at 1080p, with High at 101.3 FPS and Low at 159.2 FPS. Even Ultra maintains 79.7 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where every setting is playable.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 24731 is within 0.9% of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763, deltaPct -0.1), Intel Arc A350M (24647, 0.3), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (24592, 0.6). This indicates near-parity with these parts in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance at 1080p?

A: The evidence suggests partial CPU limitation at 1080p Low. The 159.2 FPS result is high, but the i5-9400's 6-core/6-thread configuration and 50th percentile CPU ranking likely cap frame rates below what the GPU could theoretically deliver. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K Ultra?

A: The measured average is 27.9 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for playable console-like performance. This setting is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo rank overall?

A: It ranks 1319th out of 1792 tested combinations, placing it in the 26th percentile. This is a low-to-mid range position, consistent with its performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1319 out of 1792 places this configuration in the bottom 26.4% of all tested pairings in Fivem. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual components' credentials—the CPU sits at the 50th percentile and the GPU at the 68th percentile—but the combination's performance in this specific multiplayer title drags it down. The rank suggests that Fivem's engine, which often relies heavily on single-threaded performance and server-side calculations, does not favor the i5-9400's modest six-thread design.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, 0.2), with the Xeon E-2134 (2295, 0.4) close behind. The only rival ahead is the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, -0.6). This tight grouping indicates that the i5-9400 offers no meaningful advantage over cheaper or older parts, which likely contributes to the combo's low ranking. The GPU's close rival scores reinforce that the bottleneck is systemic rather than component-specific.

The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming in Fivem, where it can deliver competitive frame rates, but falls behind in higher-resolution scenarios that demand more from the GPU than the RX 5700 XT can provide.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all settings. Low averages 159.2 FPS, Medium 121.9 FPS, High 101.3 FPS, and Ultra 79.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 79.5 FPS, showing that quality settings have a significant but manageable impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low averages 101.2 FPS, Medium 78.8 FPS, High 66.4 FPS, and Ultra 51.7 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread narrows to 49.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU's limitations begin to compress the differences between presets.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low averages 59.8 FPS, Medium 44.8 FPS, High 38.5 FPS, and Ultra 27.9 FPS. The spread is now just 31.9 FPS, and even Low struggles to maintain 60 FPS, confirming that 4K is beyond this GPU's comfortable operating range.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: higher settings reduce frame rates, but the magnitude of the reduction shrinks as resolution increases, because the GPU becomes the limiting factor earlier in the rendering pipeline.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 79.7 FPS is the best choice for visual fidelity while maintaining smooth gameplay. If higher frame rates are preferred for competitive multiplayer, High at 101.3 FPS offers a strong balance, and Medium at 121.9 FPS provides a significant boost with minimal visual compromise. Low at 159.2 FPS is only advisable for esports-style play where maximum responsiveness trumps aesthetics.

At 1440p, High at 66.4 FPS is the recommended preset, as it stays above 60 FPS while delivering good image quality. Medium at 78.8 FPS is a safer option for those who want more headroom, while Ultra at 51.7 FPS is playable but may feel less smooth in fast-paced scenarios. Low at 101.2 FPS is viable but wastes the GPU's potential on a visually sparse presentation.

At 4K, no preset is ideal. Low at 59.8 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, but it misses the 60 FPS mark. Medium at 44.8 FPS and High at 38.5 FPS are acceptable for slower-paced exploration, while Ultra at 27.9 FPS is not recommended. For 4K, the data suggests lowering resolution scaling or accepting a sub-60 FPS experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, base clock of 2.90 GHz, and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, plays a supporting role in this combo that becomes more prominent as resolution decreases. At 4K, the CPU's influence is minimal because the GPU is so heavily loaded that it cannot request frames faster than the renderer can produce them. The 4K Low result of 59.8 FPS, compared to 4K Ultra at 27.9 FPS, shows that the CPU can feed the GPU at a consistent rate regardless of settings, but the GPU's ceiling caps the output.

At 1080p, the CPU's limitations become more apparent. The jump from 1080p Low (159.2 FPS) to 1440p Low (101.2 FPS) is a 36.4% drop, which is larger than the pixel count increase of 77.8%, indicating that the CPU is not the primary limiter at 1080p. However, the CPU's 50th percentile ranking and its near-identical benchmark scores to the i3-10305 and i3-1125G4 suggest that it is not a high-end part. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for Fivem's demands, but the lack of additional threads (only 6) could cause stutters in heavy multiplayer scenarios with many players and entities.

The data indicates that the i5-9400 provides enough single-threaded performance—evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125—to avoid being the primary bottleneck at most settings, but it does not boost the combo's ranking. The CPU's role is to keep the GPU fed, and it does so adequately up to 1080p and 1440p, but it cannot overcome the GPU's architectural limits at 4K.