Fivem

Fivem is a demanding multiplayer environment where this combination of an Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 demonstrates a clear progression of performance limitations as resolution increases. The data indicates that at 1080p, the system achieves highly playable frame rates, but the transition to 4K reveals a significant bottleneck in the graphics subsystem, pulling average FPS below the 60 FPS threshold on higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep decline in performance as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 126 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 46 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load quadruples with pixel count, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary component under strain.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, performance falls from 200 FPS at 1080p to 132 FPS at 1440p, and further to 73 FPS at 4K. The scaling factor from 1440p to 4K is particularly harsh; at Medium settings, the drop from 104 FPS to 58 FPS represents a 44% loss in frame rate for a 125% increase in pixel count. This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and fillrate are being saturated at 4K, as the Radeon RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are pushed to their limits by Fivem's large open-world draw distances.

At Ultra settings, the situation becomes more critical. The average FPS at 4K falls to 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth multiplayer gameplay. The gap between Ultra and High at 4K is 10 FPS (36 vs 46), whereas at 1080p the gap is 28 FPS (98 vs 126). This compression of performance difference at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor; the additional pixel shading work at 4K negates the graphical detail benefits of Ultra settings, making the preset choice less impactful on performance than the resolution itself.

The 1080p to 1440p transition shows a moderate decline, with High settings dropping from 126 to 83 FPS. This suggests that the Intel Core i5-9400 still has headroom at 1080p, but the GPU begins to struggle as pixel count increases. The data implies that for a 60 FPS target, 1440p High is achievable (83 FPS), but 4K High falls short (46 FPS), forcing users to consider Low settings at 4K to reach 73 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture processor, built on a 14 nm process, has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, offering 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The L3 cache is 9 MB shared across all cores.

In Fivem, which is known for its heavy multiplayer server-side scripting, the CPU's role is significant at lower resolutions. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 200 FPS average. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution, but it also hints that the i5-9400 is approaching its limits. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 6629, and its single-core score is 935, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. These scores reflect a processor that is competent for gaming but not exceptional compared to modern rivals.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average benchmark score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254 average. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower, while the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. These near-identical scores suggest that the i5-9400's performance in CPU-bound scenarios is on par with these alternatives, and the 0.3% deltaPct values are within the margin of error for benchmark variance.

The six-thread limitation becomes apparent in Fivem's multiplayer environments, where multiple scripts and player interactions can create CPU bottlenecks. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 98, which is still respectable but indicates that the CPU is not the primary constraint at this resolution. However, the fact that the frame rate does not scale linearly with GPU load suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935, is adequate for Fivem's engine but not over-provisioned.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU is built on TSMC's 5 nm process with RDNA 3.0 architecture, containing 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz, with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

The GPU's performance in Fivem is characterized by its ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K data reveals its limitations. At 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 73, which is acceptable, but at 4K High, it drops to 46 FPS. The Radeon RX 7700's passmark G3D score is 20974, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, has an average score of 15862, which is 0.1% lower, while the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, 1% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, 1.7% higher.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for Fivem's texture requirements, even at 4K Ultra. The data shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is the more critical factor, as the 4K resolution demands high bandwidth for texture streaming in a large open world. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s provide theoretical limits that align with the observed frame rates; at 4K, the GPU is likely fillrate-bound when settings are increased.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS suggests it has ample compute headroom, but the real-world results indicate that memory bandwidth and ROP throughput limit 4K performance. The 36 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear indicator that the RX 7700 is not designed for maximum settings at this resolution in Fivem, but it excels at 1080p Ultra with 98 FPS and 1440p High with 83 FPS, making it a strong choice for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1318 out of 3005 tested combos in Fivem, placing it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is severely mismatched, but the CPU's age and the GPU's mid-range positioning prevent it from achieving top-tier status.

The ranking suggests that this combo outperforms a significant majority of systems, but it is not among the elite configurations. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking and the GPU's 58th percentile ranking combine to create a system that is slightly above average overall. The data indicates that the GPU is the stronger component, as its percentile ranking is higher than the CPU's, and the measured FPS results show that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Relative to other combos, this pairing is well-matched for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it falls short of the performance needed for 4K Ultra settings. The rank of 1318 implies that there are 1687 worse-performing combos, which provides context for the system's capabilities. The combo's performance in Fivem is consistent with its component-level benchmarks, with the CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 and the GPU's average score of 15852 contributing to a capable but not exceptional gaming experience.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals show that the i5-9400 is closely matched with its immediate competitors, with differences of less than 0.5%. This indicates that the CPU choice is not a significant differentiator in this combo's ranking. The GPU's rivals show slightly larger deltas, with the RTX 3060 Ti being 1.7% faster on average, which could potentially improve the combo's rank by a few positions if paired with the same CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 126, with no minimum or maximum data provided for this specific configuration.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops to 36, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the CPU's single-core performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is a modest result reflecting its 4.10 GHz boost clock.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 has a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, delivered through a 256-bit bus with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Fivem?

A: It ranks 1318 out of 3005 combos, placing it in the upper half of tested systems.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS is 88, with an average of 104 and a maximum of 120.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 200 FPS, Medium settings yield 158 FPS with a minimum of 134 and maximum of 182, High settings achieve 126 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 98 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is well within the system's capabilities, even at maximum graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's increasing workload. Low settings average 132 FPS, Medium settings average 104 FPS with a range of 88 to 120, High settings average 83 FPS, and Ultra settings average 65 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is the first configuration to dip below 70 FPS, but it remains playable for most users.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 73 FPS, which is still acceptable, but Medium settings drop to 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 66, High settings fall to 46 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 36 FPS. The 4K results show a consistent pattern where each increase in settings costs approximately 10-15% of the frame rate, with the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth limiting performance.

The data across all resolutions shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 102 FPS (200 vs 98), at 1440p it is 67 FPS (132 vs 65), and at 4K it is 37 FPS (73 vs 36). This trend confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the pixel shading workload dominates the performance impact of graphical settings.