Fivem

The pairing of a six-core Intel Core i5-9400 with the flagship-class NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER creates an intriguing bottleneck question in Fivem. The data shows a system where the GPU is clearly capable of immense frame rates, yet the final output is heavily modulated by resolution and the game's engine demands. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, focusing on where the limits lie and what the numbers reveal about this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, but with a notable plateau at lower resolutions that points to CPU limitations. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 213.4 FPS, but moving to 1440p Low only drops this to 183.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 14%. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more dramatic, with the Low preset falling from 183.9 FPS to 122.5 FPS, a 33% decrease. This steep drop at 4K indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

However, the 1080p results suggest that the Intel Core i5-9400 is holding the system back from reaching its full potential. With a boost clock of 4.10 GHz and only 6 threads, the CPU appears to cap performance around the 213 FPS mark at 1080p Low. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is only 29.5 FPS (213.4 vs 183.9), which is surprisingly small given the 78% increase in pixel count. This compression of performance at lower resolutions implies that the CPU is the limiting factor, as a purely GPU-bound scenario would typically show a larger percentage difference between these resolutions.

At higher settings, the bottleneck shifts more toward the GPU. The Ultra preset shows a consistent scaling pattern: 159.3 FPS at 1080p, 108.7 FPS at 1440p, and 61.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 32% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K, which aligns more closely with expected GPU-bound behavior. The data suggests that Fivem's multiplayer environments, which often feature complex scripting and many entities, place a significant load on the CPU, and the i5-9400's six physical cores without hyper-threading struggle to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a formidable piece of hardware, with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2550 MHz and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are clearly sufficient to drive high frame rates in Fivem, as evidenced by the 213.4 FPS result at 1080p Low. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its top-tier status, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, is only 0.2% behind in average benchmark score.

The data indicates that the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases and settings are raised. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 61.7 FPS, which is a 71% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. This shows that while the RTX 4080 SUPER has ample memory bandwidth and raw compute, Fivem's engine at 4K with maxed settings can still stress the card. The 16 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint at any resolution, as Fivem is not known for extreme texture memory demands, but the GPU's processing power is what drives the 122.5 FPS result at 4K Low.

Interestingly, the GPU's average benchmark score of 53610 places it 0.2% ahead of the RX 6900 XT and 2.9% ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti. Yet in Fivem, the measured results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 213.4 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is far from being fully utilized. The bottleneck is clearly the CPU, as the i5-9400's 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a mid-range part that cannot keep pace with the GPU's capabilities in CPU-bound scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Why does the FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings seem so small?

A: The data shows only a 29.5 FPS drop (213.4 to 183.9) when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings. This small gap indicates that the Intel Core i5-9400 is the limiting factor at these resolutions, as its 6 cores and 6 threads cannot generate enough frames to fully saturate the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering capacity.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER being fully utilized in this game?

A: Benchmark results suggest not at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 213.4 FPS, but the GPU's performance headroom is likely much higher. The CPU bottleneck becomes evident when comparing the 1080p to 1440p scaling, which shows a smaller percentage drop than would be expected if the GPU were the primary constraint.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score relate to its in-game performance?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, placing it just 0.2% above the Intel Core i3-10305 and 0.4% above the Intel Xeon E-2134. This mid-range positioning aligns with its role as a limiting factor in Fivem, where multiplayer scenarios often require more processing power than the 6-thread CPU can provide.

Q: What resolution provides the best balance of performance and visual quality?

A: The data suggests 1440p High is a strong choice, delivering 138.3 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and represents a 45% improvement over 4K High (72.9 FPS) while still offering good visual fidelity. The 1440p Medium preset also performs well at 168.5 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU's memory capacity affect the results?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, which is ample for Fivem. The measured results show no indication of VRAM limitations, as even at 4K Ultra, the GPU is able to render frames, albeit at 61.7 FPS. The bottleneck is computational rather than memory-related.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This specific combination ranks 304th out of 1792 tested combos in Fivem, placing it in the top 17% of all systems. This ranking reflects the strong GPU but also the limiting CPU, as higher-ranked combos likely feature more powerful processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 213.4, which drops to 193.9 at Medium, 182.2 at High, and 159.3 at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 25% performance penalty, which is relatively modest and indicates that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more variation. Low settings produce 183.9 FPS, Medium drops to 168.5 FPS, High achieves 138.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 108.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 41%, which is larger than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is starting to become more involved.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the dominant factor. Low settings yield 122.5 FPS, Medium produces 97.5 FPS, High manages 72.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 61.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 50%, showing that the GPU's workload scales significantly with settings at this resolution.

The data reveals that the transition from 1080p to 1440p has a smaller impact on frame rates than the transition from 1440p to 4K, particularly at lower settings. This suggests that the CPU can maintain sufficient frame generation at 1440p but becomes less relevant at 4K where the GPU's pixel processing dominates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 304th out of 1792 tested combos in Fivem. This places it in the 83rd percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it outperforms the majority of configurations. However, the ranking is likely held back by the CPU, as the GPU alone ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs.

The discrepancy between the GPU's high percentile (88) and the combo's lower rank (83rd percentile) suggests that the i5-9400 is preventing the system from achieving its full potential. In Fivem, which is a multiplayer game with significant CPU overhead, the 6-core, 6-thread processor is a notable weakness. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it just 0.2% above the Intel Core i3-10305, which is a lower-tier part, and 0.6% below the Intel Core i7-8809G.

This ranking indicates that while the RTX 4080 SUPER is among the top GPUs, the system as a whole is not in the top 10% of combos. The data suggests that pairing this GPU with a higher-end CPU would yield significantly better results, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU bottleneck is most apparent.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p users, the High preset at 182.2 FPS offers an excellent balance, providing smooth gameplay well above the 144 Hz threshold. The Ultra preset at 159.3 FPS is also viable for those seeking maximum visual quality, as the frame rate remains high.

At 1440p, the High preset is recommended, delivering 138.3 FPS. This provides a significant improvement over 4K while maintaining high frame rates. The Medium preset at 168.5 FPS is also a strong option for competitive play, offering a 22% performance boost over High with minimal visual compromise.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 97.5 FPS is the best choice, as it offers smooth gameplay while avoiding the 61.7 FPS of Ultra. The High preset at 72.9 FPS is also playable, but the Medium setting provides a better margin for frame time consistency. The Low preset at 122.5 FPS is acceptable for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals.

The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, making it less desirable for most users. The sweet spot for this combo appears to be 1440p High, which offers a 61% improvement over 4K High while still providing high visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are adequate for gaming, but the lack of hyper-threading is a notable limitation in Fivem's multiplayer environments.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-core performance of 1125 in Cinebench R23, which is sufficient for most games, but its multi-core score of 7969 indicates that it is not a high-end part. The 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it is exactly average, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305, which is only 0.2% slower in average score.

In Fivem, the CPU's role is critical, as the game engine relies heavily on single-thread performance for scripting and physics. The data suggests that the i5-9400 can handle 1080p Low at 213.4 FPS, but this is likely the ceiling. At 1440p High, the system achieves 138.3 FPS, which indicates that the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at this resolution.

The bottleneck becomes evident when comparing the 1080p and 1440p Low results, which show only a 14% difference despite a 78% increase in pixels. This compression suggests that the CPU is unable to push frame rates much higher than 213 FPS, regardless of the GPU's capabilities. The 6 threads are a limitation in a game like Fivem, which often has many players and entities on screen, each requiring CPU processing time.