Fortnite

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a broad performance envelope in Fortnite, scaling from highly competitive high-refresh 1080p play to playable 4K. The measured data shows a clear narrative: this combination is GPU-bound at higher resolutions and increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops, with settings choices acting as the primary lever for frame rate control.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a steep and predictable drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 339.8 FPS, but this falls to 212.6 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 115.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65.9% reduction in average FPS from 1080p Low to 4K Low, indicating that even at the lowest settings, the GPU workload scales dramatically with pixel count.

The pattern persists across all settings presets. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 184.2 at 1080p to 119.4 at 1440p, then to 60.8 at 4K. The 4K High result of 60.8 FPS is notable because it sits just above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 339.8 FPS figure likely approaches the ceiling of what the CPU can feed, as the difference between 1080p Low and 1440p Low (212.6 FPS) is proportionally smaller than the pixel count increase.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 122.5 FPS, dropping to 75 FPS at 1440p and 40.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, confirming that this resolution and preset combination exceeds the comfortable capability of the RTX 4070 in Fortnite. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra shows a 45.7% FPS loss, which is less severe than the 54.7% loss from 1080p to 1440p Ultra, indicating that pixel count alone does not fully explain the performance curve.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 371st out of 1564 combos for Fortnite. This places it in roughly the 76th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms approximately three-quarters of the other pairings in this game. The rank reflects a strong but not elite position, consistent with a high-end CPU from 2020 paired with a mid-to-high-end GPU from 2023.

The combo rank is derived from measured FPS across all resolution and settings combinations, so it weighs both the 339.8 FPS peak at 1080p Low and the 40.7 FPS trough at 4K Ultra. The breadth of playable configurations—from 122.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 60.8 FPS at 4K High—contributes to a competitive aggregate score. The data indicates this combo is better suited for high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming than for 4K Ultra, which pulls down its overall standing relative to combos that maintain higher 4K performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the decisive component in determining Fortnite’s performance ceiling across the measured resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the texture and geometry loads at 1080p and 1440p but becomes a constraint at 4K Ultra, where the 40.7 FPS average suggests memory bandwidth or capacity pressure. The GPU’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs drive the pixel throughput, with a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s that is directly tested by Fortnite’s rendering at higher resolutions.

The clock behavior is typical of the Ada Lovelace architecture: a 1920 MHz base clock boosting to 2475 MHz. The boost clock is more relevant to sustained gaming performance, and the data implies it holds well enough to deliver 339.8 FPS at 1080p Low, where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is ample for Fortnite’s shader work, but the game’s reliance on draw calls and scene complexity means the GPU’s raw compute is only partially utilized at lower resolutions.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 81st among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, confirms it as a strong performer, though its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (deltaPct -0.6) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (deltaPct -1.9). These close deltas indicate that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 is only marginally ahead of much older or lower-tier hardware, but in Fortnite specifically, the measured FPS shows a wider gap due to the game’s optimization for newer NVIDIA architectures.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Fortnite?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 339.8, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. At 4K Low, the average is 115.9 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 80.8 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 60.8 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls below 60 to 40.7 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X scores 33150 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4680 in single-core, showing strong scaling across its 12 cores and 24 threads. In Fortnite, this translates to high frame rates at 1080p, where the CPU is more influential.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 371st out of 1564 tested combinations for Fortnite, placing it in the upper quartile of all configurations.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory bandwidth limit performance at any resolution?

A: At 4K Ultra, the 40.7 FPS average suggests that the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth and 12 GB capacity are insufficient for the highest settings, though the GPU’s shading and pixel rate also contribute to the bottleneck.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the frame rate at 1080p Low?

A: The 339.8 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution and setting level, given its performance at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, with 12 cores and 24 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, provides substantial processing power that becomes evident in Fortnite’s lower-resolution scenarios. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.80 GHz and 64 MB of L3 cache support high single-threaded performance, which is critical for Fortnite’s game logic and physics. The 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4680 indicate strong per-core performance, while the multi-core scores (33150 in Cinebench R23) show ample headroom for background tasks.

The data reveals the CPU’s influence at 1080p Low, where the 339.8 FPS average is likely near the maximum the processor can feed to the GPU. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 235.9 FPS, and at 1080p High, it is 184.2 FPS—these reductions are driven by increased GPU load, but the CPU still maintains high frame delivery. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9075 and max-thread score of 10075 demonstrate the CPU’s ability to handle multiple concurrent tasks, which is relevant in Fortnite’s busy scenes with many players and build structures.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 90th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39453, places it above its nearest rivals such as the Intel Core i7-13700F (deltaPct 0.9) and the AMD EPYC 4245P (deltaPct 0.2). In Fortnite, this ranking translates to frame rates that remain high even when the GPU is not fully saturated, as evidenced by the 212.6 FPS at 1440p Low, which is still largely CPU-driven. The 105 W TDP and Socket AM4 platform are mature, but the data shows the CPU is not the primary constraint in Fortnite until very low settings at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 122.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh monitors. The Medium preset at 235.9 FPS offers a substantial boost for competitive play, while Low at 339.8 FPS maximizes frame rate for esports scenarios. For 1080p, the Medium preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, with a 92.4% increase over Ultra FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 119.4 FPS, which is a strong result for this resolution and likely the best visual-to-performance tradeoff. The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is playable but loses the high-refresh advantage, while Medium at 150.4 FPS offers a smoother experience with only a moderate visual compromise. For 1440p, the High preset is recommended, as it maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS while preserving most graphical features.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 115.9 FPS provides a fluid experience, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. The Medium preset at 80.8 FPS offers a better appearance while still staying above 60 FPS, making it the recommended setting for 4K. The High preset at 60.8 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 40.7 FPS should be avoided for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset is the most sensible option, delivering a 98.7% FPS improvement over Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity.