Fortnite

# Fortnite with Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a fascinating dynamic: the RTX 5090 D is an exceptionally powerful GPU, yet the Intel Core i5-11400F's 6-core/12-thread Rocket Lake architecture creates a clear bottleneck at lower resolutions. The data shows that Fortnite's performance scales dramatically with settings and resolution, but the pattern of frame rates across the 12 measured configurations tells a story of a system where the CPU limits peak output while the GPU dominates at higher graphical loads. The combo ranks 106th out of 2740 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the top 4% of all tested systems, though the specific FPS numbers reveal where the i5-11400F holds back the RTX 5090 D's full potential.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and revealing. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 357 FPS at 1920x1080 to 175 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 182 FPS or roughly 51%. This halving of performance suggests that at 1080p Low, the system is heavily CPU-limited — the i5-11400F simply cannot feed the RTX 5090 D enough frames, and the GPU is left waiting for work. At 4K Low, the GPU begins to take on more of the rendering load, yet the 175 FPS still indicates that the CPU is not completely off the hook.

Moving to High settings, the scaling pattern shifts. At 1080p High, the system delivers 285 FPS, while at 1440p High it drops to 181 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 96 FPS. The percentage drops are steep: 36% from 1080p to 1440p, then another 47% from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling is typical of a game where higher resolutions increase GPU workload substantially, but the 96 FPS at 4K High suggests the RTX 5090 D is still not being pushed to its absolute limit — a stronger CPU might extract more frames even at this demanding resolution.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic resolution scaling. The system produces 188 FPS at 1080p Ultra, 120 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and only 63 FPS at 4K Ultra. The drop from 1440p to 4K represents a 47.5% reduction, and the 63 FPS at 4K Ultra is the lowest average across all configurations. This pattern indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, especially at 4K, where the RTX 5090 D's massive compute resources are finally being taxed by Fortnite's highest quality presets.

Medium settings provide the most complete picture, as this is the only preset with recorded min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 313 FPS with a min of 266 and max of 360. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 234 FPS with a min of 199 and max of 269. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 123 FPS with a min of 105 and max of 142. The min-to-max ranges are relatively tight at each resolution, suggesting consistent frame pacing rather than occasional stutters, which is a positive sign for competitive play.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 106th out of 2740 tested combinations in Fortnite, placing it in the top 3.9% of all measured systems. This is an impressive overall position, but the rank must be interpreted carefully given the component pairing. The RTX 5090 D alone sits in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712, while the i5-11400F sits in the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (with an average score of 76904, just 1.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.6% higher), and two NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (79396 and 79605, 2.1% and 2.4% higher respectively). This clustering suggests that the RTX 5090 D's benchmark performance, while strong, is not dramatically ahead of these competitors in raw synthetic tests — yet in real-world Fortnite gaming, the combination's rank of 106 out of 2740 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of systems.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its position. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, which is 0.4% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278, 0.6% higher. The AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17120, 0.3% lower, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074, 0.6% lower. This tight clustering around the 17100-17280 range shows that the i5-11400F is squarely in the middle of a performance band, and its 6-core/12-thread configuration is competitive with these peers in synthetic benchmarks.

The combo rank of 106 suggests that in Fortnite specifically, the i5-11400F + RTX 5090 D pairing outperforms many systems with theoretically stronger components. This could be due to Fortnite's optimization for certain CPU architectures or the game's relatively modest multi-threading requirements, which allow the i5-11400F's 12 threads to keep up with more expensive processors.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F sufficient to drive the RTX 5090 D in Fortnite?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 357 FPS, which suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor since the GPU could theoretically render more frames. At 4K Ultra, the 63 FPS result indicates the GPU is the primary constraint. The i5-11400F is adequate for high refresh rates at 1080p, but the data shows it caps performance below what the RTX 5090 D could deliver at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if targeting 144 FPS?

A: The system achieves 144 FPS or higher at 1080p on all settings (188-357 FPS), and at 1440p on Low, Medium, and High settings (181-307 FPS). At 4K, only Low settings (175 FPS) and Medium settings (123 FPS) approach or exceed 120 FPS. For a 144 FPS target, 1440p High at 181 FPS or 4K Low at 175 FPS are viable options.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) but 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396) and 16 GB (79605) score 2.1% and 2.4% higher respectively. This places the RTX 5090 D in a tight competitive band.

Q: Does the i5-11400F's 6-core/12-thread configuration hold back Fortnite performance?

A: The CPU's benchmarks show a single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark and a max-thread score of 5652, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340. In Fortnite, the 1080p Low result of 357 FPS is likely constrained by the CPU's single-thread performance, since the GPU could handle more frames. However, the 12 threads are sufficient for Fortnite's multi-threaded workloads at higher settings.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, High settings deliver 181 FPS while Ultra settings deliver 120 FPS. The 61 FPS difference represents a 33.7% reduction in performance when moving from High to Ultra. At 4K, the gap is 33 FPS (96 on High versus 63 on Ultra), a 34.4% drop. This consistent percentage reduction suggests Ultra settings impose a similar relative workload increase across resolutions.

Q: Can this combo maintain 240 FPS in Fortnite at any measured configuration?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low (357 FPS) and 1080p Medium (313 FPS) the system exceeds 240 FPS. At 1080p High (285 FPS) it also surpasses 240 FPS. However, at 1440p Low (307 FPS) it remains above 240 FPS, but 1440p Medium (234 FPS) falls just short. No 4K configuration reaches 240 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The data reveals that Medium settings offer the best balance between visual quality and frame rate consistency, particularly because this is the only preset with min and max FPS data available. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 313 FPS average with a minimum of 266 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 240 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the 234 FPS average with a 199 FPS minimum provides a smooth experience for high refresh rate monitors, though competitive players targeting locked 240 FPS might prefer Low settings at 307 FPS.

For players prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra settings at 1080p deliver 188 FPS, which is still smooth on most displays. However, the 63 FPS at 4K Ultra represents a significant compromise, and the 120 FPS at 1440p Ultra is the minimum recommended for a responsive experience. The data suggests that High settings provide a strong middle ground: 285 FPS at 1080p, 181 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. The 96 FPS at 4K High is playable but not ideal for competitive play, while 1440p High at 181 FPS offers excellent responsiveness with good visual quality.

The min FPS values at Medium settings are particularly informative. At 1080p, the min of 266 FPS is only 47 FPS below the average, indicating consistent frame delivery. At 1440p, the min of 199 FPS is 35 FPS below average, and at 4K, the min of 105 FPS is 18 FPS below average. These tight ranges suggest that Medium settings avoid the frame-time spikes that can occur at Ultra settings, making it the recommended preset for a stable experience. For esports-focused play, Low settings at 1080p (357 FPS) or 1440p (307 FPS) maximize frame rates, but the visual trade-offs are substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 357 FPS, which is the highest measured average in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 313 FPS with a min of 266 and max of 360, showing a narrow range that indicates consistent performance. High settings drop to 285 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 188 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 169 FPS, demonstrating that settings have a massive impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down but remains impressive. Low settings average 307 FPS, which is only 50 FPS less than the 1080p Low result, suggesting that the GPU is still not fully taxed at 1440p Low. Medium settings average 234 FPS with a min of 199 and max of 269. High settings deliver 181 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 120 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 187 FPS, slightly larger than at 1080p, indicating that higher resolutions amplify the performance penalty of Ultra settings.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results show the most dramatic settings-dependent variation. Low settings average 175 FPS, which is still highly playable. Medium settings drop to 123 FPS with a min of 105 and max of 142. High settings deliver 96 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 63 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 112 FPS. Notably, the 4K Low result of 175 FPS is significantly higher than the 1440p Ultra result of 120 FPS, indicating that players with 4K monitors can achieve high frame rates by reducing settings rather than dropping resolution.

The Medium settings data across all three resolutions provides the most complete picture. The 1080p Medium min of 266 FPS is higher than the 1440p Medium average of 234 FPS, and the 1440p Medium min of 199 FPS is higher than the 4K Medium average of 123 FPS. This tiered progression shows that each resolution step down from 1080p to 4K costs roughly 80 FPS at Medium settings, while the min-to-max range remains consistently around 60-70 FPS at each resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Its single-thread performance is solid, as evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 868 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024. The multi-thread results show a 3dmark max-thread score of 5652 and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340.

In Fortnite, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p Low result of 357 FPS. This is likely near the ceiling of what the i5-11400F can produce in this game, as the RTX 5090 D is capable of far higher frame rates at this low graphical load. The 2.60 GHz base clock is relatively modest, but the 4.40 GHz boost clock helps maintain high single-thread performance, which Fortnite relies on for game logic and physics calculations. The 12 threads are sufficient for Fortnite's multi-threaded rendering tasks, as evidenced by the strong performance at higher settings.

The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177, places it near rivals like the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, 0.4% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278, 0.6% higher). These close margins suggest that the i5-11400F is not a performance outlier, and in Fortnite, the 6-core configuration appears to be the limiting factor at lower resolutions where the GPU is underutilized. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are standard for this class of processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a massive GPU with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. It has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS is exceptional, and the 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores provide substantial ray tracing and AI acceleration capabilities.

In Fortnite, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher settings and resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS indicates that the RTX 5090 D is being heavily taxed by Fortnite's most demanding preset, despite its massive compute resources. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Fortnite requires, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor in this game. The boost clock of 2407 MHz helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is not the primary bottleneck.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712, places it near rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904, 1.1% lower) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.6% higher). This positioning shows that while the RTX 5090 D is a top-tier GPU, its synthetic benchmark scores are not dramatically ahead of these competitors. In Fortnite, however, the combination's 106th rank out of 2740 combos suggests that the GPU's real-world performance is strong, particularly at higher settings where its compute power is fully utilized.