Fortnite

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2178 out of 2740 tested combos in Fortnite, placing it in the bottom fifth of all configurations. This is a middling result for a game that is generally well-optimized across hardware tiers. The ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the GPU is capable of strong raw throughput, but the six-core, six-thread CPU from 2018 holds the system back in a battle royale title that demands consistent frame pacing. Benchmark results indicate this combo sits below the median experience, meaning most other tested pairings deliver higher average frame rates at comparable settings.

The percentile data reinforces this assessment. The GPU alone sits at the 65th percentile among all graphics cards, which is a respectable position, while the CPU languishes at the 47th percentile among all processors. When combined, these components do not synergize well for Fortnite's particular workload. The measured FPS across resolutions shows a system that can produce playable frame rates at 1080p with lower presets, but struggles to maintain smooth performance as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. In practical terms, this combo ranks in the 79th percentile from the bottom, meaning roughly 79 percent of tested configurations outperform it in this specific game.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the stronger half of this pairing, and the data makes that clear. It brings 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU's 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs give it substantial fill rate capabilities: 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate. Compute performance is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, which is a solid figure for a card in this segment.

In Fortnite, the GPU's memory subsystem is a critical factor. At 4K resolution, the 10 GB VRAM allocation is sufficient for the game's texture-heavy environments, but the measured results show the card running out of headroom when settings climb. At 3840x2160 High, the combo averages 32 FPS; at Medium it reaches 42 FPS, and at Low it jumps to 59 FPS. The step from Low to Medium at 4K costs 17 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs another 10 FPS. This pattern suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, as each settings increase directly impacts frame rate in a linear fashion.

The Arc B570's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (deltaPct 0.4), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are all within one percent, indicating the B570 performs essentially on par with these cards in synthetic tests. In Fortnite specifically, the GPU's Passmark G3D score of 14195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 suggest it has enough raw power to push high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the measured results show it being held back by the CPU at 1080p.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is the limiting factor in this combo, and the evidence is unambiguous. This six-core, six-thread processor has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, built on the Coffee Lake architecture using a 14 nm process. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's aggregate benchmark scores tell a story of a mid-range part: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 6629, single-core scores 935, and Geekbench multicore comes in at 5141 with single-core at 1389.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (deltaPct -0.2), Intel Core i7-10710U (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (deltaPct 0.4), and Intel Core i3-10305 (deltaPct -0.4). These deltas are all under half a percent, meaning the i5-9400 is statistically indistinguishable from these other processors in general compute tasks. However, Fortnite's performance is heavily dependent on single-thread performance and memory latency, both of which are only modest for this CPU.

The measured FPS data reveals the CPU bottleneck clearly. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 176 FPS, which is excellent. But at 1080p High, it drops to 96 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 64 FPS. The scaling from Low to High at 1080p costs 80 FPS, which is a massive drop. This is not a GPU limitation at this resolution; the Arc B570 is capable of much higher frame rates in lighter titles. Instead, the CPU's six threads are being saturated by Fortnite's physics, building destruction, and player position updates, preventing the GPU from being fully utilized. The 47th percentile CPU ranking underscores this: half of all tested processors would handle this game's CPU demands better.

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Fortnite?

A: This combo ranks 2178 out of 2740 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 20 percent of configurations for this game.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck in this system for Fortnite?

A: The CPU is the limiting component. The Intel Core i5-9400 has six cores and six threads, which is sufficient for general tasks but inadequate for Fortnite's high-frame-rate demands. The GPU's performance percentile (65th) is notably higher than the CPU's (47th), and the FPS scaling patterns confirm this imbalance.

Q: What is the best measured FPS for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS measured is 176 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. With Medium settings, the average is 124 FPS, and with High settings, it drops to 96 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570's aggregate benchmark score of 20556 is effectively tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, deltaPct 0.4), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, deltaPct -0.5). All deltas are within half a percent.

Q: What VRAM capacity does the Arc B570 have, and is it sufficient for Fortnite?

A: The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for Fortnite at all tested settings, as the game does not appear to exceed this limit even at 4K Ultra, where the bottleneck is compute rather than memory.

Q: What is the CPU's single-core performance, and why does it matter for Fortnite?

A: The CPU scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1389 in Geekbench single-core. Fortnite is a game that relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and rendering calls; these modest scores explain why frame rates drop significantly as settings increase, since the CPU cannot maintain the required draw call throughput.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 176 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 112 FPS, a reduction of 36 percent. At 4K Low, the average is 59 FPS, which is 66 percent lower than 1080p Low. This steep decline indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution increases, but the CPU still struggles to feed it adequately.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute values. 1080p Medium averages 124 FPS, 1440p Medium averages 79 FPS (a 36 percent drop), and 4K Medium averages 42 FPS (a 66 percent drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across resolutions suggests a balanced bottleneck, where neither component is completely overwhelmed at any single resolution.

High settings show a different scaling curve. 1080p High averages 96 FPS, 1440p High drops to 61 FPS (a 36 percent reduction), and 4K High falls to 32 FPS (a 67 percent reduction from 1080p). The near-identical percentage drops across settings indicate that the performance degradation is driven by resolution rather than settings complexity. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, but the fact that 1080p High is only 96 FPS — while 1080p Low is 176 FPS — shows that the CPU is also a limiting factor even at the lowest resolution.

Ultra settings expose the system's weakness most clearly. 1080p Ultra averages 64 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 40 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 21 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at any resolution costs roughly 33 percent of performance, which is a substantial penalty for the visual gains offered. The data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the system is delivering a barely playable experience, while at 1080p Ultra, it is playable but far from the high refresh rates competitive players prefer.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 176 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. Medium settings still provide 124 FPS, which is sufficient for most displays, while High drops to 96 FPS and Ultra falls to 64 FPS. For players with 144 Hz monitors at 1080p, Low is the only preset that reliably exceeds that refresh rate; Medium comes close but may dip below in intense moments.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings average 112 FPS, which is playable on most displays. Medium averages 79 FPS, which is smooth for 60 Hz monitors but borderline for 144 Hz panels. High drops to 61 FPS, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. For 1440p users, Low is the recommended preset for competitive play, while Medium offers a good balance of visual quality and performance for casual play.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low averages 59 FPS, which is just shy of 60 FPS and acceptable for most players. Medium averages 42 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience; anything above that will result in noticeable stutter and reduced responsiveness. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 35 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold most players consider acceptable, indicating that even Medium at 4K is not recommended for serious play.

The data supports a clear recommendation: for this combo, prioritize resolution over settings. At 1080p, Medium or High settings provide a good experience. At 1440p, Low or Medium is advisable. At 4K, stick with Low. The CPU's six threads are a permanent constraint, so increasing settings at any resolution will yield diminishing returns. Players seeking higher visual fidelity should consider upgrading the processor before the GPU, as the Arc B570 has demonstrated headroom that the i5-9400 cannot unlock in Fortnite.