Fortnite

# Fortnite with Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER

This pairing combines a six-core Coffee Lake processor from late 2018 with a Turing-based GPU from mid-2019, creating a system that sits near the 30th percentile of all tested CPU/GPU combos in this game. The measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is capable of high refresh-rate play at 1080p, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K, with the bottleneck shifting between components depending on the resolution and preset selected.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings 6 cores and 6 threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It lacks hyper-threading, which means the processor handles exactly one thread per core, and its 9 MB of shared L3 cache is moderate by today's standards. The processor scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, placing it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs. In the context of Fortnite, which is a game that typically benefits from strong single-core performance, the i5-9400's single-core score of 935 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is adequate but not exceptional.

The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 207 FPS average, which is a strong indicator that the CPU is not a severe limiting factor at lower resolutions. However, the i5-9400's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks tell an interesting story: it scores slightly higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% delta) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% delta), while being marginally behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (-0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (-0.4%). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the i5-9400 is effectively tied with its closest competitors in raw compute performance.

In Fortnite, the CPU's role becomes more evident when observing the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 1440p. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 207 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 131 FPS — a 37% reduction. This drop is larger than what pure GPU scaling would suggest, indicating that at 1080p Low, the CPU is partially responsible for that high frame rate, but the GPU is still doing most of the work. The processor's 6 threads may be sufficient for Fortnite's engine, but the lack of additional threads could limit performance in chaotic end-game scenarios with many players and structures, though the measured data does not include such specific scenarios.

The i5-9400's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s paired with dual-channel DDR4 support is another factor to consider. Fortnite is not typically memory-bandwidth sensitive, but the 42.7 GB/s figure is modest compared to higher-end platforms. The processor's PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes is sufficient for the RTX 2060 SUPER, which uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, so there is no bottleneck from the bus in this configuration.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the TU106 chip using a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Fortnite at all tested resolutions. The GPU's 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 16462 in Passmark G3D and 18093 as its average benchmark score, placing it at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (-0.4% delta), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (-0.5% delta), AMD Radeon RX 460 (-1.5% delta), and Intel Arc A770M (-1.6% delta). The negative deltas indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER scores lower than each of these rivals, though the differences are small for the first two and more pronounced for the latter two.

The GPU's role in Fortnite becomes clear when examining the measured FPS across resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 75 FPS average, which is playable but not high-refresh-rate territory. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 47 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 25 FPS. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings. The 8 GB VRAM is never a limitation in Fortnite, as the game does not typically exceed 6 GB of video memory even at 4K with Ultra settings, but the GPU's raw compute power is simply insufficient for 4K Ultra at playable frame rates.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 14.36 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1) performance are moderate figures, and Fortnite's rendering workload at Ultra settings with shadows, anti-aliasing, and post-processing effects pushes this GPU to its limits at 4K. The 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but are not heavily utilized in Fortnite, as the game does not use ray tracing by default in these tested presets. The data suggests that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining FPS at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p with lower settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo scales across resolutions. Starting at 1080p Low with 207 FPS average, moving to 1440p Low reduces performance to 131 FPS (a 37% drop), and then to 4K Low at 69 FPS (a 67% drop from 1440p). This scaling is steeper than what would be expected if the GPU were the only limiting factor, because the CPU's ability to feed the GPU at high frame rates becomes less relevant as resolution increases.

For Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 146 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). The 4K Medium measurement includes a minimum FPS of 42 and a maximum of 56, indicating some frame time variance but no severe stuttering. The High preset shows 113 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop), and 38 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop). Ultra settings yield 75 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop), and 25 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop).

The consistency of the percentage drops between 1080p and 1440p (36-37% across all settings) is revealing. This near-uniform reduction suggests that the system is balanced at these resolutions, with both CPU and GPU contributing to the performance ceiling. However, the drops from 1440p to 4K are larger for Low settings (67%) compared to Medium, High, and Ultra (47% each). This discrepancy indicates that at Low settings, the CPU's ability to generate high frame rates is being throttled by the GPU's inability to process vertices and pixels fast enough at 4K, whereas at higher settings, the GPU was already the bottleneck at 1440p, so the additional resolution has a proportional impact.

The data implies that for this combo, the sweet spot is 1080p, where all settings except Ultra exceed 100 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings exceed 100 FPS (131 FPS), while Medium (93 FPS) and High (72 FPS) are still playable. At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS, with Low being the only playable option at 69 FPS average. This resolution scaling behavior is typical of a mid-range GPU like the RTX 2060 SUPER, which was designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS in Fortnite?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p with any preset (Low: 207 FPS, Medium: 146 FPS, High: 113 FPS, Ultra: 75 FPS) and 1440p with Low (131 FPS) or Medium (93 FPS) settings all average above 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings (69 FPS) exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rival, the RTX 3060 Mobile?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score is 18093, while the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 18159, giving a delta of -0.4% — meaning the RTX 2060 SUPER is 0.4% slower. This difference is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Fortnite?

A: At 4K, the combo delivers 69 FPS on Low, 49 FPS on Medium, 38 FPS on High, and 25 FPS on Ultra. Only Low settings are playable at 4K, and even then, the 69 FPS average is below what competitive players would prefer.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 SUPER at 1080p?

A: The data shows 207 FPS at 1080p Low and 113 FPS at 1080p High, which are high numbers. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and 6-thread design appear sufficient for Fortnite at 1080p, though the lack of hyper-threading could cause issues in intense moments.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium averages 93 FPS (minimum 79, maximum 106), while High averages 72 FPS. This represents a 22.6% reduction in average FPS when moving from Medium to High.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combos in Fortnite?

A: This combo ranks 2583 out of 3700 tested combos, placing it in the 30th percentile. This means 30% of tested combos perform worse, while 70% perform better.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2583 out of 3700 tested combinations in Fortnite, placing it at approximately the 30th percentile. This rank reflects a mid-pack position, which is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU sits at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU at the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. The combined rank being lower than either component's individual percentile suggests that the pairing is not synergistic — the i5-9400's modest multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629) may be holding back the RTX 2060 SUPER in certain situations, or the overall system configuration is not optimized for Fortnite's specific demands.

The rank of 2583 out of 3700 means there are 1117 combos that perform worse, which is a substantial number. However, the fact that the GPU is above the 50th percentile while the combo rank is below the 40th percentile indicates that the CPU is a relative weak point. In Fortnite, which is known to be CPU-sensitive in competitive settings, the i5-9400's 6 cores without hyper-threading may limit performance in build battles or when many players are in close proximity. The 47th percentile CPU rank supports this interpretation, as it is below the GPU's 62nd percentile.

The nearest rival CPUs to the i5-9400 (with deltas of -0.2% to 0.4%) all have similar average scores, so swapping the CPU for any of these would not meaningfully change the combo's rank. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 1.6% of its average score, so minor GPU changes would also have minimal impact. This suggests that the combo's rank is stable and that significant improvements would require stepping up to higher-tier components rather than minor upgrades within the same performance class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings achieve 207 FPS average, which is exceptionally high and suitable for competitive play. Medium settings provide 146 FPS average with a minimum of 124 and maximum of 167, offering a balance between visual quality and speed. High settings reduce performance to 113 FPS average, which is still above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings drop to 75 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings maintain 131 FPS average, which is still excellent. Medium settings deliver 93 FPS average (minimum 79, maximum 106), which is close to 60 FPS but not at the level of 1080p. High settings drop to 72 FPS average, which is adequate for most players. Ultra settings fall to 47 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target and may feel sluggish in fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings achieve 69 FPS average, which is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings provide 49 FPS average (minimum 42, maximum 56), which is borderline playable but with noticeable dips. High settings drop to 38 FPS average, which is not recommended for competitive play. Ultra settings fall to 25 FPS average, which is essentially a slideshow and unsuitable for any gameplay.

The Medium settings at each resolution include minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 124-167 FPS (a 43 FPS spread), at 1440p Medium it's 79-106 FPS (a 27 FPS spread), and at 4K Medium it's 42-56 FPS (a 14 FPS spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, reducing the variance that the CPU's frame generation would otherwise cause.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the best experience is achieved with High settings at 113 FPS average, which provides a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance. Ultra settings at 75 FPS are acceptable for players who prioritize graphics over frame rate, but High is the sweet spot for most users. Medium at 146 FPS is the choice for competitive players who want high refresh rates, while Low at 207 FPS is only recommended for esports-level play where every frame matters.

For 1440p, Medium settings at 93 FPS average (minimum 79) offer the best experience, as they stay above 60 FPS and provide good visual quality. High settings at 72 FPS are also viable, but the drop from 93 to 72 FPS is significant, and the visual improvement may not justify it. Low at 131 FPS is ideal for competitive play, while Ultra at 47 FPS is too slow for most players.

For 4K, Low settings at 69 FPS average are the only playable option, and even this is marginal. Medium at 49 FPS is playable for less demanding users, but the minimum of 42 FPS suggests that frame dips will be noticeable. High and Ultra at 38 and 25 FPS, respectively, are not recommended under any circumstances.

The data suggests that this combo is best utilized at 1080p with High settings for a standard experience, or 1440p with Medium for a sharper image without sacrificing too much performance. At 4K, the system is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the experience is not ideal for Fortnite's fast-paced gameplay. The measured FPS values indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for Fortnite, but the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of compute power is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, not the CPU.