High On Life

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p on High settings?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers an average of 146 FPS at 1920x1080 on High settings, making it a strong performer for High On Life at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-10400F scores 14,185 on average in benchmark tests, sitting 0.2% above the Intel Xeon 6756E (14,163) and 0.5% above the AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115). It trails the Intel Core 7 160UL by 0.3% (14,232) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C by 0.6% (14,277).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 falls into the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40,377. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scores 40,318, putting the RTX 5070 just 0.1% ahead.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the combo achieves 151 FPS on Low settings but drops to 83 FPS on Ultra, representing a 45% reduction in frame rate as settings are scaled to maximum.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 104 on Low to 50 on Ultra. Medium settings yield 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, indicating smooth gameplay even at 4K resolution.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, based on the Comet Lake architecture on a 14 nm process.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Comet Lake architecture, produced on Intel's 14 nm process node. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz can reach 4.30 GHz under boost, and it carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is a desktop processor on the Intel Socket 1200 platform, with PCIe Gen 3 connectivity providing 16 lanes from the CPU itself.

In the context of High On Life, an FPS title that typically responds well to strong single-thread performance, the i5-10400F's benchmark results are revealing. Its single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and 2,541 in Passmark indicate competent per-core performance. The multi-threaded results show a 3DMark 16-thread score of 4,748 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10,283, suggesting the processor can handle modern game workloads that utilize multiple threads.

The data shows that this CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, placing it in the upper-middle tier. When compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-10400F is remarkably close to much more expensive workstation processors: it is 0.2% above the Intel Xeon 6756E and 0.5% above the AMD EPYC 7552 in average benchmark scores. This proximity suggests that for gaming workloads, the i5-10400F punches near the level of enterprise silicon despite its mainstream positioning.

For High On Life specifically, the CPU's 12 threads provide headroom for background processes and game logic. The 4.30 GHz boost clock helps ensure that the primary game thread is not starved for processing power. However, at lower resolutions like 1080p where the GPU has less work to do, the CPU's limitations could become more apparent. The data shows a 170 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low settings, which may reflect the CPU's capability boundary rather than the GPU's.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 998th out of 3,718 tested combos for High On Life, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the GPU alone sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 68th percentile. The gap between these two percentile positions suggests that the CPU may be holding back the GPU in this particular title.

When examining where this combo falls among tested configurations, the data implies that many of the 3,717 other combos ahead of it likely pair the RTX 5070 with stronger processors. The 1080p Low result of 170 FPS is telling: a GPU as powerful as the RTX 5070 should theoretically push frame rates much higher at such undemanding settings. This points to the CPU becoming a limiting factor in High On Life at lower resolutions.

The combo's position at rank 998 out of 3,718 also suggests that the RTX 5070 is not being fully utilized in this pairing. The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% behind), yet those are workstation cards not typically associated with gaming. The RTX 5070's 82nd percentile ranking indicates it is a top-tier performer, but the i5-10400F's 68th percentile ranking means the CPU cannot always feed the GPU enough data to maximize output.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, and 4K) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 170 FPS on Low, 156 FPS on Medium, 146 FPS on High, and 118 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 132 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS, indicating relatively stable performance with a 47 FPS range between minimum and maximum.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 151 FPS on Low, 134 FPS on Medium, 111 FPS on High, and 83 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS, giving a 40 FPS range. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p is particularly steep, with a 28 FPS reduction, while the step from Low to Medium is a more modest 17 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 104 FPS on Low, 81 FPS on Medium, 67 FPS on High, and 50 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 94 FPS, meaning even the minimum stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K is 23 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High is 14 FPS, and from High to Ultra is another 17 FPS.

The pattern across all resolutions shows that the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 52 FPS; at 1440p, it's 68 FPS; and at 4K, it's 54 FPS. This suggests that the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck as resolution increases, which is expected given the greater rendering load.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, containing 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory runs at an effective 28 Gbps across a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores.

In High On Life, the RTX 5070's performance is strong but modulated by the resolution and settings. The GPU's synthetic benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 29,137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077. Its OpenCL score of 172,660 and Vulkan score of 178,923 in Geekbench indicate solid compute capabilities that translate well to modern game rendering.

The RTX 5070's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, is just 0.1% behind in average score, while the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 is 0.8% behind. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile trails by 2%. These comparisons illustrate that the RTX 5070 is competitive with professional-grade hardware, though it targets the consumer gaming market.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is ample for High On Life at all tested settings and resolutions. The memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not create bottlenecks. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 50 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the most demanding configuration, albeit with some compromise in smoothness.

# Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced choice for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 156 FPS with a minimum of 132 FPS, providing a substantial cushion above the 60 FPS threshold and even above the 144 Hz refresh rate commonly found on gaming monitors. At 1440p Medium, the average is 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS, which remains highly playable on high-refresh displays.

For 4K gaming, Medium settings at 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS represent the sweet spot. This configuration maintains frame rates above 60 FPS even in demanding scenes, while the 94 FPS maximum shows there is occasional headroom. The High preset at 4K drops to 67 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less margin for frame time spikes, and the minimum FPS data is not available for High at this resolution.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend for this pairing. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 118 FPS, which is playable, but at 1440p Ultra it drops to 83 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 50 FPS. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which can result in less consistent gameplay for a fast-paced FPS title like High On Life. The data suggests that Ultra settings are best reserved for 1080p or lower resolutions with this CPU-GPU combination.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates but sacrifices visual fidelity. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 170 FPS, which is useful for competitive play, but the visual compromises may not be necessary given the strong performance at Medium. The Medium preset provides a 14 FPS improvement over High at 1080p, a 23 FPS improvement at 1440p, and a 14 FPS improvement at 4K, making it the clear recommendation for the best balance of visual quality and performance.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals how this combo scales across resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by 19 FPS on Low settings (170 to 151), 22 FPS on Medium (156 to 134), 35 FPS on High (146 to 111), and 35 FPS on Ultra (118 to 83). The percentage drops are 11.2% for Low, 14.1% for Medium, 24.0% for High, and 29.7% for Ultra. The larger relative drops at higher settings indicate that the GPU is becoming more stressed as resolution increases.

From 1440p to 4K, the drops are more pronounced: 47 FPS on Low (151 to 104), 53 FPS on Medium (134 to 81), 44 FPS on High (111 to 67), and 33 FPS on Ultra (83 to 50). These represent percentage drops of 31.1% for Low, 39.6% for Medium, 39.6% for High, and 39.8% for Ultra. The consistency of these drops across settings at higher resolutions suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor once the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

The scaling pattern indicates a shift in the limiting component. At 1080p, the smaller drops from Low to Ultra (52 FPS total) suggest that the CPU is playing a significant role in limiting performance. The 170 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low may be near the CPU's maximum frame generation capability. As resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck, evidenced by the steeper FPS drops between settings at 1440p and 4K.

The data shows that this combo scales reasonably well up to 1440p, where even Ultra settings maintain an average of 83 FPS. At 4K, the GPU's workload becomes substantial, and only Low and Medium settings keep frame rates comfortably above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS data at Medium settings shows that even at 4K, the 69 FPS minimum provides a smooth experience, but the lack of minimum FPS data for other settings makes it harder to assess frame consistency at Low, High, and Ultra presets.