High On Life

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a strong performance profile in High On Life, a fast-paced FPS that rewards high frame rates. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of exceeding the 60 FPS threshold at 4K with the right settings, while offering exceptional performance at lower resolutions. The key to an optimal experience lies in balancing visual fidelity with the frame rate demands of the genre, and the data provides clear guidance on where that balance is struck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available presets. For this CPU and GPU combination, the High preset is the most balanced choice for a premium experience across all resolutions. It delivers 157 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is particularly notable because it clears the 60 FPS line, making High the only preset besides Low and Medium to achieve that at 4K, and it does so while retaining a significant amount of visual quality over the lower presets.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, but the data suggests it is not worth the performance cost on this system. At 4K, Ultra drops to 50 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold many players target for a shooter. At 1440p, Ultra yields 83 FPS, and at 1080p it produces 118 FPS. While these are playable numbers, the frame rate drop from High to Ultra is steep at each resolution (a 27% reduction at 1080p, 25% at 1440p, and 25% at 4K), and the visual uplift is rarely as dramatic as the performance hit in a game with this art style.

For players who prioritize maximum frame rates, the Low preset is the extreme option. It produces 244 FPS at 1080p and 172 FPS at 1440p, which are excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the move from Low to Medium offers a substantial upgrade in visual quality for a relatively modest performance penalty (191 FPS at 1080p and 134 FPS at 1440p). The Medium preset is the middle ground, and its data shows it is a solid fallback if High proves too demanding on a specific display setup, but the High preset's ability to maintain 60+ FPS at 4K makes it the default recommendation for this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of the frame rates in this game, and its specifications explain the performance headroom observed. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 6144 shading units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz running on 12 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 192-bit bus. This configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is ample for the texture and geometry loads in High On Life.

The GPU's performance percentile is 82, indicating it sits above most other graphics cards in the database. Its raw compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. These figures support the high average frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is not heavily constrained by the CPU. The 12 GB of VRAM is also a relevant factor; while the measured data does not include VRAM usage, the capacity is sufficient to handle the High and Ultra presets at 4K without significant bottlenecks, as evidenced by the playable 67 FPS result at High settings.

The RTX 5070's role becomes more complex at 4K. The drop from 104 FPS at Low to 50 FPS at Ultra shows how the GPU's compute and memory resources are taxed by higher-quality shaders and effects. The card's 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs are responsible for the pixel and texture fill rates, and the data suggests that at 4K Ultra, these units are saturated, leading to the sub-60 FPS result. The GPU is also the component that benefits most from the reduced load at lower settings, as the frame rate scales significantly from 50 FPS at 4K Ultra to 244 FPS at 1080p Low, a nearly fivefold increase.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this specific CPU-GPU combination at rank 709 out of 3718 tested combos in High On Life. This ranking puts it in the top 19% of all configurations, indicating a strong overall performance level. The CPU itself has a percentile of 77 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark are the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core 5 120 (deltaPct -0.3), which shows that the i5-13400F is closely matched to those parts in raw compute, but the game ranking also accounts for the GPU's contribution.

The GPU benchmarks show the RTX 5070 with an average score of 40377 and a percentile of 82 against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (deltaPct 0.8), which are professional workstation cards, not direct gaming competitors. This suggests that in gaming workloads, the RTX 5070 is a high-performing consumer part, and the combo's rank of 709 reflects that the CPU does not significantly hold back the GPU in High On Life. The rank is likely influenced by other combos with more powerful CPUs, but for a mainstream Core i5 paired with a high-end GeForce card, a top-quintile finish in a large database is a positive result.

The deltaPct values of the GPU rivals are small (0.1 to 2.0), meaning the RTX 5070 is not dramatically faster than those workstation parts in synthetic benchmarks, but the gaming-specific measurements show a different story. The measured FPS data is the more relevant metric here, and it confirms that this combo is well-suited for the game's requirements, with no obvious pairing bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a full picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 244 FPS, Medium averages 191 FPS with a minimum of 162 FPS and maximum of 219 FPS, High averages 157 FPS, and Ultra averages 118 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy, with the gap between High and Ultra being 39 FPS, which is the largest absolute drop between any two adjacent presets at this resolution. The Medium preset's minimum of 162 FPS ensures that even the worst-case frame times stay well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down consistently. Low averages 172 FPS, Medium averages 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS, High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The 1440p results are the sweet spot for this combination, as even the Ultra preset maintains an average above 80 FPS, which is smooth for a single-player FPS. The High preset at 1440p offers a 34% performance uplift over Ultra, making it the recommended choice for players who want both high settings and high frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is pushed harder. Low averages 104 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 94 FPS, High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 5070 can handle the game at High settings with a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but Ultra is not viable for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 4K provides a minimum of 69 FPS, which is a good fallback for players who want to ensure no dips below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 4K is playable at 104 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component in this system. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 244 at 1080p to 172 at 1440p (a 30% reduction) and then to 104 at 4K (a further 40% reduction from 1440p). This pattern indicates that even at low settings, the GPU is becoming a bottleneck as resolution increases, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it enough data. The total drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 57%, which is significant but not as steep as at higher presets.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. The FPS drops from 157 at 1080p to 111 at 1440p (a 29% reduction) and then to 67 at 4K (a 40% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 57%, matching the Low preset's relative scaling. This suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint at all settings, as the percentage drops are consistent regardless of preset. At Ultra, the drop is from 118 at 1080p to 83 at 1440p (a 30% reduction) and then to 50 at 4K (a 40% reduction), again showing a similar relative pattern.

The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that the system is not CPU-limited in a way that would cause frame rates to plateau at lower resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p to 1440p drop to be smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop. Instead, the data shows a uniform scaling pattern, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The i5-13400F's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, are sufficient to keep up with the RTX 5070 at 1080p, as evidenced by the high 244 FPS result at Low settings. The limiting factor at 4K is the GPU's pixel and texture processing capabilities, not the CPU's instruction throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 Hz 4K monitor?

A: The High preset is the only one that averages above 60 FPS at 4K (67 FPS) while retaining meaningful visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, so High is the recommended choice. The Medium preset also works at 81 FPS but reduces visual fidelity further.

Q: Can this combo hit 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: Yes, at the Low preset it averages 172 FPS, and at the Medium preset it averages 134 FPS. To hit 144 FPS consistently, you would need to use Low settings, as the Medium preset's average of 134 FPS is below that threshold, and its minimum is 114 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 than its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, has a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning they are effectively tied. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 is 0.8% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 is 1.2% faster. These are workstation cards, not direct gaming comparisons.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. The frame rate at Low settings is 244 FPS, which is very high. If the CPU were limiting, we would see a smaller difference between 1080p and 1440p results, but the scaling is consistent across resolutions, suggesting the GPU is the primary driver of performance.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, it ranges from 162 to 219 FPS with an average of 191 FPS. At 1440p, it ranges from 114 to 154 FPS with an average of 134 FPS. At 4K, it ranges from 69 to 94 FPS with an average of 81 FPS. The minimums indicate no severe stutters.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, has a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are equal. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are both 0.3% slower, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H is 0.4% faster. These differences are negligible in gaming.