High On Life

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in High On Life, with the data showing a clear progression of performance from 1080p to 4K. This pairing places the GPU as the primary scaling factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower settings. The measured results indicate that this is a capable setup for the game, ranking in the top percentile of tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 147.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings. This is the most demanding preset at this resolution, and it still clears the 144 Hz mark for high-refresh monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 5080's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 59188, which places it 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M and 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580. It is 1.9% behind the Intel Arc Pro A60 and 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-core performance relative to its direct competitors?

A: The Core i5-14400F scores 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. Its average benchmark score of 32508 is 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 250.

Q: Is the RTX 5080's 16 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game at 4K?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate. The data shows playable frame rates at 4K Ultra (64.6 FPS), indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor here.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 217 on Low settings to 105.7 on Ultra settings. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 51% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 72nd out of 1732 tested combos. This places it in the top 4.2% of all configurations tested for High On Life.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 10752 shading units. Its boost clock runs at 2617 MHz, which is a significant factor in its rasterization performance. The GPU's memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs at high resolutions.

In High On Life, the GPU is clearly the dominant component for visual quality settings. The measured FPS data shows that increasing settings from Low to Ultra at a fixed resolution has a substantial impact. At 1080p, the frame rate goes from 249.9 FPS on Low to 147.3 FPS on Ultra, a 41% drop. This scaling is even more pronounced at 4K, where Ultra settings (64.6 FPS) produce less than half the frame rate of Low settings (131.4 FPS). The GPU's raw compute power, measured at 56.28 TFLOPS FP32, is what drives these numbers.

The RTX 5080's performance percentile of 89 versus all GPUs indicates its high-end positioning. Its benchmark scores, such as 36565 in Passmark G3D and 8637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, confirm its suitability for demanding titles. The data suggests that the GPU will not be the bottleneck for this game at any tested resolution, but rather that the user's choice of settings will be the primary determinant of frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend where frame rates decrease as resolution increases, a pattern typical of GPU-bound scenarios. At High settings, the average FPS moves from 199.4 at 1080p, to 138.5 at 1440p, and down to 83 at 4K. This progression shows a 30.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 40.1% drop from 1440p to 4K.

This scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 5080 is the limiting component as resolution increases. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, which is expected due to the exponential increase in pixel count. The GPU's 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are being taxed more heavily at 3840x2160.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is less severe. The frame rate only drops from 249.9 at 1080p to 217 at 1440p, and then to 131.4 at 4K. This suggests that at lower settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role, especially at 1080p where the frame rate is capped by the processor's ability to feed the GPU. The Core i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to keep the GPU busy at these lower settings, but the GPU still determines the final output at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 249.9 FPS, Medium hits 228.7 FPS, High reaches 199.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 147.3 FPS. These numbers indicate that the setup can easily drive high-refresh-rate monitors at this resolution, even with maximum quality.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern with slightly lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 217 FPS, Medium averages 168.6 FPS, High averages 138.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 105.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows at this resolution, from a 102.6 FPS difference at 1080p to a 111.3 FPS difference at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings still deliver a playable 131.4 FPS, Medium drops to 101.6 FPS, High falls to 83 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 64.6 FPS. While the Ultra preset is not ideal for 4K gaming on a high-refresh display, it remains above 60 FPS, making it viable for standard 60 Hz monitors. The data shows that for 4K gaming, users should consider High settings (83 FPS) as a balanced compromise between visual fidelity and frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 72nd out of 1732 tested combinations for High On Life. This places it in the 95.8th percentile of all tested configs, which is a strong showing. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU, where the processor's 10 cores and 16 threads are enough to avoid bottlenecking the graphics card at most settings.

This ranking is consistent with the GPU's high percentile score of 89 versus all GPUs, and the CPU's percentile score of 88 versus all CPUs. Both components are in the top tier of their respective categories, which translates to a top-tier gaming experience. The fact that this combo is in the top 100 out of over 1700 configs suggests that it is a well-balanced pairing for this specific title.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and 0.2%, respectively. This indicates that the i5-14400F's performance is on par with these mobile and desktop alternatives. The combo's high rank is therefore not due to an unusually strong CPU, but rather the combination of a strong CPU with an exceptionally fast GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core are sufficient for gaming workloads. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the game's performance is not heavily dependent on this aspect.

In High On Life, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 249.9 FPS is likely approaching the CPU's limit for this game. The difference between 1080p Low (249.9 FPS) and 1440p Low (217 FPS) is only 13.2%, which is less than the pixel count increase, suggesting the CPU is partially limiting performance at the lower resolution.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3723. This is important for games that rely heavily on a few threads. The multi-threaded scores, such as 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 25783 in Passmark multithread, show that the processor can handle background tasks without affecting gameplay. The data indicates that the i5-14400F provides enough performance to keep the RTX 5080 fed at all but the lowest settings and resolutions, making it a solid partner for this GPU.