High On Life

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in High On Life produces a dataset that is far more revealing about the CPU's limitations than the GPU's immense capabilities. At 1080p, the combination delivers strong average frame rates, but the scaling pattern as resolution increases tells a clear story of a processor holding back a flagship graphics card. Across all settings, the average FPS at 1080p is approximately 122.6, while at 4K it drops to approximately 89.4, a 27% reduction. This scaling is unusually modest for a game, suggesting that the i5-9400 is the primary bottleneck even at the highest resolution tested.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a relatively small performance hit, with the High preset dropping from 118.2 FPS to 104.5 FPS, a decline of 11.6%. Moving from 1440p to 4K incurs a larger penalty, with the High preset falling to 86.4 FPS, another 17.3% reduction. This pattern indicates that while the GPU is still being tasked at higher resolutions, the frame rate ceiling is set by the CPU's ability to feed frames. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 136.4 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it only manages 69.4 FPS. The gap between the lowest and highest load scenarios is 67 FPS, which is substantial, yet the fact that 4K High still hits 86.4 FPS proves the RTX 4090 has headroom left on the table. The limiting component is clearly the i5-9400, which cannot push the GPU to its full potential, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU workload becomes relatively more significant.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall benchmark database for High On Life, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 611th out of 1,732 tested combinations. This places it in the 64.7th percentile of all tested combos, which is respectable given the age of the processor. However, the ranking is misleading when considering the GPU's raw power. The RTX 4090 alone sits in the 91st percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is only in the 50th percentile among all CPUs. The data suggests that the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the processor. The i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2,305 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2,300 (a 0.2% difference), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 at 2,295 (a 0.4% difference). This means the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, but that class is not high enough to fully leverage a GPU like the RTX 4090. In essence, the combo ranks mid-pack not because the GPU is weak, but because the CPU is a generation-old six-core part that cannot keep pace.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monstrous piece of silicon, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, alongside 128 RT cores and 512 Tensor cores. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive, with 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz. In High On Life, the GPU's raw power is evident in the fact that even at 4K Ultra, the game remains playable at 69.4 FPS. The RTX 4090's performance is not the issue; rather, the data shows that the GPU is often waiting for the CPU. The frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are all above 93 FPS, even at Ultra settings, which suggests that the GPU is easily capable of rendering the scene, but the CPU is not delivering instructions fast enough to increase the FPS further. The 24 GB VRAM is far more than this game requires, and the memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings optimization. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p yields 136.4 FPS, which is the maximum observed in this dataset. However, the jump to Medium at 1080p only drops the frame rate to 129.4 FPS, a mere 5.1% decrease, while likely providing a significant visual improvement. The High preset at 1080p still delivers 118.2 FPS, which is only 8.7% lower than Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 106.3 FPS, represents a larger performance sacrifice for marginal visual gains. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 115.5 FPS offers a good balance, as it is only 7.2% slower than Low (124.4 FPS) and 10.4% faster than High (104.5 FPS). For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 96.2 FPS is the most sensible choice, as it is 10.5% faster than High (86.4 FPS) and only 9.6% slower than Low (105.4 FPS), while providing better image quality than Low. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, as it drops to 69.4 FPS, a 27.9% reduction from Medium. The best experience per the measured rows is to use Medium settings at any resolution, as it consistently offers a high frame rate without the steep penalties of Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 4090 being fully utilized in High On Life with the i5-9400?

A: No. The data shows that the frame rate scales significantly with resolution, but the CPU bottleneck is evident. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 136.4 FPS, but the GPU's percentile ranking (91st) suggests it is capable of far more. The frame rate ceiling appears to be set by the CPU, as the performance gains from lowering settings are not proportional to the GPU's raw power.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1440p with Medium settings provides the best balance, yielding 115.5 FPS. This is only 8.9 FPS lower than the 1080p Medium score of 129.4 FPS, but offers a higher pixel density. At 4K, the Medium preset still delivers a playable 96.2 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400's average benchmark score is 2,305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,300) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2,299). It is also 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2,295). The only rival it trails is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which scores 2,319, a 0.6% difference.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's memory capacity matter for High On Life?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory is far beyond what High On Life requires. The data does not show any memory-related performance dips, even at 4K Ultra, which suggests the GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s and capacity are not limiting factors in this game.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra preset on performance?

A: The Ultra preset has a significant performance cost. At 1080p, it drops the frame rate from 129.4 FPS (Medium) to 106.3 FPS, a 17.9% reduction. At 4K, the drop is more severe, falling from 96.2 FPS (Medium) to 69.4 FPS, a 27.9% reduction. This makes Ultra the least efficient setting in the dataset.

Q: How does the combo's rank in High On Life compare to its component parts?

A: The combo ranks 611th out of 1,732 tested combos, placing it in the 64.7th percentile. The RTX 4090 alone is in the 91st percentile of GPUs, while the i5-9400 is in the 50th percentile of CPUs. This discrepancy highlights that the combo's overall rank is depressed by the processor's relative weakness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 9 MB shared L3 cache. Its memory support is dual-channel DDR4, providing a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 7,969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,125 in single-core. These numbers place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is an average performer. The CPU's role in High On Life is critical, as it is the bottleneck. At 1080p, the processor cannot keep up with the RTX 4090's output, capping the frame rate. The data shows that even at 4K, the CPU is still limiting performance, as the frame rate differences between settings are not as large as they would be with a faster processor. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads are sufficient for modern games, but its older architecture and lower clock speeds compared to newer parts mean it cannot fully feed a top-tier GPU. The measured FPS values, such as 118.2 FPS at 1080p High, are respectable but not exceptional, and the CPU's 50th percentile ranking confirms that it is a mid-range part that will hold back high-end graphics cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for High On Life reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 136.4. The Medium preset follows at 129.4 FPS, a 5.1% decrease. The High preset achieves 118.2 FPS, which is 8.7% lower than Medium. The Ultra preset is the slowest at 106.3 FPS, representing a 17.9% drop from Medium and a 22.1% drop from Low.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 124.4 FPS. The Medium preset is close behind at 115.5 FPS, a 7.2% reduction. The High preset drops to 104.5 FPS, which is 9.5% lower than Medium. The Ultra preset falls to 93.8 FPS, a 18.8% decrease from Medium and a 24.6% decrease from Low.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 105.4 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 96.2 FPS, an 8.7% reduction. The High preset drops to 86.4 FPS, a 10.2% decrease from Medium. The Ultra preset is the lowest of all tested configurations, delivering only 69.4 FPS, which is a 27.9% reduction from Medium and a 34.2% reduction from Low.

The data across all rows shows that the scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent, with an average drop of approximately 25% from Low to Ultra across all resolutions. The absolute numbers are all playable, but the Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below 70 FPS.