High On Life

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a substantial performance envelope in High On Life, a fast-paced FPS where frame rates are consistently high across all tested resolutions. The dataset shows this combo ranks 192nd out of 3,718 tested combinations, placing it comfortably in the top 5.4% of all systems, a strong showing for a pairing of a 20-core CPU and a 16 GB GPU. The measured frames per second reveal a system that is rarely the limiting factor, even at 4K, though the scaling pattern between resolutions and settings offers a clear picture of where the bottleneck shifts.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a predictable but telling decline in average FPS. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 292 FPS, which drops to 205 FPS at 1440p, and further to 125 FPS at 4K. That is a 57% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. For High settings, the drop is from 189 FPS at 1080p to 133 FPS at 1440p and finally 81 FPS at 4K, a 57% decrease as well. This consistency suggests that the scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's workload, as the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions.

The Ultra preset tells a slightly different story. At 1080p, the combo hits 141 FPS, which is 25% lower than High settings at the same resolution. Moving to 1440p drops it to 99 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is notably the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, showing that the RTX 4080 begins to feel the pressure of the game's most demanding settings at the highest resolution. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 21 FPS, which is significant, but the gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is even larger: 38 FPS.

The data implies that at 1080p, the limiting component is likely the CPU, or more precisely, the game's engine overhead, as even the lowest settings produce nearly 300 FPS, which is near the practical ceiling for most displays. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear constraint, especially with Ultra settings, where the average of 60 FPS suggests the RTX 4080 is fully saturated. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (133 to 81 FPS, a 39% drop) is steeper than the scaling from 1080p to 1440p (189 to 133 FPS, a 30% drop), reinforcing that pixel count is the dominant factor once the resolution climbs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the workhorse in this pairing. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for High On Life at all tested settings. The GPU's 9,728 shading units and 112 ROPs handle the game's visual effects, and the boost clock of 2505 MHz keeps the card responsive. The measured FPS at 4K Medium, averaging 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 and maximum of 112, shows that the GPU is capable of maintaining a playable frame rate even with demanding settings, but the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 60 FPS, indicating that the card's limits are reached when all graphical features are enabled.

The RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores suggest it is well-equipped for ray tracing and DLSS, though the FACT PACK does not include specific ray tracing or DLSS measurements for this game. The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance gives it raw compute power that scales well with resolution, as seen in the 4K Low result of 125 FPS. The card's 16 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at these settings, as even Ultra at 4K does not appear to exceed memory capacity, given the measured results.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 86 versus all GPUs indicates it is in the top tier, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average benchmark score just 0.1% higher, meaning the performance gap is negligible in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% behind, and the RX 6750 GRE is 2.6% behind, but those are not direct comparisons for gaming. The data suggests that the RTX 4080 is a strong match for this game, delivering high frame rates at 1440p and solid performance at 4K, with the caveat that Ultra settings at 4K push it to 60 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in High On Life?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 292, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 60, which is the lowest result in the dataset.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 160, with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 185.

Q: Is there a significant difference between High and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, the difference is 48 FPS: High averages 189 FPS, while Ultra averages 141 FPS at 1920x1080.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: The combo is ranked 192nd out of 3,718 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.4% of all systems.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score compared to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54,247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54,209.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this system at 192 out of 3,718 combos, which is a strong result. This rank means that the i7-14700KF and RTX 4080 combination outperforms the vast majority of tested systems in High On Life. The rank is not the highest, but it reflects a well-balanced pairing where neither component holds the other back in most scenarios. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, has an average benchmark score that is 0.2% lower, which is within the margin of error, so the CPU's performance is comparable to its immediate competition. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is 0.1% higher in average score, meaning the GPU is effectively at parity with its successor in synthetic benchmarks.

The rank of 192 out of 3,718 also implies that there are systems with higher-end components, such as the RTX 4090 or newer CPUs, that would rank higher, but this combo is still elite. The percentile for the CPU is 94, meaning it is in the top 6% of all CPUs, and the GPU's percentile is 86, placing it in the top 14% of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU yields a system that handles High On Life with ease at 1080p and 1440p, and remains playable at 4K. The measured data shows that the only scenario where the combo falls below 60 FPS is at 4K Ultra, which is a demanding setting for any system.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS values, the most balanced experience is at 2560x1440 with High settings, which yields an average of 133 FPS. This provides a high frame rate that takes advantage of high refresh rate monitors while maintaining visual quality. For users with 4K displays, Medium settings are recommended, as the average of 98 FPS with a minimum of 83 FPS ensures smooth gameplay, and the visual difference between Medium and High at 4K is often less noticeable than the FPS gain. The High settings at 4K average 81 FPS, which is also playable, but the minimum FPS is not recorded, so the Medium preset's recorded minimum of 83 FPS offers more certainty.

At 1080p, Ultra settings are the best choice for visual fidelity, as the average of 141 FPS is still high enough for competitive play. However, the difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is 48 FPS, so players prioritizing frame rate over visuals might prefer High. For those with 1440p displays, Ultra settings average 99 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium or High provide a better balance, with 160 FPS and 133 FPS respectively. The Low settings are only recommended for players seeking maximum frame rates, as they deliver 292 FPS at 1080p, but they sacrifice significant visual quality. Overall, the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p High, as it offers a high frame rate without pushing the GPU to its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS for all 12 combinations of four resolutions and three settings, plus a fourth setting at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 292 FPS, Medium 228 FPS (min 194, max 263), High 189 FPS, and Ultra 141 FPS. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 205 FPS, Medium 160 FPS (min 136, max 185), High 133 FPS, and Ultra 99 FPS. At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 125 FPS, Medium 98 FPS (min 83, max 112), High 81 FPS, and Ultra 60 FPS.

The pattern across all resolutions shows that Medium settings consistently provide a significant boost over High, with an average increase of 39 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 17 FPS at 4K. The jump from Medium to Low is even larger: 64 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the game's settings have a substantial impact on performance, and the GPU has more headroom at lower settings. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the FPS drops are more pronounced at higher resolutions, with a 39 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K compared to a 48 FPS difference at 1080p.

The minimum and maximum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings, which provides some insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 194 FPS and maximum of 263 FPS show a range of 69 FPS, indicating some variability but still a smooth experience. At 1440p Medium, the range is 49 FPS (136 to 185), and at 4K Medium, the range is 29 FPS (83 to 112). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing the spikes in frame times.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is critical for FPS games like High On Life. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, and its benchmark scores confirm its capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 and a single-core score of 6,235, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21,462 and single-core score of 2,578. The CPU's percentile of 94 versus all CPUs places it in the top tier for gaming.

In this game, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the FPS reaches 292 at Low settings, suggesting that the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond what most displays can show. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops when resolution increases. However, the CPU is not entirely idle at higher resolutions, as the game's physics and AI simulations still require processing power. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, has an average score within 0.2% of the i7-14700KF, so the performance difference is negligible. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.9% lower in average score, which is interesting given its higher core count, but the i7-14700KF's higher boost clock likely gives it an edge in single-threaded tasks.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it flexibility, but the FACT PACK does not include specific memory configuration details for the measured FPS, so the impact of memory speed is unknown. The CPU's 10 nm process node is larger than the GPU's 5 nm node, but that does not directly affect gaming performance. The data suggests that the i7-14700KF does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 in High On Life, as the FPS at 1080p is extremely high, and even at 4K, the performance is limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than the CPU's processing speed. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are more than sufficient for this game, which likely uses fewer than 8 threads, so the CPU has significant headroom for background tasks or streaming.