Minecraft

Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 580 is a pairing that lands in the lower quartile of tested combos for Minecraft, ranking 3346 out of 3710. The data shows a system that can push very high frame rates at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain playability at 4K with higher settings. The CPU's six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.10 GHz, provide a solid foundation, while the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus offer enough bandwidth for most scenarios, yet the measured results reveal a clear bottleneck shift as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake part built on a 14 nm process, featuring 6 cores and 6 threads. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz can boost up to 4.10 GHz, and it carries 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, placing it at the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to its closest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, delta -0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, delta 0.4%), indicating that this processor sits in a very tight competitive band where performance differences are negligible.

In Minecraft, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining a stable frame rate floor, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 208 FPS, which is 77 FPS higher than at 1080p High (131 FPS). This 59% improvement when dropping from High to Low suggests that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates, but the GPU begins to throttle output as settings increase. The 6-thread configuration is adequate for Minecraft's single-thread-heavy workload, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock helps keep frame times consistent. However, the data implies that the CPU's headroom is only partially utilized at 1080p, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor when settings rise.

At 1440p, the CPU still provides enough throughput to keep the average FPS above 130 on Low, but the gap between Low (131 FPS) and High (82 FPS) narrows to 49 FPS, indicating that the GPU is taking on more of the load. By 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes further; the difference between Low (69 FPS) and High (43 FPS) is only 26 FPS, showing that the GPU is now the primary constraint. The CPU's 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support are sufficient for this workload, and its 47th percentile ranking suggests it is a mid-range part that pairs reasonably with the RX 580 but does not provide exceptional headroom for future upgrades.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 165 FPS average with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 189 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with better visual quality than Low (208 FPS) while maintaining a high frame rate, making it the balanced choice for 1080p.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 27, which is below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered playable. This setting is not recommended for this hardware, as even 4K High (43 FPS) struggles to maintain a consistent experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the difference between Low (131 FPS) and High (82 FPS) is 49 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck. The CPU can still push higher frame rates, but the RX 580 cannot keep up with increased graphical demands.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, which is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986) and 0.1% behind the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940). This places it at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, showing it is a mid-range performer.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS falls from 208 at 1080p Low to 82 at 1080p Ultra, a reduction of 126 FPS or approximately 61%. This shows that Ultra settings place a significant load on the GPU, cutting frame rates by more than half.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes, at 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 69, which exceeds 60 FPS. However, moving to Medium drops the average to 54 FPS, so only the Low preset at 4K achieves a consistent 60+ FPS experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across settings and resolutions. For 1080p, the Medium preset is the optimal choice, offering 165 FPS average with a minimum of 140 FPS. This is a 26 FPS improvement over High (131 FPS) and a 83 FPS improvement over Ultra (82 FPS), all while maintaining a minimum frame rate that stays above 140 FPS. The Low preset at 208 FPS is the fastest, but the visual trade-off may not be worth the extra 43 FPS over Medium.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (104 FPS average, 88 FPS minimum) is the best balance, as it stays above 60 FPS with a comfortable margin. High at 82 FPS is also playable, but the minimum frame rate is not recorded, so Medium is safer. Ultra at 52 FPS is borderline, and the 16 FPS drop from High to Ultra suggests diminishing returns. For 4K, Low is the only playable preset at 69 FPS, but Medium (54 FPS) and High (43 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable. Ultra at 27 FPS is not recommended for any serious gameplay.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p Medium or High settings, where it can deliver high frame rates with good visual fidelity. At higher resolutions, users must sacrifice settings to maintain playability, with 4K requiring Low for a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 580 combination ranks 3346 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft, placing it in the 10th percentile of all configurations. This is a low ranking, suggesting that many other hardware pairings achieve better performance in this game. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking (among all CPUs) and the GPU's 53rd percentile ranking (among all GPUs) do not translate to a strong combined result, likely due to the specific demands of Minecraft and the interplay between these two components.

The ranking implies that while each component is mid-range individually, their combination is not optimized for Minecraft's performance profile. The CPU's six cores and threads are sufficient, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 256 GB/s bandwidth are not exceptional for this title. The combo's rank of 3346 out of 3710 means it outperforms only 364 other combinations, which is a stark contrast to its individual component percentiles. This suggests that Minecraft may be more sensitive to certain hardware attributes, such as single-core CPU performance or specific GPU features, that this pairing does not excel at. The data does not provide direct comparisons to other combos, but the low rank indicates that users seeking higher Minecraft performance should consider alternative hardware configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU dependency as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 208 FPS, which drops to 131 FPS at 1440p Low (a 37% reduction) and further to 69 FPS at 4K Low (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This scaling suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p, as the CPU can likely push higher frame rates but the RX 580 cannot.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 165 at 1080p to 104 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and 54 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's performance does not scale with resolution. At High settings, the FPS drops from 131 at 1080p to 82 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and 43 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p), further confirming this trend.

The scaling factor from 1080p to 4K is approximately 3x for all settings, which is proportional to the pixel count increase (1080p has 2.07 million pixels, 4K has 8.29 million pixels, exactly 4x). The fact that FPS does not drop by a factor of 4 indicates that the CPU is still providing some headroom at 4K, but the GPU is clearly the dominant limiting component. At 1080p, the CPU's 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain high frame rates, but as resolution increases, the GPU's 6.175 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become the constraining factors. The data implies that for this combo, reducing resolution has a proportional impact on performance, with no unexpected bottlenecks at any specific resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 208 FPS average
• Medium: 165 FPS average, 140 FPS minimum, 189 FPS maximum
• High: 131 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings. Medium provides a 165 FPS average with a tight minimum of 140 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. High at 131 FPS is also smooth, but Ultra drops to 82 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant 83 FPS reduction from Medium. Low at 208 FPS is the fastest, but may not be worth the visual compromise.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 131 FPS average
• Medium: 104 FPS average, 88 FPS minimum, 119 FPS maximum
• High: 82 FPS average
• Ultra: 52 FPS average

At 1440p, the combo remains capable, with Medium providing 104 FPS average and an 88 FPS minimum. High at 82 FPS is still above 60 FPS, but Ultra at 52 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less desirable. Low at 131 FPS is fast, but the 27 FPS difference between Low and Medium suggests diminishing returns.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 54 FPS average, 46 FPS minimum, 62 FPS maximum
• High: 43 FPS average
• Ultra: 27 FPS average

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low at 69 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium at 54 FPS and High at 43 FPS are below playable thresholds for many users. Ultra at 27 FPS is not recommended. The minimum FPS of 46 at Medium indicates occasional dips that could cause stuttering.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, featuring 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3. Its average benchmark score of 12928 places it at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, delta -0.4%).

In Minecraft, the GPU's role is to handle the rendering load, and the data shows that it becomes the primary bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's texture requirements, but the 6.175 TFLOPS compute power and 256 GB/s bandwidth are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with higher settings. The GPU's 32 ROPs and 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for 1080p but struggle at 4K, where the pixel count quadruples. The boost clock of 1340 MHz provides a modest performance boost over the base clock, but the GPU's overall performance is mid-range, as reflected in its 53rd percentile ranking.

The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, with performance scaling almost linearly with resolution. At 1080p, the GPU can still deliver high frame rates, but the 61% reduction from Low to Ultra settings (208 FPS to 82 FPS) shows that the GPU's limits are reached quickly when graphical settings are increased. The 8 GB of VRAM is not the limiting factor, as Minecraft is not a VRAM-intensive game, but the GPU's compute and bandwidth capabilities are the primary constraints. The RX 580's performance is competitive with its nearest rivals, but it is not a high-end part, and this is reflected in the combo's low ranking of 3346 out of 3710 for Minecraft.