Minecraft

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread desktop processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1151 platform. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and a 9 MB shared L3 cache. In the context of Minecraft, a game that is heavily single-thread dependent, the i5-9400’s boost clock of 4.10 GHz is the more relevant figure, as the game’s simulation and world-generation logic rely primarily on a single core. The processor’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and Geekbench single-core score of 1389 reflect this capability, placing it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs. This means that while the i5-9400 is not a top-tier performer, it is positioned in the middle of the pack, and its six physical cores provide sufficient headroom for background tasks and the game’s auxiliary threads. The multi-core scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 6629, show that the processor can handle parallel workloads, but for Minecraft, it is the single-core throughput that dictates the upper bound of frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU is less likely to be the bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti achieves a combo rank of 2074 out of 3710 tested combos. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-pack result. The ranking indicates that while this setup is far from the top of the leaderboard, it substantially outperforms a significant portion of the field, particularly those with older or lower-end components. The i5-9400’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (with a delta of -0.2%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (delta of 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (delta of 0.4%), all of which have nearly identical average scores, suggesting that the CPU’s performance is well-established and consistent with its class. For the GTX 1080 Ti, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (delta of 0.2%) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (delta of -0.8%), along with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (delta of 1.7%). The GTX 1080 Ti’s average benchmark score of 15548 puts it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, showing that despite being an older product, it remains a formidable graphics card. The fact that this combo ranks in the upper half of all tested systems suggests that the pairing is well-balanced, with neither component being an egregious bottleneck for the other in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of scaling that highlights the role of each component. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 276 FPS, which rises to 440 FPS on Low settings. Moving to 1440p, the High preset yields 174 FPS, and the Low preset jumps to 277 FPS. Finally, at 4K, the High preset drops to 91 FPS, while the Low preset maintains 145 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a reduction from 276 FPS to 91 FPS, a 67% drop, which is a substantial decrease. This indicates that at 4K, the GTX 1080 Ti is being pushed much harder, and the rendering load is becoming the dominant factor. In contrast, the scaling from 1080p Low (440 FPS) to 4K Low (145 FPS) is a 67% reduction as well, showing that even at the lowest settings, the resolution increase has a massive impact on frame rates. The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately, as evidenced by the very high frame rates (348 FPS at 1080p Medium, 220 FPS at 1440p Medium). However, at 4K, the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors, as the frame rates drop to levels that are more consistent with GPU-bound scenarios. The 484.4 GB/s memory bandwidth of the GTX 1080 Ti is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the demand on the 352-bit bus becomes more pronounced, leading to the observed performance degradation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across different settings and resolutions. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 440 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate that indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 348 FPS, with a minimum of 296 FPS and a maximum of 400 FPS, showing a stable performance window. The High preset at 1080p drops to 276 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 173 FPS. This progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a scaling factor of 2.5x (from 440 to 173 FPS), which is typical for a game with incremental quality settings. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 277 FPS, which is still very high, while the Medium preset averages 220 FPS, with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 174 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 109 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 145 FPS, the Medium preset averages 115 FPS (with a minimum of 98 and a maximum of 132), the High preset averages 91 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. The most striking observation is the Ultra preset at 4K, which manages only 57 FPS, indicating that this settings combination is too demanding for the GTX 1080 Ti to maintain smooth gameplay at that resolution. The min/max data available for the Medium presets shows that the frame pacing is consistent, with the 1440p Medium range (187-253 FPS) being the tightest, while the 4K Medium range (98-132 FPS) shows a wider variance, suggesting occasional dips that could be noticeable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is a high-end graphics card based on the Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process with a chip size of 471 mm² and 11,800 million transistors. It features 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s, which is a critical specification for Minecraft’s texture-heavy environments, especially when using higher resolution texture packs. The GPU has a base clock of 1481 MHz and a boost clock of 1582 MHz, with the memory operating at 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective). Its compute capabilities include 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 render output units, delivering a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 11.34 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a card of its generation. In the benchmark data, the GTX 1080 Ti scores 18600 in Passmark G3D and 67929 in Geekbench OpenCL, with a percentile rank of 58 among all GPUs. The GPU’s role in this combo becomes evident in the resolution scaling data: at 1080p and 1440p, the card is able to maintain very high frame rates, even on Ultra settings, which suggests that the CPU is the primary driver of performance at those resolutions. However, at 4K, the GPU’s workload increases dramatically, and the frame rates fall to 57-145 FPS depending on the preset, indicating that the card’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated. The 11 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Minecraft, even with high-resolution textures, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game.

FAQ

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

A: The combo achieves an average of 276 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is a very playable frame rate for most displays.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 57, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this preset is too demanding for the GTX 1080 Ti at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 277 FPS, while the High preset achieves 174 FPS. The high frame rates suggest that the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU, but the scaling from Low to High (277 to 174 FPS) indicates that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor as settings increase.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 440, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which demonstrates the CPU’s ability to push very high frame rates when the GPU load is minimal.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 15548, which is 1.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (15290) and 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (15521).

Q: Does the combo rank in the top half of all tested systems?

A: Yes, with a combo rank of 2074 out of 3710, this pairing is in the 56th percentile, meaning it performs better than a majority of tested combinations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 173 FPS is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor, and the High preset at 276 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 348 FPS is the best choice for competitive play or for users with 240 Hz monitors, as it offers a substantial frame rate advantage over Ultra while still maintaining good visual fidelity. At 1440p, the High preset at 174 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it delivers smooth gameplay on 144 Hz monitors, while the Medium preset at 220 FPS is ideal for those seeking maximum frame rates. The Ultra preset at 109 FPS is still playable but may not fully utilize high-refresh-rate displays. For 4K, the Low preset at 145 FPS is the only option that guarantees a smooth experience on 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, while the Medium preset at 115 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz monitors. The High preset at 91 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 57 FPS is not recommended for 4K gaming, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold. In summary, for the best experience, users should stick to High settings at 1080p and 1440p, and Low or Medium settings at 4K, depending on their refresh rate preference.