Minecraft

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing delivers a strong, smooth experience in Minecraft, with the data indicating that the GPU is the primary performance driver at higher settings. The benchmark results show a clear pattern where frame rates scale more dramatically with resolution changes than with core count, reflecting Minecraft's well-known single-threaded rendering tendencies.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor built on the Coffee Lake architecture, running on a 14 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and it carries 9 MB of shared L3 cache. The chip supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, which places it at the 47th percentile among all CPUs tested.

The processor's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are tightly clustered. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a 0.2% delta, while the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, a 0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4% delta, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, a 0.4% delta. This tight grouping means the i5-9400 delivers essentially identical computational throughput to its immediate competitors, with no single rival holding a meaningful edge.

In Minecraft specifically, the CPU's role is moderate but not restrictive. The game's render logic often relies on a single primary thread, so the i5-9400's 4.10 GHz boost clock provides solid headroom for chunk generation and entity updates. At 1080p with Low settings, the measured average of 389 FPS indicates that the CPU is far from a bottleneck, as the frame rate exceeds what most displays can refresh. The 6-core layout is more than adequate for Minecraft's workload, since the game rarely scales across all threads efficiently. Even at the highest resolution tested, 4K, the CPU maintains sufficient throughput to feed the GPU without causing frame rate collapses.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2556 out of 3710 tested combos in Minecraft. This places the pairing in the lower third of all configurations tested for this game, which is notable given the hardware's capabilities. The rank reflects not just absolute performance but how this specific CPU-GPU pairing compares against every other combination in the database.

The rank of 2556 suggests that while the hardware delivers playable frame rates across all settings, many other combos achieve higher average FPS. This is not a critique of the individual components—both the CPU and GPU are competent on their own—but rather an indication that this particular pairing does not unlock the game's maximum potential. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU rank, produces a mid-tier overall result.

For context, the GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile with an average score of 18159 (a 0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 at 18189 (0.5% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 460 at 18373 (1.5% delta), and the Intel Arc A770M at 18383 (1.6% delta). These rivals all sit within a narrow performance band, meaning the RTX 2060 SUPER is competitive with its direct peers. The combo rank of 2556, however, shows that when paired with the i5-9400, the overall system performance in Minecraft lands below many alternative pairings that may use higher-clocked CPUs or more balanced combinations.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, revealing the GPU as the dominant limiter. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 245 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 154 FPS, a reduction of 91 FPS. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 81 FPS, a 164 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering capacity becomes the constraining factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's role diminishes as pixel count rises, since the GPU must process increasingly larger frame buffers. The 149 FPS difference between 1080p High and 4K High represents a 60% reduction in frame rate, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-bound scenario.

At Low settings, the same trend appears but with higher absolute numbers. The 1080p Low average is 389 FPS, dropping to 246 FPS at 1440p, and then to 128 FPS at 4K. The 261 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low shows that even when the CPU is under minimal load, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K. This pattern confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and its 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are the primary factors limiting performance at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings row provides additional clarity, with measured minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 308 FPS with a minimum of 262 FPS and a maximum of 355 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 195 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The consistent scaling across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at every resolution above 1080p.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo at any resolution and settings?

A: The highest measured average is 389 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the maximum frame rate observed across all tested configurations in the data.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER's performance compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Mobile?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, while the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 18159. This represents a delta of 0.4%, meaning the RTX 3060 Mobile is only marginally faster, with the difference being negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the entire measured dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 86 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. This is the only row in the dataset that reports a minimum value below 100 FPS.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve an average FPS closest to a standard 60 Hz display's refresh rate?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 50, which is below 60. The next closest is 4K High at 81 FPS. No setting at 4K Ultra reaches 60 FPS, while all other tested settings at 4K and below exceed 60 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Minecraft, and how many total combos are there?

A: The combo ranks 2556 out of 3710 tested combinations. This places it in the 31st percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 69% of tested pairings achieve higher performance in Minecraft.

Q: How does the i5-9400's single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance relative to its rivals?

A: The i5-9400 scores 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 6629 in multi-core. Its nearest rivals in average score include the i7-1068NG7 at 2259 and the i3-10305 at 2264, with deltas of 0.2% and 0.4% respectively, indicating a close overall match across both single and multi-threaded workloads.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using a 12 nm process node, with a TU106 chip containing 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. It operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its compute capabilities include 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, delivering 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Minecraft, the GPU's role becomes increasingly significant as resolution and settings rise. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Minecraft's texture and chunk data, even at 4K with High settings, since the game's asset footprint is modest. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and chunk loading do not create stutters, as evidenced by the minimum FPS values at Medium settings: 262 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 86 FPS at 4K. These minimums show that frame pacing remains consistent without memory-related hitches.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's performance percentile of 62 places it above the median GPU. Its average benchmark score of 18093, compared to the RTX 3060 Mobile's 18159, shows that it remains competitive with newer mobile parts. In Minecraft, the GPU's shading units and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s are the primary drivers of frame rate at higher resolutions, as the game's rendering pipeline scales with pixel count. The measured data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, where frame rates drop proportionally with resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium settings preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At this resolution and preset, the average FPS is 195, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. The minimum of 165 FPS comfortably exceeds the refresh rate of most high-refresh monitors, ensuring a smooth experience without frame drops. This preset offers a substantial upgrade over Low settings in visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate that is 41 FPS higher than High settings at the same resolution.

For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the 1080p Low setting is the best choice, delivering 389 FPS average. However, this comes at the cost of visual quality. The 1080p Medium setting provides 308 FPS average with a minimum of 262 FPS, which is still exceptionally high and offers better visual detail than Low. For 4K displays, the High preset at 81 FPS is the most playable option, as the Ultra preset at 50 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution due to its significant performance penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 153 FPS, which is a 50% reduction compared to Medium at the same resolution. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 97 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 50 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra settings outweighs the visual benefits for most users, given that Medium settings already deliver high frame rates across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 389 FPS, which is the peak performance in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 308 FPS, with a minimum of 262 FPS and a maximum of 355 FPS. The High preset averages 245 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 153 FPS. This resolution shows the largest gap between settings, with a 236 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down but remains high. The Low preset averages 246 FPS, a 143 FPS drop from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 195 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. The High preset averages 154 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 97 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 149 FPS, showing a similar proportional reduction to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The Low preset averages 128 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 100 FPS. The Medium preset averages 102 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS. The High preset averages 81 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS, which is the only setting in the entire dataset below 60 FPS. The 78 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest absolute gap across resolutions, confirming that the GPU's limits compress the performance range at high pixel counts.