Minimum

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a consistently playable experience in Minimum, but the data reveals a clear progression: performance scales smoothly from 1080p to 1440p, then takes a sharp hit at 4K. The combo ranks in the 56th percentile of all tested combinations, indicating a solid mid-tier pairing that is heavily influenced by the GPU’s capabilities at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline is telling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 124 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops this to 80 FPS, a 35% reduction. The jump to 4K High yields only 43 FPS, which is 46% lower than the 1440p result and represents a 65% total drop from 1080p. This steep falloff at 4K is a classic sign that the GTX 1080 Ti is becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel throughput demand outpaces what the GPU can deliver.

The scaling pattern becomes even clearer when examining the Low settings tier. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 192 FPS. At 1440p Low, it still manages 124 FPS, a healthy 35% reduction. But at 4K Low, the average falls to 67 FPS, a 46% drop from 1440p. Interestingly, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is consistent at roughly 35% across both High and Low settings, while the 1440p-to-4K gap widens to around 46% in both cases. This consistent widening suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and raw compute are being saturated at 4K, irrespective of the graphical workload.

For the Medium settings, which include min and max FPS data, the pattern holds. At 1080p Medium, the average is 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 and maximum of 169. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 95 FPS, with min and max of 81 and 109 respectively. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 51 FPS, with a min of 43 and a max of 59. The min FPS at 4K Medium (43) is nearly identical to the average FPS at 4K High (43), indicating that even the lower settings cannot escape the resolution bottleneck.

Ultra settings tell the most sobering story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still delivers a respectable 94 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 61 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced third-person shooter. The data strongly indicates that this pairing is optimized for 1080p and capable at 1440p, but 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises, with Low settings being the only viable option for playable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from Intel’s Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The benchmark data suggests this CPU is more than adequate for Minimum, as the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are primarily dictated by the GPU rather than the processor.

In the synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F scores 10,283 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,451 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 6,257 multi-core and 1,420 single-core. These figures place it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14,185. The nearest rivals in this score range include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher), the Intel Core 7 160UL (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7552 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% lower). This clustering indicates that the i5-10400F sits in a very competitive performance band.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are typical for this class. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1,350 in the 2-thread test to 4,748 in the 16-thread test, demonstrating good multi-threading capability. For Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is likely underutilized, as the game’s engine probably relies more on single-thread performance. The single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and 1,451 in Cinebench R23 suggest the CPU can handle the game’s logic without becoming a bottleneck.

The fact that FPS drops from 192 at 1080p Low to 124 at 1440p Low, while the CPU load remains constant, confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolutions at the same settings. The data shows a consistent decline, which means the i5-10400F is providing ample headroom for the GTX 1080 Ti to work at its full potential.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the star of this pairing, and its specifications explain both its strengths and its limitations in Minimum. The GPU features 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, delivering 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth. It has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs. The base clock is 1,481 MHz with a boost clock of 1,582 MHz, and the memory runs at 1,376 MHz (11 Gbps effective).

In terms of raw compute, the GTX 1080 Ti offers 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s. These numbers are substantial for a GPU from the Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process at TSMC. The die size is 471 mm² with 11,800 million transistors, making it a large and powerful chip. The GPU’s benchmark results place it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 15,548.

The nearest rivals for the GTX 1080 Ti include the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (1.7% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (1.7% higher). This clustering shows that the GTX 1080 Ti, despite being from an older generation, still holds its own against newer mid-range cards. The PassMark G3D score of 18,600 and DirectX 12 score of 66 indicate solid DirectX 12 support, which is relevant for modern game engines.

The GPU’s memory configuration is crucial for understanding the 4K performance drop. The 11 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Minimum, even at 4K Ultra, but the 484.4 GB/s bandwidth is the likely culprit. At 4K, the pixel fill rate demand increases exponentially, and the GTX 1080 Ti’s 88 ROPs and 139.2 GPixel/s pixel rate become strained. The texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s is also taxed at higher resolutions, which explains why the FPS drops so dramatically from 1440p to 4K.

The GPU’s power requirements are also notable, with a 250W TDP and a suggested 600W PSU. The dual-slot cooler and 267 mm length make it a substantial card, but the performance data shows that it is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 4K, the GTX 1080 Ti can only manage 67 FPS on Low settings, which is borderline playable. The 33 FPS at 4K Ultra confirms that this GPU is not designed for maximum settings at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti holds the 2,082nd position out of 3,712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 56th percentile, meaning it outperforms 56% of all tested pairings. This is a solid ranking for a mid-range CPU paired with an older high-end GPU.

The ranking suggests that this combo is better than average but not exceptional. The CPU’s 68th percentile and GPU’s 58th percentile individually are higher than the combo’s 56th percentile, indicating that there is some inefficiency in the pairing. This could be due to the game’s engine not fully utilizing the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities or the GPU being held back by the older PCIe 3.0 interface.

Given that the combo ranks in the middle of the pack, it is competitive with systems that pair similar-generation components. The 1080p results, where the combo achieves 124 FPS on High and 94 FPS on Ultra, are strong and would likely rank higher in a 1080p-only comparison. The 4K results, however, drag down the overall ranking, as only 33 FPS on Ultra is below the acceptable threshold for many players.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers excellent performance. At 4K, it falls into the lower quartile of performance, making it a less attractive option for high-resolution enthusiasts. The ranking also reflects the age of the GTX 1080 Ti, as newer GPUs with more memory bandwidth and higher pixel rates would perform significantly better at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The data shows the best balance of performance and visual quality at 1440p. At High settings, the combo achieves 80 FPS, which is smooth and playable. At 1080p, it delivers 124 FPS on High, which is excellent but may be overkill for many displays. At 4K, the FPS drops to 43 on High, which is below the ideal threshold.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 67, which is playable. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 43 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average is only 33 FPS, which is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-10400F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14,185. It is 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon 6756E, 0.3% higher than the Intel Core 7 160UL, 0.5% lower than the AMD EPYC 7552, and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C. This places it in a tight competitive band.

Q: What is the GTX 1080 Ti’s performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 15,548. It is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon R9 M380, 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, and 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, as evidenced by the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 192 FPS, while at 1440p Low, it drops to 124 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain similar across resolutions. The consistent drop indicates the GPU is being pushed harder as resolution increases.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 125 and the max is 169, with an average of 147. At 1440p Medium, the min is 81, the max is 109, and the average is 95. At 4K Medium, the min is 43, the max is 59, and the average is 51.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data points are the exact measured FPS values from the FACT PACK for the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 192 FPS
• Medium: Average 147 FPS, Minimum 125 FPS, Maximum 169 FPS
• High: Average 124 FPS
• Ultra: Average 94 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 124 FPS
• Medium: Average 95 FPS, Minimum 81 FPS, Maximum 109 FPS
• High: Average 80 FPS
• Ultra: Average 61 FPS

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 67 FPS
• Medium: Average 51 FPS, Minimum 43 FPS, Maximum 59 FPS
• High: Average 43 FPS
• Ultra: Average 33 FPS

This data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p delivers excellent frame rates across all settings, 1440p is very good with only Ultra dipping below 60 FPS, and 4K requires Low settings for playable performance. The Medium settings data, which includes min and max values, shows that the frame pacing is consistent, with the spread between min and max being roughly 30% of the average at each resolution. This indicates a stable experience without major stuttering, even when the GPU is heavily loaded. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is the only data point that falls below the commonly accepted 60 FPS threshold for competitive gaming, making it unsuitable for serious play.