Minimum

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 places at rank 599 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum, which puts it in the upper-middle tier of all CPU/GPU pairings tested for this title. That rank reflects a balanced setup that is clearly capable of high-refresh 1080p play but starts to strain when resolution climbs to 4K. The combo sits ahead of roughly two-thirds of all tested configurations, and the data shows that its position is driven more by GPU headroom at lower resolutions than by any CPU limitation. At 1080p, this pairing is firmly in enthusiast territory, with the GPU doing the heavy lifting; at 4K, the frame rates drop to a point where the GPU becomes the obvious bottleneck.

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FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU/GPU pair in Minimum?*

A: The strongest measured result is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the combo delivers an average of 261.2 FPS. For a more balanced visual quality, 2560x1440 with High settings still produces 110.4 FPS on average, which is smoother than the 4K High result of 55.8 FPS.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 42.2, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. Lowering to 4K Medium yields 69.9 FPS, while 4K Low reaches 91 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the frame rates in this game?

A: The data indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 261.2, and when resolution scales to 1440p Low, it drops to 167.7 FPS. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom, but the GPU’s performance ceiling defines the FPS limits, especially at 4K.

Q: What are the key specifications of the Radeon RX 9070 in this configuration?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs.

Q: How does the Core i5-13400F’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. It also trails the AMD EPYC 9474F by 0.5% and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 by 0.5%.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for this CPU and GPU?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has a launch MSRP of $196, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

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Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern that shifts the bottleneck from the GPU at lower resolutions to a more even distribution as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 261.2 FPS, which is a strong indicator of high CPU and GPU headroom. When resolution increases to 2560x1440 with the same Low settings, the average drops to 167.7 FPS, a reduction of approximately 36%. This drop is substantial but still leaves the frame rate well above the threshold for high-refresh monitors.

Moving to 4K at Low settings, the average FPS falls to 91, which is a further 46% reduction from the 1440p Low result. This scaling behavior suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, since the CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution in the same way. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS plummets to 42.2, which is only about 16% of the 1080p Low result. This dramatic drop indicates that the GPU is saturated at 4K Ultra, while the CPU still has headroom to spare.

The data also shows that settings have a significant impact at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 132 FPS (261.2 vs 129.2), which is a 102% increase in performance when lowering settings. At 1440p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 86.3 FPS (167.7 vs 81.4), and at 4K, the gap is 48.8 FPS (91 vs 42.2). This pattern indicates that the GPU’s workload scales heavily with both resolution and settings, while the CPU’s contribution remains relatively constant.

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Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 261.2, which is exceptionally high and well-suited for competitive play. Medium settings reduce the average to 199 FPS, while High settings produce 168.7 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p yield 129.2 FPS, which is still smooth for most displays but shows a clear performance cost for maximum visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a more pronounced drop. Low settings average 167.7 FPS, Medium settings average 127 FPS, and High settings average 110.4 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p drop to 81.4 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the limits of high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 91 FPS, which is respectable for 4K, but Medium settings drop to 69.9 FPS. High settings at 4K average 55.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many gamers, and Ultra settings fall to 42.2 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra shows a total reduction of 219 FPS, or approximately 84%, underlining the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions.

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GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS trends. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, which provides ample memory capacity and throughput for Minimum at all tested settings. The 256-bit memory bus and 128 ROPs contribute to the pixel fill rate of 322.6 GPixel/s, which is relevant for the resolution scaling observed in the data.

The GPU’s clock speeds—base 1330 MHz, game 2070 MHz, and boost 2520 MHz—allow it to sustain high performance under load, but the data shows that the boost clock cannot compensate for the increased pixel workload at 4K. The 53,900 million transistors on a 4 nm process from TSMC give the GPU a raw compute capability of 36.13 TFLOPS FP32, which is substantial for a game released in 2014. However, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (42.2 FPS) indicates that the GPU’s shading units (3584) and TMUs (224) are fully utilized at that resolution.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position: it scores 25381 in Passmark G3D and 6290 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a percentile rank of 79 among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, scores 34866 on average, which is 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 34541, which is 0.7% lower. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 34780 places it in a competitive tier, but the Minimum data shows that its real-world performance is highly dependent on resolution and settings.

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CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications suggest it is not the limiting factor in Minimum. The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for gaming workloads, and its 65 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery.

Benchmark results show that the i5-13400F is a strong performer: it scores 21279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3004 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 25032. Its average benchmark score of 25236 places it at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, which is a solid position for a mid-range desktop processor. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H, scores 25201 on average, which is 0.1% lower, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25365, which is 0.5% higher.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 261.2 FPS, which suggests it is not a bottleneck at that resolution. At 1440p and 4K, the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound scenarios, as the CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution. The data shows that the i5-13400F has enough headroom to support the RX 9070 at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s limitations become the primary constraint on frame rates.