Minimum

This pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT targets a very specific niche: high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming in Minimum. The data indicates this is a combination where the GPU is overwhelmingly the dominant force, capable of pushing frame rates that far exceed what the CPU can typically sustain in modern titles, yet this older shooter still shows a clear dependency on settings. The benchmark results show a system that is overkill for standard displays but perfectly tuned for competitive play.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT a significant step up from its nearest rivals?

A: Yes. The data shows it has an average benchmark score of 49982, which places it 2.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 50HX. It also outperforms the Intel Arc A550M by 0.5%.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its direct competitors in synthetic tests?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. This puts it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134. The only rival it trails is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which is 0.6% faster.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo for a high-refresh-rate monitor?

A: For 144Hz or higher monitors, 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. The data shows that at Medium settings, this combo achieves an average of 125.9 FPS, and at High settings, it still delivers 107.7 FPS. This provides a much sharper image than 1920x1080 while maintaining excellent fluidity.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 3840x2160 with High settings, it averages 59.7 FPS. To get a smoother experience above 60 FPS, you would need to drop to Medium settings for 70.5 FPS or Low settings for 88.3 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution is not viable, as it drops to 43.8 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The data suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU could limit performance. The jump in FPS from 1920x1080 High (163.5 FPS) to 1920x1080 Low (259.4 FPS) is massive, indicating the GPU is being held back by the processor's six cores and six threads in less demanding scenes. At higher resolutions like 2560x1440, the load shifts to the GPU, making the pairing more balanced.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: The difference is substantial. At Low settings, the combo averages 259.4 FPS. At Ultra settings, that figure drops to 125.9 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of roughly half, showing that the Ultra preset is very demanding on the GPU's fill rate and shading units.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this specific configuration at rank 609 out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum. This puts it in the top 35% of all systems tested, which is a strong position for a 2018 processor paired with a 2020 flagship GPU. The ranking reflects the immense graphical power of the RX 6800 XT, which is able to compensate for the i5-9400's age in this specific title.

The combo's performance is heavily skewed by the GPU's capabilities. In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6800 XT scores in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-9400 sits in the 50th percentile. This disparity means that the overall in-game rank is likely higher than what the CPU alone could achieve, but lower than what the GPU is capable of on its own. The data shows that the system is well-positioned for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, but it is not at the absolute top tier, which would likely require a more modern processor to fully unlock the GPU's potential at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average FPS, there is a clear hierarchy of presets that balances visual quality with performance. For a 60Hz display at 3840x2160, the High preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 59.7 FPS, which is just at the threshold of playability. For 1440p and 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best overall experience, providing average frame rates of 125.9 and 200.8 FPS respectively, which are well above the 60 FPS standard and suitable for high-refresh-rate panels.

The Low preset is the only option that guarantees maximum frame rates across all resolutions, with an average of 88.3 FPS at 4K, 166.8 FPS at 1440p, and 259.4 FPS at 1080p. However, the visual fidelity loss is significant. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this pairing, as it drops the average FPS below 60 at 4K and below 130 at 1440p and 1080p, which is a steep cost for the marginal visual improvement over High. The data indicates that Medium is the optimal point, as it provides a 19% performance increase over High at 1440p while maintaining a high level of graphical detail.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results show a predictable scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 3840x2160, the performance ranges from a low of 43.8 FPS on Ultra to a high of 88.3 FPS on Low. The Medium preset provides a solid 70.5 FPS, while High sits at 59.7 FPS. This resolution is clearly the most demanding, and the data shows that only Low and Medium settings are viable for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the combo shows its strength. The Low preset produces an average of 166.8 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz monitors. The Medium preset achieves a very playable 125.9 FPS, and High settings still deliver 107.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is the outlier here, dropping to 82 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant performance hit.

The 1920x1080 results are dominated by the CPU's limitations. The data shows a massive jump from High (163.5 FPS) to Low (259.4 FPS), suggesting that the processor is the bottleneck in these scenarios. The Medium preset hits 200.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 125.9 FPS. This resolution is best suited for competitive play where maximum frame rates are prioritized, and the Low preset is the clear winner for this purpose.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the primary driver of performance in this pairing. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Minimum, a game released in 2014, and helps ensure that texture streaming and high-resolution assets are handled without issue.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a key factor. With a base clock of 1825 MHz and a boost clock of 2250 MHz, the card is able to maintain high utilization across all tested settings. The high pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s are directly responsible for the strong performance at 2560x1440 and 1920x1080. The data shows that the GPU is the dominant component, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings, which is a purely GPU-bound workload. Its 87th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides a solid, if unspectacular, foundation for this GPU. It has six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. For a game like Minimum, which is not heavily multithreaded, this configuration is adequate. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce latency, which is beneficial for frame pacing.

However, the data points to the CPU being a limiting factor in certain scenarios. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 259.4, which is a massive number. The fact that this drops to 163.5 FPS at High settings shows that the GPU is being fed more work, but the CPU is still able to keep up. The more telling sign is the comparison between resolutions: the FPS at 1080p Low (259.4) is significantly higher than at 1440p Low (166.8), which is expected. But the CPU's 50th percentile ranking in synthetic tests suggests that in a more modern or CPU-intensive title, this processor would likely hold the GPU back. For Minimum, it provides enough single-thread performance to avoid major stutters, but it is the clear weak link in this otherwise high-performance pairing.