Minimum

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination produces a wide performance spread across the four settings presets and three resolutions tested in Minimum. The data shows a classic pattern: at 1080p, the system delivers high frame rates that diminish predictably as resolution increases, with the GTX 1070 becoming the primary constraint at 4K. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows to explain where the bottleneck sits, how each component contributes, and which settings offer the best playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 88 FPS at 1080p to 59.4 FPS at 1440p, then to 29 FPS at 4K. That represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 51% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound workload: pixel count increases by roughly 78% from 1080p to 1440p, and the frame rate drops by a similar proportion.

The pattern repeats across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system achieves 136.7 FPS at 1080p, 92.4 FPS at 1440p, and 48.2 FPS at 4K. At Medium, the numbers are 106.4, 68.7, and 39.3 FPS respectively. At Ultra, the system manages 67.1 FPS at 1080p, 47.2 FPS at 1440p, and only 27 FPS at 4K. In every case, the 4K result is roughly half of the 1080p result, which strongly indicates that the GTX 1070's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher resolutions.

The 4K results are particularly telling. Even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 48.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players target. At High and Ultra settings, 4K drops to 29 and 27 FPS respectively, making those presets effectively unplayable at that resolution. The 1440p results are more viable: Low hits 92.4 FPS, Medium hits 68.7 FPS, and High hits 59.4 FPS. Only Ultra at 1440p falls below 60 FPS, at 47.2 FPS.

What this scaling suggests is that the i5-9400 has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GTX 1070 cannot maintain high frame rates as pixel count grows. The 1080p results show the system's true potential—frame rates above 67 FPS even at Ultra—while 4K exposes the GPU's limits. For players with 4K displays, the data indicates that only Low settings approach a playable frame rate, and even then it is marginal.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process node. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 803 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 113 in single-core, 3346 in Cinebench R20 multi-core and 472 in single-core, and 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 2305, placing it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs.

The nearest rivals in the benchmark database show how closely packed this processor is with its competition. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2300, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i3-1125G4 scores 2299, also 0.2% higher. The Intel Xeon E-2134 scores 2295, 0.4% higher. The Intel Core i7-8809G scores 2319, which is 0.6% lower than the i5-9400. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the i5-9400 delivers essentially identical CPU performance to its immediate peers in aggregate benchmarks.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The fact that frame rates scale nearly linearly with resolution—and that the 1080p results are substantially higher than 4K—suggests the CPU is not the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 136.7 FPS, which indicates the i5-9400 can drive high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The 6 cores and 6 threads are sufficient for this third-person shooter, which likely does not heavily utilize more than a few threads.

The single-core performance, as measured by Cinebench R15 at 113 points and R23 at 1125 points, is modest but adequate for a game of this era. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides enough single-thread speed for game logic and physics. The data does not show any CPU-related frame rate plateaus—if the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same settings, but the measured FPS drops consistently with resolution, confirming the GPU is the limiting component.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture and the GP104 chip, manufactured on a 16 nm process by TSMC. It has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, with memory running at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU delivers 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores show its overall capability. It scores 1082 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 18801 in Geekbench Metal, 47490 in Geekbench OpenCL, 47395 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 13498 in Passmark G3D. Its average benchmark score is 12331, placing it at the 51st percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals again show tight competition: the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 scores 12241 (0.7% higher), the GTX 880M scores 12490 (1.3% lower), the GTX 1650 SUPER scores 12504 (1.4% lower), and the Tesla K20Xm scores 12547 (1.7% lower).

In Minimum, the GTX 1070's 8 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for all tested settings, as the game is from 2014 and textures at 4K Ultra would be the most demanding scenario. The memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s appears to be a factor at 4K, where frame rates drop dramatically. At 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 27 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. At 4K High, it reaches 29 FPS, and at 4K Medium, 39.3 FPS. These numbers suggest the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The GPU's boost clock of 1683 MHz provides adequate throughput for 1080p gaming, where the system produces 67.1 FPS at Ultra and 88 FPS at High. The 1440p results indicate that the GTX 1070 can handle that resolution at lower settings, with 92.4 FPS at Low and 68.7 FPS at Medium. The data clearly shows that the GTX 1070 is the limiting component at 4K, while it has enough headroom to deliver smooth frame rates at 1080p across all settings presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High settings preset delivers 88 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset yields 67.1 FPS, which is still playable but with diminishing returns in visual quality. The Medium preset produces 106.4 FPS, offering a smoother experience for players with high refresh rate monitors. The Low preset reaches 136.7 FPS, which maximizes frame rate but sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces 59.4 FPS, which is marginally below 60 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 68.7 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a smooth experience at this resolution. The Low preset reaches 92.4 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset falls to 47.2 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS. The Low preset comes closest at 48.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 39.3 FPS, High at 29 FPS, and Ultra at 27 FPS. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the frame rate is below ideal. Players with 4K displays would need to accept lower frame rates or reduce resolution.

The data indicates that the High preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most players, with 88 FPS providing a smooth experience without the frame rate penalty of Ultra. For 1440p users, the Medium preset at 68.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it stays above 60 FPS while maintaining reasonable visual quality. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it still achieves 67.1 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most consistent resolution, with all four settings presets achieving frame rates above 67 FPS. At 1440p, only Low, Medium, and High stay above 47 FPS, while at 4K, all presets fall below 49 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331. The NVIDIA Quadro K4200 scores 12241 (0.7% higher), the GTX 880M scores 12490 (1.3% lower), the GTX 1650 SUPER scores 12504 (1.4% lower), and the Tesla K20Xm scores 12547 (1.7% lower).

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The measured FPS at 1080p ranges from 67.1 FPS at Ultra to 136.7 FPS at Low, which indicates the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. At higher resolutions, frame rates drop consistently, confirming the GPU is the limiting component.

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produces 48.2 FPS. Medium settings yield 39.3 FPS, High yields 29 FPS, and Ultra yields 27 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low produces 136.7 FPS and Ultra produces 67.1 FPS, a difference of 69.6 FPS. This represents a 104% improvement from Ultra to Low.

Q: How does the i5-9400's benchmark score compare to the i3-10305?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. The i3-10305 scores 2300, which is 0.2% higher. The difference is negligible, placing them in the same performance tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is organized by resolution and settings preset. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 136.7 FPS on Low, 106.4 FPS on Medium, 88 FPS on High, and 67.1 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the results are 92.4 FPS on Low, 68.7 FPS on Medium, 59.4 FPS on High, and 47.2 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the results are 48.2 FPS on Low, 39.3 FPS on Medium, 29 FPS on High, and 27 FPS on Ultra.

The 1080p results show a clear progression: each setting step reduces the frame rate by roughly 20-30 FPS. The 1440p results follow a similar pattern but with smaller absolute differences between presets. The 4K results compress further, with only 21.2 FPS separating Low from Ultra. This compression at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is approaching its limits, and settings changes have less impact on frame rate.

The combo rank in the database is 1447 out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle range for Minimum. This ranking reflects the GPU's age and the CPU's mid-range positioning. The data shows that this system is well-suited for 1080p gaming with high settings, capable of 1440p gaming with medium settings, but struggles at 4K regardless of settings. For players targeting 60 FPS, the recommended configurations are 1080p High (88 FPS), 1080p Medium (106.4 FPS), 1080p Low (136.7 FPS), 1440p Medium (68.7 FPS), or 1440p Low (92.4 FPS). The 4K resolution should be avoided unless frame rate is not a priority.