Overpower

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Overpower, but the data reveals a clear and consistent pattern: this combination is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at every resolution and setting tier tested. The measured frame rates indicate that while the CPU provides sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking at high resolutions, its influence becomes more apparent as resolution drops and the GPU’s workload lightens. The i5-13400F ranks in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, and the RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile among all GPUs, making this a top-tier pairing that prioritizes raw graphics throughput over processor-limited scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a definitive story about where the performance ceiling lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 238.8 FPS, but this drops to 231.6 FPS at 1440p and 222 FPS at 2160p — a mere 7% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. This minimal scaling indicates that even at the lowest settings, the RTX 5090 is not being fully saturated; the CPU begins to exert a limiting influence on the absolute maximum frame rate achievable. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the scaling is far more pronounced: 147 FPS at 1080p, 133.5 FPS at 1440p, and 111.3 FPS at 4K. That represents a 24.3% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra, demonstrating that the GPU’s rendering load increases dramatically with quality settings, and the frame rate responds accordingly.

The most telling comparison comes from the High preset, which shows a 138.7 FPS result at 4K versus 180.1 FPS at 1080p — a 23% reduction that clearly attributes the performance loss to GPU workload scaling rather than CPU limitations. Between 1080p and 1440p at High (180.1 to 157.9 FPS), the drop is 12.3%, while between 1440p and 4K (157.9 to 138.7 FPS), the drop is 12.2%. This near-linear scaling across resolutions strongly suggests that the RTX 5090 is the primary performance determinant at High settings, with the i5-13400F providing consistent frame delivery without introducing stutter or bottleneck-related penalties. The data indicates that for players targeting maximum refresh rates, the Low preset at 1080p yields the highest possible output, but the performance gap between Low and High at any given resolution is relatively modest, suggesting the GPU has ample headroom to absorb additional graphical fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications align perfectly with the measured results. Equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the card delivers a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which proves more than sufficient for Overpower’s demands at all tested settings and resolutions. The GPU’s base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz, combined with 21760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units, explain why the card achieves such high frame rates even at 4K Ultra. The 176 render output units and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s ensure that rasterization throughput never becomes a limiting factor in this title.

The RTX 5090’s benchmark scores reinforce its dominance. With a PassMark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, the GPU outperforms its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, by a 0.1% margin in average benchmark score (84306 vs. 84241). More notably, it sits 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (83209) and 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85637, though this is a negative delta indicating the CMP 40HX scores higher). The GPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, and the measured FPS data shows that even at the most demanding preset (4K Ultra, 111.3 FPS), the card maintains well above 60 FPS, confirming that VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth are not constraints in this game. The 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability provides substantial headroom for future titles, but in Overpower, the card operates comfortably within its performance envelope.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The maximum measured average frame rate is 238.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is closely followed by 231.6 FPS at 2560x1440 Low and 222 FPS at 3840x2160 Low.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D (84241) and 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (84171). It trails the NVIDIA CMP 40HX (85637) by 1.6%.

Q: Does the i5-13400F bottleneck the RTX 5090 at any resolution?

A: The data indicates minimal CPU bottlenecking at 4K, where the frame rate drops from 222 FPS at Low to 111.3 FPS at Ultra — a pattern consistent with GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the 238.8 FPS result suggests the CPU may be approaching its limit, as the i5-13400F’s multithread benchmark score of 25032 and 3DMark max threads score of 7307 cap the absolute frame ceiling.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 157.9 FPS, while Ultra delivers 133.5 FPS. This represents a 15.5% reduction in frame rate when moving from High to Ultra, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significantly heavier GPU workload.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 35th out of 1744 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations evaluated.

Q: Is the RTX 5090’s memory bandwidth sufficient for 4K gaming?

A: Yes, the 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth, paired with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, proves adequate. At 4K Ultra, the combo still achieves 111.3 FPS, and the memory configuration does not appear to introduce any measurable performance ceiling in the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 238.8 FPS, Medium produces 194 FPS, High produces 180.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 147 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium represents a 18.8% reduction, while Medium to High is a 7.2% reduction, and High to Ultra is an 18.4% reduction. These figures show that the most significant performance cost occurs when jumping from Low to Medium, while the difference between Medium and High is comparatively modest.

At 2560x1440, the measured results are 231.6 FPS (Low), 171.8 FPS (Medium), 157.9 FPS (High), and 133.5 FPS (Ultra). Compared to 1080p, the reduction at Low is only 3% (238.8 to 231.6), indicating the CPU is still the limiting factor at this preset. However, at Medium the drop is 11.4%, at High it is 12.3%, and at Ultra it is 9.2%, showing that GPU scaling becomes more dominant as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the results are 222 FPS (Low), 148.8 FPS (Medium), 138.7 FPS (High), and 111.3 FPS (Ultra). The transition from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 4.1% at Low, 13.4% at Medium, 12.2% at High, and 16.6% at Ultra. The Low preset at 4K still exceeds 220 FPS, demonstrating that even at maximum resolution, the RTX 5090 has substantial headroom when graphical fidelity is reduced. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding configuration tested, delivering 111.3 FPS, which remains highly playable for competitive and immersive gameplay alike.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F serves as a capable foundation for this GPU, though its influence on Overpower’s frame rates is secondary to the RTX 5090. With 10 cores and 16 threads based on Raptor Lake architecture, the CPU operates at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts to 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide adequate data throughput for gaming workloads. The CPU’s benchmark scores — including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279 and a Geekbench multicore score of 10971 — place it in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25236.

The nearest rival comparisons show that the i5-13400F is tightly clustered with other mid-range processors. It sits just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201) and 0.5% ahead of both the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103) and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25099), while trailing the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) by 0.5%. This tight grouping indicates that CPU performance is not a differentiator in this game; the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are consistently high, and the CPU’s single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and 3634 in PassMark single-thread tests ensure that game logic and draw call processing do not introduce bottlenecks. The data suggests that at 1080p Low, where the FPS approaches 238.8, the CPU’s thread scheduling and cache hierarchy are sufficient to feed the GPU without causing frame drops, but further FPS gains would require a processor with higher single-thread performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend on the user’s display refresh rate and resolution priorities. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 180.1 FPS offers an excellent balance between visual quality and performance, as the jump to Ultra (147 FPS) provides diminishing returns for a 18.4% performance cost. Competitive players with 240 Hz monitors may prefer the Low preset (238.8 FPS), which nearly saturates such displays while sacrificing visual fidelity. At 1440p, the High preset (157.9 FPS) is the recommended choice for most users, as it remains well above 144 Hz refresh rates and delivers 15.5% more performance than Ultra (133.5 FPS). Medium at 1440p (171.8 FPS) is a viable alternative for those prioritizing higher refresh rates over graphical detail.

For 4K displays, the Ultra preset (111.3 FPS) is the best overall experience, as it maintains above 100 FPS while delivering maximum visual quality. The High preset at 4K (138.7 FPS) offers a meaningful performance boost for users with 144 Hz displays, and the 24.7% reduction from High to Ultra (138.7 to 111.3) may justify the visual upgrade for those with 120 Hz panels. The Medium preset at 4K (148.8 FPS) is the sweet spot for high-refresh 4K gaming, as it exceeds the refresh rate of most current 4K monitors while providing substantial visual improvements over Low. The Low preset at 4K (222 FPS) is only recommended for maximum frame rate pursuit, as the visual penalty is severe and the performance gain over Medium is 33% (148.8 to 222), which is unnecessary for standard 4K display refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 35th out of 1744 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations evaluated in this database. This high ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU’s exceptional performance, as the RTX 5090’s 94th percentile standing among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 84306 place it among the fastest graphics cards available. The CPU’s 82nd percentile ranking is respectable but not elite, and the combination’s overall position reflects the GPU’s dominance in this title.

The measured frame rates support this ranking: even at 4K Ultra, the combo delivers 111.3 FPS, which exceeds the performance of most other configurations at lower resolutions. The 35th rank out of 1744 means that only 34 combinations achieve higher average frame rates across the tested scenarios, and these are likely to feature even more powerful CPUs paired with the same or similar GPUs. The data indicates that the i5-13400F does not meaningfully detract from the RTX 5090’s capabilities in Overpower, as the frame rates at 4K are consistently high and the scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable GPU-bound pattern. For users seeking a high-performance gaming system, this combo delivers top-tier results, with the only notable limitation being the CPU’s potential ceiling at 1080p Low settings, where it caps the frame rate at 238.8 FPS rather than allowing the GPU to push higher.