Overpower

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT produces a highly consistent 1080p experience in Overpower, but the data reveals a clear shift in system behavior as resolution increases. The measured frame rates indicate that the RX 6600 XT is the dominant factor at 4K, while the i5-9400 becomes more relevant at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the role of the GPU's specifications, and how this specific combination ranks against other tested systems.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, though with notable plateaus that hint at CPU limitations at the lower end. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 64.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 55.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 14.4%. The jump to 4K Ultra yields 45.4 FPS, which is a further 17.6% decline from the 1440p figure. This steady degradation is typical of a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

However, the scaling pattern changes dramatically when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 126.9 FPS. At 1440p Low, it only drops to 117.1 FPS, a mere 7.7% decrease. Surprisingly, the 4K Low result of 98 FPS represents a 19.6% drop from the 1440p number, which is a steeper decline than the 1080p-to-1440p step. This irregularity suggests that at Low settings, the Intel Core i5-9400's six physical cores and six threads are reaching their limit before the GPU is fully saturated, particularly at 1080p where the frame rate ceiling is constrained by the processor.

The Medium and High settings tell a similar story of GPU dominance. From 1080p High (75.1 FPS) to 1440p High (69.1 FPS), the drop is only 8%. The 4K High result of 55.5 FPS is a 19.7% reduction from 1440p. This non-linear scaling—where the 1440p-to-4K step is consistently larger than the 1080p-to-1440p step across all presets—confirms that the RX 6600 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit memory bus become increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, making the 4K resolution the true test of the GPU's capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, built on the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, is the clear workhorse in this combination for Overpower. Its specifications directly explain the measured performance at each resolution. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1968 MHz and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, which are relatively high frequencies that help maintain solid frame rates even at 4K. The game clock of 2359 MHz represents the expected sustained frequency during gaming workloads, and the data suggests that Overpower is capable of pushing the card close to these figures given the consistent performance across presets.

The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, paired with a 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results show the strain. At 4K Ultra, the average of 45.4 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider playable for action games. The transition from Medium (62.8 FPS) to High (55.5 FPS) at 4K represents a meaningful performance cost for what is likely a modest visual improvement. The GPU's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are being pushed to their limits at this resolution, and the data indicates that users targeting 4K will need to compromise on settings to achieve higher frame rates.

The RX 6600 XT's position in the broader GPU landscape, with a percentile rank of 71 versus all GPUs, places it as a competent mid-range performer. Its average benchmark score of 27985 puts it nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which shows a deltaPct of just 0.1%. This close parity in synthetic benchmarks translates to the measured game performance, where the card delivers strong 1080p and 1440p results but falls short of 4K Ultra playability. The GPU's 32 ray accelerators and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but Overpower's measured data does not isolate ray tracing effects, so their impact remains unquantified in this analysis.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Overpower at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 126.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 64.4 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the highest visual quality?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system averages 45.4 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target, indicating that the RX 6600 XT is the limiting component at this resolution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the RX 6600 XT in this game?

A: The data suggests partial CPU limitation at 1080p with Low settings, where the 126.9 FPS result is likely constrained by the processor's six cores and six threads. At higher settings and resolutions, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the scaling patterns.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS for Medium settings is 71.4, while High settings yield 69.1 FPS. This is a small 3.2% difference, suggesting that the visual quality upgrade is relatively inexpensive in performance terms.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which puts it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-1125G4. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

Q: Does the combo achieve playable frame rates at 4K with any settings preset?

A: Yes, at 4K Low settings, the average is 98 FPS, and at Medium it is 62.8 FPS. High settings yield 55.5 FPS, while Ultra dips to 45.4 FPS. For action games, the Medium preset at 4K is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined system ranks 1259 out of 1744 tested combinations in Overpower, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all hardware pairings. This rank of 1259 means that roughly 72% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates in this specific game. The position reflects the combination of a mid-range CPU from 2018 with a mid-range GPU from 2021, where the CPU's age likely prevents the system from achieving higher ranks despite the GPU's capabilities.

The i5-9400's percentile rank of 50 versus all CPUs places it exactly at the median, meaning half of all tested processors outperform it. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both with a deltaPct of 0.2% higher, and the Intel Xeon E-2134 at 0.4% higher. The only rival it beats in this group is the Intel Core i7-8809G, which is 0.6% slower. This CPU-level performance, combined with the GPU's 71st percentile ranking, explains why the combo sits below the top 50% of tested configurations.

The RX 6600 XT's synthetic benchmark score of 27985 is remarkably close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 27956 with a deltaPct of 0.1%. This near-parity in compute benchmarks does not translate perfectly to game performance, as the measured FPS in Overpower shows the combo struggling at 4K Ultra. The rank of 1259 indicates that many systems with less powerful GPUs but newer CPUs achieve better results in this game, highlighting the importance of processor generation for overall system balance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance. The Low preset averages 126.9 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings reduce this to 80.7 FPS, while High settings yield 75.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 64.4 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The gap between Low and Medium, a difference of 46.2 FPS, is substantial and indicates that the Medium preset introduces significant graphical effects that strain the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low settings average 117.1 FPS, which is only 9.8 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings drop to 71.4 FPS, and High settings show 69.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 55.1 FPS, dipping below the 60 FPS target. The difference between Medium and High at this resolution is just 2.3 FPS, suggesting that the visual improvements from Medium to High are computationally cheap, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 14 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings still manage an average of 98 FPS, which is playable for action games. Medium settings drop to 62.8 FPS, barely maintaining a playable average. High settings produce 55.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at each preset is consistent: Low drops by 19.1 FPS, Medium by 8.6 FPS, High by 13.6 FPS, and Ultra by 9.7 FPS. This pattern confirms that the RX 6600 XT's memory bandwidth and compute resources are the limiting factors at 4K, regardless of the visual quality preset selected.