Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Overpower, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU’s 12 GB of VRAM and high clock speeds keep it competitive, yet the CPU’s six-thread limit becomes the primary constraint at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 140 FPS. This pairing ranks in the 54th percentile of tested combos, placing it mid-pack among the 1,744 configurations evaluated, with benchmark scores that align closely with rival hardware.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Overpower?*

A: The combination ranks 946th out of 1,744 tested combos, which places it in the middle of the pack. This position reflects a balanced but not elite performance profile, with the GPU’s strong benchmark percentile offset by the CPU’s modest multi-core capabilities.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo based on measured FPS?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 155.1 FPS, which is the highest recorded average across all resolutions and settings. At 2560x1440 Low, it still delivers 140.5 FPS, making 1440p viable for high-refresh gaming, while 4K Ultra drops to 54.9 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2,305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-1125G4. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%, indicating near-identical synthetic performance among these four processors.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration?

A: The RX 6700 XT features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for high-resolution textures, though the measured FPS drops suggest the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the combo’s performance scale linearly with resolution?

A: No, the data shows non-linear scaling. From 1080p to 1440p, High settings FPS drops from 93.1 to 78.7, a 15.5% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, High settings drops from 78.7 to 68.6, an 12.8% reduction, indicating that the CPU becomes more of a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the GPU’s score compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6800?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33,721, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 6800’s 33,493. Despite this slight advantage, the RX 6700 XT’s percentile rank of 77 versus all GPUs shows it sits comfortably above the median but below top-tier cards.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 946 out of 1,744 tested configurations in Overpower places it in the 54th percentile, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of tested systems. This mid-tier standing is consistent with the hardware’s individual benchmarks: the CPU sits at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU performs better at the 77th percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy suggests the combo’s overall ranking is dragged down by the processor, which is an older six-core, six-thread design.

Compared to nearest rivals, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 2,305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,300, delta 0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2,299, delta 0.2%). It is only 0.6% slower than the Intel Core i7-8809G (2,319), which means synthetic multi-core tests will not differentiate these processors meaningfully. The GPU, however, shows a more distinct edge: its average score of 33,721 is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (33,493) and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (33,294). Yet it trails the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and RX 480 by 1% each, which is odd given the generational gap, but the benchmark data is what it is.

In Overpower, this ranking translates to playable frame rates at all tested settings except for 4K Ultra. The combo’s position suggests it is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but users seeking 4K performance will need to lower settings or accept sub-60 FPS at Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the combo is heavily CPU-limited at 1080p and increasingly GPU-limited as resolution rises. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo hits 155.1 FPS, which is 9.4% higher than at 2560x1440 Low (140.5 FPS). This modest drop indicates the CPU is nearing its limit, as the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution.

Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the FPS falls from 140.5 to 118.8, a 15.4% reduction. This larger drop suggests the GPU is starting to become the bottleneck, though the CPU still contributes. At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 1080p yields 93.1 FPS, 1440p drops to 78.7 FPS (a 15.5% decrease), and 4K falls to 68.6 FPS (a 12.8% decrease from 1440p). The diminishing percentage drops at higher resolutions indicate that the GPU is increasingly the limiting factor.

At Ultra settings, the trend continues: 1080p produces 73.2 FPS, 1440p drops to 68.4 FPS (a 6.6% decrease), and 4K falls to 54.9 FPS (a 19.7% decrease from 1440p). The sharp 4K drop at Ultra highlights the GPU’s struggle with maximum settings, as the 12 GB VRAM and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin. The data suggests that the i5-9400’s six threads cap performance at lower resolutions, while the RX 6700 XT’s raw compute limits 4K performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 155.1 FPS on Low settings, which is the highest recorded average. Medium settings yield 94.9 FPS, a 38.8% reduction from Low, while High settings produce 93.1 FPS, nearly identical to Medium. Ultra settings drop to 73.2 FPS, which is 52.8% lower than Low. These numbers indicate that the CPU is the primary constraint at 1080p, as the FPS difference between Medium and High is minimal (1.8 FPS).

At 2560x1440, Low settings achieve 140.5 FPS, still well above 60 FPS. Medium settings deliver 87.9 FPS, a 37.4% drop from Low. High settings produce 78.7 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 68.4 FPS. The gap between Medium and High (9.2 FPS) is larger than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to assert its influence. Ultra at 1440p remains playable, with an average above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low settings hit 118.8 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K. Medium settings drop to 76.2 FPS, a 35.8% reduction. High settings produce 68.6 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 54.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that 4K is viable at Low and Medium settings, but High and Ultra will require compromise. The progression from Medium to High at 4K (76.2 to 68.6 FPS) is a 10% drop, while High to Ultra (68.6 to 54.9 FPS) is a 20% drop, underscoring the GPU’s VRAM and bandwidth limits.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT plays a dominant role in this combo, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but strained at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s base clock of 2321 MHz and boost clock of 2581 MHz are high for its class, with a game clock of 2424 MHz ensuring sustained performance under load. These clocks contribute to a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s, which are reflected in the measured FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it at the 77th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 33,721. This is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6800 and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A5000, though it trails the RX 480 and HD 7950 by 1% each in the synthetic tests. The 7 nm process node from TSMC, with 17,200 million transistors on a 335 mm² die, gives it a transistor density of 51.3M / mm², which translates to 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Overpower, the GPU’s role becomes evident in the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the FPS difference between Low and Ultra is 81.9 FPS (155.1 to 73.2), indicating that the GPU is not fully utilized at Low settings. At 4K, the same settings difference is 63.9 FPS (118.8 to 54.9), showing that the GPU is working harder but still provides playable frame rates at Low. The 12 GB VRAM is adequate for the game’s textures, but the 384.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the FPS drops below 60. The GPU’s 40 ray-tracing cores, while not directly tested in this data, suggest future-proofing for games that leverage DirectX 12 Ultimate features, but Overpower’s current settings do not appear to benefit from them.