Overpower

# Overpower: Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 7600

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 produces a distinctive performance profile in Overpower, one that shifts its bottleneck character depending on the resolution and quality preset selected. The CPU, a 6-core/6-thread Coffee Lake part with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock, sits at the 50th percentile among all tested CPUs, while the GPU, built on RDNA 3.0 with 2048 shading units and a 2655 MHz boost, reaches the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. The measured frame rates across twelve resolution/settings combinations reveal a system that delivers playable results at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher quality settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a system that becomes progressively GPU-limited as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 133.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 114.3 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 98.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 26.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low, which is modest compared to the scaling seen at higher presets. The relatively gentle decline at Low settings suggests that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully to performance, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased pixel load without becoming the sole limiting factor.

At High settings, the scaling becomes steeper: 78.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 67.2 FPS at 1440p, and further to 56.4 FPS at 4K. The 28.1% decline from 1080p to 4K at High is slightly larger than at Low, indicating the GPU is taking on more of the workload. Medium settings show a similar pattern, with 80.9 FPS at 1080p falling to 72.7 FPS at 1440p and 63.9 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset produces the most dramatic scaling: 65 FPS at 1080p, 53.6 FPS at 1440p, and 48.8 FPS at 4K. The 24.9% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is actually smaller in percentage terms than at High, but the absolute frame rates are lower, making the 4K result marginally playable at best.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the combination is reasonably balanced, with the CPU capable of feeding the GPU across all settings. As resolution increases to 1440p and beyond, the GPU's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become more significant factors. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the 48.8 FPS average suggests the GPU is the primary constraint. The scaling pattern—where Low settings show the smallest percentage drop and Ultra shows the smallest absolute drop—indicates that the CPU can maintain adequate frame delivery even at 4K, but the GPU's compute and memory resources are stretched thin.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1744 tested CPU/GPU combinations in Overpower, this pairing ranks 1181st. That places it in the lower third of all combos, which is a notable finding given the individual component percentiles. The CPU's 50th percentile ranking and the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking might suggest a mid-pack performance, but the combination rank of 1181 out of 1744 indicates that other factors, such as memory bandwidth, PCIe configuration, or driver overhead, are affecting real-world results.

The rank position suggests that while each component is individually capable, the pairing does not extract the full potential from either part. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2300 in the average benchmark against this CPU's 2305, a delta of 0.2%. The Intel Core i3-1125G4 matches at 2299 (0.2% delta), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 scores 2295 (0.4% delta). The Intel Core i7-8809G is slightly ahead at 2319, representing a -0.6% delta from this CPU's perspective. These tight margins indicate that the i5-9400 is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no unexpected deficits or gains.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 20146 against this card's 20258, a 0.6% delta in favor of the RX 7600. The AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 20088, a 0.8% delta, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is ahead at 20534 (-1.3% delta) and the Intel Arc B570 leads at 20556 (-1.5% delta). These small deltas suggest the RX 7600 is performing near the top of its immediate peer group, but the combo rank indicates that the CPU is holding back the overall result.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600's specifications directly influence its Overpower performance. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock of 1720 MHz, game clock of 2250 MHz, and boost clock of 2655 MHz provide the computational throughput, with the card rated at 21.75 TFLOPS FP32. The 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs handle pixel and texture processing, while the 32 RT cores are available for ray-traced effects, though Overpower's performance data does not isolate RT workloads.

The measured FPS values show that the GPU's memory subsystem becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 48.8 FPS average indicates the card is struggling to maintain frame pacing, likely due to the combination of pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints. The 169.9 GPixel/s pixel rate and 339.8 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the pixel throughput demands approach the card's limits. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested settings, as the data does not indicate texture thrashing or memory-related stutters, but it leaves little headroom for higher-resolution texture packs or additional graphical features.

The GPU's 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 20258, places it firmly in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rival, the RX 7600 XT, scores only 0.6% lower in average benchmarks, yet the RX 7600's slightly higher score suggests that the base card is well-tuned for its specifications. The boost clock of 2655 MHz is relatively high for the RDNA 3.0 architecture, and the card maintains its performance across the tested resolutions without thermal throttling indications in the data.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Overpower at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 65 FPS, which provides a smooth experience for most players. At 1080p High, the average rises to 78.4 FPS.

Q: How does the performance change when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 133.8 FPS to 114.3 FPS, a reduction of 14.6%. At Ultra, the drop is from 65 FPS to 53.6 FPS, a 17.5% reduction. The scaling is consistent across settings, indicating a balanced workload shift.

Q: What is the weakest component in this pairing for Overpower?

A: The combo rank of 1181 out of 1744, combined with the CPU's 50th percentile and GPU's 63rd percentile, suggests the CPU is the limiting factor. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as evidenced by the 48.8 FPS average at Ultra settings.

Q: Can this system achieve 4K gaming in Overpower?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS is 98.7, which is playable. At Medium, it drops to 63.9 FPS, and at High to 56.4 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K produce 48.8 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 scores 20258 in average benchmarks. The RX 7600 XT scores 20146, the RX 460 scores 20088, the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, and the Intel Arc B570 scores 20556. The RX 7600 is within 1.5% of all these rivals.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark standing relative to its immediate competitors?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 scores 2305 in average benchmarks. It is 0.2% ahead of the Core i3-10305 (2300), 0.2% ahead of the Core i3-1125G4 (2299), 0.4% ahead of the Xeon E-2134 (2295), and 0.6% behind the Core i7-8809G (2319).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combination produces its highest frame rates. Low settings yield an average of 133.8 FPS, Medium produces 80.9 FPS, High reaches 78.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 65 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial at 52.9 FPS, suggesting that Medium settings introduce significant graphical workload increases. The smaller difference between Medium and High (2.5 FPS) indicates diminishing returns, while the drop from High to Ultra (13.4 FPS) shows the cost of the highest quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 114.3 FPS, which remains highly playable. Medium produces 72.7 FPS, a 10.1% reduction from the 1080p result. High averages 67.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53.6 FPS. The 1440p results show that the system can handle competitive play at Low or Medium settings, while High and Ultra remain viable for less demanding scenarios.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results demonstrate the system's limits. Low settings average 98.7 FPS, which is surprisingly strong and indicates the GPU retains significant headroom when graphical effects are minimized. Medium drops to 63.9 FPS, High to 56.4 FPS, and Ultra to 48.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, while 4K High and Medium are marginal. The 4K Low result, however, remains comfortable for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

The full dataset reveals a consistent pattern: the combination performs best at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, where it exceeds 80 FPS, and remains competitive at 1440p with Low settings. At 4K, only the Low preset delivers frame rates above 90 FPS, while all other presets fall below 65 FPS. The measured data is based on actual testing, with no minimum or maximum FPS values recorded, so the average figures represent the overall experience across varied in-game scenes.