Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination occupies a specific, measurable position in the Overpower benchmark hierarchy. With a combo rank of 2933 out of 3713 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the lower half of the database, though the individual components show distinct performance characteristics that explain the final FPS results. The data reveals a system where the CPU and GPU interact in predictable ways across resolutions and settings, making it a useful reference point for understanding mid-range hardware from the Coffee Lake and Turing eras.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process node. It operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and can boost up to 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The lack of hyper-threading means the chip presents exactly six logical processors to the game, which is a relevant factor for Overpower's thread scheduling. The CPU's L3 cache is 9 MB shared, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, figures that influence how quickly data can be fed to the GPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. Its Geekbench results show a multi-core score of 5141 and a single-core score of 1389. The average benchmark score across all tests is 2254, which places the CPU at the 47th percentile compared to all CPUs in the database. This percentile is telling: the i5-9400 is squarely in the middle of the pack, and its nearest rivals confirm this positioning. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a delta of -0.2% relative to the i5-9400, meaning the i5-9400 is essentially tied with it. Similarly, the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (-0.4% delta). These sub-one-percent differences indicate that the i5-9400's computational throughput is indistinguishable from its immediate competitors in aggregate.

For Overpower specifically, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 118 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all configurations. This suggests that at this setting, the CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 2060 adequately, and the frame rate is likely limited by the GPU's raw fill rate rather than the processor's six threads. However, the 6-thread configuration may become a limiting factor in scenes with heavy physics or AI workloads, as the CPU's Cinebench R15 multi-core score of 668 is modest by modern standards. The single-core performance, with a Cinebench R15 score of 94, is also unremarkable, which could impact frame pacing in scenarios that rely on a single main thread.

The data shows that the i5-9400's performance envelope is narrow. Its percentile rank of 47 means that over half of all CPUs in the database outperform it, which aligns with the combo's overall rank of 2933 out of 3713. When paired with the RTX 2060, the CPU does not appear to be the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the FPS drops are more consistent with GPU limitations. At 4K Ultra, the system manages 43 FPS, a 64% reduction from the 1080p Low result, which is a pattern typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's influence is more subtle: it establishes a ceiling that the GPU can hit at lower settings, but it does not drive the steep declines seen at higher settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, while FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS.

In benchmark results, the RTX 2060 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 5488. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 65014, and the Vulkan score is 65846. The average benchmark score is 15290, placing the GPU at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15283 (0.0% delta), the AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270 (0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 (0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171 (0.8% delta). This grouping indicates that the RTX 2060's overall compute capability is comparable to these cards, though the architecture differences are significant for game-specific workloads.

For Overpower, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM is a critical resource. At 4K resolution with High settings, the system achieves 52 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 43 FPS. The 6 GB capacity is likely sufficient for the game's textures at these settings, as the FPS does not crater due to memory swapping, but the bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s may be a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the FPS drops consistently, which points to the GPU being the dominant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system hits 118 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 89 FPS, a 25% reduction. This is a smaller relative drop than seen at higher settings, suggesting that the GPU's compute units are more stressed at higher settings, not just the memory subsystem.

The RTX 2060's boost clock of 1680 MHz is modest, and its FP32 throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS is the ceiling for raw shader work. In Overpower, the Medium settings provide the only rows with min and max FPS data: at 1080p Medium, the average is 74 FPS with a min of 63 and max of 85; at 1440p Medium, the average is 66 FPS with a min of 56 and max of 76; and at 4K Medium, the average is 56 FPS with a min of 47 and max of 64. These ranges show that the GPU maintains reasonably consistent frame times, but the variance grows at higher resolutions, which is characteristic of a card operating near its memory bandwidth limits.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, while the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a delta of -0.2%. This means the i5-9400 is statistically tied with the i7-1068NG7, performing within 0.2% of it in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the RTX 2060's percentile rank among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2060 ranks at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, showing a 0.0% delta, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Overpower?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 118, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that exceeds 110 FPS, indicating that the combo can hit high frame rates only at the lowest graphical preset.

Q: How does the combo rank in Overpower compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2933 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the lower third of the database. This rank reflects the combined capabilities of the i5-9400 and RTX 2060, which are both mid-tier components by current standards.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 57, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 43. This represents a 24.6% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial decline that highlights the GPU's limitations at high resolutions.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 have enough VRAM for Overpower at 4K?

A: The 6 GB GDDR6 memory appears sufficient for the game's High and Ultra settings at 4K, as the system achieves 52 FPS at 4K High and 43 FPS at 4K Ultra. The FPS does not exhibit sudden drops that would indicate VRAM exhaustion, though the overall frame rates are low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2933 out of 3713 tested configurations in Overpower places this system firmly in the lower quartile of the database. This rank is a composite measure that accounts for both the CPU and GPU contributions to the game's performance. The i5-9400's 47th percentile ranking among CPUs and the RTX 2060's 58th percentile ranking among GPUs suggest that the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing, which is reflected in the FPS data where the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings.

The rank's significance becomes clearer when examining the measured FPS across the resolution and settings matrix. The system's best performance is at 1080p Low with 118 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most users. However, at 1080p Ultra, the FPS drops to 57, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider smooth. This pattern repeats at higher resolutions: at 1440p High, the system achieves 61 FPS, but at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 51. At 4K, the situation worsens, with only the Low setting (89 FPS) exceeding 60 FPS, while High (52 FPS), Medium (56 FPS), and Ultra (43 FPS) all fall short.

The rank of 2933 suggests that there are 780 combos in the database that perform worse than this system, but also 2932 that perform better. The tight clustering of the CPU's nearest rivals (all within 0.4% delta) and the GPU's nearest rivals (all within 0.8% delta) indicates that the i5-9400 and RTX 2060 are representative of a broad mid-range performance tier. In Overpower, this tier is sufficient for 1080p gaming at Medium settings, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K. The data shows that the combo's rank is not an outlier; it is consistent with the component-level benchmarks, which predict a system that can handle esports titles at high FPS but will require setting compromises for demanding AAA games.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 118 FPS on Low, 74 FPS on Medium, 68 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting provides the only min/max data at this resolution, with a min of 63 FPS and a max of 85 FPS, indicating a variance of 22 FPS. This suggests that even at the same setting, the frame rate fluctuates noticeably, which could be due to scene complexity or CPU thread scheduling.

At 2560x1440, the FPS drops across the board: Low averages 105 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS with a min of 56 and max of 76, High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of 13 FPS at Low settings, 8 FPS at Medium, 7 FPS at High, and 6 FPS at Ultra. The smaller absolute drops at higher settings indicate that the GPU is already stressed at 1080p Ultra, so the additional pixel count has less relative impact.

At 3840x2160, the results show a more pronounced decline: Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 56 FPS with a min of 47 and max of 64, High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The 4K Medium variance is 17 FPS, which is narrower than the 1080p Medium variance of 22 FPS, suggesting that at higher resolutions, the GPU's workload is more consistent, but the overall FPS is lower. The data reveals that the combo's sweet spot is 1080p, where it can deliver above 60 FPS on Medium and High settings, but drops below 60 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, and at 4K, only Low exceeds 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Medium setting provides the best balance, with an average of 74 FPS and a minimum of 63 FPS. This ensures that the frame rate rarely drops below 60 FPS, which is a common threshold for smooth gameplay. The High setting at 1080p averages 68 FPS, which is also playable, but the lack of min/max data makes it harder to assess frame pacing. The Ultra setting at 57 FPS is borderline, and the Low setting at 118 FPS is unnecessary for most users given the visual quality sacrifice.

At 2560x1440, the Medium setting again appears to be the best choice, with an average of 66 FPS and a min of 56 FPS. While the min FPS is below 60, the average is above it, and the visual upgrade from 1080p is significant. The High setting at 61 FPS is also viable, but the lower average suggests that the GPU is working harder. The Low setting at 105 FPS is an option for competitive play, but it defeats the purpose of using a higher resolution. At 3840x2160, the Low setting is the only one that provides an average above 60 FPS at 89 FPS, but this comes with the lowest visual quality. For users who prioritize frame rate at 4K, Low is the only viable option; for those who prioritize visuals, the Medium setting at 56 FPS may be acceptable, but the High and Ultra settings at 52 and 43 FPS respectively are likely too sluggish for most players.

The data suggests that Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions, as it is the only setting with min/max FPS data that shows the frame rate stays within a reasonable range. At 1080p Medium, the min is 63 FPS, at 1440p Medium, the min is 56 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the min is 47 FPS. This pattern indicates that Medium is the setting where the combo's hardware is neither overworked nor underutilized, making it the recommended preset for general use.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal important information about which component is limiting performance in Overpower. At Low settings, the FPS goes from 118 at 1080p to 105 at 1440p to 89 at 4K. This represents a 24.6% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is relatively modest compared to the drop at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the FPS goes from 57 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p to 43 at 4K, a 24.6% drop as well, but from a much lower starting point. The consistency of the percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources scale predictably with resolution.

The absolute FPS differences tell a more nuanced story. From 1080p to 1440p, the FPS drops by 13 at Low, 8 at Medium, 7 at High, and 6 at Ultra. From 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops by 16 at Low, 10 at Medium, 9 at High, and 8 at Ultra. The larger absolute drops at Low settings indicate that at Low, the GPU is less constrained by shading work and more by memory bandwidth, which is taxed more heavily as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the GPU is already near its compute limit at 1080p, so the additional pixel count has a smaller marginal effect.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. The CPU's performance, as measured by its Cinebench and Geekbench scores, is sufficient to drive the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 118 FPS at 1080p Low. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the data shows a consistent decline. The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS even at Low settings. The data indicates that users with this combo should target 1080p or 1440p for the best experience, with 4K reserved for titles where visual quality is more important than frame rate.