Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks in the 31st percentile for Overpower, placing 1204th out of 1744 tested combos. This is a mid-pack result that underscores a significant bottleneck: the GPU is capable of far higher frame rates than the CPU can consistently feed it, particularly at lower resolutions. The data indicates this pairing delivers playable performance across most settings, but its standing relative to other combos suggests it is held back by the processor's limited six-thread architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1204 out of 1744, this system sits below the median for Overpower performance. The position reflects a fundamental imbalance: the RTX 3060 Ti is a strong performer on its own, ranking in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core i5-9400 rests at the 50th percentile among CPUs. The gap between these two percentiles is the clearest indicator of the pairing's weakness—the GPU is working harder than the CPU can support.

Benchmark results confirm this dynamic. The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it within 0.6% of the Intel Core i7-8809G and within 0.4% of the Intel Xeon E-2134, showing it is a competent but unremarkable processor. Meanwhile, the GPU's average score of 25120 puts it just 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600, indicating it punches at or slightly above its weight class. The combination of a 50th-percentile CPU with a 69th-percentile GPU typically results in the CPU capping performance, and the measured FPS data supports this conclusion.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1410 MHz boosts to 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s, giving the card ample raw throughput for Overpower's action sequences.

The GPU's performance percentile of 69 means it outperforms most other graphics cards in the database, and its nearest rivals—the RX 6700M, RX 6600, and RX 580 2048SP—all sit within 0.7% of its average score. In Overpower, the GPU's role is most evident at higher resolutions where the CPU bottleneck relaxes. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages 46.2 FPS, which is a 27% drop from 4K High's 59.9 FPS, showing the GPU is the primary driver of performance when settings are maxed out. However, at 1080p Low, the system reaches 131.4 FPS, a figure that the CPU's six threads struggle to maintain consistently, suggesting the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower settings.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank in Overpower?

A: It ranks 1204th out of 1744 tested combinations, placing it in the 31st percentile overall.

Q: Is the RTX 3060 Ti a strong GPU for this game?

A: Yes, the GPU ranks in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120, putting it just 0.2% behind the RX 6700M.

Q: What is the CPU's performance level relative to other processors?

A: The Core i5-9400 ranks in the 50th percentile, with an average score of 2305, which is 0.2% ahead of the Core i3-10305 and 0.4% ahead of the Xeon E-2134.

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

A: The highest measured average is 131.4 FPS at 1080p Low settings, followed by 114.9 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at Low settings, where it hits 99.6 FPS. At High and Medium, it falls to 59.9 FPS and 61.2 FPS respectively, while Ultra drops to 46.2 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest performance point in the measured data?

A: The lowest average is 46.2 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, which is a 65% drop from the 1080p Low result.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 131.4 FPS on Low, 83.7 FPS on Medium, 76.0 FPS on High, and 63.3 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial (a 36% reduction), while the step from Medium to High is smaller (a 9% reduction), and High to Ultra costs another 17%. These numbers show the GPU can exceed 60 FPS at every preset, with headroom for high-refresh displays only at Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops to 114.9 FPS on Low, 73.9 FPS on Medium, 65.3 FPS on High, and 53.1 FPS on Ultra. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 13% at Low, 12% at Medium, 14% at High, and 16% at Ultra. This consistent 12-16% penalty indicates the GPU is handling the extra pixel load, but the CPU's influence becomes more apparent as the frame rate climbs.

At 3840x2160, the story changes. Low settings produce 99.6 FPS, Medium yields 61.2 FPS, High manages 59.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is a massive 39%, far larger than the 36% drop at 1080p. This suggests that at 4K, the CPU bottleneck is less severe, and the GPU's raw power—its 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth—becomes the deciding factor.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the data points to Medium settings as the sweet spot. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 83.7 FPS, which is 32% higher than High's 76.0 FPS and only 10% lower than Low's 131.4 FPS. This preset balances visual quality with performance, keeping frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold without the steep cost of Ultra.

At 1440p, Medium is again the best choice, delivering 73.9 FPS. This is 13% faster than High's 65.3 FPS and only 36% slower than Low's 114.9 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is particularly notable because it maintains playability while offering a higher resolution than 1080p. For 4K users, the recommendation shifts to Low, which produces 99.6 FPS—far exceeding the 61.2 FPS of Medium and the 46.2 FPS of Ultra. High at 4K is nearly identical to Medium (59.9 FPS vs 61.2 FPS), so the extra visual fidelity of High is not worth the negligible frame rate loss.

CPU Role

The Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are modest by modern standards, and its benchmark results reflect that: a single-core score of 1125 in Cinebench R23 and a multi-core score of 7969. The CPU's 50th-percentile ranking places it in the middle of the pack, with nearest rivals like the Core i3-10305 (0.2% ahead) and Core i7-8809G (0.6% behind) showing how tight the competition is.

In Overpower, the CPU's limitations surface most clearly at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 131.4 FPS, but this is only 14% higher than the 1440p Low result of 114.9 FPS. The smaller-than-expected gain from reducing resolution suggests the CPU is capping frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the system hits 63.3 FPS, which is only 19% higher than 4K Ultra's 46.2 FPS—again indicating a CPU ceiling. The six threads are sufficient for maintaining 60+ FPS at most settings, but the lack of hyper-threading means the processor cannot fully exploit the GPU's potential at high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the combo delivers 131.4 FPS at 1080p, 114.9 FPS at 1440p, and 99.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 13% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 13% drop from 1440p to 4K. The relatively flat scaling—only a 24% total reduction from 1080p to 4K—is the hallmark of a CPU-limited scenario. If the GPU were the bottleneck, the 4K result would be dramatically lower.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 63.3 FPS at 1080p, 53.1 FPS at 1440p, and 46.2 FPS at 4K, for a 27% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 13% drop from 1440p to 4K. The larger initial drop at Ultra indicates the GPU is becoming more involved, but the total reduction of 27% is still far less than the 65% difference between Low and Ultra at 4K. This pattern confirms that the CPU is the primary limiter at Low and Medium settings, while the GPU takes over at Ultra. The 4K Low result of 99.6 FPS compared to 1080p Ultra's 63.3 FPS is the clearest evidence: the GPU can handle 4K, but the CPU's six threads hold back performance at lower resolutions where frame rates would otherwise be higher.