Overpower

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti produces a highly capable 4K gaming experience in Overpower, but the data reveals that the processor is the primary constraint on maximum frame rates. While the GPU is powerful enough to push high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU's six cores and six threads limit how far the frame rate can scale, particularly at lower resolutions where the graphics card is not the bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the performance difference between settings narrows, and the absolute frame rate drops become less severe. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 118.7 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 87.6 FPS—a drop of 31.1 FPS. This is a relatively modest decline of about 26% from 1080p to 4K, which indicates that the GPU is still managing the load well at higher resolutions.

Looking at High settings, the scaling is even more revealing. At 1080p High, the system hits 132.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 122.7 FPS, and at 4K High it settles at 107 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is just 10 FPS, and between 1440p and 4K it is 15.7 FPS. These are small absolute gaps, suggesting that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased pixel count without a dramatic performance penalty.

However, the Low settings tell a different story. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 157.7 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. At 1440p Low, it drops to 153.2 FPS—only a 4.5 FPS reduction. But at 4K Low, it falls to 148.5 FPS. The fact that 1080p Low and 4K Low are only 9.2 FPS apart demonstrates that the CPU is the limiting factor at low settings, as the GPU is not being stressed enough to show a significant resolution-based penalty. If the GPU were the bottleneck, the 4K Low score would be much lower relative to 1080p Low.

This pattern confirms that Overpower is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions and lower settings. The RTX 4070 Ti is capable of much higher frame rates than the i5-9400 can feed it, especially when the graphical load is light. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes more engaged, and the frame rate drops to a level where the CPU constraint is less pronounced. The data suggests that users with this combo will see the most consistent performance scaling at 1440p, where the balance between CPU and GPU load is more even.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to High settings at 1440p as the sweet spot. The 1440p High result of 122.7 FPS is only 10 FPS lower than the 1080p High score, but it offers a significantly sharper image. At 4K High, the 107 FPS result is still very playable, but the 1440p High setting provides a better balance of visual fidelity and frame rate headroom, especially for users with high-refresh-rate monitors.

Ultra settings are viable but come with a notable cost. At 1440p Ultra, the system produces 104.6 FPS, which is a drop of 18.1 FPS from High. At 4K Ultra, the 87.6 FPS result is the lowest in the dataset, and while it is above 60 FPS, it may not be ideal for competitive play. The data shows that Ultra settings provide diminishing returns over High, with a roughly 15% performance penalty at 1440p and a 18% penalty at 4K.

Low settings are not recommended for this combo, as the 1080p Low score of 157.7 FPS represents a massive 25 FPS gain over High, but the visual quality loss is severe. The CPU bottleneck at 1080p Low means that the GPU is underutilized, and users would be sacrificing image quality for frame rates that are already attainable at High settings. The 4K Low result of 148.5 FPS is intriguing, as it shows that even at 4K, the CPU limits the GPU from reaching its full potential.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Overpower?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 157.7 at 1080p with Low settings. The next highest is 153.2 at 1440p Low, indicating that the CPU is the limiting factor in these scenarios.

*Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti powerful enough for 4K gaming in Overpower?*

A: Yes. At 4K High, the combo delivers 107 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it produces 87.6 FPS. Both are above 60 FPS, making 4K gaming viable, though Ultra settings will push the system closer to its limits.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The drop is 25.7 FPS, from 132.7 FPS at 1080p High to 107 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 19.4% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Yes. The 1080p Low score of 157.7 FPS is only 9.2 FPS higher than the 4K Low score of 148.5 FPS. This small gap indicates that the Intel Core i5-9400 is preventing the RTX 4070 Ti from scaling its performance with lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: High settings at 1440p, producing 122.7 FPS, offers the best combination of visual quality and performance. Ultra settings at 1440p drop to 104.6 FPS, which is a significant penalty for marginal visual gains.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 403 out of 1744 tested combinations, placing it in the top 23% of all systems tested in Overpower.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high. Low settings yield 157.7 FPS, Medium produces 133.7 FPS, High delivers 132.7 FPS, and Ultra achieves 118.7 FPS. Interestingly, the difference between Medium and High is just 1 FPS, suggesting that High settings offer better visual quality at nearly no performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low settings produce 153.2 FPS, Medium delivers 131 FPS, High reaches 122.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104.6 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is 18.1 FPS, which is the largest single-setting penalty in the dataset, indicating that Ultra settings place a heavy load on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still respectable. Low settings achieve 148.5 FPS, Medium produces 114.5 FPS, High reaches 107 FPS, and Ultra drops to 87.6 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings is a drop of 19.2 FPS, while at Ultra it is 31.1 FPS. This shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at 4K Ultra, as the CPU bottleneck is less pronounced at higher graphical loads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this combo, and its specifications explain its strong performance in Overpower. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 7680 shading units and 80 ROPs at 4K resolutions, as evidenced by the 107 FPS result at 4K High.

The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and base clock of 2310 MHz are high for a modern graphics card, and its 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is substantial. These specs allow the GPU to handle the action-heavy scenes in Overpower without showing signs of strain. The GPU's percentile ranking of 85 places it above the vast majority of tested graphics cards, and its average benchmark score of 44900 is competitive with top-tier offerings.

In the measured data, the GPU's role becomes apparent at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 87.6 FPS result is a direct reflection of the GPU's ability to handle the combined load of high resolution and high settings. The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rates remain high. The RTX 4070 Ti is clearly capable of delivering a smooth experience in Overpower, and its performance is only constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is the bottleneck in this pairing, and its specifications reveal why. The CPU has 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It lacks hyper-threading, which means it can only process 6 threads simultaneously. This is a significant limitation for modern games that can utilize more threads, though Overpower appears to be less dependent on multi-threading than some other titles.

The CPU's benchmark scores paint a clear picture of its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 7969 in multi-core and 1125 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 2305, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, has an average score of 2300, a delta of 0.2%, showing that the i5-9400 is essentially on par with that chip.

The impact of the CPU's 6-thread limit is visible in the Low settings data. At 1080p Low, the system produces 157.7 FPS, but this is barely higher than the 4K Low result of 148.5 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is maxed out at around 150-160 FPS in Overpower, regardless of resolution. The 9.2 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is small, confirming that the CPU is the limiting factor in these scenarios. Users with this CPU will not see frame rates significantly above 160 FPS, even with a more powerful GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 403 out of 1744 tested combinations in Overpower, placing it in the top 23% of all systems. This is a strong result, though it is not in the top tier. The ranking reflects the fact that the RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end GPU, but the i5-9400 is a mid-range CPU from 2018. The combination of a 50th percentile CPU with an 85th percentile GPU results in a system that is capable but not elite.

In the context of the benchmark database, this combo's ranking suggests that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting. The 403rd rank out of 1744 means that roughly 77% of tested combos are slower, but it also indicates that there are 402 configurations that outperform this one. Many of those likely feature newer, higher-core-count CPUs that can better feed the RTX 4070 Ti at lower resolutions.

The data shows that the i5-9400 is a significant weak point. If the CPU were upgraded to a newer model with more threads, the combo's ranking would likely improve substantially, especially in the 1080p and 1440p Low settings scenarios where the CPU bottleneck is most apparent. For users with this combo, the 1440p High setting is the recommended configuration, as it provides a good balance between the GPU's capabilities and the CPU's limitations.