Overpower

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 presents a stark contrast in generational capability. The data for Overpower shows a system where the GPU is overwhelmingly dominant, yet the CPU's six-core, six-thread configuration from the Coffee Lake era dictates the upper boundaries of performance. This analysis examines the measured frames per second across resolutions and settings to isolate the bottleneck and assess the combo's standing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling that is interrupted by CPU limitations at lower resolutions. At 4K (3840x2160), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 99 FPS, which climbs to 119 FPS on High and 122 FPS on Medium. The Low preset at 4K yields 146 FPS. This progression demonstrates that the RTX 4080 has significant headroom, as reducing graphical load from Ultra to Low produces a 47 FPS increase.

Moving to 1440p (2560x1440), the scaling becomes more compressed. The Ultra preset averages 116 FPS, High reaches 125 FPS, and Medium hits 129 FPS. The Low preset jumps to 154 FPS. The difference between 4K Ultra and 1440p Ultra is only 17 FPS, which is modest given the 2.25x pixel count reduction. This suggests that the processor is beginning to constrain performance as resolution drops, preventing the GPU from fully expressing its raw power.

At 1080p (1920x1080), the pattern becomes even more pronounced. Ultra averages 122 FPS, High reaches 130 FPS, and Medium hits 134 FPS. The Low preset tops out at 160 FPS. Critically, the delta between 1440p Low and 1080p Low is only 6 FPS (154 to 160). This near-flat scaling at the Low preset across 1440p and 1080p is a strong indicator that the Intel Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is the limiting factor. The GPU is capable of rendering far more frames, but the CPU cannot feed it data fast enough to exceed the 160 FPS ceiling observed at 1080p Low.

The data shows that the gap between 4K and 1080p at Ultra settings is just 23 FPS (99 to 122). A fully GPU-bound system would typically show a much larger spread. This compression of FPS at higher settings and lower resolutions confirms that the CPU bottleneck becomes the dominant constraint below 4K. The RTX 4080's performance is only fully utilized at 4K, where the pixel throughput demands keep the CPU from becoming the primary limiter.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is an Ada Lovelace architecture part built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus. This configuration provides a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2505 MHz, with a base clock of 2205 MHz. These specifications underpin the card's ability to handle Overpower's graphical demands, particularly at higher resolutions where memory capacity and bandwidth become critical.

The measured results show the RTX 4080 delivering 4K Ultra at 99 FPS average, which is a solidly playable frame rate for a demanding action title. The card's 16 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the Ultra preset at 4K, as evidenced by the lack of catastrophic frame drops; the only min FPS recorded is 103 FPS at 4K Medium, suggesting stable memory allocation. The GPU's raw compute capabilities, including 9728 shading units and 76 RT cores, are clearly more than adequate for this game, as the bottleneck analysis points to the CPU as the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

The RTX 4080's performance percentile of 86 versus all GPUs places it in the upper echelon, and its average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209), showing a 0.1% delta. This indicates that in synthetic benchmarks, this specific 4080 sample is performing as expected. In Overpower, the GPU is never the primary constraint; even at 4K Ultra, the FPS is likely limited by the CPU's ability to submit draw calls, not by the GPU's rendering throughput. The GPU's role is to provide the headroom that the CPU cannot fully exploit, resulting in a system that is perpetually CPU-bound except at the most extreme pixel counts.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the RTX 4080 in Overpower?

A: The benchmark data indicates yes, particularly at 1080p and 1440p. The FPS scaling from 1440p Low to 1080p Low is only 6 FPS (154 to 160), which suggests the CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are the limiting factor, preventing the GPU from pushing higher frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo in Overpower?

A: The data shows that 4K (3840x2160) is where the combo performs most balanced. The Ultra preset averages 99 FPS, and the scaling from High to Low shows a larger spread (119 to 146 FPS), indicating the GPU is doing more of the work. At lower resolutions, the CPU bottleneck becomes more pronounced.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54209 score. It also outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1% and is 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB.

Q: Is the CPU's 6-core/6-thread configuration adequate for modern gaming?

A: The processor's percentile rank of 47 versus all CPUs places it in the middle of the pack. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 is modest. In Overpower, the data suggests that this configuration is sufficient for 60+ FPS at all tested settings, but it caps performance around 160 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating a hard limit.

Q: What is the most demanding setting tested for this combo?

A: The 4K Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of 99 FPS. This is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations, but it remains above 60 FPS, indicating the combo can handle the maximum settings at 4K.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM cause any issues in Overpower?

A: No issues are apparent in the data. The minimum FPS recorded is 103 FPS at 4K Medium, and no outlier drops suggest VRAM capacity or bandwidth is a problem. The 716.8 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for this game's needs.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is ranked 793 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower. This places the system in the top 21.4% of all configurations tested. The ranking reflects a system that is capable of high frame rates but is hamstrung by its processor.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks help contextualize its performance. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower). This cluster of scores shows that the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range parts from its era, but none of these CPUs are in the same league as modern high-core-count processors.

The GPU's ranking is much stronger. The RTX 4080 sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is virtually identical in average score. This disparity in component quality explains the combo's mid-tier ranking: a top-tier GPU paired with a mid-tier CPU results in a system that underperforms what the GPU alone could achieve. The combo rank of 793 suggests that many other pairings, likely with stronger CPUs, achieve better frame rates in Overpower despite having weaker GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, boosting to 4.10 GHz. The processor has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. These specifications are from a processor released in late 2018, and they show their age in Overpower's results.

The CPU's benchmark scores are telling. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 6629, and its single-core score is 935. In Geekbench, it scores 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These scores place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a below-average processor by modern standards. However, the single-core performance is more critical for gaming, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain reasonable frame rates.

In Overpower, the CPU's role is to feed the RTX 4080. The data shows that the CPU becomes the bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, particularly at lower settings. The FPS ceiling of 160 at 1080p Low is likely dictated by the CPU's single-thread performance and its 6-thread limitation. The lack of hyper-threading means the processor has fewer threads to handle game logic and draw calls, which becomes a constraint as the GPU's frame rendering time decreases. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s might also limit data transfer rates, though this is harder to isolate from the FPS data alone. The measured results indicate that while the CPU is sufficient for 4K Ultra at 99 FPS, it prevents the system from achieving the high refresh rates that the RTX 4080 could otherwise support at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset averages 99 FPS. The High preset improves to 119 FPS, a 20 FPS gain. Medium averages 122 FPS, with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 140 FPS. The Low preset reaches 146 FPS. This shows a 47 FPS difference between Ultra and Low at 4K.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), Ultra averages 116 FPS. High averages 125 FPS. Medium averages 129 FPS, with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS. The Low preset averages 154 FPS. The spread from Ultra to Low is 38 FPS, narrower than at 4K.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), Ultra averages 122 FPS. High averages 130 FPS. Medium averages 134 FPS, with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS. The Low preset averages 160 FPS. The Ultra-to-Low spread is 38 FPS, identical to 1440p.

The key observation is the scaling behavior. From 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra, the gain is 17 FPS (99 to 116). From 1440p Ultra to 1080p Ultra, the gain is only 6 FPS (116 to 122). This diminishing return confirms the CPU bottleneck. Across all settings, the 1080p Low result of 160 FPS is the highest recorded, and the 4K Ultra result of 99 FPS is the lowest. The Medium settings consistently show the only recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating the most variance in frame pacing.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing a smooth experience with this specific CPU-GPU combination, the data suggests that the Ultra preset is the optimal choice at 4K. The average of 99 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the system is likely GPU-bound at this setting, meaning the RTX 4080 is being utilized effectively. The High preset at 4K offers a 20 FPS improvement, but the jump to Medium only yields 3 FPS more, suggesting diminishing returns from lowering settings at this resolution.

At 1440p, the High preset provides 125 FPS average, which is a good balance. The Ultra preset at 116 FPS is also viable, but the High preset offers a 9 FPS advantage with likely minimal visual difference. The Low preset at 154 FPS is the highest at 1440p, but this is likely CPU-bound, as evidenced by the small gain from Low at 1080p (160 FPS). There is little reason to use Low settings at 1440p, as the 4K Ultra experience is more immersive and performs at 99 FPS.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 122 FPS is the recommended choice. The High preset offers 130 FPS, and Medium offers 134 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is not worth the marginal FPS gains. The Low preset at 160 FPS is the absolute maximum, but the system is clearly CPU-limited here, so the extra FPS does not represent a meaningful GPU performance increase. The best experience per the measured rows is to use the Ultra preset at 4K, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate that is well above playable standards, and it shifts the workload onto the GPU where the RTX 4080 excels.