Overpower

Overpower, an Action title released in 2023, presents an interesting case study in system bottlenecking when paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. The benchmark data reveals a configuration where the GPU's immense processing power is increasingly constrained by the aging CPU as resolutions drop. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions shows a pattern that is less about raw GPU capability and more about the balance between the two primary components. With the RTX 5070 Ti sitting in the 86th percentile of all GPUs and the i5-9400 in the 47th percentile of CPUs, the data suggests a significant performance gap that manifests differently depending on the workload.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides the clearest insight into which component is limiting performance in Overpower. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system produces an average of 130 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average drops to 125 FPS, a modest 5 FPS reduction. However, the jump to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 112 FPS, a 13 FPS drop from 1440p. This pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases is typical, but the magnitude of the drops tells a specific story.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more telling. The system achieves 160 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p, and 146 FPS at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is only 14 FPS, or roughly 8.75 percent. This relatively small decrease strongly indicates that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at lower graphical presets. When the GPU is not heavily taxed, the i5-9400's six cores and six threads become the bottleneck, preventing the frame rate from scaling down as much as it could if the GPU were the constraint.

At Ultra settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The system delivers 122 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 93 FPS at 4K. The 29 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is more than double the 14 FPS gap seen at Low settings. This suggests that as the graphical load increases, the RTX 5070 Ti's role becomes more significant, and the frame rate begins to drop more steeply with resolution. The data implies that at higher presets, the GPU is finally being utilized more fully, while at lower presets, the CPU's limitations cap the performance ceiling.

The Medium settings rows provide additional nuance. At 1080p, the average is 134 FPS, at 1440p it is 129 FPS, and at 4K it is 121 FPS. The scaling here is similar to High settings, with a 13 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K. Interestingly, the minimum FPS values at Medium settings show a clear drop from 114 at 1080p to 103 at 4K, with the maximum values dropping from 154 to 139. This consistency across Medium and High suggests that the system's behavior in Overpower is largely stable until the Ultra preset is engaged.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data offers a clear hierarchy for the best experience in Overpower. For players prioritizing high frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest average at 160 FPS. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p only costs 26 FPS, bringing the average to 134 FPS. This is a significant gain in visual fidelity for a relatively small performance penalty. The data suggests that Medium at 1080p provides a strong balance, especially considering the minimum FPS of 114 is still well above playable thresholds.

At 1440p, the story shifts slightly. The Low preset achieves 154 FPS, while Medium drops to 129 FPS. The 25 FPS difference between these presets is similar to the 1080p gap, but the absolute numbers are lower. For a more visually rich experience, High at 1440p produces 125 FPS, which is only 4 FPS behind Medium. This makes High the recommended choice at 1440p for those who want better graphics without sacrificing much performance. The Ultra preset at 1440p brings the average down to 109 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 20 FPS drop from High.

At 4K, the trade-offs become more pronounced. The Low preset averages 146 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and further confirms the CPU bottleneck at lower settings. Medium at 4K brings the average to 121 FPS, while High drops to 112 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 93 FPS, which is the lowest measured value across all configurations. For 4K gaming, the data indicates that Medium or High is the sweet spot, as the performance difference between them is only 9 FPS, but the visual quality difference is likely more substantial. Ultra at 4K should be reserved for those who prioritize graphical fidelity over frame rate, as the 93 FPS average is still respectable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a formidable piece of hardware, with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 8960 shading units and 70 RT cores deliver a raw compute capability of 43.94 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. The benchmark data shows this power is often underutilized in Overpower when paired with the i5-9400. The GPU's percentile ranking of 86 places it well above the CPU's 47th percentile, and the measured FPS results reflect this imbalance.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for Overpower at any resolution tested. The game does not appear to be memory-constrained, as the frame rates do not show the characteristic collapse that would occur if VRAM were exhausted. The memory clock of 1750 MHz, effective 28 Gbps, and the 896.0 GB/s bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the GPU quickly, but the CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s for DDR4 may create a bottleneck in how fast game data can be prepared for the GPU.

The GPU's boost clock of 2452 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are high, but in this configuration, the GPU often has to wait for the CPU to provide data. This is evident in the relatively small FPS drops between resolutions at Low settings. The GPU is capable of much higher frame rates, but the CPU cannot keep up. At Ultra settings, the GPU's role becomes more apparent, as the increased graphical load gives the RTX 5070 Ti more work to do, and the FPS scaling with resolution becomes more aggressive. The measured data suggests that the GPU is the dominant factor only at higher presets and resolutions, while the CPU reigns supreme at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across the board. The Low preset averages 160 FPS, which is the maximum measured in any configuration. Medium averages 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 154. High averages 130 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 38 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary limiter even at the highest preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop slightly. Low averages 154 FPS, a 6 FPS decrease from 1080p. Medium averages 129 FPS with a minimum of 109 and a maximum of 148. High averages 125 FPS, and Ultra averages 109 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 45 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to play a more significant role as the resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates show the most pronounced drop. Low averages 146 FPS, which is still impressively high for 4K. Medium averages 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 and a maximum of 139. High averages 112 FPS, and Ultra averages 93 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra at 4K is 53 FPS, the largest of any resolution. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU's capabilities are being taxed more heavily, and the CPU is less of a limiting factor. The data shows a clear progression: as resolution increases, the FPS gap between Low and Ultra widens, confirming that the GPU becomes more relevant at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 160, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: No, the measured data shows no signs of VRAM limitations. The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient for Overpower at 4K, as the frame rates remain playable even at Ultra settings with an average of 93 FPS.

Q: Why is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K smaller at Low settings than at Ultra settings?

A: At Low settings, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, so the GPU has spare capacity and the frame rate does not drop as much. At Ultra settings, the GPU is more heavily utilized, leading to a larger FPS drop of 29 FPS between 1080p and 4K compared to 14 FPS at Low.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming based on the data?

A: High at 1440p offers a strong balance, with an average of 125 FPS. It is only 4 FPS behind Medium at 129 FPS but provides better visual quality. Ultra drops to 109 FPS, which is a more significant sacrifice.

Q: How does the i5-9400's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, which is 0.2 percent higher. The i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3 percent lower, and the Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4 percent lower.

Q: Is the i5-9400 bottlenecking the RTX 5070 Ti in Overpower?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests this is the case. At 1080p Low, the FPS is 160, and at 4K Low, it is 146, a mere 14 FPS difference. This indicates the CPU is limiting the frame rate, as a GPU-bound scenario would typically show a larger drop.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide a modest foundation for gaming. The CPU's benchmark scores are modest, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 5141, and single-core is 1389. The CPU's percentile ranking of 47 indicates it sits near the middle of all CPUs, which is reflected in its performance in Overpower.

The measured FPS data shows that the i5-9400 is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 160 FPS, but increasing the resolution to 4K Low only drops the frame rate to 146 FPS. This 14 FPS difference is remarkably small and indicates that the CPU is unable to feed the GPU fast enough to take advantage of the lower resolution. The CPU's six threads are likely saturated by the game's processing demands, preventing the RTX 5070 Ti from reaching its full potential.

The comparison to nearest rivals shows the i5-9400 is competitive with other mid-range CPUs, but it lacks the multi-threading capabilities of more modern designs. The CPU's 65W TDP and 14 nm process node are older technologies, and while they are adequate for this game, they limit the overall performance ceiling. The data suggests that upgrading to a CPU with more threads or higher clock speeds would yield significant FPS gains in Overpower, particularly at lower resolutions and settings where the CPU is the bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 799 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the top 21.5 percent of all configurations. This ranking is respectable, but it is likely held back by the CPU's limitations. The GPU is ranked in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 47th percentile. This mismatch suggests that the combo's ranking is lower than it could be if the CPU were more powerful.

The ranking of 799 out of 3713 indicates that this combo outperforms the majority of tested systems, but it is not among the elite. The data shows that the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates, as evidenced by the 160 FPS at 1080p Low, but the CPU prevents the system from reaching the highest tiers of performance. The combo's ranking is a direct result of this bottleneck, as the RTX 5070 Ti's power is not fully utilized in Overpower.

For context, the GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, which is 0.1 percent lower, and the Intel Arc A550M, which is 0.4 percent higher. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 0.2 percent higher and the i7-10710U at 0.3 percent lower. These comparisons highlight that while the individual components are competitive, the pairing does not unlock their full potential. The combo's rank of 799 suggests that many other configurations with better-balanced CPUs and GPUs achieve higher performance in Overpower.