Pc Building Simulator

Pc Building Simulator is a simulation title that tasks players with assembling and troubleshooting PCs, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reveal a combination that is heavily skewed toward GPU performance. The data indicates this combo ranks 640th out of 1769 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This position suggests that while the pairing is far from entry-level, it is not among the elite configurations either, with the GPU's high percentile ranking being the primary driver of its standing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 640 out of 1769 tested configurations places it in the 64th percentile of all tested pairings. This is a respectable position, but it is notably lower than what the GPU alone would suggest, given that the Radeon RX 9070 XT sits in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy between the GPU's individual ranking and the combo's overall ranking points to the CPU acting as a limiting factor in certain scenarios. The Intel Core i5-9400, with a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs, is a mid-range processor that can hold back the GPU's full potential, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU's workload is more demanding relative to the GPU.

The data shows the combo outperforms configurations featuring the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, which have average benchmark scores of 2300 and 2299 respectively, placing them within 0.2% of the i5-9400's average score of 2305. However, the i5-9400 trails the Intel Core i7-8809G, which scores 2319, a 0.6% advantage. These rival comparisons are tight, indicating that the CPU component is not a significant differentiator within its immediate performance class. The GPU, however, tells a different story: the RX 9070 XT's average score of 39647 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (39703), RTX A500 Mobile (39568), and Radeon Pro 575X (39836), with deltas of -0.1%, 0.2%, and -0.5% respectively. This suggests the GPU is a strong performer that is well-matched against its closest competitors.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this combination. At 4K (3840x2160), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 57.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. The High preset at 4K yields 62.3 FPS, a marginal improvement that still hovers near the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset jumps to 84.8 FPS, offering a significantly smoother experience, while Low reaches 117.8 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, providing a substantial frame rate boost over High and Ultra while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

At 1440p (2560x1440), the situation improves considerably. Ultra averages 108 FPS, which is excellent for most gamers. High reaches 114.4 FPS, and Medium jumps to 164.1 FPS. Low delivers a massive 209.6 FPS. The data suggests that at 1440p, the Ultra preset is perfectly viable for a high-refresh-rate monitor, making it the recommended choice for this resolution. At 1080p (1920x1080), all presets exceed 176 FPS, with Ultra at 176, High at 182.4, Medium at 214.5, and Low at 244.6. Given these numbers, the Ultra preset at 1080p provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as even the most demanding setting clears the 144Hz threshold comfortably.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: The measured data shows an average of 57.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is below the 60 FPS target that many gamers prefer, indicating that Ultra at 4K is borderline playable but not optimal.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 244.6, which is achieved with the Low settings preset. The Ultra preset at the same resolution still delivers a very high 176 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the performance in this game?

A: The GPU appears to be the dominant factor. The Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, while the Intel Core i5-9400 ranks in the 50th percentile. The frame rates scale significantly with resolution, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% faster than the Intel Xeon E-2134. It is 0.6% slower than the Intel Core i7-8809G.

Q: What is the playable settings preset at 1440p for a 144Hz monitor?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 108 FPS, which is below 144Hz. The Medium preset reaches 164.1 FPS, which would fully utilize a 144Hz display.

Q: Does the game scale well from 1080p to 4K?

A: The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the average FPS goes from 176 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p, and finally to 57.4 at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating heavy GPU load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all presets. The Low setting produces an average of 244.6 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 214.5 FPS, High at 182.4 FPS, and Ultra at 176 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 68.6 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution, and even the most demanding settings are easily playable on high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very strong but begin to show the GPU working harder. Low averages 209.6 FPS, which is still remarkably high. Medium drops to 164.1 FPS, a 45.5 FPS reduction from Low. High averages 114.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 108 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 101.6 FPS, a larger gap than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming a more significant bottleneck as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops considerably. Low still manages an average of 117.8 FPS, which is playable. Medium averages 84.8 FPS, High drops to 62.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 57.4 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 60.4 FPS. It is notable that the 4K Low setting outperforms the 1440p Ultra setting by 9.8 FPS, showing that resolution scaling has a more pronounced effect on Ultra settings than on Low settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the clear performance driver in this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, which provides ample memory throughput for a simulation game that may involve complex scenes with many objects. The GPU's boost clock of 2970 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz indicate a high-frequency design that can sustain demanding workloads. The 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs contribute to its pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s, which are substantial figures.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS is a strong indicator of raw compute capability, and its 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status. The measured frame rates in Pc Building Simulator reflect this, as the GPU manages to push 244.6 FPS at 1080p with Low settings, demonstrating that it is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. However, at 4K with Ultra settings, the frame rate drops to 57.4 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is being fully utilized and is the primary constraint. The 16 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for this title, as the game does not appear to exceed the memory capacity at any measured setting, given the consistent performance scaling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The processor features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a mid-range processor that is neither exceptionally strong nor weak.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The frame rates scale dramatically with resolution, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound workloads. At 1080p, the CPU must feed the GPU with enough data to sustain 244.6 FPS, and the i5-9400 manages to do so. However, the 6 threads may become a limiting factor in CPU-intensive simulation scenarios, such as when many in-game components are being processed simultaneously. The benchmark results do not show a clear CPU bottleneck at any measured setting, as the frame rates at 1080p are exceptionally high. The CPU's performance is closely matched to its nearest rivals, with deltas of less than 1% against the Core i3-10305, Core i3-1125G4, Xeon E-2134, and Core i7-8809G, reinforcing its mid-range positioning.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear trend of diminishing frame rates as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound system. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 176 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p, a 38.6% reduction, and then to 57.4 at 4K, a further 46.9% reduction from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 67.4%, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

For Low settings, the scaling is similar but less severe in absolute terms. The frame rate goes from 244.6 at 1080p to 209.6 at 1440p (a 14.3% drop) and then to 117.8 at 4K (a 43.8% drop from 1440p). The 4K Low setting still outperforms the 1440p Ultra setting, which shows that the GPU is capable of handling the resolution increase when visual quality is reduced. This pattern suggests that the CPU is not a significant limiting factor at any resolution, as the frame rates scale consistently with the GPU's workload. The data implies that for this combination, players should prioritize GPU settings over resolution, as the RX 9070 XT has enough power to deliver high frame rates at 1440p with Ultra settings, while 4K requires more modest settings to achieve smooth performance.