Ready Or Not

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Ready Or Not, with the data indicating that the GPU is the primary performance driver at nearly every resolution. The most significant finding is the dramatic difference between the "Ultra" preset and the other settings, which suggests a specific engine-level bottleneck rather than a general hardware limitation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions but becomes more balanced as pixel count increases. At 1080p with the "High" preset, the combo achieves 284.6 FPS, while at 1440p it drops to 184.3 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 96.2 FPS. This represents a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-centric workload.

The "Low" preset shows a similar trend but with higher absolute numbers: 308.6 FPS at 1080p, 234.8 FPS at 1440p, and 118.5 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p on "Low" is 73.8 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 116.3 FPS. This increasing drop-off at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 4070's rendering pipeline is the limiting factor, as the pixel count grows exponentially.

However, the "Ultra" preset tells a different story. At 1080p, it produces 202.4 FPS, at 1440p it yields 131.2 FPS, and at 4K it manages only 65.6 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K here is a 65.6 FPS drop, which is proportionally similar to the other presets. But the absolute numbers are far lower across the board, indicating that the "Ultra" preset introduces a rendering cost that affects all resolutions equally, pointing toward a fixed-cost effect such as heavy post-processing or shadow quality rather than a pure resolution-dependent load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its gaming performance in this title is adequate but not exceptional, as evidenced by the fact that the system never appears CPU-limited in the measured data. The processor's benchmark scores show a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, deltaPct 0.4).

In Ready Or Not, the CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 4070 at 1080p, where the data shows 284.6 FPS on "High" settings. The lack of hyper-threading means the CPU has 6 physical threads, but the game appears to scale well enough with this configuration. The fact that the 4K "Low" result (118.5 FPS) is still far above 60 FPS suggests that even at higher resolutions, the CPU is not the primary constraint. The CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this tactical shooter, which does not appear to demand extreme memory bandwidth.

The benchmark results indicate that the i5-9400's performance is essentially a "middle of the pack" outcome, with a 0.2% deltaPct advantage over the Core i3-10305 and a 0.4% advantage over the Xeon E-2134. This relative parity in synthetic benchmarks translates to a consistent gaming experience, as the CPU's ability to maintain frame pacing is not challenged by the RTX 4070 at any resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 551st out of 1748 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This places it in the top 31.5% of all configurations, which is a solid result given the CPU's age and mid-range positioning. The ranking reflects a system that can deliver high frame rates but is not at the absolute top tier, primarily because the CPU's single-threaded performance is modest compared to newer processors.

The combo's rank is likely held back by the CPU in CPU-light scenarios, but the data shows that the GPU is so powerful that it can compensate at most settings. The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, puts it slightly below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, deltaPct -0.6) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008, deltaPct -1.9). This GPU performance is the primary reason the combo achieves such high frame rates in Ready Or Not, and the 551st rank is a reflection of the CPU's limitations rather than the GPU's.

When compared to other combos, the 551st rank suggests that users with newer 6-core or 8-core CPUs would achieve higher positions, but the i5-9400's 6 cores and 6 threads are still capable of driving the RTX 4070 to playable levels in this game. The fact that the combo breaks 200 FPS at 1080p on "Ultra" (202.4 FPS) indicates that the overall experience is far from disappointing, even if the ranking is not top-tier.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Ready Or Not?*

A: The data shows that 1440p on "High" settings delivers 184.3 FPS, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate of many monitors, while 4K on "High" still provides 96.2 FPS. For a balance of visual fidelity and performance, 1440p "High" is the sweet spot.

Q: Why does the "Ultra" preset perform so much worse than "High"?

A: The "Ultra" preset drops performance by 82.2 FPS at 1080p (from 284.6 to 202.4 FPS) and by 30.6 FPS at 4K (from 96.2 to 65.6 FPS). This consistent drop across all resolutions suggests the preset enables expensive effects that tax the GPU's compute resources, not just its fill rate.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution. At 1080p "Low," the combo hits 308.6 FPS, which is far above what a CPU-bound scenario would produce, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 4070's nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37283 is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) and 1.9% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008), but 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371). In-game, this translates to a GPU that is highly capable for 1440p play.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Ready Or Not?*

A: Yes, the data shows that 4K "High" settings produce 96.2 FPS and 4K "Medium" produces 103.8 FPS. Even 4K "Ultra" achieves 65.6 FPS, which is playable on a 60Hz display.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the GPU in this combo?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the undisputed workhorse of this combination, and its specifications explain the strong performance in Ready Or Not. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for the game's assets at 4K, as evidenced by the 96.2 FPS "High" result. The GPU's 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, combined with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, provide substantial raw compute power, which is reflected in its FP32 throughput of 29.15 TFLOPS.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. At 1080p, the CPU can keep up with the GPU's frame generation, but at 4K, the GPU's pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are what allow the system to maintain high frame rates. The "Ultra" preset's 65.6 FPS at 4K indicates that the GPU's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are being utilized for advanced effects, but the drop from "High" to "Ultra" shows a significant performance cost.

The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, are within a 2.2% deltaPct, confirming that the desktop RTX 4070 is a consistently high-performing part. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is a key advantage, as it prevents texture swapping at 4K "Ultra," where the game's memory footprint likely exceeds 8 GB.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the "High" preset offers the best combination of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, "High" produces 284.6 FPS, which is only 24 FPS less than "Low" but offers significantly better visuals. At 1440p, "High" delivers 184.3 FPS, which is still far above the 144Hz threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, "High" achieves 96.2 FPS, making it the only preset besides "Medium" that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution.

The "Ultra" preset is not recommended for any resolution, as it drops performance by 28.8% at 1080p (from 284.6 to 202.4 FPS) and by 31.8% at 4K (from 96.2 to 65.6 FPS) compared to "High." The visual gains from "Ultra" are unlikely to justify this performance hit, especially since "High" already provides a smooth experience. The "Medium" preset is a viable alternative for 4K users, offering 103.8 FPS, but it sacrifices visual fidelity for only a 7.6 FPS improvement over "High."

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors (144Hz or higher), the "High" preset at 1440p is ideal, as it delivers 184.3 FPS. For 4K users, "High" is the best choice to maintain a high frame rate without dropping to "Medium" quality. The "Low" preset is only useful for maximizing frame rates at 1080p, where it hits 308.6 FPS, but this is unnecessary for most displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured results for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination in Ready Or Not are as follows:

At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset delivers the highest average FPS at 308.6, followed by "Medium" at 295.8, "High" at 284.6, and "Ultra" at 202.4. The gap between "Medium" and "High" is 11.2 FPS, while the drop from "High" to "Ultra" is 82.2 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline at any resolution.

At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset achieves 234.8 FPS, "Medium" achieves 204.5 FPS, "High" achieves 184.3 FPS, and "Ultra" achieves 131.2 FPS. The difference between "Medium" and "High" here is 20.2 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset's 131.2 FPS is still above 120 FPS, making it playable on high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the "Low" preset produces 118.5 FPS, "Medium" produces 103.8 FPS, "High" produces 96.2 FPS, and "Ultra" produces 65.6 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K on "High" is a drop of 88.1 FPS (from 184.3 to 96.2), which is a 47.8% reduction. This confirms that 4K is the resolution where the GPU's pixel fill rate becomes the dominant factor, while the CPU's influence diminishes.