Ready Or Not

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a performance profile in Ready Or Not that is heavily dictated by resolution. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates across all settings are exceptionally high, ranging from 228 FPS on Ultra to 312.1 FPS on Low. This indicates that at this resolution, the RTX 4070 SUPER is not being pushed to its limits; the data suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the frame rate ceiling appears to be capped by the i5-9400's processing capabilities rather than the GPU's rendering throughput. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high—206.1 FPS on High and 257.3 FPS on Low—but the gap between settings begins to widen, showing the GPU starting to take on a more significant workload. The transition to 3840x2160 tells a different story: the average FPS drops substantially, with High delivering 106.1 FPS and Ultra dropping to 73.3 FPS. This steep decline at 4K clearly demonstrates that the RTX 4070 SUPER becomes the dominant bottleneck at this resolution, as the pixel-pushing demand outstrips what the CPU can feed it, making the GPU the limiting component.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance scaling across the three tested resolutions. The most dramatic drop occurs when moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 206.1 to 106.1, a reduction of 100 FPS, which represents a performance loss of roughly 48.5%. This is a massive hit and points directly to the GPU being saturated at 4K. The RTX 4070 SUPER, while a strong performer, is simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160, especially on the Ultra preset where it dips to 73.3 FPS.

Conversely, the scaling from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 is much gentler. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 290.1 FPS to 206.1 FPS, a loss of 84 FPS, which is about 29%. While still a significant absolute drop, the resulting 206.1 FPS at 1440p is far above the threshold for smooth gameplay. This suggests that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is holding the combo back, preventing the RTX 4070 SUPER from achieving its full potential. The CPU's six cores and six threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, are enough to push frame rates into the 300 FPS range on Low settings, but they cannot keep up with the GPU's raw speed at lower resolutions.

The Low preset data reinforces this analysis. At 1080p, Low yields 312.1 FPS, only slightly higher than High's 290.1 FPS. This narrow margin indicates that lowering the settings at this resolution does little to improve performance because the CPU is the primary limiter. However, at 4K, Low yields 133.1 FPS compared to High's 106.1 FPS, a much larger 27 FPS difference. This shows that at higher resolutions, the GPU workload is the primary constraint, and reducing settings provides tangible benefits. The data points to a system that is balanced for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming but becomes GPU-bound at 4K and CPU-bound at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

For players using this specific combo, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate of the display. The benchmark results indicate that the Ultra preset is not a practical choice for most scenarios. At 4K, it produces an average of 73.3 FPS, which is playable but may not feel smooth on high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, it delivers 142.1 FPS, which is excellent, but the jump from High to Ultra costs a significant 64 FPS (from 206.1 to 142.1) for likely marginal visual gains. The data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

At 1920x1080, the High preset's 290.1 FPS is well above the refresh rate of virtually any monitor, and the Ultra preset's 228 FPS is still exceptionally high. Here, the choice between High and Ultra is purely aesthetic, as both exceed the capabilities of most displays. However, for the most competitive edge, High is the recommended choice as it provides a 62 FPS advantage over Ultra. For 2560x1440, High is the clear sweet spot. The 206.1 FPS average is smooth and responsive, and it leaves a large margin above the 142.1 FPS seen on Ultra, making it the recommended preset for this resolution. At 3840x2160, the High preset's 106.1 FPS is the highest quality option that remains above the 100 FPS threshold, making it the best choice for 4K. The Medium preset at 116.3 FPS offers a small performance boost over High (about 10 FPS) but with reduced visual quality. Given the data, High is the recommended preset for all resolutions, offering the most robust combination of visual quality and high frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Ready Or Not?*

A: The highest recorded average is 312.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: At what resolution does the combo become GPU-bound?

A: The data indicates the system becomes significantly GPU-bound at 3840x2160, where the average FPS drops sharply across all settings compared to 2560x1440. The gap between Low and High settings also widens at 4K, showing the GPU's rendering load is the primary factor.

Q: Is the Ultra preset viable for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 73.3 FPS. This is playable, but it is the lowest frame rate in the entire dataset, and players with high-refresh-rate 4K displays may prefer the High preset for its 106.1 FPS.

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

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400's average score of 2305 is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon E-2134. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Low settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is 22 FPS, with High averaging 290.1 FPS and Low averaging 312.1 FPS. The small difference suggests the CPU, not the GPU, is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER outperform its closest rival in the GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score is 42576. This is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A6000's score of 42653 and 0.3% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE's score of 42723. It is 1.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Ready Or Not, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds a rank of 431 out of 1748 tested combos. This places it in the top 24.7% of all configurations tested, which is a solid result given the age of the CPU. The ranking reflects that while the RTX 4070 SUPER is a powerful, high-end GPU, the i5-9400 is a mid-range processor from an older generation, which limits the overall potential of the system. The combo's ranking is likely pulled down by the CPU's performance in scenarios where the GPU is not the bottleneck, such as at 1080p.

The i5-9400's percentile versus all CPUs is 50, meaning it performs better than half of all CPUs in the database. The RTX 4070 SUPER, on the other hand, has a percentile of 84, indicating it is significantly more powerful relative to its peers. This disparity is visible in the measured FPS data. The combo's rank of 431 suggests that many other pairings, likely those with newer mid-range or high-end CPUs, achieve higher frame rates in Ready Or Not. The data shows this combo is a strong 1440p performer but falls behind in raw performance at lower resolutions where the CPU's limitations are more apparent.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It is based on the Coffee Lake architecture and has a 9 MB shared L3 cache. The data shows that in Ready Or Not, this CPU is sufficient to drive high frame rates, but its age and core count are limiting factors in certain scenarios. At 1920x1080, the CPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rates on Low settings (312.1 FPS) are close to those on High (290.1 FPS), showing that the CPU is maxed out and cannot process frames fast enough to fully utilize the GPU. This is typical for a six-core processor without hyper-threading in a game that can likely utilize more threads.

In contrast, at 3840x2160, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The frame rates drop significantly, and the difference between settings becomes more pronounced. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969, shows it is a capable processor for its generation, but it is outclassed by more modern CPUs. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance, but the lack of additional threads means it can struggle in heavily threaded workloads. For Ready Or Not, the CPU is adequate for smooth 1440p gaming when paired with this GPU, but it is the reason the combo cannot reach the highest frame rates seen with newer processors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete measured performance data for this combo in Ready Or Not, organized by resolution and settings.

1920x1080:

• Low: 312.1 FPS
• Medium: 296.2 FPS
• High: 290.1 FPS
• Ultra: 228 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 257.3 FPS
• Medium: 227.3 FPS
• High: 206.1 FPS
• Ultra: 142.1 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 133.1 FPS
• Medium: 116.3 FPS
• High: 106.1 FPS
• Ultra: 73.3 FPS

This data confirms the analysis above. At 1080p, all settings are above 228 FPS, with the gap between Low and High being only 22 FPS. At 1440p, the gap between Low and High grows to 51.2 FPS, and between High and Ultra it is 64 FPS. At 4K, the gap between Low and High is 27 FPS, and Ultra drops significantly to 73.3 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a GPU-bound state at 4K, with 1440p representing a balanced middle ground for this hardware combination. The data underscores that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a powerful GPU, but its potential is capped by the i5-9400 at lower resolutions.