Ready Or Not

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a fascinating dataset in Ready Or Not, one that reveals a clear division of labor between the two components. At 1080p, the system delivers exceptional frame rates that suggest the CPU is the primary limiter, while at 4K, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, creating a predictable scaling curve that gamers can use to tailor their experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 288.5 FPS at 1080p to 200.5 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 88 FPS, and then further down to 101.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when examining the Low settings preset. Here, the system achieves 314.1 FPS at 1080p, 250.5 FPS at 1440p, and 132.6 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings is 63.6 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is a much larger 117.9 FPS. This widening delta as resolution climbs suggests that the RTX 5070’s rendering pipeline, with its 192-bit memory bus and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes increasingly saturated at 4K, particularly when the CPU is not the primary constraint.

At Ultra settings, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: 220.2 FPS at 1080p, 138 FPS at 1440p, and 71.2 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop of 149 FPS is the largest of any preset, indicating that the most demanding settings amplify the GPU’s workload disproportionately. Interestingly, the delta between Medium and High at each resolution is relatively small—for instance, at 1440p, High produces 200.5 FPS while Medium produces 217.3 FPS, a difference of only 16.8 FPS—which implies that the game’s High preset is already well-optimized relative to Medium.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU’s six cores and six threads are likely the limiting component, as the GPU has headroom to render far more frames than the processor can feed. At 4K, however, the RTX 5070’s raw compute power, measured at 30.87 TFLOPS FP32, becomes the bottleneck, and the scaling becomes more linear with pixel count.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 314.1, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Ultra produces an average of 138 FPS, which is 62.5 FPS lower than High’s 200.5 FPS, a significant drop for the visual upgrade.

Q: Is the RTX 5070’s 12 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra preset yields 71.2 FPS average, indicating the GPU can handle the workload, though the memory capacity of 12 GB GDDR7 may be a factor in this lower performance.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 314.1 FPS while Ultra averages 220.2 FPS, a difference of 93.9 FPS or roughly 30% lower performance for Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, the high frame rates (over 288 FPS on High) suggest the CPU’s 6 threads may limit the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 432 out of 1748 tested combinations in Ready Or Not, placing it in the top 25% of all systems tested.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested hardware combinations for Ready Or Not, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds the 432nd position out of 1,748 total combos. This ranking places the system in the upper quartile of all configurations, which is notable given that the CPU is a 2018-era part with a 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the benchmark database. The GPU, by contrast, ranks in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i3-10305 with an average score of 2,300 and a delta of 0.2%, and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 at 2,299 with a 0.2% delta. On the GPU side, the RTX 5070’s nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 with an average score of 41,610 and a delta of 0.2%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 sits at 41,441 with a delta of 0.6%. This proximity in synthetic scores suggests that the RTX 5070 performs similarly to a previous-generation flagship, but in Ready Or Not specifically, the combo’s rank indicates that the full system delivers a strong experience.

The rank of 432 out of 1,748 implies that while many higher-end or more balanced combinations exist, this specific pairing is still competitive. The delta between the CPU and its nearest rivals is minimal, with the i5-9400 scoring 2,305 on average compared to the i3-10305’s 2,300, meaning the processor is not a significant outlier in performance. The data suggests that the combo’s rank is driven more by the GPU’s strength, as the RTX 5070’s percentile ranking is substantially higher than the CPU’s.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings deliver an average of 314.1 FPS, Medium produces 297.6 FPS, High yields 288.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 220.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 93.9 FPS, showing that even the most demanding preset remains well above 200 FPS, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s limits. Low settings average 250.5 FPS, Medium hits 217.3 FPS, High reaches 200.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 138 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 112.5 FPS, indicating that the higher pixel count amplifies the cost of Ultra settings. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p is particularly steep, with a 62.5 FPS drop, suggesting that Ultra’s additional effects are disproportionately demanding at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still playable but show a clear GPU bottleneck. Low settings average 132.6 FPS, Medium delivers 115.4 FPS, High produces 101.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 71.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 61.4 FPS, which is smaller in absolute terms than at lower resolutions but represents a larger percentage drop. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings cannot reach the 1440p High performance level, confirming that resolution is the dominant factor in this game’s performance scaling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB205 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and it contains 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines.

In Ready Or Not, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. The 4K data shows a clear correlation between settings and frame rate, with the GPU’s 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 compute power being the primary driver. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for all tested presets, as even the 4K Ultra preset achieves 71.2 FPS, indicating no memory-related crashes or severe stutters. The GPU’s pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are directly relevant to the fill-rate demands of 4K rendering.

The GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687, places it in the upper tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 41,610, a delta of only 0.2%, suggesting that in synthetic tests, the RTX 5070 is closely matched with that professional card. However, in gaming workloads like Ready Or Not, the RTX 5070’s architecture, with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores, likely provides additional benefits not captured in the synthetic benchmarks.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data shows that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 288.5 FPS, High is only 8.6% slower than Medium’s 297.6 FPS, and it is a significant 68.3 FPS faster than Ultra. Gamers with 144Hz or 240Hz monitors will find High settings ideal, as the frame rate comfortably exceeds even the highest refresh rates. Low settings at 314.1 FPS offer minimal additional benefit over High, making High the recommended preset for 1080p.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to High as well, with 200.5 FPS providing a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 217.3 FPS is only 16.8 FPS faster, which is a marginal gain for potentially reduced visual fidelity. Ultra at 138 FPS is still playable on 144Hz displays but comes at a 31% performance cost compared to High, making it less attractive unless visual quality is the top priority.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that High settings at 101.8 FPS are the best choice for a balance of quality and performance. Medium at 115.4 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer higher frame rates, while Ultra at 71.2 FPS is only suitable for gamers who prioritize visuals over smoothness. Low at 132.6 FPS is the highest-performing preset at 4K, but the visual compromise may not be worth the 30 FPS gain over High. The measured data indicates that High settings at 4K offer the most consistent experience across the board.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where frame rates exceed 288 FPS on High settings. At these high frame rates, the CPU’s six threads become a potential bottleneck, as the 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is an average performer. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7,969 and single-core score of 1,125 indicate modest performance that may struggle to keep up with the GPU’s output at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i3-10305 with a delta of 0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 performs nearly identically to that newer processor. The Intel Xeon E-2134 is 0.4% behind, while the Intel Core i7-8809G is 0.6% ahead. These small deltas suggest that the i5-9400 is not a significant outlier in CPU performance, which supports the theory that the GPU is the primary driver of the combo’s rank at higher resolutions. At 4K, the CPU’s impact is minimized, as the frame rates are low enough that the GPU’s rendering time dominates the overall performance.