Revolution Idle

# Revolution Idle Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-11400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a curious performance profile in Revolution Idle, an idle-genre title released in 2023. The measured data reveals that this pairing ranks 111th out of 1774 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.3% of all configurations. However, the frame rates across resolutions and settings tell a nuanced story about where this system excels and where it leaves performance on the table. The RTX 5090, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, is clearly a dominant graphics solution, but the aging 6-core Rocket Lake processor may be the limiting factor in this particular match-up.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data shows a clear hierarchy of performance across the four tested settings presets, with the optimal choice depending heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 161.7 FPS, which is 12.4% faster than the High preset's 142.7 FPS and 8.5% faster than Medium's 147.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution still achieves a very playable 123.8 FPS, making it a viable option for users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance gap between presets narrows considerably. Low leads at 137 FPS, followed closely by Medium at 127.1 FPS and High at 121.6 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 76.7 FPS, which represents a significant 44% reduction from Low but remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K resolution (3840x2160), the differences become more pronounced and consequential. Low delivers 91.1 FPS, dropping to 68.2 FPS on Medium and 64.3 FPS on High, while Ultra falls to 42.9 FPS — a level that may not provide an ideal experience for all users.

The data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across most resolutions. At 1080p and 1440p, High maintains frame rates above 120 FPS, which is more than sufficient for the idle genre where constant high refresh rates are less critical. At 4K, High's 64.3 FPS is respectable, though users with high-refresh displays might prefer Low's 91.1 FPS. For those who prioritize maximum visual settings, the Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where the 123.8 FPS result remains competitive.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. Its specifications include 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, alongside 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The card operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and its memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The 32 GB GDDR7 memory pool is paired with a 512-bit bus, producing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth.

In the context of Revolution Idle, the GPU's massive compute resources — 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance — appear substantially underutilized given the game's idle genre nature. The benchmark results show that the RTX 5090's performance scales predictably with resolution: at 4K, the Ultra preset yields 42.9 FPS while Low reaches 91.1 FPS, indicating that the game's rendering load does respond to GPU capabilities. However, the relatively modest frame rate differences between Low and High at 1440p (137 vs 121.6 FPS, a 12.7% gap) suggest that the game is not heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions.

The RTX 5090's percentile rank of 94 among all GPUs and average benchmark score of 84,306 confirm its elite status. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 5090 D (0.1% ahead), RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% ahead), and AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (1.3% behind), showing that this GPU consistently outperforms most alternatives. Yet in Revolution Idle, the practical impact of this GPU power is limited by other system components, as evidenced by the frame rate patterns observed.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in Revolution Idle?

A: The measured data shows 2560x1440 on High settings delivers 121.6 FPS, providing a strong balance between visual detail and performance. At 1920x1080, frame rates are higher but the resolution is lower, while 3840x2160 sees the High preset drop to 64.3 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High across different resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra achieves 123.8 FPS versus High's 142.7 FPS, a 13.3% reduction. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 76.7 FPS compared to High's 121.6 FPS, a 36.9% reduction. At 3840x2160, Ultra falls to 42.9 FPS versus High's 64.3 FPS, a 33.3% reduction.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM necessary for Revolution Idle?

A: The game's measured performance does not indicate VRAM exhaustion at any tested setting. The RTX 5090's 32 GB GDDR7 memory is far beyond what this title appears to require, suggesting the GPU's memory capacity is not a limiting factor in these results.

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The benchmark data shows 147.9 FPS on Medium at 1920x1080. This is higher than High (142.7 FPS) and Ultra (123.8 FPS), but lower than Low (161.7 FPS), indicating Medium offers a solid middle ground.

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

A: The combination ranks 111th out of 1774 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.3% of all systems benchmarked for Revolution Idle. This indicates strong overall performance despite the processor's age.

Q: Does the game benefit more from CPU or GPU improvements at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the Low preset (91.1 FPS) is 42% faster than Ultra (42.9 FPS), suggesting GPU load is significant at this resolution. However, the RTX 5090's performance here may still be constrained by the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 111 out of 1774 tested combos in Revolution Idle, placing it in the 93.7th percentile of all configurations. This is a strong result, though not the top-tier performance that the RTX 5090's specifications might suggest. The GPU alone ranks in the 94th percentile among all graphics cards, while the CPU sits in the 75th percentile among all processors, indicating a mismatch in relative capabilities.

The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84,306 places it slightly below its nearest rivals: the RTX 5090 D (84,241, 0.1% behind) and RTX 5050 Mobile (84,171, 0.2% behind), while comfortably ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (83,209, 1.3% ahead). This GPU performance is exceptional, yet the combo's overall rank of 111 suggests that other system configurations with more balanced components achieve better results in this specific game.

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its average benchmark score of 17,181, sits very close to its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17,189, 0% delta), Intel Core i7-1260P (17,212, -0.2% delta), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17,215, -0.2% delta). This clustering indicates the CPU is competitively positioned among its peers, but its performance ceiling may limit the RTX 5090 in Revolution Idle's specific workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is limited to DDR4 with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, and the processor connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In Revolution Idle, the CPU's role appears to be more significant than in many other titles, given the game's idle genre characteristics that often involve complex simulation logic. The benchmark results show that at 1920x1080, the difference between Low (161.7 FPS) and Ultra (123.8 FPS) is 23.4%, which is less dramatic than at higher resolutions where GPU load increases. This pattern suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU may be the primary bottleneck.

The processor's benchmark scores provide context for its capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it achieves 14,372 points in multicore and 2,029 points in single-core tests. The 3DMark results show 5,652 points at maximum threads and 868 points in single-thread tests. The PassMark multithread score is 16,908, with a single-thread score of 2,981. These figures indicate a capable mid-range processor that, while not top-tier, provides sufficient compute for most gaming scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the benchmark results show a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce the highest average frame rate at 161.7 FPS, followed by Medium at 147.9 FPS (+8.5% versus Low), High at 142.7 FPS (+13.3% versus Low), and Ultra at 123.8 FPS (+30.6% versus Low). The Ultra preset's performance drop of 23.4% below High indicates that the highest settings impose a substantial rendering burden even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440 resolution, the frame rates remain robust but show wider variation. Low leads with 137 FPS, Medium follows at 127.1 FPS, High at 121.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 76.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 44% at this resolution, compared to 30.6% at 1080p, demonstrating that higher resolutions amplify the impact of graphics settings. Notably, High at 1440p (121.6 FPS) performs nearly identically to Ultra at 1080p (123.8 FPS), suggesting that resolution scaling and settings scaling are roughly equivalent in this game.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the performance curve steepens dramatically. Low achieves 91.1 FPS, Medium drops to 68.2 FPS, High reaches 64.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 52.9%, the largest proportional gap across all resolutions. Even High settings at 4K (64.3 FPS) fall below the 1440p Ultra result (76.7 FPS), indicating that 4K gaming with this combo requires careful settings management.

Comparing across resolutions, the data shows that moving from 1080p to 1440p with High settings reduces frame rates by 14.8% (142.7 to 121.6 FPS), while moving from 1440p to 4K with High settings reduces frame rates by 47.1% (121.6 to 64.3 FPS). This non-linear scaling suggests that 4K presents a significantly greater challenge to this system than 1440p, with the RTX 5090's resources being increasingly taxed as pixel count grows.