Undisputed

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT creates a fascinating bottleneck study in Undisputed. The data shows a massive GPU with a 20 GB frame buffer paired with a 6-core, 12-thread Comet Lake CPU that boosts to 4.30 GHz. Benchmark results reveal that this combination is capable of extremely high frame rates, but the scaling patterns suggest the CPU is the primary constraint at lower resolutions, while the GPU takes over as the workload intensifies at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 240. This is a high refresh rate result that places the combo in the 367th percentile of all tested combinations, ranking 366 out of 1580 combos in Undisputed.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358, which is 0% different from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349). It also sits 0.3% above the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225) and 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135).

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F scores 1453 points in Cinebench R23 single-core. Its multi-core score is 10297, showing a significant scaling advantage from its 6 cores and 12 threads.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and bus width?

A: The Radeon RX 7900 XT features a 320-bit memory bus with 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. It has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is substantial for high-resolution textures.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 290.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 111.2 FPS. This represents a 61.8% performance reduction when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to the AMD EPYC 7552?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552's score of 14115. The i5 also sits 0.8% above the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14277).

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the undisputed heavy lifter in this configuration. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus provides 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for handling the high-resolution textures and detailed character models in Undisputed. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz are derived from the RDNA 3.0 architecture on a 5 nm process, packing 57,700 million transistors into a 529 mm² die.

The synthetic benchmark data shows the GPU performing at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 38358. This places it statistically tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which scores 38349 with a deltaPct of 0%. The RX 7900 XT also edges out the RTX 4080 Mobile by 0.6%, suggesting that the GPU is well-positioned for demanding titles.

In Undisputed, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo produces 73.2 FPS, which is a playable result for a sports title. The GPU's 192 ROPs and 5376 shading units are clearly being exercised at this resolution. The fact that the 4K High preset achieves 112.4 FPS while the 1080p Ultra preset hits 156.1 FPS indicates that the GPU has substantial headroom, and the frame rate is not purely GPU-limited at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that points to a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 393.4 FPS. This drops to 290.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 184 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 26.1% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 36.7%. This suggests that the CPU is limiting performance at 1080p, as the GPU has ample resources to push higher frame rates.

The High preset tells a similar story: 240 FPS at 1080p, 171.7 FPS at 1440p, and 112.4 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 28.5% and 34.5% respectively. The Ultra preset shows the most balanced scaling: 156.1 FPS at 1080p, 111.2 FPS at 1440p, and 73.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is 46.9% lower than 1080p, indicating a more GPU-bound scenario.

The data implies that the i5-10400F is the limiting factor at 1080p, particularly at lower settings where the GPU is not fully utilized. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.30 GHz are sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but the 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 suggests that threading scaling has limits. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, as evidenced by the more dramatic FPS drops when increasing settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the most balanced result. The 171.7 FPS average at this setting provides smooth gameplay while maintaining visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p achieves 211.2 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the High preset offers a better balance of visuals and performance.

At 4K, the High preset with 112.4 FPS is the recommended choice. The Ultra preset drops to 73.2 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced sports action, while the Medium preset at 134.7 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain. The Low preset at 4K achieves 184 FPS, but this is unnecessary for a sports title where visual clarity matters.

For players seeking maximum frame rates, the 1080p Low preset at 393.4 FPS is the ceiling of this combo's performance. However, the data suggests that the 1440p Medium preset at 211.2 FPS is the sweet spot for most users, as it provides a significant frame rate advantage over 4K while maintaining good visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 111.2 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 47.4% drop from Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 366th out of 1580 tested combos in Undisputed, placing it in the top 23.2% of all configurations. This rank reflects the strong GPU performance offset by the older CPU architecture. The CPU itself sits at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is at the 82nd percentile, indicating a slight imbalance in the pairing.

The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has an average score of 14115, which is 0.4% lower than the i5-10400F's 14168. This close grouping suggests that the i5 is performing at its expected level for its architecture. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 5080 Mobile, is essentially tied with the RX 7900 XT, but the desktop GPU's 20 GB memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth give it an advantage in high-resolution scenarios.

The rank of 366 indicates that while this combo is not at the top of the charts, it delivers excellent performance for a sports game. The high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p suggest that this combo is well-suited for high refresh rate displays, even if it falls short of the top-tier combinations that likely feature newer CPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves 393.4 FPS, the Medium preset hits 288 FPS, the High preset reaches 240 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 156.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 60.3% reduction in performance, which is substantial but expected for a GPU-heavy workload.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are still impressive. The Low preset achieves 290.8 FPS, Medium hits 211.2 FPS, High reaches 171.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 111.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 61.8%, which is consistent with the 1080p scaling, suggesting that the CPU is still providing a stable foundation.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The Low preset achieves 184 FPS, Medium hits 134.7 FPS, High reaches 112.4 FPS, and Ultra produces 73.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 60.2%, which is slightly less than at lower resolutions, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at 4K.

The data shows that the combo is capable of maintaining high frame rates across all settings. The 4K Ultra result of 73.2 FPS is the only measurement that falls below the 100 FPS threshold, making the 1440p High preset the highest resolution and quality combination that consistently exceeds 170 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide adequate single-thread performance for gaming, but the benchmark results show its limitations. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1453 is modest, while the multi-core score of 10297 demonstrates the benefits of its 12 threads.

The CPU's L3 cache of 12 MB shared and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are important for feeding the GPU with game data. The PassMark single-thread score of 2541 and multi-thread score of 12115 indicate balanced performance. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 versus the 2-thread score of 1350 shows that the CPU scales well with additional threads, but the single-thread score of 688 reveals a potential bottleneck.

In Undisputed, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the combo achieves 393.4 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently, but the scaling to 1440p and 4K shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions. The CPU's 65W TDP and lack of overclocking capability (multiplier locked) mean that users cannot push the processor further, making the GPU the more upgradeable component in this pairing.