Undisputed

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 produces a performance profile in Undisputed that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics preset. The data set reveals a system capable of extreme frame rates at lower resolutions but one that begins to show its CPU limitations as settings and pixel counts rise. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, focusing on where the bottleneck lies and how each component contributes to the final output.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the shifting balance of load between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 322.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 291.4 FPS, a drop of roughly 30.9 FPS, while 4K Low sees a more significant reduction to 184 FPS, representing a 42.7% decrease from the 1080p figure. This indicates that even at lower settings, the resolution scaling is substantial, but the GPU still has significant headroom.

The pattern becomes more telling at higher settings. At High settings, the 1080p average is 237.7 FPS, which falls to 173.2 FPS at 1440p (a 27.1% drop) and then to 107.6 FPS at 4K (a further 37.9% drop from 1440p). The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than from 1080p to 1440p, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. However, the Ultra preset tells a different story. The 1080p Ultra average is 151.6 FPS, dropping to 112.4 FPS at 1440p (a 25.9% decline) and then to 68.8 FPS at 4K—a massive 38.8% reduction from the 1440p result.

The key insight is that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (322.3 FPS) and Ultra (151.6 FPS) is 170.7 FPS. At 4K, that difference shrinks to 115.2 FPS (184 FPS vs 68.8 FPS). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiter, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs. As resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's influence on the final frame rate diminishes. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that pushes the system to a point where the GPU is clearly the limiting component, resulting in a sub-70 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It lacks hyper-threading, which is a notable limitation for modern titles. Its benchmark scores place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, deltaPct -0.6), showing it is competitive with these parts in synthetic tests.

In Undisputed, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p. The fact that the system can push 322.3 FPS at Low settings and 283.4 FPS at Medium suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data at these lower resolutions. However, the scaling from Medium to High at 1080p shows a drop from 283.4 FPS to 237.7 FPS, and then a further drop to 151.6 FPS at Ultra. This steep decline from High to Ultra (86.1 FPS) indicates that the Ultra preset adds a significant CPU workload, likely in physics or AI calculations for the sports simulation, that the 6-thread part cannot handle as efficiently.

The CPU's 6 threads and lack of SMT appear to be a limiting factor in the Ultra preset across all resolutions. While the GPU is also strained at 4K, the fact that the 1080p Ultra result (151.6 FPS) is not dramatically higher than the 4K High result (107.6 FPS) suggests that the CPU is holding back performance even when the resolution is lower. The 50th percentile ranking reinforces this view; it is a mid-pack processor that can deliver high frame rates in less demanding scenarios but will struggle to maintain top-end performance when the game engine demands more from the processor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a high-end part based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip. It features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. The GPU's benchmark credentials are strong, sitting in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 38358. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, has an average score of 38349, a deltaPct of 0, indicating near-identical synthetic performance.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU's dominance is clear at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 322.3 FPS and 1440p Low of 291.4 FPS are exceptionally high, showcasing the raw rendering power of the RX 7900 XT. The GPU's 20 GB of VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any of the tested settings, as even 4K Ultra would not typically exceed this capacity in a sports title. The memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s also ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets are handled without issue.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as the resolution increases. The 4K results show a clear scaling pattern with settings: 184 FPS at Low, 130.7 FPS at Medium, 107.6 FPS at High, and 68.8 FPS at Ultra. This is a classic GPU-bound curve, where each increase in preset adds a significant load on the rendering pipeline. The 4K Ultra result of 68.8 FPS is the lowest in the entire data set, and it is here that the GPU is working at its maximum capacity. The difference between the 1080p Ultra (151.6 FPS) and 4K Ultra (68.8 FPS) is 82.8 FPS, a 54.6% reduction, which clearly indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution and setting combination. The data shows that the RX 7900 XT provides ample performance for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p but will demand compromises in settings to achieve 60+ FPS at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in the test data?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 322.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system delivers an average of 68.8 FPS, which is the lowest result in the entire data set.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The steep drop from 283.4 FPS at Medium to 151.6 FPS at Ultra suggests the 6-thread Intel Core i5-9400 cannot keep up with the increased CPU workload of the Ultra preset, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1440p High and 4K High?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 High is 173.2 FPS, while at 3840x2160 High it is 107.6 FPS. This represents a drop of 65.6 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which has a score of 38349 and a deltaPct of 0.

Q: Does the system maintain above 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes. The data shows the system averages 107.6 FPS at 4K High, 130.7 FPS at 4K Medium, and 184 FPS at 4K Low, all of which are well above the 60 FPS threshold. Only the 4K Ultra setting falls below, at 68.8 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates recorded across all tested resolutions and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | ----------: |

| 3840x2160 | High | 107.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 184 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 130.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 68.8 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 173.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 291.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 207.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 112.4 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 237.7 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 322.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 283.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 151.6 |

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 300 FPS only at Low settings. The 1440p results show a similar pattern, with Low settings yielding 291.4 FPS. At 4K, no preset exceeds 200 FPS, and the Ultra setting drops to 68.8 FPS. This combination of a mid-range 6-core CPU and a high-end GPU produces a system that is excellent for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it requires careful settings management at 4K to maintain smooth frame rates.