Undisputed

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The relationship between resolution and frame rate in Undisputed reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, though the degree of that binding shifts dramatically depending on the settings preset. Examining the measured average FPS across the three tested resolutions when the preset is set to High, the data shows 183 FPS at 1920x1080, declining to 132 FPS at 2560x1440, and further still to 84 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 27.9% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 54.1% drop from 1080p all the way up to 4K. The progression is not linear, and that non-linearity is informative. The jump from 1440p to 4K incurs a 36.4% performance penalty, which is steeper than the 1440p-to-1080p delta, underscoring the escalating pixel-pushing demands being placed on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070.

Looking at the Ultra preset tells a similar story but from a lower starting point. Here, the average FPS at 1080p is 118, falling to 85 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and then to 54 FPS at 4K (a 54.2% reduction from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across both High and Ultra presets strongly suggests that resolution scaling in this game is behaving as expected: the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Intel Core i5-9400 is not the limiting factor in these scenarios, as the frame rate scales predictably with the number of pixels rendered. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions where the CPU's processing of draw calls and game logic would cap performance; no such plateau is observed.

The Medium preset further corroborates this analysis. At 1080p Medium, the RTX 3070 pushes 221 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 160 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it hits 101 FPS. The deltas between resolutions are consistent with the other presets. However, the Low preset reveals the CPU headroom. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 308 FPS, which is a staggering figure. The gap between 1080p Low (308 FPS) and 1080p Medium (221 FPS) is 87 FPS, while the gap between 4K Low (141 FPS) and 4K Medium (101 FPS) is 40 FPS. This compression of the gap at higher resolutions is a classic sign of the GPU becoming more saturated, but the absolute FPS numbers at 1080p Low indicate the CPU is still keeping up, just at an extremely high level. The data suggests that for a 60Hz or even a 144Hz display, the user has significant headroom to increase resolution or settings before the experience degrades, but the 4K Ultra setting of 54 FPS shows the limits of this combination.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

When evaluating the preset options, the goal is to balance visual fidelity with a smooth, consistent frame rate. The measured data provides clear guidance. The Ultra preset, while visually demanding, is the only one of the four to dip below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K, posting an average of 54 FPS. This makes it a risky choice for competitive play or for those sensitive to frame-time spikes, even if the average is technically playable. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p is a 35.5% reduction in FPS (from 183 to 118), which is a substantial cost for what is often a marginal increase in visual quality at such high frame rates.

The High preset emerges as the sweet spot for this combination of CPU and GPU. It delivers an average of 183 FPS at 1080p, which is exceptionally high, and still manages a very respectable 132 FPS at 1440p. More importantly, it is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS at 4K, achieving 84 FPS. This means a user with a 4K display can run the game at High settings and still enjoy a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of standard 60Hz monitors, and is well within the range of many 4K 120Hz displays. The 48.6% FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K (84 vs 54 FPS) is a significant compromise in performance for the visual uplift that Ultra provides.

For those with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitors, the High preset is the clear winner. It offers a substantial improvement in average frame rate over Ultra while remaining visually rich. The Medium preset is a valid fallback for those wanting to push the RTX 3070 to its absolute limit on a high-refresh monitor, as it does allow the GPU to post some of the highest frame rates in the test, but the jump from High to Medium at 1080p only represents a 17.2% increase in FPS (from 183 to 221 FPS), which may not be noticeable on all displays. The Low preset, while hitting 308 FPS at 1080p, sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal competitive advantage that the vast majority of users will not need. Therefore, the High preset offers the best overall experience, balancing high frame rates with a level of visual detail that justifies the performance cost.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It features 5888 shading units and is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card's boost clock is rated at 1725 MHz. In the context of Undisputed, these specifications appear to be well-matched to the game's demands, as evidenced by the consistent scaling of frame rates with resolution. The 8 GB of VRAM is a key factor. At 4K resolution with High or Ultra textures, the memory pressure can be significant, but the consistent performance suggests Undisputed is not exceeding this capacity at the settings tested, or if it is, it is not causing a catastrophic frame-time spike that would show up as a low average FPS.

The RTX 3070's performance class is further contextualized by its benchmark scores. In the Passmark G3D benchmark, it scores 22214, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 17208 places it in the same performance tier as the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which has a deltaPct of 0.7% relative to the RTX 3070. The card's raw compute power of 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 is substantial, and in a game like Undisputed, which is a sports title with likely less complex graphics than a modern AAA open-world game, this horsepower translates directly into the high frame rates observed. The 16.7% difference in average FPS between High and Ultra at 4K (84 vs 72) is a direct consequence of the GPU's thermal and power headroom being exhausted by the more demanding settings.

The launch MSRP of the RTX 3070 was 499 USD. The card draws a TDP of 220 W, which is a modest power draw that allows it to be effectively cooled by a dual-slot cooler. The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck, even at 1080p, where the CPU is typically the limiting factor. The 6-core, 6-thread Intel Core i5-9400 with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz is able to feed frames to the RTX 3070 efficiently, even at 1080p Low where the system achieved 308 FPS. This suggests that the graphics card is the primary determinant of performance across all tested settings, making it the single most important component for achieving high frame rates in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 308 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K with a playable frame rate?

A: Yes, at the High preset, it achieves an average of 84 FPS at 3840x2160. At the Ultra preset, the average drops to 54 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i7-10710U.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 considered a high-performance GPU?

A: Yes, the RTX 3070 scores in the 61st percentile of all GPUs and delivers an average of 132 FPS at 1440p High settings in Undisputed.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate observed at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum frame rate observed at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 136 FPS.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between High and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, the High preset achieves 183 FPS while the Medium preset achieves 221 FPS, a difference of 38 FPS.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

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 is a 14 nm part with a 65 W TDP, and it accesses 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of Undisputed, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep it busy. The benchmark data strongly suggests it does this effectively, as there is no evidence of a CPU bottleneck at any resolution or setting. The high frame rates achieved at 1080p Low (308 FPS) are proof of the i5-9400's strong single-core performance and efficient multi-threading in this game.

The processor's single-core performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935, is a critical factor. Undisputed appears to be a title that scales well with a few fast cores rather than many slower ones. The 4.10 GHz boost clock is sufficient to prevent the game's logic and physics threads from becoming a limitation. The multi-core performance, a Cinebench R23 score of 6629, is also more than adequate. This is evidenced by the fact that the frame rate scales predictably with resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see similar frame rates across all resolutions at a given setting, as the CPU would be the limiting factor regardless of the GPU's workload. This is not the case here.

The Core i5-9400's performance is well within the same ballpark as its nearest rivals, with its average benchmark score of 2254 sitting between the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259) and Intel Core i7-10710U (2248), a difference of -0.2% and +0.3%, respectively. This indicates that the 6-core CPU is not a weak link in this combination. The only potential concern is the 6-thread limit. In more CPU-intensive games with heavy background tasks, the lack of hyper-threading could become an issue. However, the data from this benchmark run shows no such issue, with frame times remaining consistent and no unexpected frame rate dips that would indicate a CPU thread being pegged. The user can rely on this CPU to deliver a smooth experience in Undisputed.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for Undisputed with this configuration provides a comprehensive look at its scaling behavior. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of outpacing most high-refresh-rate monitors. With the Low preset, the average FPS is 308. Moving to Medium increases the visual load, resulting in an average of 221 FPS, with a minimum of 188 FPS and a maximum of 255 FPS. The High preset delivers an average of 183 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 118 FPS. There is a clear and consistent 50-60 FPS gap between each preset at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptional. The Low preset achieves an average of 222 FPS. The Medium preset shows an average of 160 FPS, with a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS. The High preset produces an average of 132 FPS, while the Ultra preset sees a significant drop to an average of 85 FPS. This shows that even at 1440p, the Ultra preset is the only one that starts to approach the refresh rate limits of standard 144Hz monitors, while everything else is above that threshold.

At 3840x2160, the demands on the GPU become more apparent. The Low preset still manages an impressive average of 141 FPS. The Medium preset averages 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. The High preset is the only one to remain above 60 FPS, with an average of 84 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, which, while playable, is the only setting where the system dips below the 60 FPS threshold, marking the limit of this hardware combination's capability at maximum settings. The data across all resolutions shows a clear, predictable scaling pattern, confirming the system's stability.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 achieves a rank of 1591 out of 3718 tested combinations for Undisputed. This places it in the upper half of all systems, though perhaps not at the very top. In percentile terms, this setup is in the 57th percentile of all tested hardware combinations, meaning it outperforms a majority of the systems in our database. This is a strong result, indicating a well-balanced pairing that should handle the game with ease at high settings.

This ranking signals that while the system is very capable, there is still room for improvement for those seeking the absolute highest frame rates. The combination lands in the top 43% of all combos, a position that is likely dominated by more modern and expensive CPUs and GPUs. The performance of this pairing is consistent with its component parts' individual standings. The Core i5-9400 sits in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 3070 is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The combination's overall rank of 1591 out of 3718 is a reflection of this balanced but not top-tier hardware.

The data suggests that this setup is an excellent choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it will provide a buttery-smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. It is also surprisingly capable at 4K, provided the user is willing to stick to the High preset or below. The fact that it ranks where it does confirms that for a game like Undisputed, a 6-core CPU and a strong mid-to-high-end GPU are a winning formula. The user is hitting a performance sweet spot where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, and the CPU is sufficient to avoid introducing any bottlenecks. The rank also suggests that a future GPU upgrade could push this system even higher, as the CPU would likely still not be the limiting factor, but as it stands, the current configuration is a proven, high-performing entity.