Valorant

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers exceptional performance in Valorant, with average frame rates ranging from 267.2 FPS at 4K Ultra to 392.5 FPS at 1080p Low. The data confirms this pairing as a top-tier option for competitive play, ranking 1273rd out of 1650 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations. The benchmark results show that this system is consistently capable of pushing frame rates far beyond the refresh rates of most high-end monitors, making it an ideal choice for esports-focused gamers.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Zen 2 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This CPU sits in the 76th percentile against all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 18129. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, scores 18150, placing the Ryzen 5 3600 just 0.1% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 18101, a 0.2% difference in favor of the 3600.

In Valorant, the CPU's performance is directly reflected in the frame rates across all settings. The 6-core/12-thread configuration provides ample headroom for the game's physics and game logic, as evidenced by the 3DMark 16-thread score of 4605 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045. The single-thread performance, crucial for games like Valorant, is strong at 2124 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which pairs well with the 3DMark single-thread score of 696. This ensures that even at lower resolutions where the CPU is the primary bottleneck, the system delivers high frame rates, as shown by the 392.5 FPS average at 1080p Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and the card occupies the 65th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 22206. The RTX 2070 SUPER's closest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A400 with a score of 22307, a 0.5% difference, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z trails at 22006, a 0.9% gap.

In this game, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Valorant's moderate texture requirements, preventing any memory-related bottlenecks. The card's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the game's rendering efficiently, as evidenced by the PassMark G3D score of 18169. At 1080p, the GPU is often underutilized, with the CPU limiting performance, but at 4K, the GPU's workload increases meaningfully. The data demonstrates this shift, with 4K Ultra averaging 267.2 FPS compared to 1080p Ultra at 320.2 FPS, showing a 53 FPS drop that is primarily attributable to the GPU's rendering load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling from 1080p to 4K, with the limiting component shifting based on resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 392.5 FPS, which drops to 371.4 FPS at 1440p Low, a 5.4% decrease. Moving further to 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 341.9 FPS, an additional 7.9% drop. This relatively modest decline across resolutions indicates that at Low settings, the CPU remains the primary bottleneck even at 4K.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at higher settings, where the GPU's workload increases. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 320.2 FPS at 1080p to 304.9 FPS at 1440p, a 4.8% reduction, and then to 267.2 FPS at 4K, a further 12.4% drop. This larger decline at 4K Ultra suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at this resolution. The data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is still capable of maintaining high frame rates even at 4K, but the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution, from a 18.4% difference at 1080p (392.5 vs 320.2 FPS) to a 21.8% difference at 4K (341.9 vs 267.2 FPS).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings balance between visual quality and performance depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. The data shows that the Medium preset offers a strong compromise, delivering 335.1 FPS at 1080p, 314.9 FPS at 1440p, and 294.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 14.6% improvement over Ultra settings at 1080p while maintaining visual fidelity.

High settings provide slightly better visuals than Medium, with frame rates of 323.4 FPS at 1080p, 310.3 FPS at 1440p, and 279 FPS at 4K. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, with Ultra delivering 320.2 FPS at 1080p versus 323.4 FPS for High, a mere 1% difference, suggesting that Ultra settings offer no meaningful visual benefit for the slight performance cost. For competitive play, Low settings at 1080p provide the highest frame rate at 392.5 FPS, but the 17.1% improvement over Medium may not justify the visual quality loss for most players. The data indicates that Medium settings at 1440p, delivering 314.9 FPS, represent the best overall experience for high-refresh-rate monitors.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1273rd out of 1650 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations. This ranking is notable given that the individual components sit at the 76th percentile (CPU) and 65th percentile (GPU), suggesting that the pairing is particularly well-suited to this game's requirements. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2124, compensates for the GPU's mid-tier percentile ranking, allowing the system to achieve frame rates that exceed expectations.

The ranking indicates that this combo outperforms a significant majority of tested configurations, which is remarkable for a system built around components released in 2019. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-11400 with a 0.1% lower score, demonstrate that the Ryzen 5 3600 remains competitive with newer processors in this workload. The GPU's position relative to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile, which scores 2.3% higher, shows that desktop-class performance still holds its own against newer mobile offerings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Valorant?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 392.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 scores 18129, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-11400's 18150 and 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS's 18101.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 320.2 FPS at 1080p to 267.2 FPS at 4K, a 53 FPS reduction.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K Low settings?

A: The data shows a 12.4% drop from 1440p Low (371.4 FPS) to 4K Low (341.9 FPS), indicating the CPU remains the primary bottleneck even at 4K Low.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to the GTX TITAN Z in average GPU score?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 22206, which is 0.9% higher than the GTX TITAN Z's 22006.

Q: What percentile does the CPU rank among all processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ranks in the 76th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 18129.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings achieve 392.5 FPS, Medium reaches 335.1 FPS, High produces 323.4 FPS, and Ultra yields 320.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 72.3 FPS, representing an 18.4% difference. Medium settings provide a 17.1% improvement over Low while delivering a 4.7% advantage over High.

At 2560x1440, the performance scaling continues with Low settings at 371.4 FPS, Medium at 314.9 FPS, High at 310.3 FPS, and Ultra at 304.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra widens to 66.5 FPS, a 17.9% reduction. Medium settings here offer a 15.2% improvement over Low and a 1.5% advantage over High.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes more apparent. Low settings maintain 341.9 FPS, Medium drops to 294.2 FPS, High reaches 279 FPS, and Ultra falls to 267.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 74.7 FPS, a 21.8% reduction. This resolution shows the largest performance gap between settings, confirming the GPU's increasing role at 4K. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient across all resolutions, with no indication of memory capacity limiting performance.