Valorant

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a unique data set for Valorant, a game known for its high frame rates and responsiveness. The measured results show a system capable of outputting extremely high FPS across all tested configurations, positioning it in the lower tier of tested combos but delivering playable performance. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, scaling behavior, and the distinct roles the CPU and GPU play in this specific title, based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data indicates that performance scales predictably with resolution, but the nature of the scaling reveals a complex relationship between the CPU and GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 331 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 282 FPS, a decrease of 49 FPS or roughly 15%. At 4K Low, the average further falls to 225 FPS, a 57 FPS drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern suggests a strong CPU influence, as the low graphical load at these settings allows the CPU to push high frame rates, but the GPU is still burdened by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling behavior changes as settings increase. At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 218 at 1080p to 186 at 1440p (a 32 FPS reduction) and then to 149 at 4K (a 37 FPS reduction). At High settings, the progression is 207 FPS at 1080p, 177 at 1440p, and 141 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with 198 FPS at 1080p, 169 at 1440p, and 135 at 4K. The consistent FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting component as the render resolution increases, even with a relatively capable CPU.

The data shows that the most significant performance hit occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K, particularly at lower settings. For instance, the 4K Low result is 43% lower than the 1080p Low result, while the 4K Ultra result is 32% lower than the 1080p Ultra result. This indicates that the GPU is more heavily taxed by the resolution increase when the settings are low, as the CPU is not the bottleneck. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the GPU is already working harder, so the relative impact of the resolution increase is slightly less pronounced, though still substantial. The benchmark results suggest that for maximum frame rates, 1080p is the optimal resolution for this combo, but 1440p remains highly playable, and even 4K exceeds 135 FPS on average in all tested presets.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 331, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average FPS of 135, which is the lowest average score recorded in the dataset.

Q: What is the FPS range at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 186, with a minimum FPS of 158 and a maximum FPS of 214.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data shows a substantial gap. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 331 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 198 FPS, a difference of 133 FPS.

Q: Does the combo maintain a high minimum FPS in any configuration?

A: The dataset includes minimum FPS values only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 185, and at 2560x1440 Medium, it is 158. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum FPS is 126.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo rank in game is 2534 out of 2883 tested combos, placing it in the lower 12% of all tested systems for Valorant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance high frame rates with visual fidelity. For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset at 1080p yields the highest average FPS at 331. This is the most responsive configuration in the dataset. However, the Medium preset offers a more balanced experience, providing an average of 218 FPS at 1080p with a minimum of 185 FPS, ensuring a solid floor for frame pacing. The performance jump from Medium to High at 1080p is relatively small (from 218 to 207 FPS), while Ultra yields a slightly lower 198 FPS. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for 1080p, offering a significant improvement in visual quality over Low with only a 34% reduction in average FPS compared to the Low setting.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again appears to be the most balanced choice. It delivers an average FPS of 186 with a minimum of 158, which is still well above the 144 FPS threshold often considered smooth. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p deliver 177 and 169 FPS, respectively, making them viable alternatives if higher visual fidelity is desired. At 4K, the Medium preset provides an average of 149 FPS and a minimum of 126, which is playable but shows the GPU struggling more. The High and Ultra presets at 4K deliver 141 and 135 FPS, respectively. The benchmark results indicate that for the best experience, users should prioritize 1080p or 1440p with Medium settings to maintain high average and minimum FPS, reserving 4K for scenarios where frame rate is less critical than resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this combo at rank 2534 out of 2883 tested combinations for Valorant. This ranking indicates that while the system is fully capable of running the game, it is outperformed by the vast majority of other hardware pairings in the benchmark database. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 73, meaning it outperforms 73% of all CPUs. However, the GPU's percentile ranking is only 9, meaning it outperforms just 9% of all GPUs. This significant disparity suggests that the GPU is the primary factor limiting the combo's overall rank.

The combo rank of 2534 reflects the GPU's low standing in the database. The measured FPS, while high in absolute terms, are likely lower than what would be achieved with a more powerful graphics card. The data shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to reach 331 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU's performance ceiling in synthetic benchmarks (1482 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12) is very low. This suggests that the GPU is holding back the CPU's full potential in a game like Valorant, which is typically less GPU-intensive than other titles. The result is a system that ranks low due to the GPU's relative weakness compared to other tested components, even though the actual gameplay experience is smooth.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It belongs to the 5000 series based on the Zen 3 architecture and is built on a 7 nm process. The CPU has a 16 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319.

In the context of Valorant, the CPU's role is critical. The game is known to be CPU-bound, especially at lower resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the FPS at 1080p Low (331) is much higher than at 4K Low (225), indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor at the lower resolution. The CPU's high single-core performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 1730, likely contributes to the high frame rates seen in the data. The CPU's core count and thread count are also relevant, as Valorant can utilize multiple cores. The CPU's benchmark results indicate it has a robust processing capability, which is sufficient to drive the high frame rates observed in the game. The combo's rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, but rather the overall system's, and the CPU is clearly capable of handling this title without bottlenecking the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS for all preset combinations, with minimum and maximum FPS values recorded only for Medium settings.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: Average 331 FPS.
• Medium: Average 218 FPS, Minimum 185 FPS, Maximum 250 FPS.
• High: Average 207 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 198 FPS.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: Average 282 FPS.
• Medium: Average 186 FPS, Minimum 158 FPS, Maximum 214 FPS.
• High: Average 177 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 169 FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: Average 225 FPS.
• Medium: Average 149 FPS, Minimum 126 FPS, Maximum 171 FPS.
• High: Average 141 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 135 FPS.

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy: Low settings always yield the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The FPS drop from Low to Ultra is more pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 133 FPS, while at 4K, the difference is 90 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is more easily saturated at higher resolutions, reducing the performance gap between settings. The minimum FPS values recorded for Medium settings provide an insight into frame time consistency, with the 1080p Medium configuration showing a minimum of 185 FPS, which is a strong indicator of smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU uses system shared memory for its VRAM, with its bandwidth being system dependent. It features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS.

The GPU's role in Valorant is significant, as it is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates as resolution increases. The 4K Ultra result of 135 FPS is the lowest in the dataset, indicating the GPU's limitations. The GPU's percentile ranking of 9 is very low, and its average benchmark score of 1482 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. These comparisons place it in a performance class that is generally not suited for high-end gaming. However, in Valorant, the GPU still manages to produce playable frame rates, even at 4K. The data suggests that while the GPU is the primary limiter for maximum resolution and quality settings, it is still capable of delivering a playable experience in this specific game due to its relatively low graphical demands. The high boost clock of 2500 MHz likely helps the GPU maintain its performance, but it is still ultimately constrained by its limited memory bandwidth and ROP count.