Valorant

Valorant is not a typical GPU stress test; it is a competitive FPS where frame pacing and CPU throughput often dictate the experience. The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 creates an extreme imbalance, where the 8-core, 16-thread processor is the clear bottleneck. The measured data confirms this, showing that even at 4K, the frame rates are astronomically high, yet the scaling between resolutions reveals a system that is far from GPU-limited. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the combo's standing, and what the numbers mean for a player seeking maximum refresh rates.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K is remarkably flat, which is the primary indicator that the CPU, not the GPU, is the limiting factor. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 502.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 441.7 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a decline of only 61.1 FPS, or roughly 12%, when the pixel count increases by a factor of four. This tiny penalty shows that the RTX 4090 is barely breaking a sweat; the workload increase is being absorbed by the GPU's immense headroom, while the Ryzen 7 5700G remains the constant constraint.

The story is similar at higher quality presets. Moving from 1080p to 4K on Ultra settings results in a drop from 414.4 FPS to 363.1 FPS, a reduction of 51.3 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is also telling. At 4K, the spread is 78.6 FPS (from 441.7 to 363.1), while at 1080p, the spread is 88.4 FPS (from 502.8 to 414.4). This indicates that the GPU can handle the increased graphical load of Ultra settings without collapsing, but the overall ceiling is still imposed by the CPU's ability to feed the render pipeline. The data suggests that a player's choice of resolution will have a minor impact on performance, as the system is consistently CPU-bound across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific CPU-GPU combination at rank 653 out of 1650 tested combos for Valorant. This places it in the top 40% of all configurations, which is a respectable position given the CPU's age and market segment. However, the ranking is a direct reflection of the bottleneck: the RTX 4090 is capable of far more, but the Ryzen 7 5700G's single-thread performance caps the potential.

To contextualize the CPU's role, its benchmark score of 25626 places it at the 83rd percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance: the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U is 0.3% slower, the Intel Xeon D-2752TER is 0.4% faster, the Intel Core 5 210H is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U is 0.6% faster. These are all within a 1% margin, indicating that the 5700G is a solid, mid-tier performer in synthetic tests. Yet, in a game like Valorant, the single-thread score of 899 in 3dmark is more relevant, as the game's engine relies heavily on a few fast cores. The data shows that while this combo is not a top-tier contender, it still delivers playable frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most monitors.

Settings Recommendations

Given the data, the optimal setting is High, not Ultra. At 1920x1080, High delivers an average of 420 FPS, while Ultra drops to 414.4 FPS. The 5.6 FPS difference is negligible, but the visual fidelity gain from High to Ultra is often minimal in competitive shooters, where clarity and frame rate are prioritized. The Low preset offers the highest frame rate at 502.8 FPS, but it sacrifices visual information that could be useful for spotting enemies at a distance.

The data suggests that High is the sweet spot for a balanced experience. It provides a significant frame rate advantage over Medium (426.9 FPS at 1080p) and is within 2% of Ultra's performance, while likely offering better image quality than Medium. At 2560x1440, the High preset again proves superior, hitting 396.9 FPS compared to Ultra's 389.9 FPS. Even at 3840x2160, High's 369.5 FPS is a better choice than Ultra's 363.1 FPS, as the performance gain is consistent. The measured results indicate that High settings provide the best trade-off between visual quality and the maximum achievable frame rate on this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields 502.8 FPS, Medium yields 426.9 FPS, High yields 420 FPS, and Ultra yields 414.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers are 475.3 FPS for Low, 400.4 FPS for Medium, 396.9 FPS for High, and 389.9 FPS for Ultra. At 3840x2160, the Low preset still manages 441.7 FPS, while Medium, High, and Ultra produce 376.4, 369.5, and 363.1 FPS, respectively.

The most striking observation is the performance cliff between Low and Medium settings. At every resolution, the drop from Low to Medium is substantial: 75.9 FPS at 1080p, 74.9 FPS at 1440p, and 65.3 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Medium preset introduces a significant increase in CPU workload, likely related to particle effects or shadow complexity, that the Ryzen 7 5700G struggles to process. After that initial hit, the scaling from Medium to High to Ultra is far more gradual, with only 6.9 FPS separating Medium and Ultra at 1080p. This suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter, and once the workload surpasses a certain threshold, the GPU's capability becomes irrelevant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an absolute behemoth, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 128 RT cores are overkill for a game like Valorant, which is not graphically demanding. The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its raw power: it sits at the 91st percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 66473. Its nearest rivals, such as the Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, are within 1.3% of its score, showing a tight cluster at the top of the performance stack.

In this specific test, the RTX 4090's role is to ensure that frame times are consistent and that there is no GPU-induced stutter. The data shows that the GPU is never the bottleneck, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is above the refresh rate of any consumer monitor. The GPU's high boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16384 shading units are largely idle, waiting for the CPU to deliver draw calls. The combination of a top-tier GPU with a mid-range CPU from 2021 is a classic case of diminishing returns; the RTX 4090's capabilities are entirely untapped, and the system's performance is dictated by the 5700G's single-threaded prowess. The launch MSRP of 1,599 USD for the GPU highlights the investment, but the measured FPS shows that the CPU is the component that needs upgrading to unlock the GPU's true potential in this title.