Valorant

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Valorant, with the data showing average FPS figures that consistently exceed 448 across all tested resolutions and settings. This combination ranks in the 90th percentile among all tested CPU-GPU pairings for this title, placing it at position 168 out of 1650 combos, a result that underscores the hardware's capacity to handle a competitive FPS with substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 620.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the peak performance point in the measured data.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 scores 29,302 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which places it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, while being 0.6% behind the Intel Core i9-13905H and 1.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235T.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and percentile ranking?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66,473, placing it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66,733, which is a 0.4% difference.

Q: Does the combo's ranking in Valorant reflect its overall hardware percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 168th out of 1650 tested combinations, which is approximately the 90th percentile. This is slightly below the CPU's 91st percentile and the GPU's 91st percentile, indicating that in this specific game, the pairing performs in line with, but not above, its general hardware capabilities.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 543.9 on Low settings to 448.8 on Ultra settings, a difference of 95.1 FPS, representing a 17.5% reduction in performance when moving to the highest quality preset.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how might it affect performance?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This high bandwidth is more than sufficient for Valorant's data requirements, allowing the GPU to operate without memory-related bottlenecks at the tested settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 serves as the primary rendering engine in this configuration, and its specifications indicate a massive amount of headroom for a game like Valorant. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory delivering a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s across a 384-bit bus. This memory subsystem is critical for feeding the 16,384 shading units, which are responsible for the bulk of pixel processing.

In the context of Valorant's measured results, the GPU's role appears to be less about brute-force pixel pushing and more about maintaining a high, stable ceiling. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 620.5 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it still manages 448.8 FPS. The relatively modest drop in performance when increasing resolution and settings suggests that the GPU is never fully saturated; instead, the frame rate is likely governed by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic.

The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present but largely irrelevant for Valorant, which does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data. The FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is an indicator of raw compute capability, but the game's simple geometry and lighting mean this power is underutilized. The data implies that the RTX 4090 is a future-proofing choice for this title, providing a buffer for potential engine updates or more demanding titles, but for Valorant, its role is to ensure that the frame rate is limited only by the CPU and the game's engine, not by the graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 168 out of 1650 tested combinations in Valorant. This places the pairing in the top 10% of all tested systems, a position that is consistent with the individual components' high standings. The CPU sits in the 91st percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 40,468, and the GPU similarly sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs with a score of 66,473.

The ranking suggests that while this is a very high-performing combo, it is not the absolute top tier for this specific game. The delta between the combo's rank and the hardware's individual percentiles hints that other pairings, perhaps with higher-clocked CPUs or more optimized memory configurations, can achieve marginally better frame rates in Valorant. The data indicates that the combo is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H in CPU benchmarks, but this does not translate to a definitive lead in game performance, as the ranking shows there are 167 other combinations that perform better.

This outcome is typical for a game like Valorant, which is known to be CPU-bound at high frame rates. The RTX 4090's immense power is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU's single-thread and multi-thread performance dictates the final frame rate. With a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,136, the Ryzen 7 7700 is strong, but other CPUs may have a slight edge in the specific workloads Valorant presents, leading to the observed rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers an average of 620.5 FPS on Low settings, 525.9 on Medium, 518.5 on High, and 508.7 on Ultra. This shows a clear trend where lower settings yield higher frame rates, but the spread from Low to Ultra is only 111.8 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary bottleneck even at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures decline slightly. Low settings produce 584.2 FPS, Medium 500.1, High 490.2, and Ultra 483.3. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is more pronounced at Low settings (a 36.3 FPS decrease) than at Ultra settings (a 25.4 FPS decrease). This pattern suggests that the GPU is beginning to take on a larger share of the workload as pixel count increases, but it is still not the limiting factor, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the performance continues to scale down. Low settings yield 543.9 FPS, Medium 464.6, High 455, and Ultra 448.8. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Low settings is 40.3 FPS, while at Ultra settings it is 34.5 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 4090 maintains a high level of performance, but the frame rate is increasingly influenced by resolution, though never to the point of dropping below 448 FPS in any configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals how the system's frame rate responds to increasing pixel counts, which is indicative of the balance between CPU and GPU load. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS across all settings drops by a small margin. At Low settings, the decrease is 36.3 FPS (from 620.5 to 584.2), which is a 5.8% reduction. At Ultra settings, the decrease is 25.4 FPS (from 508.7 to 483.3), a 5.0% reduction. This relatively flat scaling implies that the CPU is still the dominant constraint at 1440p, as the GPU can handle the extra pixels without a significant performance penalty.

The step from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 shows a more substantial drop. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 584.2 to 543.9, a decrease of 40.3 FPS or 6.9%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 483.3 to 448.8, a decrease of 34.5 FPS or 7.1%. While the percentage drop is only slightly higher than the 1080p to 1440p transition, the absolute FPS values remain incredibly high. This indicates that even at 4K, the system is not GPU-bound in the traditional sense; rather, the increased resolution adds more work for the GPU, but the CPU still has enough headroom to keep the frame rate well above 400 FPS.

The overall scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K shows a total decrease of 76.6 FPS at Low settings (from 620.5 to 543.9) and 59.9 FPS at Ultra settings (from 508.7 to 448.8). This suggests that the limiting component is the CPU. The Ryzen 7 7700's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 4,136 score in Cinebench R23, is the primary driver of frame rate, and the GPU's capabilities are underutilized. The data indicates that upgrading to a higher-resolution display would not significantly hamper performance, as the combo retains playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, but the CPU's performance ceiling is what ultimately caps the maximum achievable FPS.