Valorant

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Valorant among tested CPU-GPU pairings?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1702 out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while this setup is far from the top, it is also not near the bottom of the performance table.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093. It sits within 1.6% of several rivals: it trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile by 0.4%, the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 by 0.5%, the AMD Radeon RX 460 by 1.5%, and the Intel Arc A770M by 1.6%. These deltas are all small, meaning the GPU is clustered tightly with those alternatives.

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 596, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only tested configuration that breaks the 500 FPS barrier, and it is nearly 2.5 times higher than the lowest recorded average of 243 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the FPS spread between Low (596) and Ultra (356) settings is substantial, with a 240 FPS difference. The fact that dropping from Ultra to Low yields such a large gain suggests the GPU is still doing meaningful work even at this lower resolution, though the very high frame rates indicate neither component is a severe bottleneck.

Q: What is the only measured configuration that includes minimum and maximum FPS data?

A: The Medium settings preset includes min/max FPS data at all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the range is 334 to 451 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 285 to 385 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 227 to 308 FPS. The High, Low, and Ultra presets only have average FPS recorded.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F's single-thread score compare to its multithread score?

A: The CPU's PassMark single-thread score is 4691, while its multithread score is 36470. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for an esports title like Valorant, where per-core speed often dictates frame pacing and responsiveness.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using the TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card in the upper-midrange tier of the GeForce 20-series lineup.

In Valorant, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 596 (Low) down to 356 (Ultra), showing that even at the lowest preset, the GPU is capable of driving very high frame rates. However, the gap between presets widens at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 406 FPS while Ultra drops to 243 FPS, a difference of 163 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's shading units (2176), texture mapping units (136), and raster output pipelines (64) are being taxed more heavily at 4K, especially with higher-quality textures and effects.

The GPU also has ray tracing cores (34) and tensor cores (272), though Valorant does not leverage these features meaningfully. The card's FP32 throughput is 7.181 TFLOPS, which is more than sufficient for a competitive shooter that prioritizes frame rate over visual fidelity. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is ample for Valorant at any resolution, as the game's textures are not particularly demanding. Even at 4K Ultra, the memory bus width of 256 bits and bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s provide enough headroom for the game's data streaming needs.

Notably, the RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score is 18093, placing it in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score are the RTX 3060 Mobile (18159, 0.4% ahead), the Radeon Pro 5700 (18189, 0.5% ahead), the Radeon RX 460 (18373, 1.5% ahead), and the Intel Arc A770M (18383, 1.6% ahead). These are all close margins, suggesting that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a well-balanced performer in its class, though not a standout.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the combo scales across the three tested resolutions: 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. Starting with Low settings, the average FPS drops from 596 at 1080p to 508 at 1440p (a 14.8% decrease), and then to 406 at 4K (a 20.1% decrease from 1440p). This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, but even at 4K Low, the frame rate remains exceptionally high for a competitive shooter.

For Medium settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 392, which falls to 335 at 1440p and further to 268 at 4K. The percentage drops are 14.5% and 20.0% respectively, closely mirroring the Low preset's scaling pattern. The min/max values at Medium show that the 1080p range is 334 to 451 FPS, the 1440p range is 285 to 385 FPS, and the 4K range is 227 to 308 FPS. The narrowing of the min-max spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently the limiting factor, reducing the variance caused by CPU-bound moments.

High settings yield 374 FPS at 1080p, 319 FPS at 1440p, and 255 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 14.7%, and from 1440p to 4K is 20.1%. Ultra settings produce 356 FPS at 1080p, 304 FPS at 1440p, and 243 FPS at 4K, with corresponding drops of 14.6% and 20.1%. The consistency of the percentage drops across all presets (roughly 14-15% from 1080p to 1440p, and 20% from 1440p to 4K) indicates that the scaling is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance (PassMark score of 4691) is able to feed the GPU sufficiently, allowing the GPU's capabilities to shine. At 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant constraints, as evidenced by the broader FPS gaps between presets (406 Low vs. 243 Ultra). The combo never drops below 227 FPS in any measured configuration, so the limiting component only matters for those chasing the absolute highest refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset offers the most compelling option. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 392 FPS with a min/max range of 334 to 451 FPS. This is only 18 FPS lower than High settings (374 FPS) but provides a significant boost over Ultra (356 FPS) while still maintaining a solid visual presentation. The min FPS of 334 at Medium is higher than the average FPS of Ultra (356), meaning even the worst-case frame times at Medium are close to the typical performance at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 335 FPS average with a range of 285 to 385 FPS. This is 31 FPS higher than Ultra's 304 FPS and only 16 FPS lower than High's 319 FPS. The 285 FPS minimum at Medium is still well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors, ensuring smooth gameplay even in intense firefights. The Medium preset also provides the only complete min/max data across all resolutions, allowing for more confident performance predictions.

For 4K gaming, Medium again stands out with 268 FPS average and a min/max of 227 to 308 FPS. This is 13 FPS higher than High (255 FPS) and 25 FPS higher than Ultra (243 FPS). The 227 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is still comfortably above 144 Hz, making this the recommended preset for those with 4K high-refresh displays. Low settings at 4K do offer a substantial jump to 406 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth the frame rate gain for most players, especially since Medium already exceeds 240 FPS on average.

The Ultra preset, while offering the best visual fidelity, yields the lowest averages at every resolution: 356 FPS at 1080p, 304 FPS at 1440p, and 243 FPS at 4K. The performance cost of Ultra over Medium ranges from 36 FPS at 1080p to 25 FPS at 4K. Given that Valorant is a competitive title where frame rate consistency matters more than marginal graphical improvements, Medium provides the optimal compromise between responsiveness and image quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 1702 out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the 59th percentile of all tested pairings. This is a middling result for a combo that features a high-end CPU (the Ryzen 7 9700F sits in the 94th percentile among all CPUs) paired with a mid-range GPU (62nd percentile among all GPUs). The rank suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter in this pairing, as the CPU's performance is significantly above average.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 69996, which places it just 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163) and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875). It also leads the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515) by 0.7% and the Intel Core i7-14700K (69355) by 0.9%. These margins are tiny, indicating that the Ryzen 7 9700F is competitive with some of the best CPUs available. Its PassMark multithread score of 36470 and single-thread score of 4691 both support this strong standing.

However, the combo's rank of 1702 in Valorant is lower than what the CPU's percentile alone would suggest. This discrepancy is explained by the GPU's relatively modest position. The RTX 2060 SUPER's average score of 18093 places it just below several rivals, and its 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs means there are many faster options. In a game like Valorant, where frame rates are already very high, the GPU's limitations become more apparent when pushing for the highest possible FPS.

The rank implies that hundreds of other combos achieve higher frame rates in Valorant, likely due to more powerful GPUs. For context, the combo's best average FPS of 596 at 1080p Low is excellent in absolute terms, but many other tested combos presumably exceed this. The 2883 total combos tested means the 1702 rank is slightly below the median, so this pairing is representative of a typical mid-range gaming rig rather than a high-end esports machine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low settings: 596 FPS average. This is the highest recorded average for the entire combo, exceeding the 1440p Low result by 88 FPS and the 4K Low result by 190 FPS.
• Medium settings: 392 FPS average, with a minimum of 334 FPS and a maximum of 451 FPS. The min-max spread of 117 FPS is the widest of any Medium preset across resolutions, indicating more variance in frame times at 1080p.
• High settings: 374 FPS average. This is 18 FPS lower than Medium and 18 FPS higher than Ultra, placing it squarely in the middle of the presets.
• Ultra settings: 356 FPS average. The difference between Ultra and Low at 1080p is 240 FPS, the largest gap between any two presets at any resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low settings: 508 FPS average. The drop from 1080p Low is 88 FPS, representing a 14.8% decrease.
• Medium settings: 335 FPS average, with a minimum of 285 FPS and a maximum of 385 FPS. The 100 FPS spread is narrower than at 1080p, showing improved frame time consistency.
• High settings: 319 FPS average. This is 16 FPS below Medium and 15 FPS above Ultra, maintaining the same relative ordering as at 1080p.
• Ultra settings: 304 FPS average. The gap between Ultra and Low at 1440p is 204 FPS, slightly narrower than the 1080p gap.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low settings: 406 FPS average. This is the only 4K preset that exceeds 400 FPS, and it does so by a comfortable margin.
• Medium settings: 268 FPS average, with a minimum of 227 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS. The 81 FPS spread is the tightest of all Medium presets, suggesting the GPU is consistently the bottleneck.
• High settings: 255 FPS average. The drop from Medium to High is 13 FPS, the smallest such gap across all resolutions.
• Ultra settings: 243 FPS average. This is the lowest recorded average for the entire combo, yet it still exceeds 240 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh 4K displays.

The overall trend shows that the combo maintains playable frame rates at all tested configurations, with the lowest average being 243 FPS at 4K Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent across presets, with approximately a 20% drop from 1440p to 4K and a 14-15% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This indicates a well-balanced performance profile where neither component completely dominates the other, though the GPU's influence grows with resolution.