Valorant

Valorant is a title where the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates, with the data showing that the CPU is the primary driver of performance across all tested resolutions. The measured results indicate that this pairing is far more capable than necessary for standard 60Hz or even 144Hz displays, making it a strong option for high-refresh-rate competitive play. This analysis breaks down the benchmark data to show how the system scales across resolutions, where the GPU fits in, and how to optimize settings for the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark results show a clear and predictable pattern: as resolution increases, average frame rates decrease, but the magnitude of that decrease reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 715 FPS, which drops to 678 FPS at 1440p and 546 FPS at 4K. This scaling is relatively mild, especially between 1080p and 1440p, where the frame rate only falls by 37 FPS (about 5%). This suggests that at these lower resolutions, the Ryzen 7 9700F is the limiting component, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

The drop becomes more pronounced when moving from 1440p to 4K, where the Low settings frame rate falls from 678 FPS to 546 FPS, a decrease of 132 FPS (roughly 19%). This indicates that at 4K, the RTX 3070's workload increases enough to start becoming a more significant factor, though it still never becomes a strict bottleneck. The same pattern holds for High settings: 502 FPS at 1080p, 428 FPS at 1440p, and 342 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is 160 FPS, which is a 32% reduction, showing that higher settings amplify the resolution scaling effect.

Looking at the Ultra preset, the frame rates are 478 FPS at 1080p, 408 FPS at 1440p, and 326 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K here is 152 FPS, or about 32%, which is nearly identical to the High preset. This consistency suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth, which are fixed regardless of the preset. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system never dips below 326 FPS average, which is still far above the refresh rate of most monitors, indicating that the combo is overkill for this game at any resolution.

The fact that the frame rate at 4K Low (546 FPS) is higher than the frame rate at 1080p Ultra (478 FPS) is telling. It means that settings have a larger impact on performance than resolution does, within the tested range. This is characteristic of a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions, where reducing graphical load does little to improve FPS, but at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes more engaged. For a player using a 144Hz monitor, the data shows that this combo will easily max out the display at 1080p and 1440p on any preset, and even at 4K, it will stay above 300 FPS on Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. In Valorant, a game that is not graphically demanding, this bandwidth is more than sufficient, and the data confirms that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor. The GPU's base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and it features 5888 shading units, which contribute to its ability to handle the game's relatively simple shaders and effects at high fill rates.

The FPGA32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS is a strong indicator of raw compute power, which is relevant for rendering the game's clean, low-polygon environments. However, the benchmark results show that the RTX 3070's role diminishes as the CPU takes over. At 1080p Low, the GPU is likely idling much of the time, waiting for the CPU to feed it draw calls. The VRAM usage is not explicitly measured, but 8 GB is ample for Valorant, which is known for having low VRAM requirements, leaving plenty of headroom for future updates or background applications.

Comparing the RTX 3070 to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, it scores an average of 17208, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083). It is also 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037) and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019). The only rival it trails is the NVIDIA Tesla K40c, which scores 17468, putting the RTX 3070 1.5% behind. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the RTX 3070 is a solid mid-range performer, but the data suggests that for Valorant specifically, the GPU's exact position among these rivals is irrelevant, as all of them would likely exceed 300 FPS in this game.

The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs further underscores that it is a capable but not top-tier part. Its boost clock of 1725 MHz is relatively modest compared to newer cards, but the architecture is efficient enough to deliver high frame rates in lightly loaded scenarios. The data shows that the RTX 3070's performance is more than adequate for Valorant, and the primary takeaway is that it will not bottleneck the Ryzen 7 9700F at any resolution or settings level tested. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (326 FPS) confirms this, as it demonstrates that even the most demanding preset in this game is easily handled.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 538th out of 2883 combos for Valorant. This places it in the top 18.7% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The high rank is primarily attributable to the CPU's exceptional single-thread performance, which is critical for Valorant's engine, rather than the GPU's contribution. The data indicates that the combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, even those with more powerful GPUs, because the CPU is the key to high frame rates in this title.

To put this rank in context, the Ryzen 7 9700F itself has a percentile ranking of 94 among all CPUs, meaning it is faster than 94% of processors tested. Its average benchmark score is 69996, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. For instance, it is 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875) and 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515). It trails the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 0.2% (70163) and the Intel Core i7-14700K by 0.9% (69355). These tiny deltas show that the 9700F is in the top tier of CPUs, and its performance in Valorant is likely limited only by the game's engine itself.

The combo's rank of 538 out of 2883 suggests that while it is a highly capable system, there are many other combinations that score higher. This could be due to CPUs with even higher single-thread scores or systems with faster memory. However, for the vast majority of players, this rank is more than sufficient, as it guarantees frame rates well above any practical display refresh rate. The data shows that this combo is not a fringe outlier but rather a well-balanced pairing that sits comfortably in the upper quartile of tested systems, making it a reliable choice for competitive gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. For a 1080p or 1440p 144Hz monitor, the Low preset is the best choice if the goal is to maximize frame rates, as it yields 715 FPS and 678 FPS respectively, which are far beyond what any display can show. However, the Medium preset offers a better balance, providing 527 FPS at 1080p and 450 FPS at 1440p, with the added benefit of improved visual quality, such as better shadows and textures, without any noticeable performance penalty.

For those with 4K displays, the High preset at 342 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (360 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that is nearly three times higher than a 120Hz display's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 326 FPS is also viable, and the data shows that the difference between High and Ultra is only 16 FPS at 4K, making Ultra the better choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. At 1440p, the Ultra preset (408 FPS) is only 20 FPS slower than High (428 FPS), so there is little reason not to enable Ultra if the user prioritizes image quality.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for most users, as it provides the highest minimum FPS among the presets with recorded min/max values. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 448, which is higher than the average FPS of the Ultra preset at the same resolution (478 FPS average, but no min recorded). This indicates that Medium offers more consistent frame pacing, which is crucial for competitive play. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 382 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 306 FPS, all of which are well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. Therefore, for a competitive edge, Medium is recommended, while for solo play or content creation, Ultra provides the best visuals with only a marginal FPS cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 715 FPS, the highest recorded for this combo. The Medium preset averages 527 FPS, with a minimum of 448 FPS and a maximum of 606 FPS. High averages 502 FPS, and Ultra averages 478 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in settings costs roughly 25-30 FPS, but even the lowest average (478 FPS) is exceptionally high.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset still delivers a very high 678 FPS, dropping to 450 FPS on Medium (with a min of 382 and max of 517), 428 FPS on High, and 408 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 228 FPS, which is larger than the gap between Medium and Ultra (42 FPS). This indicates that the Medium preset is where the GPU starts to take on more work, but the CPU remains the dominant factor. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium (382 FPS) is still higher than the average FPS of most systems, showing that this combo is robust.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 546 FPS, which is still remarkably high. Medium averages 360 FPS with a min of 306 and max of 413, High averages 342 FPS, and Ultra averages 326 FPS. The resolution scaling is most evident here, with the Low preset dropping from 678 FPS at 1440p to 546 FPS at 4K, a 19% reduction. However, the absolute numbers remain stellar. Across all resolutions and settings, the average FPS never falls below 326, and the lowest recorded minimum is 306 FPS at 4K Medium. This data conclusively shows that the combo is overkill for Valorant, providing a buttery-smooth experience even at the highest settings and resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is the star of this pairing, and the data shows that it is the primary driver of Valorant's high frame rates. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), it has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for Valorant, which is a game that heavily relies on single-thread performance. The CPU's L3 cache is 32 MB shared, which helps reduce memory latency and improves game performance.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its strength. Its single-thread score is 4691, which is exceptionally high and directly translates to the frame rates seen in the measured data. The multithread score of 36470 also shows it is a capable multi-core processor, but in Valorant, the single-thread score is the more relevant metric. Compared to its nearest rivals, the 9700F's average benchmark score of 69996 is nearly identical to the Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875), which is a mobile chip, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163). This indicates that the 9700F is at the top of the heap for gaming performance.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors, and this is reflected in the frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 715 FPS, which is likely near the practical limit of the game engine or the CPU's ability to process the game logic. Even when the GPU is pushed harder at 4K Ultra, the CPU is still able to maintain an average of 326 FPS, proving that it is not a bottleneck. The 65W TDP is also noteworthy, as it indicates high efficiency, but the benchmark results are what matter most: this CPU is a top-tier performer for Valorant, and the RTX 3070 is merely along for the ride, providing enough graphical power to keep up with the CPU's output.