Valorant

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers exceptional performance in Valorant, consistently producing frame rates that far exceed the requirements of high-refresh-rate displays. The data shows a pairing where the CPU’s strong single-thread performance and the GPU’s capable architecture combine to create a system that is rarely the bottleneck, even at 4K resolution. The measured results place this combo in the 967th position out of 2883 tested combinations, indicating that while it is a top-tier performer, there are other configurations that achieve even higher frame rates in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming more relevant as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 706 FPS. This massive frame rate indicates that the CPU, with its Zen 5 architecture and 5.50 GHz boost clock, is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 602 FPS, a decrease of 104 FPS or roughly 14.7%. This scaling is relatively mild, suggesting that the CPU is still the primary limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased pixel workload without a drastic performance hit.

The most significant scaling occurs between 1440p and 4K. At 3840x2160 Low, the average FPS falls to 481, which is a 121 FPS drop from the 1440p result. This 20.1% reduction is more pronounced, indicating that the RTX 4060 is beginning to reach its limits. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is being taxed more heavily at 4K, and the GPU’s compute capabilities are now the primary constraint. This trend is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at High settings, the frame rate drops from 443 FPS at 1080p to 378 FPS at 1440p (a 14.7% decrease), and then to 302 FPS at 4K (a 20.1% decrease from 1440p). The pattern clearly shows that while the CPU remains strong, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales up.

The data indicates that players using a 1080p or 1440p high-refresh-rate monitor (240Hz or 360Hz) will be limited by the CPU’s frame generation capacity, not the GPU. The system is capable of exceeding 600 FPS at 1440p Low, which is well beyond what most displays can show. At 4K, the system still delivers over 300 FPS on High settings, which is a remarkable achievement for a game like Valorant, but the scaling shows that the GPU is now the limiting component. The performance gap between Low and Ultra settings also narrows as resolution increases, further confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 plays a crucial role in determining the system’s performance ceiling, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU’s specifications include a boost clock of 2460 MHz and 3072 shading units, which are key factors in its ability to render frames. The benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 19545, and the GPU sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, indicating that it is a solid mid-range performer. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, such as the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and AMD Radeon 780M, have nearly identical average scores, with deltas of -0.2% and +0.3% respectively, which places the RTX 4060 in a tightly contested performance tier.

In Valorant, the GPU’s role is less about raw pixel pushing and more about maintaining high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game at all tested settings, as Valorant is not a VRAM-intensive title. The memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the game’s textures and geometry. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU can handle 4K Ultra at 288 FPS average, which confirms its efficiency. However, the scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a drop from 481 FPS to 288 FPS, a 40.1% reduction, which highlights the GPU’s limitations when processing higher graphical fidelity.

The RTX 4060’s performance is also contextualized by its Passmark DirectX 12 score of 76, which is its lowest benchmark result, while its DirectX 9 score of 236 is its highest. This suggests the architecture is well-optimized for older APIs, which is relevant for a game like Valorant that is designed to run on a wide range of hardware. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are sufficient for the game’s stylized visuals. The data shows that while the GPU is not the weakest link in this combo, it is the component that will determine the frame rate ceiling at 4K, particularly on Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 967th out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the 66.5th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is strong, but it also indicates that there are many other combinations that produce higher frame rates. The CPU’s individual performance is a major contributor to this ranking. The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996 and sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Intel Core i7-14700KF, have scores that are within 0.2% of the 9700F, showing that the CPU is in a highly competitive performance tier. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 4691 is particularly important for Valorant, which is known to be sensitive to single-core performance.

The GPU’s ranking is less impressive, as it sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. This places it in a different performance tier than the CPU, which could create a slight imbalance in some workloads. However, in Valorant, the CPU’s high single-thread performance and the game’s relatively low graphical demands mean that the combo’s overall ranking is heavily influenced by the CPU. The combo’s rank of 967 suggests that it is well above the median, but not at the very top. The data indicates that to achieve a higher rank, a more powerful GPU would be necessary to push frame rates higher at 4K, or a CPU with even higher single-thread performance would be needed to further reduce the bottleneck at 1080p.

The delta between the CPU and GPU performance tiers is noteworthy. The CPU is in the 94th percentile, while the GPU is in the 61st percentile. This mismatch is common in gaming systems, but it is more pronounced here. The combo’s rank of 967 out of 2883 means that roughly 1916 other combinations perform better in this game. This is not a criticism of the hardware, as the frame rates are exceptionally high, but rather a reflection that Valorant is a game where many high-end CPUs can produce similar results, and the GPU is often the differentiating factor at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across the board. On Low settings, the average FPS is 706, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce an average of 465 FPS, with a minimum of 395 and a maximum of 535. High settings yield 443 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 422 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: as settings increase from Low to Ultra, the frame rate drops by 40.2%, from 706 to 422 FPS. This is a significant drop, but the absolute numbers are still incredibly high, making any of these settings viable for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains outstanding. Low settings produce an average of 602 FPS, which is a 14.7% decrease from 1080p. Medium settings produce 397 FPS, with a minimum of 337 and a maximum of 456. High settings yield 378 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 360 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 40.2% drop, mirroring the 1080p trend. The minimum FPS recorded at Medium settings is 337, which is still well above the refresh rate of most monitors. This indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains a high level of performance.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its limits but still delivers excellent results. Low settings produce an average of 481 FPS, which is a 20.1% decrease from 1440p. Medium settings produce 317 FPS, with a minimum of 270 and a maximum of 365. High settings yield 302 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 288 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 40.1% drop, consistent with other resolutions. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 270, which is still very high, but it shows that the GPU is being pushed harder. The data confirms that the system is capable of 4K gaming at over 280 FPS on all settings, which is a remarkable achievement for a mid-range GPU. The frame rate differences between settings are consistent, with Medium typically being about 5-10% faster than High, and High being about 5-10% faster than Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 706, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average FPS of 288, which is still a very high and playable frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p, as the frame rate of 706 FPS on Low settings indicates the GPU is not being fully utilized.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 270, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings.

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

A: The combo ranks 967th out of 2883 tested combinations in Valorant, placing it in the top 66.5% of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 602 on Low settings to 360 on Ultra settings, a difference of 242 FPS or 40.2%.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user’s display refresh rate and resolution. For players using a 1080p monitor with a 360Hz refresh rate, the Low settings preset is the only choice, as it delivers an average of 706 FPS, which is necessary to saturate such a high refresh rate. The Medium preset at 465 FPS is also viable for a 360Hz display, but it will not consistently hit the maximum refresh rate. For a 240Hz 1080p monitor, the Medium preset at 465 FPS is the best choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining frame rates well above the display’s refresh rate. The High preset at 443 FPS is also suitable for 240Hz, but the Medium preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

For 1440p monitors, the data shows that all presets are viable for high-refresh-rate gaming. For a 240Hz 1440p display, the Low preset at 602 FPS is the only option that will consistently exceed the refresh rate. The Medium preset at 397 FPS is also suitable, but it will not always hit the 240Hz cap. The High and Ultra presets at 378 and 360 FPS respectively are better suited for a 165Hz or 144Hz monitor, as they provide excellent visual quality while still maintaining frame rates that are more than double the refresh rate. For 4K displays, the system is best paired with a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, as the frame rates are high enough to support these refresh rates on all settings. The High preset at 302 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K, as it provides a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset at 288 FPS is also viable, but the performance difference between High and Ultra is minimal, making High the more efficient choice. The Medium preset at 317 FPS offers a slight performance boost over High, but the visual difference is often negligible. The data indicates that the Medium preset is the best overall choice for most users, as it provides a significant performance boost over High while maintaining good visual quality.