Valorant

Valorant is a CPU-bound tactical shooter, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The data shows this combo ranks 40th out of 2,883 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.4% of all systems for this title. Across every resolution from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average FPS never drops below 505, meaning this configuration is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors at maximum settings even at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is the primary performance driver in this game, with the GPU providing ample headroom that becomes more relevant only at higher resolutions and quality presets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor includes 32 MB of shared L3 cache, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. In PassMark benchmarks, this CPU scores 36,470 in multithreaded tests and 4,691 in single-thread tests, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 69,996, which puts it nearly level with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, a 0.2% gap) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, a -0.2% difference). The Ryzen 7 9700F also edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, +0.7%) and the Intel Core i7-14700K (69,355, +0.9%) in average score.

In Valorant specifically, the CPU's role is dominant. Looking at the measured FPS data, at 1920x1080 with Low settings the system produces 715 FPS average, while at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings it still manages 505 FPS average. The spread between the lowest and highest resolution/settings combinations is 210 FPS, but the percentage drop from the best case (715 FPS at 1080p Low) to the worst case (505 FPS at 4K Ultra) is about 29.4%. This relatively modest decline across such a large resolution increase indicates that the CPU is maintaining high throughput even when graphical load rises. The high single-thread score of 4,691 in PassMark is particularly relevant, as Valorant's game logic and physics often rely on single-core performance. The boost clock of 5.50 GHz provides the raw frequency needed to maintain high frame rates, and the 8-core/16-thread configuration ensures background tasks do not interfere with game performance.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals suggests it is well-matched for this workload. Being within 1% of the Ryzen 9 7940HX and within 0.2% of the Core i7-14700KF in average benchmark score means that in a CPU-bound scenario like Valorant at lower resolutions, the Ryzen 7 9700F should deliver comparable frame rates to those processors. The 0.7% advantage over the Ryzen 9 7950X and 0.9% over the Core i7-14700K reinforces this position. However, the data also shows that even with such CPU strength, the GPU becomes a secondary factor at 1080p, where the 715 FPS Low setting result suggests the CPU is nearing its practical limit for this game engine.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. It has 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2,295 MHz and a boost clock of 2,550 MHz, with memory running at 1,438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). Its PassMark G3D score is 34,245, with a PassMark GPU compute score of 19,822, and it sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The average benchmark score is 54,209, which is nearly identical to the standard RTX 4080 (54,247, a -0.1% delta). It also compares closely to the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, -1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, -2.7%), and the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, -2.8%).

In Valorant, the GPU's role becomes more apparent as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 125 FPS (715 vs. 590), while at 3840x2160, the same settings difference is 124 FPS (629 vs. 505). This consistency suggests that the GPU is handling the resolution scaling predictably, but the absolute frame rates remain extremely high. The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for Valorant, which is not a VRAM-intensive title, and the 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures no bandwidth bottlenecks even at 4K. The 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power provides ample shading capability for the game's simple geometry and effects.

The GPU's nearest rival data shows it is essentially tied with the standard RTX 4080, with a 0.1% difference in average score. The delta to the Radeon Pro W5700X is only 1.1%, and to the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB it is 2.7%. This means that in a game like Valorant, which is not heavily GPU-dependent at lower resolutions, the RTX 4080 SUPER's performance headroom is largely untapped until 4K. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings (505 FPS) still exceeds what most high-refresh monitors can display, indicating that even the most demanding scenario in this dataset leaves significant GPU capability unused. The boost clock of 2,550 MHz and the 320 TMUs contribute to efficient texture processing, while the 112 ROPs handle pixel output without creating a bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 715 FPS average, which is the highest in the entire dataset. However, the Medium preset still delivers 609 FPS average (with a minimum of 518 and maximum of 701), and the High preset achieves 599 FPS average. The Ultra preset drops to 590 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 125 FPS, but even the Ultra preset's 590 FPS is far beyond what any current monitor can display. For competitive play, the Low preset maximizes frame rates and minimizes input latency, but the Medium preset offers a balanced compromise with 609 FPS average and a minimum of 518 FPS that still exceeds 500 FPS for consistent frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset again leads with 678 FPS average, followed by Medium at 578 FPS (minimum 491, maximum 665), High at 569 FPS, and Ultra at 559 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 119 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p. The Medium preset's minimum of 491 FPS is the only reading below 500 FPS in the entire dataset, but it remains high enough for smooth gameplay on 240 Hz or even 360 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 559 FPS average is still faster than the 1080p High preset, showing that resolution scaling has minimal impact on this configuration.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 629 FPS average, Medium delivers 536 FPS (minimum 456, maximum 617), High achieves 528 FPS, and Ultra drops to 505 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 124 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p spread. Even the lowest measured average, 505 FPS at 4K Ultra, is more than double the refresh rate of most high-end 4K monitors. The Medium preset at 4K offers 536 FPS average with a minimum of 456 FPS, which is still suitable for 360 Hz gaming on 1440p monitors but might exceed the capabilities of 4K displays. Based on the data, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with the minimum FPS never dropping below 456 even at 4K. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers the absolute highest score of 715 FPS, but the practical difference between presets is minimal given the overwhelming headroom.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 715, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This is 85 FPS higher than the next fastest setting at that resolution, which is Medium at 609 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69,996. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875), 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515), and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700K (69,355). It trails the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163) by 0.2%.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER perform significantly better than the standard RTX 4080 in benchmarks?

A: No, the RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 54,209, which is only 0.1% lower than the standard RTX 4080's score of 54,247. The difference is negligible, and the SUPER variant's advantage is not reflected in the average score data.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 456, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. The next lowest minimum is 491 at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, and 518 at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. All other settings and resolutions have no minimum FPS recorded.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra?

A: The difference between 1920x1080 Low (715 FPS average) and 3840x2160 Ultra (505 FPS average) is 210 FPS, which represents a 29.4% reduction in frame rate. Despite this drop, the 4K Ultra result remains above 500 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems for Valorant?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 40th out of 2,883 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.4% of all configurations tested for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. Starting with the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 715 at 1080p to 678 at 1440p, then to 629 at 4K. This represents a 5.2% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 12.0% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 609 FPS at 1080p, 578 FPS at 1440p (a 5.1% drop), and 536 FPS at 4K (a 12.0% drop from 1080p). The High preset goes from 599 FPS at 1080p to 569 FPS at 1440p (5.0% drop) and 528 FPS at 4K (11.9% drop). The Ultra preset declines from 590 FPS at 1080p to 559 FPS at 1440p (5.3% drop) and 505 FPS at 4K (14.4% drop).

These percentage drops are remarkably consistent across presets, with the 1080p-to-1440p reduction hovering around 5% and the 1080p-to-4K reduction around 12-14%. This consistency indicates that the limiting component is not resolution-dependent in the traditional sense; rather, the CPU is the primary constraint at all resolutions. If the GPU were the bottleneck, we would expect larger percentage drops at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where pixel count quadruples. Instead, the modest 12% average drop from 1080p to 4K suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER has ample headroom, and the Ryzen 7 9700F's single-thread performance is what keeps frame rates high even as resolution increases.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows slightly at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is 125 FPS (715 vs. 590); at 1440p, it is 119 FPS (678 vs. 559); and at 4K, it is 124 FPS (629 vs. 505). This suggests that the GPU's workload increases with resolution, but the CPU-bound nature of Valorant means that even at 4K Ultra, the system is still delivering over 500 FPS. The limiting component analysis points to the CPU: the Ryzen 7 9700F's 4,691 single-thread score and 5.50 GHz boost clock are the key factors preventing larger FPS drops, while the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are never stressed by this game's requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for Valorant with this configuration is as follows:

At 1920x1080 resolution, the Low preset delivers 715 FPS average, which is the highest single result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset produces 609 FPS average, with a minimum of 518 FPS and a maximum of 701 FPS. The High preset achieves 599 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 590 FPS average. No minimum or maximum FPS values are recorded for the Low, High, or Ultra presets at this resolution.

At 2560x1440 resolution, the Low preset achieves 678 FPS average. The Medium preset produces 578 FPS average, with a minimum of 491 FPS and a maximum of 665 FPS. The High preset delivers 569 FPS average, and the Ultra preset reaches 559 FPS average. Again, only the Medium preset includes minimum and maximum FPS values.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the Low preset produces 629 FPS average. The Medium preset delivers 536 FPS average, with a minimum of 456 FPS and a maximum of 617 FPS. The High preset achieves 528 FPS average, and the Ultra preset yields 505 FPS average. As with the other resolutions, only the Medium preset has recorded minimum and maximum values.

Across all resolutions and settings, the average FPS ranges from a low of 505 (4K Ultra) to a high of 715 (1080p Low). The Medium preset consistently provides the most complete data, with minimum FPS values of 518, 491, and 456 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. These minimums are still far above standard 60 Hz refresh rates and even exceed 360 Hz at 1080p and 1440p. The maximum FPS values for Medium settings are 701 (1080p), 665 (1440p), and 617 (4K), showing that the system can push beyond 600 FPS even at 4K. The overall combo rank of 40 out of 2,883 tested configurations confirms that this hardware combination is among the elite for Valorant, with the measured data supporting this ranking through consistently high frame rates that only a handful of systems could match.