Valorant

Valorant, as a competitive FPS, is notoriously sensitive to CPU performance, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D reflects that dynamic. This combination is positioned at the very top of the performance hierarchy, sitting in the 35th spot out of 2883 tested combos for this title. The benchmark results reveal a system that is overwhelmingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU's immense power only becoming a factor as the resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The measured average frame rates show a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, but the magnitude of that decline is telling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 715 FPS. Stepping up to 2560x1440 on Low settings reduces the average to 678 FPS, a drop of 37 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 on Low settings yields 629 FPS, a further decline of 49 FPS. This pattern, where the most significant drop occurs between 1440p and 4K, suggests that the CPU's headroom is being consumed to feed the GPU with more frames at lower resolutions, and the GPU's workload only becomes the limiting factor at the highest resolution.

The scaling at High settings reinforces this interpretation. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 599, which falls to 569 at 2560x1440. The jump to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 528. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is 30 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 41 FPS. This indicates that while the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck at 4K, the CPU is still managing to deliver a massive number of frames, and the system is not strictly GPU-limited until the highest resolution and settings are applied. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop is smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop suggests a transition zone where both components are contributing to the frame rate ceiling.

The data shows that the RTX 5090 D is not the primary constraint at 1080p or 1440p. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is able to feed the GPU sufficiently to achieve over 600 FPS at 1440p on Low settings. It is only when the pixel count reaches 4K that the GPU's rendering workload becomes significant enough to create a larger performance gap. The overall pattern indicates a system with exceptional performance headroom, where the CPU is the star at mainstream resolutions and the GPU only truly flexes its muscles at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations for Valorant, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is ranked 35th out of 2883. This places it in the top 1.2% of all tested systems, a position that speaks to the exceptional performance of both components. The ranking reflects not just the raw power of the RTX 5090 D, but also the high single-threaded throughput of the 9700F, which is critical for a game like Valorant.

The CPU's benchmark scores help contextualize this high ranking. The Ryzen 7 9700F achieves a Passmark single-thread score of 4691, which is a dominant factor in a game that relies heavily on single-core performance for game logic and physics. Its multi-threaded score of 36470 is also strong, but the single-thread performance is what sets it apart for this specific title. The CPU's overall average benchmark score of 69996 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals in the Passmark database are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% faster), Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% faster), and Intel Core i7-14700K (0.9% faster). This shows that the 9700F is trading blows with some of the most powerful consumer processors available, and its performance in Valorant is likely near the top of what is possible.

The GPU's position is also strong, though its ranking is less about matching the absolute top end. The RTX 5090 D sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 77712. Its nearest rivals in the Passmark database are all mobile or datacenter parts, with the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT being 1.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB being 1.6%, 2.1%, and 2.4% slower, respectively. This indicates that while the 5090 D is not the absolute fastest in synthetic tests, its performance is very much in the same league as other top-tier parts, and its real-world value in a CPU-bound game is immense.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a behemoth of a graphics card, but in Valorant, its role is often secondary to the CPU. The card is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features a 32 GB GDDR7 memory pool on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its core clocks are set at 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, and it has 21760 shading units. These specifications are overkill for a game that is designed to run on integrated graphics, but they ensure that the GPU is never a limiting factor, even at 4K.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance scales as expected with resolution. At 1080p Low, the GPU is likely idle much of the time, waiting for the CPU to submit draw calls. The average FPS of 715 reflects the CPU's ability to push frames, but the GPU is not being fully utilized. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the FPS drops. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 519, which is still an incredibly high number for any game, but it shows that the GPU is finally starting to work harder.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is far beyond what Valorant requires, but it future-proofs the system for other, more demanding titles. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the 512-bit bus width provide the bandwidth needed to feed the 21760 shading units at high resolutions, but for this specific game, that bandwidth is rarely taxed. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 44065 and its DirectX 12 score of 219 confirm its high-end status, but the data suggests that for Valorant, the RTX 5090 D is a tool for achieving maximum frame rates at any resolution, rather than a component that determines playability.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 715, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 599 at 1920x1080 to 528 at 3840x2160 on High settings, a reduction of 71 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: No. The data suggests the CPU is still the primary driver at 2560x1440, as the FPS remains very high (e.g., 678 FPS on Low), and the GPU only becomes more of a limiting factor at 3840x2160.

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

A: This combination is ranked 35th out of 2883 tested combos for Valorant, placing it in the top 1.2% of all tested systems.

Q: What is the most demanding setting tested for this game?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 is the most demanding, producing an average FPS of 519, which is the lowest average recorded in the dataset.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU have a higher percentile ranking in their respective categories?

A: The CPU, AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, has a percentile ranking of 94 against all CPUs, while the GPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, has a percentile ranking of 92 against all GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the absolute maximum competitive advantage, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear choice, delivering the highest average FPS of 715. This setting minimizes graphical fidelity to maximize responsiveness and frame rate, which is often the goal in a fast-paced FPS. The data shows that the difference between Low and High at 1080p is 116 FPS (715 vs. 599), a significant margin that could translate to smoother gameplay and lower input latency.

However, if a player prefers a balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is a strong option. It yields an average FPS of 578, which is still exceptionally high and likely far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium setting at 1440p offers a more detailed image than Low at 1080p while only sacrificing 137 FPS compared to the absolute maximum. The data shows that the Medium preset provides a solid middle ground.

For those with a 4K display who prioritize image quality, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 is still playable, with an average FPS of 519. While this is the lowest average FPS in the dataset, it is still far above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K offers a slight performance bump to 528 FPS, but the difference is marginal. Given that the game is not graphically demanding, users can comfortably choose the High or Ultra preset at 4K without a substantial performance penalty.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is the undisputed star of this pairing for Valorant. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, it offers a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for the game's single-threaded performance, which is the primary driver of the high frame rates. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4691 is exceptional, and the data shows that this CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 5090 D with more than enough data to hit over 700 FPS at 1080p.

The CPU's cache hierarchy is also important. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache. This large pool of fast cache helps to reduce memory latency and improve performance in scenarios where the same data is accessed repeatedly, which is common in game loops. The CPU's memory support for DDR5 and a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s ensures that the cores are fed with data quickly, further reducing potential bottlenecks.

The 9700F's overall performance is confirmed by its Passmark multithread score of 36470 and its average benchmark score of 69996. Its percentile rank of 94 against all CPUs, and its close rivalry with the Ryzen 9 7940HX and Core i7-14700KF, show that it is a top-tier processor. In Valorant, the data suggests that the CPU is the main determinant of the upper frame rate limit, and this chip's ability to maintain high single-core performance is what allows it to achieve such remarkable results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS is consistently high across all settings. The Low preset yields the highest average at 715 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 609 FPS, with a minimum of 518 FPS and a maximum of 701 FPS. The High preset yields 599 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 590 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest average at this resolution is 125 FPS, showing that the CPU is the primary limiter.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains extremely high. The Low preset yields an average of 678 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 578 FPS, with a minimum of 491 FPS and a maximum of 665 FPS. The High preset yields 569 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 559 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 119 FPS, indicating that the CPU is still the dominant factor, though the GPU is beginning to have a more noticeable impact.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's role becomes more prominent. The Low preset yields an average of 629 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 536 FPS, with a minimum of 456 FPS and a maximum of 617 FPS. The High preset yields 528 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 519 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 110 FPS, and the overall FPS is lower than at 1440p. This shows that the GPU is now the bottleneck, but the system still delivers remarkably high performance. The data across all resolutions and settings consistently shows a system that is at the absolute current-generation of gaming performance for this title.