Valorant

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 pairing delivers exceptional performance in Valorant, a competitive FPS known for favoring high frame rates. The measured data shows this combination can push frame rates well beyond the refresh rates of most high-end monitors, even at 4K resolution. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the game's performance and how this specific combo ranks against others in the database.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 531.9, which is the highest recorded result for this combo across all tested configurations.

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

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 218 FPS on Ultra settings to 371.6 FPS on Low settings, indicating that the game remains highly playable at this demanding resolution.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 466.8 on Low settings to 277.7 on Ultra settings, a significant difference of 189.1 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests a strong balance. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 941, handles the game's logic well. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus are sufficient for the game's textures, as even 4K Ultra stays above 218 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 1226 out of 1650 tested combos in the database for Valorant.

Q: What is the performance delta between the RTX 2060 and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, which is 0.5% higher than the RX 7600S's score of 15996.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. While Valorant is not a heavily multi-threaded title, the CPU's robust specifications ensure it is not a bottleneck. The processor's high boost clock is critical for maintaining high frame rates, as the game's simulation and input logic are largely single-threaded. This is reflected in the CPU's benchmark scores, such as a 3dmark single-thread score of 941 and a cinebench_r23 single-core score of 4680.

The 5900X's 64 MB of L3 cache is another significant factor, helping to reduce memory latency and keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores. With a passmark single-thread score of 3469 and an avgBenchmarkScore of 39453, the CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS, has an average score of 39747, which is -0.7% relative to the 5900X. This indicates that the 5900X is a top-tier performer for this type of workload. The CPU's data encryption score of 31106 and integer math score of 140851 further demonstrate its computational strength, ensuring that even complex game states do not cause frame drops.

The processor supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is standard for the AM4 platform and is sufficient to feed the CPU's cores. The combination of high clock speeds, substantial cache, and efficient Zen 3 architecture positions the 5900X as an ideal choice for achieving the high frame rates seen in the measured FPS data. The CPU's performance is a key reason why the frame rates in this game remain exceptionally high, as it can process the game's instructions faster than the GPU can render frames in many scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture and features 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The card is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is well-suited for Valorant, which does not require the large frame buffers of more demanding AAA titles. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is ample for the game's textures, even at 4K resolution, as evidenced by the high average frame rates.

The GPU's performance is measured by its avgBenchmarkScore of 16074, placing it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, has a score of 15996, which is 0.5% slower. The RTX 2060 also shows strong results in specific tests, such as a passmark_g3d score of 14111 and a geekbench_vulkan score of 67425. These scores indicate that the GPU is capable of handling the graphical demands of a competitive FPS like Valorant. The GPU's 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present but are not the primary drivers of performance in this game, which does not heavily utilize ray tracing or DLSS.

The RTX 2060's rendering capabilities are more than sufficient for Valorant. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU can easily render frames at speeds that exceed the refresh rate of standard 144Hz and 240Hz monitors. Even at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU maintains an average of 218 FPS, demonstrating its raw power in this specific title. The texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are key metrics that contribute to the GPU's ability to fill the screen with high-quality imagery at high speeds. The card's 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are standard for this performance class.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Valorant, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 holds a rank of 1226 out of 1650 tested combinations. This ranking places it in the lower-mid tier of all tested systems for this game. While the raw frame rates are exceptionally high, the rank indicates that many other combinations, likely those with newer or higher-end GPUs, achieve even higher scores or are more consistent in their performance. The data suggests that this pairing is very capable, but it is not the top-tier combination for Valorant.

The ranking implies that the combo is outperformed by a significant number of other systems in the database. However, it is essential to contextualize this rank with the actual measured FPS. A rank of 1226 out of 1650 means that 424 combinations are ranked lower, which still puts this setup ahead of about 25% of the tested configurations. The high FPS figures suggest that the bottleneck might not be raw performance but rather other factors like memory latency or data transfer speeds that are not captured in the average FPS. The combo's performance is strong enough for competitive play, but the rank shows that there is room for improvement by pairing the CPU with a more powerful GPU.

The deltaPct values from the nearest rivals show that the CPU and GPU are closely matched with their competitors. For the CPU, the performance difference with the Intel Core i7-13700 is -1%, meaning the 5900X is slightly faster. For the GPU, the difference with the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.8%, meaning the RTX 2060 is slightly faster. These small margins indicate that the components are well-balanced and perform as expected within their respective tiers. The overall combo rank of 1226 is a direct result of this mid-tier performance level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the system performs across various resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest tested resolution, the frame rates are exceptionally high. With Low settings, the average FPS is 531.9, which drops to 338.2 on High and 325.0 on Ultra. The Medium setting yields an average of 355.8 FPS. This demonstrates that at 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as even lowering the graphical settings does not produce a linear increase in frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains outstanding. The Low setting produces an average of 466.8 FPS, while High and Ultra settings produce 290.9 and 277.7 FPS, respectively. The Medium setting averages 301.4 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a modest decrease in performance, indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the workload. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 189.1 FPS, which is a larger gap than at 1080p, where the gap is 206.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. The Low setting averages 371.6 FPS, which is higher than the High setting at 232.4 FPS. The Medium setting averages 239.4 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 218 FPS. The performance drop from 1440p to 4K is significant, with the Ultra setting losing 59.7 FPS. However, even at the most demanding settings, the system remains well above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth competitive play. The data shows that this combo is more than capable of handling Valorant at any resolution and setting, solidifying its position as a strong performer for this game.