Valorant

Valorant, a competitive FPS released on 2020-06-01, responds decisively to hardware choices. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER reveals a system capable of extreme frame rates, but the distribution of those frames across settings and resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, ranking, and component roles based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the Low preset consistently delivers the highest average frame rates, but the differences between presets are not uniform across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 528 FPS, which is 136 FPS higher than the High preset's 374 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 392 FPS, and Ultra drops to 356 FPS. This pattern suggests that for maximum competitive performance, Low is the optimal choice, as it provides a significant margin over other presets.

However, the data also shows diminishing returns when moving from Medium to Ultra. At 1080p, Medium (392 FPS) is only 18 FPS faster than Ultra (356 FPS), while the gap between Low and Medium is 136 FPS. This indicates that the Low preset is the most effective for pushing frame rates to their peak, likely due to reduced GPU workload. The Medium preset offers a balanced experience with a measured minimum of 334 FPS at 1080p, providing a safety margin for frame time consistency.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity without sacrificing playability, the Ultra preset's 356 FPS at 1080p is still exceptionally high, well above the refresh rates of most monitors. The High preset, at 374 FPS, offers a marginal improvement over Ultra but is not significantly different. The measured data does not include minimum FPS for High or Ultra, so the Medium preset's minimum of 334 FPS at 1080p is the only verified floor for non-Low presets.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset again leads with 501 FPS, followed by Medium at 335 FPS, High at 319 FPS, and Ultra at 304 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 166 FPS, larger than at 1080p, reinforcing that Low is the most effective preset for maximizing frame rates. The Medium preset's minimum at 1440p is 285 FPS, still comfortably above 240 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 406 FPS, while Medium drops to 268 FPS, High to 255 FPS, and Ultra to 243 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 138 FPS, and the Ultra preset's 243 FPS remains high enough for smooth gameplay on most 4K monitors. The Medium preset at 4K has a measured minimum of 227 FPS, which is the only minimum recorded at this resolution.

Overall, the Low preset is the recommended choice for competitive play, as it provides the highest average FPS at all resolutions. For those who prefer visual enhancements, the Medium preset offers a good compromise with verified minimum frame rates, but the data suggests that the performance gains from Low over any other preset are substantial.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 2353 out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the 36th percentile of all systems. This ranking indicates that while the combo is capable of high frame rates, it is not among the top performers in the database. The CPU itself has a percentile of 91 among all CPUs, and the GPU has a percentile of 62 among all GPUs, suggesting that the CPU is the stronger component in this pairing.

The combo's rank of 2353 out of 3708 means that 1355 other combos perform better in this game. This is notable because the measured FPS values are extremely high, but the ranking reflects the relative performance against other hardware configurations, many of which may include more recent or higher-tier components. The data shows that this combo is solidly mid-pack, which is surprising given the individual component strengths.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (deltaPct -0.2), AMD EPYC 8124P (-0.3), Intel Core i9-13900F (0.4), and Intel Core i7-14700 (-0.7). These small deltas indicate that the Ryzen 9 5950X's CPU benchmark scores are very close to these competitors, with the i9-13900F being slightly ahead by 0.4%. This suggests that the CPU does not provide a significant advantage over these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (-0.4), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (-0.5), AMD Radeon RX 460 (-1.5), and Intel Arc A770M (-1.6). The RTX 2060 SUPER's average benchmark score is 18093, which is 0.4% lower than the RTX 3060 Mobile and 0.5% lower than the Radeon Pro 5700. The RX 460 and Arc A770M trail by 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER is competitive with these GPUs but not superior.

The combo rank of 2353 suggests that despite the high FPS, other configurations with better CPU-GPU balance or newer hardware achieve higher rankings. The data does not specify which combos rank higher, so the analysis focuses on the relative position. This ranking implies that for Valorant specifically, the combination is adequate but not exceptional, and users seeking top-tier performance might consider other pairings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS is 528, achieved with the Low preset. The Medium preset yields 392 FPS, High yields 374 FPS, and Ultra yields 356 FPS.

Q: Does the combo maintain FPS above 240 at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, all settings at 3840x2160 exceed 240 FPS. The lowest average is 243 FPS on Ultra, while Low reaches 406 FPS and Medium reaches 268 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X's average benchmark score is 51947. It is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52073) and 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 8124P (52121), but 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i9-13900F (51730).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093.

Q: Is there a significant FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 2560x1440?

A: Yes, the difference is 197 FPS. Low produces 501 FPS, while Ultra produces 304 FPS. This indicates a substantial performance gain from using the Low preset.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Valorant compared to all tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 2353 out of 3708 tested combos, placing it in the 36th percentile. This means 1355 combos perform better.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset leads with an average of 528 FPS, followed by Medium at 392 FPS, High at 374 FPS, and Ultra at 356 FPS. The Medium preset has a measured minimum of 334 FPS and a maximum of 451 FPS, offering a verified range for that setting. The other presets at 1080p do not have minimum or maximum values listed.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset again dominates with 501 FPS, while Medium produces 335 FPS, High 319 FPS, and Ultra 304 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 285 FPS and a maximum of 385 FPS. This resolution shows a 197 FPS gap between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU becomes more of a factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 406 FPS, Medium 268 FPS, High 255 FPS, and Ultra 243 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 227 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 163 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1440p but still substantial.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Low settings provide a significant FPS boost over Medium, while the gap between Medium, High, and Ultra is relatively smaller. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Medium and Ultra is 36 FPS, while the difference between Low and Medium is 136 FPS. This suggests that the Low preset reduces GPU load enough to achieve maximum frame rates, while higher presets introduce diminishing returns.

The minimum FPS values are only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the minimum is 334 FPS; at 1440p, it is 285 FPS; and at 4K, it is 227 FPS. These minimums indicate that even the lowest frame rates are above 200 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay for most competitive scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows how FPS scales with resolution, revealing the performance characteristics of this combo. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the Low preset drops from 528 FPS to 501 FPS, a decrease of 27 FPS or about 5.1%. From 1440p to 4K, the Low preset drops from 501 FPS to 406 FPS, a decrease of 95 FPS or about 19%. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 122 FPS, or about 23.1%.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is more pronounced. At 1080p, the average is 392 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 335 FPS (a 57 FPS decrease, 14.5%); and at 4K, it drops to 268 FPS (a 67 FPS decrease, 20%). The total drop from 1080p to 4K for Medium is 124 FPS, or about 31.6%.

The High preset shows similar scaling: 374 FPS at 1080p, 319 FPS at 1440p (a 55 FPS decrease, 14.7%), and 255 FPS at 4K (a 64 FPS decrease, 20.1%). The total drop is 119 FPS, or about 31.8%. The Ultra preset follows with 356 FPS at 1080p, 304 FPS at 1440p (a 52 FPS decrease, 14.6%), and 243 FPS at 4K (a 61 FPS decrease, 20.1%). The total drop is 113 FPS, or about 31.7%.

These scaling patterns indicate that the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck as resolution increases, particularly for higher settings. The Low preset's smaller percentage drop (23.1%) from 1080p to 4K suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is more influential, allowing the GPU to maintain higher frame rates. In contrast, the Medium, High, and Ultra presets show consistent 31-32% drops, implying that the GPU's workload scales more heavily with resolution at these settings.

The data also shows that the absolute FPS remains high even at 4K, with the lowest average being 243 FPS on Ultra. This indicates that the combo is not severely limited by the GPU at 4K, but the relative performance drop is more significant for higher settings. The limiting component shifts from CPU-bound at Low settings to more GPU-bound at higher settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It has a TDP of 105 W and is built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The CPU's L3 cache is 64 MB, and it supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Valorant, the CPU's role is critical, as the game is known for being CPU-intensive. The measured FPS at Low settings across resolutions shows minimal scaling, with only a 23.1% drop from 1080p to 4K. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter, and the Ryzen 9 5950X's high core count and boost clock help maintain high frame rates. The CPU's single-thread benchmark score is 944 in 3dmark, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1614, indicating strong per-core performance.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant, as the game may utilize multiple cores. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 26017, and the 3dmark 16-thread score is 10810. These scores suggest that the CPU can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, but Valorant's performance likely depends more on single-thread speed. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides a high frequency for such tasks.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 91 among all CPUs indicates it is in the top 9% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 51947 places it near the Intel Core i9-13900F, which is 0.4% higher. This shows that the Ryzen 9 5950X is competitive with modern high-end CPUs, though not the absolute best. The 16 cores and 32 threads provide headroom for other tasks, but in Valorant, the high boost clock is likely the key factor.

The data does not include specific CPU usage metrics for Valorant, but the FPS scaling suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the bottleneck, as the GPU's workload is reduced. The combo's rank of 2353 out of 3708 indicates that other CPUs may offer better performance in this game, perhaps due to higher single-thread speeds or newer architectures. However, the Ryzen 9 5950X's performance is still strong, delivering over 500 FPS at 1080p Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is based on the Turing architecture, with a TU106 chip, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1470 MHz, with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and it has 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs.

In Valorant, the GPU's role becomes more significant at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 172 FPS (528 vs 356), indicating that the GPU's workload increases with settings. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 163 FPS (406 vs 243), showing a similar pattern. The GPU's percentile ranking of 62 among all GPUs places it in the middle of the pack, with an average benchmark score of 18093.

The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Mobile, has a score of 18159, which is 0.4% higher. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is slightly below its mobile counterpart in synthetic benchmarks, but the difference is small. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Valorant, which is not a demanding game in terms of memory, but the bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s helps with high-resolution textures.

The resolution scaling data shows that the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck at higher settings. For the Medium preset, the FPS drops by 31.6% from 1080p to 4K, compared to 23.1% for Low. This suggests that at Medium and above, the GPU's rendering workload increases, reducing the frame rate. The GPU's FP32 performance is 7.181 TFLOPS, which is adequate for Valorant's graphics, but not exceptional.

The GPU's power draw is 175 W, with a suggested PSU of 450 W, and it uses a single 8-pin power connector. The card is dual-slot and measures 229 mm in length. These specifications are not directly related to performance in Valorant, but they indicate the card's design. The GPU's role in this combo is to provide enough rendering power for high frame rates, which it does, but the CPU is often the limiting factor at lower settings. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is more stressed, resulting in 243 FPS, still high but lower than the CPU-bound Low preset.