Valorant

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Valorant with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows an interesting pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low settings preset, the average FPS drops from 721 at 1080p to 642 at 1440p, and finally to 513 at 4K. This represents a 29% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is relatively modest for a competitive FPS title. The game remains highly playable at every resolution tested, even at the demanding 4K Ultra preset which still manages to average 307 FPS.

When examining the High preset, the scaling pattern changes slightly. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 472, dropping to 403 at 2560x1440, and then to 322 at 3840x2160. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 31.8%, which is consistent with the Low preset behavior. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 496 FPS at 1080p, 423 at 1440p, and 338 at 4K. The Ultra preset, which represents the most demanding configuration, yields 450 FPS at 1080p, 384 at 1440p, and 307 at 4K.

The fact that FPS remains above 300 even at the most demanding combination of 4K and Ultra settings indicates that the limiting component in this system is not overwhelmed by the resolution increase. The relatively small FPS deltas between resolutions suggest that the CPU is doing most of the work in this engine, which is typical for a game like Valorant that is optimized for high frame rates and is more dependent on processor performance than GPU rendering.

At 1080p, the difference between the Low preset (721 FPS) and the Ultra preset (450 FPS) is 271 FPS, showing that even at lower resolutions, the GPU is not the primary constraint. The fact that the Low preset at 1080p reaches 721 FPS while the 4K Low preset reaches 513 FPS indicates that the CPU still has headroom to push the game to extremely high frame rates. The measured data suggests that this combo is capable of delivering an extremely smooth experience at all tested resolutions, with the weakest performance still being well above what would be considered competitive playable territory.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 in this system has 8 GB of memory, which is based on GDDR7 technology with a 128-bit bus width. The memory bandwidth is 448.0 GB/s, and the core clocks are 2280 MHz base and 2497 MHz boost. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 119.9 GPixel/s and the textured rate is 299.6 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 19.18 TFLOPS.

The GPU's percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 72, which places it above the median card in the benchmark database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (deltaPct -0.3), NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (deltaPct -0.8), and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (deltaPct 1.2). The average benchmark score for the GPU is 26331, with the highest benchmark score in the Geekbench Vulkan test at 113321. The PassMark DirectX 9 score is 225, DirectX 10 is 127, DirectX 11 is 200, and DirectX 12 is 77.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not taxed by Valorant, where even at 4K Ultra the game remains playable. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s appears adequate for the frame rates observed, and the 128-bit bus width does not seem to create a bottleneck in this title. The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. The transistor density is 121.0 million per mm², which is a high figure but not directly relevant to FPS performance. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor in this system; the game is more CPU-bound, which makes sense given that Valorant is known for its high refresh rate optimization.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 908 out of 3708 tested combos for Valorant. This puts it in a position that is above the mid-range, but not at the absolute top. The rank is calculated based on the measured FPS across all presets and resolutions, and this combo's performance is likely supported by the CPU's strong multi-threaded and single-threaded scores. The data shows that the combo is more than capable of handling the game at high frame rates, and its ranking suggests that it is competitive in the broader landscape of tested hardware.

The rank of 908 out of 3708 means that roughly 75% of tested combos are ranked lower. This indicates that the combination of a very powerful CPU and a mid-range GPU is sufficient for Valorant, which is a game that does not require the most advanced GPU hardware. The CPU's strong performance is the primary driver of the ranking, as the GPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The data suggests that the bottleneck is not the GPU, as FPS remains high even at 4K Ultra. The ranking is a direct reflection of the measured FPS across all tested configurations, and it demonstrates that this combo is a solid choice for high-refresh-rate competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this system is achieved at the Medium preset across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields 496 FPS with a min and max of 422 and 570 respectively. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 423 FPS with a min of 360 and max of 487. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset yields 338 FPS with a min of 288 and max of 389. The Medium preset provides a balance between visual quality and frame rate, and it is the only preset that has measured min and max values for all resolutions.

The High preset at 1080p yields 472 FPS, at 1440p 403 FPS, and at 4K 322 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 450 FPS, at 1440p 384 FPS, and at 4K 307 FPS, which is still above 300 FPS even at the highest resolution. The Low preset yields the highest FPS at all resolutions, with 721 FPS at 1080p, 642 at 1440p, and 513 at 4K. However, the Low preset sacrifices visual quality, and for a competitive title like Valorant, the Medium preset offers a better balance. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K still produces 338 FPS, which is more than enough for smooth gameplay, while at 1080p it produces 496 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset is also viable, but the frame rate at 4K is 307 FPS, which is slightly lower than the Medium preset, but still above the 300 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

• Low: 721 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 496 FPS (avg), 422 FPS (min), 570 FPS (max)
• High: 472 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 450 FPS (avg)

At 1080p, the Low preset delivers the highest average, which is 721 FPS. The Medium preset yields 496 FPS, which is 45 FPS higher than the High preset's 472 FPS. The Ultra preset is 450 FPS, which is only 22 FPS lower than the High preset. The difference between the Low and Medium presets is 225 FPS, indicating a significant jump in performance when visual details are reduced. The Medium preset's min and max are 422 and 570 FPS, respectively, showing a range of 148 FPS.

2560x1440

• Low: 642 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 423 FPS (avg), 360 FPS (min), 487 FPS (max)
• High: 403 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 384 FPS (avg)

At 1440p, the Low preset drops to 642 FPS, which is still high. The Medium preset yields 423 FPS, with a min of 360 and max of 487. The High preset yields 403 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 384 FPS. The spread between the Low and Ultra presets is 258 FPS, showing a larger relative difference due to the increased resolution.

3840x2160

• Low: 513 FPS (avg)
• Medium: 338 FPS (avg), 288 FPS (min), 389 FPS (max)
• High: 322 FPS (avg)
• Ultra: 307 FPS (avg)

At 4K, the Low preset still manages 513 FPS, which is remarkable for such a high resolution. The Medium preset yields 338 FPS, with a min of 288 and a max of 389. The High preset yields 322 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 307 FPS. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets is 206 FPS, which is less than the difference at 1440p, indicating that the CPU is still the primary driver.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with the Medium preset?

A: The average FPS is 496, with a minimum of 422 and a maximum of 570.

Q: Does the game remain playable at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is 307, which is above 300 FPS.

Q: What is the highest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 721, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How much FPS is lost from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 472 at 1080p to 322 at 4K, which is a reduction of 150 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 422, and the maximum is 570.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The GPU's percentile vs all other GPUs is 72, meaning it is above the midpoint of the tested GPU pool.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz. It has a TDP of 170 W and is built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, with a 4 nm process node from TSMC. The CPU has 16,630 million transistors across a die size of 2x 70.6 mm². The cache is substantial: 80 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 128 MB L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it supports ECC memory.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 95, which places it in the top 5% of processors. Its average benchmark score is 75779, and its nearest rivals include AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (deltaPct 0.1), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (deltaPct 0.1), AMD EPYC 8224P (deltaPct 0.3), and Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (deltaPct 0.4). The single-threaded performance is strong, with a Geekbench single-core score of 3064, and multi-core scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42018. The 3DMark single-thread score is 16374, and the max-thread score is 17184.

In Valorant, the CPU's role is crucial, as the game is known for being CPU-bound at high frame rates. The data shows that as resolution increases, the FPS does not drop dramatically, which indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck, but rather the GPU is not the limiting factor either. The CPU's strong single-core performance is likely the reason why the FPS remains high even at the Low preset at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed. The 16 cores and 32 threads also provide headroom for other tasks while gaming, but in this game, the CPU's performance is the main driver of the measured FPS. The CPU's average benchmark score of 75779 is close to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, which has a score of 75738, showing that the performance gap is only 0.1%. This indicates that the 9950X3D is at the top of the CPU performance tier, which is reflected in the high FPS numbers across all settings and resolutions.