Valorant

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Valorant, a title that is far more demanding on the CPU than the GPU at standard resolutions. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors, though the performance scaling characteristics shift notably as resolution increases. This combination ranks in the 79.3rd percentile of tested combos for this game, placing it within the top tier of systems evaluated.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear and expected trend: performance decreases as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decrease reveals the bottleneck dynamics at play. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 386 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 364.9 FPS, a reduction of approximately 5.5%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 342.2 FPS, which is another 6.2% drop from the 1440p figure. This relatively shallow scaling curve from 1080p to 4K strongly indicates that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

The scaling picture changes when examining High settings. At 1080p High, the average is 322.8 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 305.6 FPS (a 5.3% reduction), and at 4K High, it falls further to 250.8 FPS (a 17.9% reduction from 1440p). The much steeper decline between 1440p and 4K at High settings suggests that the GPU begins to take on a more significant role as the workload becomes more pixel-heavy and the graphical effects increase. The difference between Low and High settings at 4K is substantial: 342.2 FPS versus 250.8 FPS, a gap of 91.4 FPS that highlights the GPU's sensitivity to visual fidelity at higher resolutions.

The data for Medium and Ultra settings reinforces this pattern. At 1080p, Medium delivers 328.4 FPS and Ultra delivers 316.6 FPS, a narrow margin of 11.8 FPS. At 1440p, Medium yields 314.7 FPS and Ultra yields 301.1 FPS, a difference of 13.6 FPS. At 4K, the gap widens: Medium produces 259.8 FPS and Ultra produces 236.6 FPS, a difference of 23.2 FPS. This progressive widening of the gap between settings as resolution increases is a textbook sign of a system transitioning from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a more balanced, GPU-influenced state at 4K. The RX 5700 XT, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus, is clearly capable of maintaining playable frame rates even at the highest settings and resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Core i5-10400F and Radeon RX 5700 XT achieves a combo rank of 1309 out of 1650 tested combinations for Valorant. This places it in the upper 20% of all tested systems, a strong showing that underscores the effectiveness of this pairing for this particular esports title. The rank reflects the system's ability to maintain high average frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with even the lowest recorded average (236.6 FPS at 4K Ultra) being far above the threshold for competitive play.

The CPU itself holds a percentile ranking of 73 against all tested processors, indicating it outperforms nearly three-quarters of the CPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14115 (a delta of 0.4% relative to the i5-10400F's average score), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which scores 14277 (a delta of -0.8%). The Intel Core i5-8500 and AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 also sit close, with scores of 14332 and 14336 respectively, representing deltas of -1.1% and -1.2%. These tight margins indicate that the i5-10400F is positioned in a highly competitive segment of the processor market, with performance that is statistically similar to several other models.

On the GPU side, the Radeon RX 5700 XT holds a percentile ranking of 68 against all tested graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 24731 places it near the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which scores 24763 (a delta of -0.1%), and the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 24647 (a delta of 0.3%). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 are also close, with scores of 24592 and 24519 respectively, representing deltas of 0.6% and 0.9%. The GPU's performance is therefore well within the expected range for its class, and its pairing with the i5-10400F proves particularly effective in Valorant, where the game's engine scales well with strong single-thread performance.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average is 386 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 1080p High, the average is 322.8 FPS. At 4K High, it drops to 250.8 FPS, representing a loss of 72 FPS, or approximately 22.3% of the 1080p performance.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rate difference between Low (386 FPS) and Ultra (316.6 FPS) settings is only 69.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU can render frames quickly regardless of settings, while the CPU's processing speed caps the overall output.

Q: Is this combo capable of driving a 240Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 1440p, the lowest average frame rate recorded is 301.1 FPS at Ultra settings. All other settings at 1440p exceed 300 FPS, so the system can comfortably maintain frame rates above 240 FPS in most scenarios.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 24731. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores 24763, which is a delta of -0.1% relative to the RX 5700 XT. This indicates they perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 236.6 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. Even this lowest figure remains exceptionally high for a 4K gaming scenario.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the average frame rates recorded for this combination across all tested resolutions and settings.

1920x1080:

• Low: 386.0 FPS
• Medium: 328.4 FPS
• High: 322.8 FPS
• Ultra: 316.6 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 364.9 FPS
• Medium: 314.7 FPS
• High: 305.6 FPS
• Ultra: 301.1 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 342.2 FPS
• Medium: 259.8 FPS
• High: 250.8 FPS
• Ultra: 236.6 FPS

The data reveals a consistent hierarchy: Low settings always yield the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra producing the lowest averages. The margin between Low and Ultra widens with resolution, from 69.4 FPS at 1080p to 105.6 FPS at 4K. This demonstrates that while the CPU cap is evident at 1080p, the GPU's workload becomes increasingly significant at higher resolutions, particularly when advanced graphical features are enabled. The spread between the best and worst case scenarios across all measurements is 149.4 FPS (from 386 FPS at 1080p Low to 236.6 FPS at 4K Ultra), which is a substantial range but still results in playable performance in every configuration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This configuration provides a strong foundation for Valorant, a game that typically benefits from high single-thread performance. The CPU's benchmark scores support this: its 3dmark single-thread score is 688, and its Passmark single-thread score is 2541. In multi-threaded workloads, it scores 4748 in 3dmark with 16 threads and 4324 in Cinebench R20 multi-core.

The relationship between the CPU's capabilities and the game's performance is evident in the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the system produces 386 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it produces 316.6 FPS, a difference of only 69.4 FPS. This relatively small gap indicates that the CPU is the primary constraint, as the GPU can handle the increased graphical load without significantly affecting the overall frame rate. The game's engine appears to be well-optimized for the i5-10400F's architecture, allowing it to leverage the 12 threads effectively.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support contribute to its ability to feed the GPU with data efficiently. Its position in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168, places it in a competitive tier. The nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7552 with a score of 14115, are all within a 1.2% delta, confirming that the i5-10400F is performing at the expected level for its specifications. In Valorant, this translates to frame rates that are consistently above 300 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate gaming. The CPU's 65 W TDP also indicates efficient power usage, allowing for sustained performance without excessive thermal demands.