Valorant

Valorant’s competitive nature demands high and consistent framerates, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 provides a clear picture of what this combination can deliver. The benchmark results show a system that is fundamentally capable of excellent performance, though the settings and resolution choices significantly impact the experience. This analysis examines the measured FPS across various configurations to determine the optimal way to play and what the numbers reveal about the hardware's balance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data makes the optimal settings path clear. Across all three tested resolutions, the "Low" preset delivers the highest average frame rates, and the margins are substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 287.6 FPS, which is a 34% improvement over the next best preset, Medium, which scores 189.4 FPS. This pattern is consistent at higher resolutions, with Low at 2560x1440 hitting 249.2 FPS and at 3840x2160 reaching 196 FPS.

For a competitive FPS like Valorant, where higher frame rates directly translate to reduced input lag and smoother target tracking, the Low preset is the definitive recommendation. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium incurs a significant performance cost—roughly 50 FPS at 1080p—without the visual fidelity gains being worth the competitive disadvantage. The High and Ultra presets offer diminishing returns, with 1080p High at 181.7 FPS and Ultra at 168.9 FPS, which are excellent numbers but still over 100 FPS below the Low preset.

The 4K results reinforce this conclusion. At 3840x2160, the Low preset maintains an average of 196 FPS, which is more than playable, but the Medium preset drops to 130.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 113.9 FPS. While these are all high framerates, the principle of maximizing FPS for a competitive edge suggests that Low settings are the best choice for achieving the highest possible refresh rate and minimizing system latency. The data implies that this combo is so capable in Valorant that even the most demanding preset at 1080p (Ultra at 168.9 FPS) is playable, but it leaves performance on the table.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570’s specifications play a defining role in these results. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus and a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, the GPU has ample resources for a game like Valorant. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, with a base GPU clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. These clocks are relatively modest by modern standards, yet the benchmark data shows the GPU is far from a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

The FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s are sufficient to render the game’s art style at very high speeds. The data suggests that the GPU’s role is most apparent in the scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 287.6, but at 4K with Low settings, it drops to 196. This 32% decrease in performance when quadrupling the pixel count is a clear sign that the GPU is working harder at higher resolutions, but it still manages to produce excellent results. The GPU’s 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30158, indicates it is a solid mid-range performer, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which have nearly identical average scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking for this specific CPU and GPU combination in Valorant is surprisingly low given the measured FPS. The combo ranks 1561 out of 1650 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems. This is a stark contrast to the high frame rates achieved in the benchmarks. This discrepancy suggests that the combo’s rank is not a reflection of absolute performance in this specific game, but rather a comparison against all other combinations tested by the database, many of which likely feature much newer and more expensive hardware.

This low rank implies that while the i5-11400F and RX 570 combo delivers excellent FPS in a lighter esports title, it would likely struggle in more demanding AAA games. The data shows that this is a specialized pairing, excelling in games that are well-optimized for high frame rates. The rank of 1561 should be interpreted as a measure of its overall standing relative to the entire ecosystem of tested components, not as an indictment of its gaming capabilities. The performance in Valorant is objectively high, as evidenced by the measured FPS numbers, but the hardware's age and lower raw compute power compared to modern flagships keep its composite rank low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the framerate ranges from a high of 287.6 FPS on Low settings to 168.9 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records 189.4 FPS, and High is close behind at 181.7 FPS. This shows a clear pattern where the Low preset is in a league of its own, nearly 100 FPS ahead of the next highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the same hierarchy persists. Low leads with 249.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 157.6 FPS, High at 151.7 FPS, and Ultra at 148.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to about 92 FPS, but is still substantial. The difference between Medium, High, and Ultra is smaller, with only about 9 FPS separating the three.

At 3840x2160, the resolution begins to strain the GPU. Low still leads with 196 FPS, but Medium drops to 130.2 FPS, High to 119.4 FPS, and Ultra to 113.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium remains the largest single jump, but the absolute numbers are all lower. The data indicates that even at 4K, this combination is highly playable, with the lowest recorded average FPS being 113.9 on Ultra settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Valorant?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 287.6, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

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

A: The average FPS drops from 287.6 at 1920x1080 to 196 at 3840x2160, a decrease of 91.6 FPS or roughly 32% lower performance.

Q: Is the Ultra preset viable for competitive play at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset records an average of 148.8 FPS. While this is a high frame rate, it is significantly lower than the 249.2 FPS achievable on Low, making Low a better choice for maximizing refresh rates.

Q: Does the GPU become a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests yes. At 3840x2160, the average FPS on Low settings (196) is lower than the 1080p Low result (287.6), indicating that the RX 570 is working much harder to fill the additional pixels, though it still delivers very high performance.

Q: How does this combo's overall rank compare to its in-game performance?

A: The combo ranks 1561 out of 1650 in the database, placing it in the bottom 5%. However, its measured FPS in Valorant is exceptionally high, showing that the rank reflects its standing against all other hardware combinations, not its suitability for this specific title.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 287.6 FPS, while Ultra achieves 168.9 FPS. This is a difference of 118.7 FPS, a significant margin that favors Low settings for competitive play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 12 MB shared L3 cache. Its performance metrics are strong for its class, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029. These numbers indicate a robust processor, especially for gaming, where single-thread performance is often critical.

The CPU's role in Valorant is to feed the GPU with draw calls and process game logic. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 287.6 FPS, which is a very high number. This suggests the CPU is not significantly limiting the frame rate in this scenario. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181, puts it in the upper quartile of processors. Its nearest rivals in terms of score are the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel Core i7-1260P, with delta percentages of 0 and -0.2, respectively. This shows the i5-11400F is a capable mid-range part that can handle high-refresh-rate gaming without issue.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across resolutions provides a clear picture of the system's scaling behavior. When moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on Low settings, the average FPS drops from 287.6 to 249.2, a 13.4% decrease. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 on the same settings, the FPS drops from 249.2 to 196, a 21.4% decrease. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor as the resolution increases.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. On Ultra, the FPS drops from 168.9 at 1080p to 148.8 at 1440p (an 11.9% drop), and then to 113.9 at 4K (a 23.5% drop from 1440p). The fact that the performance drop accelerates at 4K suggests that the RX 570’s 4 GB memory buffer and bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the primary driver of performance, as the GPU can render frames quickly enough to keep up with the CPU's output. However, as the resolution climbs, the GPU's raw pixel-pushing power becomes the limiting factor, leading to the observed FPS decreases. This analysis indicates that for the best competitive experience, 1080p with Low settings is the optimal configuration, as it allows the CPU to work to its full potential and minimizes GPU load, resulting in the highest possible frame rate.