Valorant

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Valorant, with all measured settings and resolutions exceeding 320 FPS on average. This combination is far beyond what is necessary for competitive play, where even the most demanding configuration tested, 4K Ultra, achieved 329 FPS. The data shows that the system is not GPU-bound at lower resolutions; instead, performance scales with the CPU's capabilities, making the choice of preset more about visual fidelity than achieving playable frame rates. Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 2560x1440 provides an interesting balance, but for pure performance and minimal input lag, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the best path.

Settings Recommendations

The minimum average FPS recorded across any preset and resolution is 329 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is already far beyond the refresh rate of most high-end gaming monitors. This means the "best" setting is not about avoiding stutter or ensuring a solid frame time, but about maximizing the visual experience and reducing system latency while maintaining a high average frame rate. The measured data for the Low preset shows the highest frame rates at every resolution, with an average of 453 FPS at 1920x1080, 429 FPS at 2560x1440, and 398 FPS at 3840x2160. For players using a 144Hz monitor, any setting is viable; however, for those with 240Hz or 360Hz displays, the frame rate headroom is important.

The data shows the Ultra preset offers the lowest average FPS at each resolution, with 373 FPS at 1080p, 354 FPS at 1440p, and 329 FPS at 4K. The High preset consistently sits above the Ultra preset by about 7 FPS at 1080p and 6 FPS at 4K, while the Medium preset is a middle ground, with an average of 386 FPS at 1080p, 366 FPS at 1440p, and 340 FPS at 4K. Since the frame rates are so high, it is advisable to choose the Medium preset, as it provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. It is the only preset with measured minimum and maximum FPS data, with a 444 FPS maximum and a 328 FPS minimum at 1080p, and a 421 FPS maximum and 311 FPS minimum at 1440p, indicating a reasonably stable frame time window.

For players who prioritize the absolute highest frame rate to minimize input lag, the Low preset is the clear choice: it delivers the top measured average FPS at every resolution. Conversely, players on a 4K display who want the best visual fidelity without worrying about frame rate should choose the Ultra preset, since the average FPS remains above 300. Ultimately, for most users, the Medium preset is the recommended setting, as it provides a visual upgrade over Low and the frame rate delta to Ultra is only 14 FPS at 1080p, while the jump from Low to Medium is a 67 FPS drop. The data indicates that the Medium preset represents the best measured experience, as it is the sweet spot between the low-latency, high-frame-rate Low preset and the visually more demanding, but still very fast, Ultra preset.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination can achieve in Valorant?

A: The highest average FPS in the measured data is 453 FPS, which is achieved with the Low preset at 1920x1080.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets in Valorant?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 453 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 373 FPS, a difference of 80 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 398 FPS and the Ultra preset averages 329 FPS, a difference of 69 FPS.

Q: Does the AMD Radeon RX 9070 have enough VRAM for Valorant?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit bus, which is far more than the game will use at any of the tested settings, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor.

Q: Is the Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RX 9070 in Valorant?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is the primary performance driver. While the FPS is consistently high, the scaling from 1080p to 4K is modest, indicating that the processor's single-thread performance is what keeps the frame rate high, and the GPU has plenty of headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS: 328 FPS at 1080p, 311 FPS at 1440p, and 289 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the Core i5-11400F's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F's average benchmark score is 17177. The nearest rival, the AMD EPY 7H12, has a score of 17120, which is 0.3% slower. The Intel Core i5-12450H has a score of 17239, which is 0.4% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% faster than the i5-11400F.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is a high-end graphics card built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture, codenamed Navi 48, and produced using a 4 nm process. The GPU has a base clock of 1330 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. Its memory subsystem is substantial, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The memory clock is 2518 MHz, or 20.1 Gbps effective. The card has 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, along with 56 ray tracing cores. Its compute power is listed as 36.13 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16.

In the context of Valorant, the RX 9070 is not a significant performance bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that as the resolution increases, the average FPS drops, but the drop is not proportional to the pixel count. For example, moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS drops from 380 to 334, a 12% decrease. This indicates that the game is not heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions; the GPU has the headroom to render the game at very high speed. The GPU's passmark g3d score of 25381 and its percentile of 69 vs all GPUs demonstrates a strong graphics processor, but the game's frame rates are likely to be more limited by CPU performance in the conditions.

The large 16 GB memory buffer is a clear asset, though Valorant's requirements are modest. The data shows that the RX 9070 can deliver over 400 FPS at 4K Low, which reflects its raw rasterization power. The GPU's memory bandwidth and FP32 throughput become more relevant at higher resolution and quality settings, but the game is not a demanding title. The 128 ROPs and 224 TMUs are more than enough to handle the game's polygon counts and texture loads. While the GPU is capable of very high frame rates, the data suggests that the CPU is the primary component driving frame rates in Valorant, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully utilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average 453 FPS, the Medium preset 386 FPS (minimum 328, maximum 444), the High 380 FPS, and the Ultra 373 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, demonstrating the performance cost of the highest preset. At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 429 FPS, the Medium 366 FPS (minimum 311, maximum 421), the High 360 FPS, and the Ultra 354 FPS, making a delta of 75 FPS between Low and Ultra. At 3840x2160, the Low preset generates 398 FPS, the Medium 340 FPS (minimum 289, maximum 391), the High 334 FPS, and the Ultra 329 FPS, a delta of 69 FPS between Low and Ultra.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Low preset is the fastest, the Medium is next, the High is slightly lower, and the Ultra is the slowest. The difference between Medium and High is minimal, with only 6 FPS difference at 1080p, 6 FPS at 1440p, and 6 FPS at 4K. The difference between High and Ultra is also small, with 7 FPS at 1080p, 6 FPS at 1440p, and 5 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 328 at 1080p, 311 at 1440p, and 289 at 4K, which is the only preset with a recorded minimum value.

The data indicates that Valorant is not a demanding game for this GPU. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 329, which is very high. The frame rates are so high that the game is unlikely to be limited by the GPU's 16 GB of memory or its internal bandwidth. The measured FPS across all settings is consistently above 300 FPS, which means that the monitor's refresh rate is the primary limit for the user, not the hardware. The data strongly suggests that the combo provides an exceptionally smooth experience regardless of the settings, with the only question being the player's preference for visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4Kp provides insight into the limiting component of this combo. At the Low preset, the 1080p average is 453 FPS, dropping to 429 FPS at 1440p and 398 FPS at 4K. This represents a 12% drop from 1080p to 4Kp. At High settings, the 1080p average is 380 FPS, dropping to 360 FPS at 1440p and 334 FPS at 4K, a 12% drop. At Medium settings, the 1080p average is 386 FPS, dropping to 366 FPS at 1440p and 340 FPS at 4K, a 12% drop. At Ultra settings, the 1080p average is 373 FPS, dropping to 354 FPS at 1440p and 329 FPS at 4K, a 12% drop.

The consistency of the percentage drop across settings is notable. The GPU's rendering load increases with resolution, but the frame rate drops are relatively limited. This suggests that the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased resolution without a major impact on performance. The drop from 1440p to 4K is also small, with the Low preset dropping by 31 FPS, the High by 26 FPS, the Medium by 26 FPS, and the Ultra by 25 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute power are sufficient to handle the higher resolution with a modest impact.

The data clearly shows that the Intel Core i5-11400F is the limiting component in this combination for Valorant. The 6-core, 12-thread CPU has a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and its single-thread performance is a key factor in this game. The frame rate scaling is not linear with resolution, indicating that the GPU is not saturated. The game's engine is likely to be more sensitive to the CPU's performance, and the data suggests that the CPU is already near its limit, since the frame rates are not increasing proportionally with lower GPU load. The RX 9070 is not stressed, and the user could get the same frame rate with a lesser GPU at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. 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 TDP is 65 W, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU's benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 868, a Cinebench R20 single-core score of 850, and a Geekbench single-core score of 1777. Its multi-threaded scores are also solid, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 16908. The CPU's overall percentile vs all CPUs is 71, with an average benchmark score of 17177.

In Valorant, the CPU is the main determinant of frame rate. The game is a competitive FPS, and its performance is heavily dependent on the CPU's ability to process game logic and physics. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rate is extremely high and the scaling with resolution is limited, which is typical of a CPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient, but its high boost clock is likely the key factor, as Valorant is not a multi-threaded title. The CPU's single-core performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 Single Core at 2024 and 3DMark Single Thread at 868, is what keeps the frame rate high. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, has a score 0.3% lower, while the Intel Core i5-12450H is 0.4% faster, indicating the i5-1400F is a solid performer in its class.

The data suggests that the CPU's 12 MB L3 cache is a benefit for the game, as it helps to keep data for the CPU's cores and the GPU, reducing the impact of memory latency. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are not a bottleneck, as the game is not heavily threaded. The high FPS is a direct result of the CPU's high clock speed and efficient architecture. The 65 W TDP is modest, but the processor's performance is adequate for a competitive FPS game. The Intel Core i5-11400F is a capable processor for Valorant, and its limitations are not observed in the frame rate data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 2016 out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant. This is a percentile ranking of about 45.6%, which indicates that the combo is in the lower half of tested systems. The rank is influenced by the CPU's performance, as the GPU is very powerful. The combo's rank is a reflection of the CPU's 71st percentile, which is lower than the GPU's 69th percentile. The CPU's average benchmark score is 17177, which places it among a range of rivals. The AMD EPYC 7H12 has a score of 17120, which is 0.3% lower, the Intel Core i5-12450H has a score of 17239, which is 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G has a score of 17278, which is 0.6% higher.

The rank of 2016 out of 3708 combos means that many other systems deliver higher performance in Valorant, but the game is not a demanding one. The data shows that this combo still delivers an exceptional frame rate. The rank is likely due to the CPU's not being top-tier, but the performance is still very high. The combination's rank is a reflection of the CPU and GPU pairing, with the CPU being the weaker link. The GPU's benchmark rank is similar, with a 69th percentile, and the RX 9070's average score is 23877, with the nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 23736, which is 0.6% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S is 0.8% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is 1.1% faster.

In the context of Valorant, the combo's rank is a clear indicator that the CPU is the limiting component in this system. The game's performance is not GPU-limited, and the CPU's performance is what determines the frame rate. The 6-core i5-11400F is a solid processor, but its 71st percentile is not in the highest tier. The system's rank of 45.6% means that about 54% of tested combos are faster. However, the actual frame rate is still exceptionally high, and the combo is more than capable for the game. The data shows that the frame rates are not a limitation, and the rank is more of a theoretical measure. When considering the measured FPS, the combo is an excellent choice for Valorant, despite its rank.