Valorant

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 2016th out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant. This places the configuration in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is notable given the extreme performance potential of the RTX 4090. The ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the GPU is operating far below its capabilities, while the CPU becomes the primary constraint.

The combo's rank is not a measure of absolute inadequacy — the measured frame rates are exceptionally high by any standard. Instead, the rank indicates that many other combinations of processors and graphics cards deliver higher average FPS in this specific title. The 6-core i5-11400F, despite its respectable single-thread performance, cannot feed the RTX 4090 enough frames to push this combo into the top echelons of the database. Benchmark results indicate that this pairing is heavily CPU-limited, which is a critical insight for anyone considering a similar configuration for competitive FPS play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the flagship of the GeForce 40-series, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. The GPU houses 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die, with a transistor density of 125.3M / mm². This hardware foundation supports 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The GPU also includes 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores, making it one of the most feature-complete consumer graphics processors ever produced.

Memory configuration is equally substantial. The RTX 4090 carries 24 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 384-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The effective memory clock is 21 Gbps, with a base memory clock of 1313 MHz. GPU clocks are set to a base of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These specifications produce a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, and an FP32 compute throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU's FP16 performance matches FP32 at 82.58 TFLOPS (1:1).

In Valorant, the RTX 4090's role is almost entirely underutilized. The game is not graphically demanding by modern standards, and the measured FPS data confirms this. At 4K Ultra settings, the combo produces 329 FPS average — a figure that any GPU could achieve with a sufficiently powerful CPU. The 4090's immense memory bandwidth and compute resources are simply not taxed by Valorant's rendering workload. The GPU percentile ranking of 88th among all GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 60347, reinforces that this card is designed for far heavier workloads than this game presents. The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60326, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61896, -2.5% delta), yet in Valorant these differences are irrelevant because the CPU is the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a Rocket Lake desktop processor with 6 cores and 12 threads. Base clock is 2.60 GHz, boosting to 4.40 GHz under load. The chip has a 65W TDP and uses the Intel Socket 1200 interface. Cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes — a feature that is largely irrelevant for Valorant but useful in other contexts.

The i5-11400F's single-thread performance is the key metric for Valorant. In Cinebench R23 single-core, the chip scores 2024, and in Geekbench single-core it reaches 1777. PassMark single-thread results show 2981. These numbers are respectable for a mid-range 11th-gen part, but they lag behind newer architectures. The processor's percentile ranking among all CPUs is 71st, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120, 0.3% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239, -0.4% delta), indicating that the i5-11400F sits right at the edge of a performance tier defined by a broad range of processors.

Multi-threaded scores are less relevant for Valorant but worth noting for context. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 14340, while Geekbench multi-core reaches 7737. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 5619, and PassMark multi-thread produces 16908. These figures show a chip that can handle modern workloads, but Valorant's engine primarily demands high single-thread performance. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the critical specification; benchmark results indicate that this clock ceiling is what determines the maximum frame rate this combo can achieve. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 453 FPS average, which is likely very close to the CPU's practical limit in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions — 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160 — each tested at four settings presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The Medium preset includes minimum and maximum FPS values; the other presets report only averages.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 453 FPS average
• Medium: 386 FPS average, with a minimum of 328 FPS and maximum of 444 FPS
• High: 380 FPS average
• Ultra: 373 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 429 FPS average
• Medium: 366 FPS average, with a minimum of 311 FPS and maximum of 421 FPS
• High: 360 FPS average
• Ultra: 354 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 398 FPS average
• Medium: 340 FPS average, with a minimum of 289 FPS and maximum of 391 FPS
• High: 334 FPS average
• Ultra: 329 FPS average

The pattern is consistent: lower settings always produce higher frame rates, and lower resolutions always produce higher frame rates. The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution is roughly 70-80 FPS, which suggests that settings do matter, but not dramatically. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings show that even the 1% lows remain above 289 FPS at 4K — far above any competitive display's refresh rate.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is informative. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 55 FPS (from 453 to 398), a reduction of approximately 12%. At Ultra settings, the same resolution change produces a drop of 44 FPS (from 373 to 329), roughly 12% as well. This near-constant percentage decline across settings is a classic signature of CPU-limited performance.

If the GPU were the bottleneck, the scaling from 1080p to 4K would be much steeper — often 40-60% reductions in FPS for a 4x increase in pixel count. Here, the 4K workload is only 12% slower, which means the RTX 4090 is absorbing the extra pixel processing with enormous headroom to spare. The limiting component is clearly the CPU: the i5-11400F's single-thread throughput caps the frame rate regardless of resolution. The fact that 4K Low (398 FPS) is still faster than 1080p Ultra (373 FPS) reinforces this conclusion. The GPU can handle any settings at any resolution this game offers; the CPU is the ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. For players with a 360 Hz display, the 1080p Medium preset (386 FPS average, 328 FPS minimum) provides a safe margin above the refresh rate. The 1440p Medium preset (366 FPS average, 311 FPS minimum) also clears a 360 Hz target, albeit with less headroom.

For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset (329 FPS average) still exceeds 300 FPS, which is sufficient for most high-refresh displays. The data shows that the jump from Medium to Ultra at any resolution costs roughly 10-13 FPS, which is a small price for the visual improvements. The Low preset at 4K (398 FPS) offers the highest frame rate but sacrifices visual clarity that could matter for spotting enemies at long distances. Benchmark results indicate that Medium settings provide the best balance: the minimum FPS values are reported only for Medium, showing 289 FPS at 4K and 328 FPS at 1080p, which are the most reliable worst-case figures in the dataset. Users seeking maximum competitive advantage should choose 1080p Low (453 FPS), but those who value image quality will find 1440p Medium (366 FPS) to be the sweet spot.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in Valorant?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates CPU limitation. The frame rate drops only 12% from 1080p to 4K, which is far less than would be expected if the GPU were the constraint. The i5-11400F's single-thread Cinebench R23 score of 2024 and boost clock of 4.40 GHz define the ceiling for this combo.

Q: What is the best settings preset for maximum FPS?

A: The Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest average FPS at 453. The Medium preset provides slightly lower averages (386 FPS at 1080p) but includes documented minimum FPS values (328 FPS), which may be more representative of real gameplay dips.

Q: Can this combo achieve 4K 360 Hz in Valorant?

A: No. The highest 4K average FPS is 398 at Low settings, which is above 360, but the Medium preset at 4K drops to 340 FPS average with a 289 FPS minimum. The Ultra preset averages 329 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K exceeds 360 FPS, and even that has no minimum FPS data to confirm consistency.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-11400F's average benchmark score is 17177, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120) and 0.6% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074). It trails the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239) by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278) by 0.6%.

Q: What is the RTX 4090's performance percentile?

A: The RTX 4090 ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60326 with a 0% delta.

Q: Does increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K significantly reduce FPS?

A: No. The reduction is approximately 12% regardless of settings preset. At Low settings, FPS drops from 453 (1080p) to 398 (4K). At Ultra, it drops from 373 to 329. This mild scaling confirms the CPU is the limiting factor, not the GPU.