Valorant

Resolution Scaling

Valorant’s performance scaling across resolutions reveals a title that is exceptionally forgiving on the GPU, even at 4K. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 shows a remarkably tight band of frame rates, indicating that the game’s engine is heavily optimized and that neither component becomes a hard bottleneck at typical settings.

At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 453 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces that to 429 FPS, a drop of 24 frames. At 4K Low, the average falls to 398 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings represents a 55 FPS decline, or about 12%. This is a modest penalty for a four-fold increase in pixel count, suggesting that the RTX 5070 has substantial headroom and that the CPU is still feeding frames efficiently even at the highest pixel density tested.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern, with averages of 386 FPS at 1080p, 366 FPS at 1440p, and 340 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 46 FPS, or roughly 12%, which is nearly identical to the Low preset’s scaling. This consistency implies that the additional graphical work at Medium is not shifting the balance toward the GPU; the frame rate decline is almost entirely attributable to pixel throughput rather than shader complexity.

High settings follow the same trend: 380 FPS at 1080p, 360 FPS at 1440p, and 334 FPS at 4K. The differential between 1080p and 4K is 46 FPS, again about 12%. Ultra settings produce 373 FPS at 1080p, 354 FPS at 1440p, and 329 FPS at 4K, for a 44 FPS drop. The uniformity of these percentage declines across all four presets is striking. It suggests that the RTX 5070 is not being pushed to its limits even at 4K Ultra, and that the limiting factor is more likely the CPU’s frame generation capability or the game engine’s own physics and logic thread.

The minimum FPS data points, available only for the Medium preset, reinforce this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 328 FPS, while at 1440p it is 311 FPS, and at 4K it is 289 FPS. The gap between average and minimum FPS widens slightly with resolution, from 58 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 4K, indicating some minor frame pacing variance but nothing that would cause perceptible stutter at these extreme refresh rates.

Overall, the resolution scaling data shows that Valorant is a game where the CPU is the primary driver of performance. The RTX 5070 has enough raw throughput to render the scene at 4K with only a 12% penalty compared to 1080p. This is a game designed for esports, where high refresh rates matter more than pixel fidelity, and the measured numbers confirm that this combo delivers playable (and competitive) frame rates at every resolution tested.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In the context of Valorant, these specifications are more than adequate. The game is known for being lightly threaded, often relying on a single primary thread for game logic and rendering commands. The i5-11400F’s single-thread performance, as measured by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 868, is strong enough to drive very high frame rates.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU sits in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which scores 17120 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i5-12450H, which scores 17239 (0.4% lower). This places the i5-11400F in a competitive position for gaming workloads, though it is not a top-tier part. However, for Valorant, the absolute ceiling of CPU performance is less important than the efficiency of its single-core execution and memory subsystem.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. This is a modest amount of cache compared to newer parts, but Valorant’s map geometry and entity data are small enough that the 12 MB L3 cache is unlikely to be a limiting factor. The dual-channel DDR4 memory support with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s provides sufficient data throughput for the game’s needs.

Multi-threaded benchmarks show the i5-11400F’s capability: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and a Geekbench multicore score of 7737. These numbers are respectable for a 6-core part, but they are not what drives Valorant’s frame rate. The 3dmark_8_threads score of 4691 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 5652 indicate that the CPU can handle additional background tasks without compromising game performance.

In practical terms, the measured FPS data shows that the i5-11400F does not bottleneck the RTX 5070 at any resolution. The fact that 1080p Low produces 453 FPS and 4K Low produces 398 FPS suggests that even at 1080p, where the GPU has the least work, the CPU is still able to generate frames faster than the renderer can consume them. The 12% drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with what would be expected if the CPU were the primary frame rate limiter, as the pixel fill rate increases but the game logic remains constant.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz is crucial for Valorant, as the game’s frame time is often dictated by the speed of a single core. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1691 and 4_threads score of 3171 show that the CPU scales well with additional threads, but the single-thread score of 868 is the most relevant metric. This score indicates that the CPU can sustain high instruction throughput, which translates to low frame times and high average FPS in esports titles.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 380 FPS. This is slightly lower than the Low preset’s 453 FPS but still well above the refresh rate of any consumer monitor.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 bottleneck the i5-11400F in Valorant?

A: The data suggests no. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 329, which is only 44 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra’s 373 FPS. This 12% penalty indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor; the CPU is still driving the frame rate even at 4K.

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

A: Minimum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 328 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 311 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 289 FPS. These figures show that the combo maintains high frame rates even in demanding scenes.

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

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120) and 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239). It also sits 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278) and 0.6% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074).

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM of the RTX 5070 sufficient for Valorant at 4K?

A: Yes. The measured data shows that the game runs at an average of 334 FPS at 4K High and 329 FPS at 4K Ultra. The game’s simple art style does not require large texture memory, so the 12 GB GDDR7 memory is more than adequate.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested CPU/GPU combinations?

A: This specific combination is ranked 2016th out of 3708 tested combos for Valorant. This places it in the 54th percentile, indicating that while it performs well, there are many other combos that achieve higher average frame rates in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is comprehensive, covering four presets across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 453 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution yields 386 FPS, with a minimum of 328 FPS and a maximum of 444 FPS. High settings drop to 380 FPS average, while Ultra produces 373 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 80 FPS, showing that even the highest preset maintains an exceptionally high frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 429 FPS. Medium settings at 1440p produce 366 FPS average, with a minimum of 311 FPS and a maximum of 421 FPS. High settings average 360 FPS, and Ultra averages 354 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 75 FPS, a slightly smaller gap than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more work but still has plenty of headroom.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 398 FPS average. Medium settings at 4K average 340 FPS, with a minimum of 289 FPS and a maximum of 391 FPS. High settings average 334 FPS, and Ultra averages 329 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K narrows to 69 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions. This narrowing suggests that the CPU is increasingly becoming the limiting factor as the GPU has less relative work to do at lower resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data. Across all three resolutions, the minimum FPS remains above 289, which is well above the 240 Hz refresh rate of many high-end esports monitors. The maximum FPS figures are also telling: 444 at 1080p, 421 at 1440p, and 391 at 4K. These maximums indicate that the combo can push beyond its averages in less demanding scenes, providing a smooth experience with no obvious frame time spikes.

Comparing the presets at each resolution, the difference between High and Ultra is consistently small. At 1080p, High is 380 FPS and Ultra is 373 FPS, a 7 FPS difference. At 1440p, High is 360 FPS and Ultra is 354 FPS, a 6 FPS difference. At 4K, High is 334 FPS and Ultra is 329 FPS, a 5 FPS difference. This suggests that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra is almost free in terms of performance, making Ultra a viable option for players seeking maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. It has 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and it has a TDP of 250 W.

In Valorant, the GPU’s role is relatively minor compared to other titles. The measured data shows that the RTX 5070 is operating well below its maximum capacity. The fact that 4K Low produces 398 FPS and 4K Ultra produces 329 FPS indicates that the GPU can handle the increased pixel count and shader work without significant strain. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 69 FPS, or about 17% of the Low preset’s value. This is a modest penalty for enabling the highest quality settings.

The GPU’s memory subsystem is also not a concern. Valorant’s textures are small, and the 12 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires. The 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient to feed the GPU’s shaders at 4K, as evidenced by the high average FPS figures. The GPU’s pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are both more than adequate for a game that uses simple, stylized geometry.

The RTX 5070’s benchmark scores place it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which scores 40318 (0.1% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, which scores 40063 (0.8% lower). The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568 (2% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870 (1.2% higher). These scores indicate that the RTX 5070 is a capable GPU, but in Valorant, its raw compute power is underutilized.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS is substantial, but Valorant does not rely on heavy compute shaders or ray tracing. The game’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is present, but the measured frame rates suggest that the game does not use advanced features that would stress the GPU. The RTX 5070’s 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are effectively idle in this workload, as Valorant has no ray-traced effects.

In summary, the RTX 5070 is a high-end GPU that provides more than enough performance for Valorant. The measured data shows that it is never the bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s role is to render simple scenes at very high frame rates, which it does with ease. The 12 GB VRAM and 672 GB/s bandwidth ensure that memory bandwidth is never a limiting factor, and the GPU’s high clock speeds ensure that pixel fill rates are not a constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the player’s priority: maximum frame rate or maximum visual quality. Given that Valorant is a competitive FPS, the vast majority of players will prioritize frame rate. The data shows that the Low preset at 1080p delivers 453 FPS, which is the highest average across all tested configurations. This is the best choice for players with 360 Hz or 480 Hz monitors who want to push the absolute maximum frame rate.

However, the Low preset may not be necessary for most competitive players. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 386 FPS, which is still well above the refresh rate of any consumer monitor. The minimum FPS for Medium at 1080p is 328, ensuring that even in intense firefights, the frame rate does not drop below a level that would cause noticeable stutter. The visual upgrade from Low to Medium is significant enough that most players will not notice a performance difference in practice, making Medium the recommended preset for 1080p.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 366 FPS with a minimum of 311 FPS. This is still exceptionally high and provides a good balance between visual clarity and performance. The High preset at 1440p averages 360 FPS, which is nearly identical to Medium. Given that the difference between Medium and High is only 6 FPS, players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors may prefer High for slightly better visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 354 FPS, which is only 12 FPS lower than Medium, making it a viable option for players who want the best visuals without sacrificing competitive performance.

At 4K, the situation changes slightly. The Low preset averages 398 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. However, the Ultra preset averages 329 FPS, which is still above the refresh rate of most 4K monitors (typically 144 Hz or 240 Hz). For players with a 4K 240 Hz monitor, the Ultra preset provides a good experience, but the Medium preset at 340 FPS or High at 334 FPS may be better choices to ensure a higher minimum frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 289 FPS, which is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, but still well above 240 Hz.

For the best overall experience, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions. It provides a consistent performance uplift over High and Ultra, with the only downside being a marginal visual difference. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS figures are also the only ones recorded, indicating that this preset was tested more thoroughly for frame time consistency. The average FPS for Medium ranges from 340 at 4K to 386 at 1080p, all of which are excellent for competitive play.

Players who value visual quality over raw frame rate can safely use the Ultra preset. The performance penalty versus Medium is only 46 FPS at 1080p (373 vs 386), 12 FPS at 1440p (354 vs 366), and 11 FPS at 4K (329 vs 340). These differences are negligible at high refresh rates, and the visual improvements from Medium to Ultra are likely to be more noticeable than the frame rate difference. However, for players with the highest refresh rate monitors (360 Hz and above), the Low preset at 1080p remains the only way to fully utilize the display’s capabilities.