Valorant

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers exceptional performance in Valorant, a game where high frame rates are paramount for competitive play. The measured data shows this combination is firmly in the upper echelon of tested systems, with even the most demanding settings yielding frame rates well above the refresh rates of most gaming monitors. This analysis breaks down how the combination scales across resolutions, what the numbers mean relative to other hardware, and where the bottleneck lies in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but with a crucial nuance: the GTX 1070 becomes the limiting factor only at 4K, while the CPU dominates at lower resolutions. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 488.7 to 418.3, a decline of approximately 14.4%. This relatively modest reduction indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the Intel Core i5-13400F is doing most of the heavy lifting, as the GPU has ample headroom to process frames quickly.

The scaling becomes more pronounced when jumping to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the 4K average of 334.7 FPS represents a 20% drop from the 1440p figure. This steeper decline signals that the GTX 1070's rendering capabilities are starting to be tested. The trend is consistent across all settings presets: the gap between 1440p and 4K is always larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p. For instance, at High settings, the drop from 1080p (307.1 FPS) to 1440p (263 FPS) is 14.4%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (206.9 FPS) is 21.3%. This pattern indicates that while the CPU handles the game's logic and draw calls efficiently at lower resolutions, the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become increasingly relevant as pixel count rises.

The data suggests that for players targeting maximum competitive performance, 1080p is the sweet spot, as the combination can push nearly 490 FPS on Low settings. Even at 4K, the frame rates remain playable, but the scaling curve shows that the GTX 1070 is the primary constraint at that resolution. The difference between the fastest and slowest 4K results (334.7 FPS Low vs 197.9 FPS Ultra) is 136.8 FPS, which is a larger absolute gap than at 1080p (488.7 vs 291.3, a difference of 197.4 FPS). This suggests that at 4K, both CPU and GPU are working in tandem, with settings having a more pronounced effect on overall performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves in Valorant?

A: The highest measured average is 488.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak performance point for this CPU-GPU pairing.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 places it 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and 1.4% ahead of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER. It sits 1.3% behind the GeForce GTX 880M and 1.7% behind the Tesla K20Xm.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 418.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 244.5 FPS. This represents a performance gap of 173.8 FPS between the two extremes.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The Intel Core i5-13400F has a passmark single-thread score of 3634 and ranks in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, but the massive frame rates exceeding 300 FPS on High settings suggest the GPU is not being fully utilized.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested processor and graphics card pairings in this game?

A: This specific combination ranks 1339 out of 1650 tested combos in Valorant. This places it in the 81st percentile of all tested systems, indicating strong overall performance.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, 1920x1080 yields 321.4 FPS, while 3840x2160 yields 220.1 FPS. The 1080p result is 101.3 FPS higher, a 46% improvement over the 4K figure.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 achieves a rank of 1339 out of 1650 total combos in Valorant. This places the system in the top 19% of all tested configurations, a strong showing given the age of the GPU. The CPU's performance is a significant contributor to this ranking, as the i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25236 puts it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark are the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1% higher score) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% lower score), showing that the processor is competitive with much newer hardware.

The GPU's ranking is less impressive on a standalone basis, with a percentile of 51 among all GPUs. The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 places it near the middle of the pack, with its nearest competitor, the Quadro K4200, trailing by just 0.7%. However, the GPU's modest standing is offset by the CPU's strength, allowing the combination to achieve a high rank in a game like Valorant that is known to be CPU-intensive. The data shows that the combo rank of 1339 is more reflective of the CPU's capabilities than the GPU's, as the i5-13400F can drive frame rates to levels that exceed what the GPU can render at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce the highest average at 488.7 FPS, followed by Medium at 321.4 FPS, High at 307.1 FPS, and Ultra at 291.3 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 197.4 FPS, indicating that settings have a substantial impact at this resolution. The jump from Low to Medium is particularly steep, with a 167.3 FPS drop, while the difference between Medium and High is only 14.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 15.8 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 418.3 FPS, Medium 275.3 FPS, High 263 FPS, and Ultra 244.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 143 FPS, while the difference between Medium and Ultra is just 30.8 FPS. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU begins to exert more influence, but the CPU still maintains high minimum performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 334.7 FPS, which is still remarkably high, but Medium drops to 220.1 FPS, High to 206.9 FPS, and Ultra to 197.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium here is 114.6 FPS, larger than the 30.8 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra. This indicates that at 4K, the transition from Low to Medium settings imposes a significant load on the GPU's 256-bit memory bus and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth, while further increases in quality have diminishing returns.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 plays a critical role in determining the upper limits of performance at higher resolutions. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and a 256-bit bus width providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has sufficient resources for Valorant's textures and effects at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU's boost clock of 1683 MHz and its 1920 shading units deliver a peak FP32 throughput of 6.463 TFLOPS, which proves adequate for the game's stylized graphics.

However, the benchmark data reveals that the GTX 1070's performance ceiling is reached at 4K. The card's pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are challenged when rendering 3840x2160, as evidenced by the dramatic drop in FPS when moving from Low to Medium settings at this resolution. The GPU's 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 12331, which is 1.4% lower than the GTX 1650 SUPER, indicate that it is a mid-range performer by modern standards. Yet, in Valorant, the card's DirectX 12 support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility allow it to maintain playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra, albeit at 197.9 FPS, which is still above the threshold for most high-refresh monitors.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum competitive advantage, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear choice, delivering 488.7 FPS. This frame rate exceeds the refresh rate of any consumer monitor, providing the lowest possible input latency. The data shows that Low settings at 1080p offer a 167.3 FPS advantage over Medium, which is a substantial gain for competitive play where every millisecond counts.

For those seeking a balance between visual fidelity and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 offers 263 FPS, which remains well above 240 Hz monitors. This setting provides improved visual clarity for spotting enemies while maintaining a frame rate that is 18.5 FPS higher than Ultra at the same resolution. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 18.5 FPS, suggesting that the visual upgrade from Ultra is minimal relative to the performance cost.

At 4K, the Medium preset at 220.1 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a 13.2 FPS improvement over High while providing better visual quality than Low. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 114.6 FPS, which is a significant trade-off, but the resulting 220.1 FPS is still suitable for 144 Hz displays. Ultra at 4K drops to 197.9 FPS, which approaches the lower limit of high-refresh gaming, so Medium represents the sweet spot for this resolution. Ultimately, the optimal settings depend on the monitor's refresh rate, but the measured data indicates that this combination is versatile enough to handle a wide range of configurations.