Valorant

# Valorant with Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional frame rates in Valorant, with measured averages ranging from 401 FPS at 4K Ultra to 552 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows this pairing ranks 677th out of 2,883 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, provides massive headroom, while the i5-13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads keep pace in a game that is largely CPU-bound at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo in Valorant?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 552, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 401 FPS, still far above competitive thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25,292, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25,284, 0% delta). It trails the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D by 0.3% each, but leads the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 D sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904, putting the RTX 5090 D 1.1% ahead.

Q: Does increasing settings from Low to Ultra have a large impact at 1080p?

A: The impact is modest. At 1920x1080, Low averages 552 FPS, Medium 471 FPS, High 463 FPS, and Ultra 456 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 96 FPS (17.4% reduction), showing settings matter but the combo remains fast.

Q: Are there any measured minimum FPS values for this combo?

A: Yes, only for Medium settings at each resolution. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 352 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 380 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it is 400 FPS. These are the only min/max values provided in the data.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 D’s average score of 77,712 is 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), 2.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396), and 2.4% behind the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605). Note these rivals are not gaming-focused parts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It packs 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, alongside 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. The GPU’s base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is far more than Valorant requires.

In the context of Valorant’s measured FPS, the GPU’s role is relatively straightforward. The game is not graphically intensive, so the RTX 5090 D’s compute power — 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s — is largely underutilized. The data supports this: at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 401 FPS, while at 1080p Low, it reaches 552 FPS. The delta between these extremes is 151 FPS, which is a 27.4% increase from 4K to 1080p. This suggests the GPU is not the primary limiter even at 4K, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

The GPU’s memory subsystem, with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 32 GB capacity, ensures there is no VRAM pressure at any resolution. Valorant’s textures and draw calls are modest, so the RTX 5090 D operates well below its limits. The passmark G3D score of 44,065 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 reflect the GPU’s general strength, but in Valorant, the data shows the GPU is rarely the bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a Raptor Lake-S part with 10 cores (6 performance and 4 efficiency) and 16 threads. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting to 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and uses Intel Socket 1700.

In Valorant, the CPU’s role is pivotal, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU has spare capacity. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 552 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 456 FPS. This 96 FPS difference (17.4%) is driven by the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The i5-13400F’s boost clock of 4.60 GHz and 20 MB L3 cache are critical for maintaining high frame rates in a competitive FPS.

Synthetic benchmarks reinforce the CPU’s capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 22,604, and the single-core score is 3,191. The Geekbench multicore score is 11,068 with a single-core score of 1,996. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and max-thread score of 7,307 indicate strong per-core performance, which Valorant benefits from since it is lightly threaded. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average score of 25,292, places it near the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25,284) and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25,201), all within a 0.4% delta.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the i5-13400F and RTX 5090 D ranks 677th out of 2,883 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the top 23.5% of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the RTX 5090 D is a top-tier GPU (92nd percentile), but the CPU is mid-range (77th percentile). The data suggests that Valorant’s performance is more sensitive to CPU capability than GPU raw power, given the modest FPS differences across resolutions.

The combo’s rank of 677 means that 2,206 other combos perform better. However, the absolute FPS numbers are so high that this ranking primarily reflects diminishing returns. At 1080p Low, 552 FPS is near the practical ceiling for most displays, so higher-ranked combos likely use faster CPUs like the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts, which push frame rates even higher. The data shows that the RTX 5090 D’s massive GPU resources are not the limiting factor in Valorant; instead, the i5-13400F’s single-thread performance determines the ceiling.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% behind) and RX 6850M XT (1.6% ahead) — are mobile GPUs, indicating that the RTX 5090 D’s desktop-class performance is not always mirrored in game-specific rankings. For Valorant, the combo’s rank reflects the CPU’s role more than the GPU’s, as evidenced by the fact that the i5-13400F’s rivals (e.g., Ryzen 5 5600X3D) are within 0.3% in average score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings is as follows: Low delivers 552 FPS, Medium 471 FPS, High 463 FPS, and Ultra 456 FPS. The Medium setting also records a minimum of 400 FPS and a maximum of 542 FPS, providing a range that shows consistency. The gap between Low and Ultra is 96 FPS, a 17.4% reduction, which is relatively small given the four-tier settings jump.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 524 FPS, Medium 447 FPS, High 439 FPS, and Ultra 432 FPS. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 380 FPS and a maximum of 514 FPS. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the drop is 28 FPS (5.1%), while from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra, the drop is 24 FPS (5.3%). This indicates that resolution scaling has a minor impact, with the CPU still holding frame rates above 430 FPS even at the highest settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 486 FPS, Medium 415 FPS, High 408 FPS, and Ultra 401 FPS. The Medium setting records a minimum of 352 FPS and a maximum of 477 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 66 FPS (12.0%), while from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 55 FPS (12.1%). Even at 4K Ultra, the combo sustains over 400 FPS, which is far beyond any typical display refresh rate.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings yield the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra slightly behind High. The differences between High and Ultra are minimal — at 1080p, the gap is 7 FPS (1.5%); at 1440p, it is 7 FPS (1.6%); at 4K, it is 7 FPS (1.7%). This suggests that Ultra settings do not impose a significant additional load over High in Valorant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal preset depends on the user’s display refresh rate and preference for visual quality. For competitive play, Low settings at 1080p deliver the highest average FPS at 552, which is ideal for maximizing responsiveness. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 471 FPS, offers a balanced trade-off with slightly better visuals while still maintaining a minimum of 400 FPS.

For users with 1440p displays, Low settings provide 524 FPS, and Medium provides 447 FPS with a minimum of 380 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 432 FPS, which is still exceptionally high but offers no competitive advantage over Medium given the small FPS difference. At 4K, Low yields 486 FPS, Medium 415 FPS, and Ultra 401 FPS; the Ultra preset is viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity, as the frame rate remains above 400 FPS.

The data indicates that the High preset offers no meaningful benefit over Medium — at 1080p, High averages 463 FPS versus Medium’s 471 FPS, and at 1440p, High is 439 FPS versus Medium’s 447 FPS. Given that Medium also provides min/max data showing stability (e.g., 400-542 FPS at 1080p), it is the recommended preset for most users. It delivers near-maximum FPS with a slight visual upgrade over Low, and it avoids the marginal performance loss seen with High and Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals how the limiting component shifts. At Low settings, the averages are 552 FPS at 1080p, 524 FPS at 1440p, and 486 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28 FPS (5.1%), and from 1440p to 4K is 38 FPS (7.3%). The total drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 66 FPS (12.0%). This relatively flat scaling curve indicates that the GPU is not the bottleneck — if it were, the 4K frame rate would be far lower, given the 512-bit memory bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth would still be sufficient for Valorant’s light load.

At Ultra settings, the averages are 456 FPS at 1080p, 432 FPS at 1440p, and 401 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24 FPS (5.3%), and from 1440p to 4K is 31 FPS (7.2%). The total drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 55 FPS (12.1%). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Ultra settings points to a CPU limitation. The i5-13400F’s single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and 3,191 in Cinebench R23 single-core are the likely ceiling, as Valorant’s frame rate is tied to the main thread’s frame time.

The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 5090 D’s 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute is barely stressed, yet the frame rate drops from 552 to 486 FPS at Low settings. This 66 FPS reduction is attributable to the increased pixel fill rate demands, but the GPU’s 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is more than adequate. Instead, the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and process game state at higher resolutions, where each frame has more vertices and texture fetches, becomes the limiting factor. The 20 MB L3 cache and 4.60 GHz boost clock help, but the data suggests that a higher-clocked CPU would yield even higher FPS in Valorant, particularly at 1080p.