Valorant

# Valorant with Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

The data for this pairing shows a system that is massively overqualified for Valorant at every measured setting, with frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of virtually all consumer displays. Across the twelve measured rows, the average FPS never drops below 442, which indicates that this combination is operating in a performance territory where the game's engine and CPU capabilities dominate the experience. The Intel Core i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER to produce results that are consistently in the high hundreds, making this a configuration that prioritizes raw frame generation over graphical fidelity in a title that is not GPU-intensive.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear gradient from Ultra to Low, and the data suggests that the choice of preset has a relatively small impact on average FPS compared to what one might expect from a modern FPS title. At 4K, the Ultra preset yields an average of 442 FPS, while the Low preset jumps to 570 FPS, a difference of 128 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K sits between these at 486 FPS, and High is close to Medium at 464 FPS. This pattern shows that the game's settings scale performance in a linear but modest fashion, with the largest single step occurring between Ultra and High at 4K, which is a 22 FPS drop.

For the best experience, the data points to the High preset as the optimal balance. At 1080p, High delivers 543 FPS, which is only 9 FPS behind Medium and 11 FPS ahead of Ultra. The difference between High and Low at 1080p is 104 FPS, but the visual quality gains from High are substantial. At 1440p, High achieves 515 FPS, which is 8 FPS behind Medium and 9 FPS ahead of Ultra. The High preset consistently sits within 10 FPS of Medium across all resolutions, while providing better visual fidelity than Low. Given that the minimum FPS for Medium is recorded at 445 FPS at 1440p and 413 FPS at 4K, High's unrecorded minimums are likely still far above display refresh rates, making High the recommended preset for users who want a balance of image quality and performance headroom.

The Low preset is the only setting that pushes the average FPS above 600 at 1080p, reaching 647 FPS. However, the data shows diminishing returns: the jump from Medium to Low at 1080p is 95 FPS, which is significant, but the jump from High to Medium is only 9 FPS. This suggests that the game is not heavily GPU-bound at these settings, and the CPU's single-thread performance is the primary driver. For competitive play, the Low preset offers the highest frame rates, but the gains over High are marginal in real-world terms, especially on displays limited to 240Hz or 360Hz. The Ultra preset is the least favorable, delivering the lowest frame rates at every resolution, and the data does not support its use given the modest visual improvements it likely provides in Valorant's art style.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The card's boost clock is 2475 MHz, and its base clock is 1980 MHz. In Valorant, the GPU's role is less about raw memory capacity and more about maintaining consistent frame delivery at high refresh rates. The 12 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires, as Valorant is a lightweight title that does not stress memory capacity at 1080p or 1440p. The data confirms this, as the average FPS at 4K High is 464, which indicates that the GPU is not a bottleneck even at the highest resolution.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units, but the game's performance is more closely tied to the CPU's ability to feed frames. The fact that the Low preset at 4K (570 FPS) is only 77 FPS faster than the High preset at 4K (464 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not the limiting factor; if it were, the gap between settings would be larger. The RTX 4070 SUPER's tensor cores and RT cores are irrelevant to Valorant, but the card's raw throughput ensures that it can render frames as fast as the CPU can submit them. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are more than sufficient for a game with simple geometry and textures.

The card's power envelope is rated at 220 W, with a suggested PSU of 550 W, but these figures do not directly translate to game performance. The data shows that the GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is 83, and its average benchmark score is 43223, which places it near the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and the GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile in synthetic tests. In Valorant, however, the GPU is likely underutilized, as the frame rates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the deciding factor. The GPU's clock speeds remain stable across settings, but the game's engine is not designed to leverage the card's full capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is present but not severe, which is unusual for most games. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 543 at 1080p to 515 at 1440p, a decrease of 28 FPS, and then to 464 at 4K, a further decrease of 51 FPS. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at High is 79 FPS, which represents a 14.5% reduction. This is a relatively small penalty for a fourfold increase in pixel count, suggesting that the game is not rendering complex pixel shaders or heavy post-processing effects. At Low settings, the drop is more pronounced: 647 FPS at 1080p, 614 FPS at 1440p, and 570 FPS at 4K, a total drop of 77 FPS.

The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling, with 552 FPS at 1080p, 523 FPS at 1440p, and 486 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS for Medium follows a similar pattern, with 469 at 1080p, 445 at 1440p, and 413 at 4K. This indicates that the game's frame pacing remains stable even as resolution increases. The Ultra preset drops from 534 FPS at 1080p to 506 FPS at 1440p and 442 FPS at 4K. The fact that the Ultra preset's 4K performance (442 FPS) is still higher than the High preset's 1080p performance on many other systems highlights the headroom this combo has.

The resolution scaling data points to a CPU-limited scenario. If the GPU were the limiting factor, the drop from 1080p to 4K would be much larger, often exceeding 50%. Here, the drop is less than 15%, which means the CPU's single-thread performance is the bottleneck. The i5-14600KF's boost clock of 5.30 GHz and its 24 MB of shared L3 cache are the likely contributors to this behavior. The game's engine appears to scale well with resolution, but the frame rates are so high that even a 4K Ultra setting produces 442 FPS, which is far above the refresh rate of most monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset produces an average of 442 FPS, which is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset. The High preset at 4K averages 464 FPS, while Medium averages 486 FPS with a minimum of 413 FPS and a maximum of 559 FPS. The Low preset at 4K delivers the highest average at this resolution, reaching 570 FPS. These figures show a spread of 128 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at 4K, which is significant but still places all settings well above competitive thresholds.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 506 FPS, and High averages 515 FPS. Medium averages 523 FPS with a minimum of 445 FPS and a maximum of 602 FPS. Low at 1440p reaches 614 FPS, which is the second-highest value in the dataset. The spread at 1440p is 108 FPS, slightly narrower than at 4K. The minimum FPS for Medium at 1440p is 445, which is still far above the refresh rates of most gaming monitors, indicating that frame drops are unlikely to be perceptible.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 534 FPS, and High averages 543 FPS. Medium averages 552 FPS with a minimum of 469 FPS and a maximum of 635 FPS. Low at 1080p achieves 647 FPS, the highest average in the entire dataset. The spread at 1080p is 113 FPS. The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, and its minimum of 469 FPS at 1080p is still higher than the Ultra preset's average at 4K. This suggests that even in the most demanding scenario, the combo delivers frame rates that are beyond the capabilities of standard display technology.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 364th out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant. This places it in the top 9.8% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given the large number of possible pairings. The rank of 364 indicates that there are 363 other combos that perform better, but the vast majority of those likely use higher-end CPUs or GPUs that are not necessary for this game. The percentile rank of the CPU alone is 90, and the GPU's percentile rank is 83, but the combo's rank in this game is lower than both, suggesting that the game's engine is more sensitive to CPU performance than GPU performance.

The combo's rank is influenced by the fact that Valorant is a CPU-bound title. The i5-14600KF's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49228 with a delta of 0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which scores 49196 with a delta of 0.4%. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% behind, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% ahead. These small deltas indicate that the CPU is well within the performance band of its peers, and the combo's rank in Valorant is more a function of the GPU's pairing than the CPU's absolute performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 1% of its average score, with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at -0.1%, the GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at -0.1%, and the Quadro M6000 at -0.2%. The GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is 1% ahead. These close margins show that the RTX 4070 SUPER is not an outlier in its class, but its ranking in Valorant is elevated by the CPU's strong single-thread performance. The combo rank of 364 out of 3708 confirms the balance of this pairing, as it outperforms many combos with more powerful GPUs but weaker CPUs.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Valorant?

A: The highest average FPS is 647, recorded at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K compared to 1080p?

A: At 4K with the High preset, the average FPS is 464, which is 79 FPS lower than the 543 FPS at 1080p High. The drop from 1080p to 4K is less than 15% across all settings.

Q: Which preset provides the best balance of performance and visual quality?

A: The High preset is recommended, as it averages 543 FPS at 1080p, 515 FPS at 1440p, and 464 FPS at 4K, staying within 10 FPS of Medium while offering better visuals.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Valorant?

A: The combo ranks 364th out of 3708 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.8% of all configurations.

Q: Is this system CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Valorant?

A: The data suggests CPU-bound performance, as the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is small (less than 15%), and the CPU's boost clock is 5.30 GHz. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game.

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

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset is 469 at 1080p, 445 at 1440p, and 413 at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications are critical for Valorant, which is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance and cache latency. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is the highest in the dataset's CPU specifications, and it directly contributes to the high frame rates observed. The CPU's 90th percentile rank among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394, confirms that it is a top-tier performer.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600KF scores 32544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4594 in single-core. These scores are not directly related to game performance, but they indicate that the CPU has ample headroom for both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all within 1% of its average score, which shows that the i5-14600KF is not an outlier but rather a solid performer that competes with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core Ultra 5 245. The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache is likely a key factor in Valorant's performance, as the game's engine frequently accesses small, frequently used data structures.

The CPU's role in this combo is to feed the GPU with frames as fast as possible. The data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the frame rates are consistently above 440 FPS even at 4K Ultra. The CPU's 20 threads and 14 cores are more than enough for the game's multi-threaded rendering tasks, but the single-thread performance is what drives the high average FPS. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is the highest recorded in the pack, and it allows the game's main thread to execute instructions quickly. The CPU's TDP of 125 W and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory are additional factors, but the game's performance is most closely tied to the CPU's clock speed and cache structure. The combo rank of 364 out of 3708 confirms that this CPU is well-matched with the RTX 4070 SUPER for Valorant, as it outperforms many combos with more expensive GPUs but slower CPUs.