Valorant

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Valorant, with the data showing a system that is heavily optimized for competitive play. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the average FPS never drops below 239.9, indicating that this pairing is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. The core question for users is how the system behaves as resolution increases, and the benchmark results reveal a clear pattern of performance scaling that points to the CPU as the primary limiter in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline is unusually small, which is characteristic of a CPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 371.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 351.7 FPS, a drop of roughly 5.2%. At 4K Low, the average is 325.5 FPS, which is still only 12.3% lower than the 1080p result. This shallow scaling curve indicates that the graphics card has substantial headroom and is not being fully utilized even at 4K, a common trait in esports titles like Valorant.

The pattern holds across other settings levels. At High settings, the frame rate goes from 311.2 FPS at 1080p to 293.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 249.4 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings produces a 15% performance loss, which is more pronounced than the Low settings case but still modest. For Ultra settings, the data shows 306.1 FPS at 1080p, 286 FPS at 1440p, and 239.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, yet it remains above 240 FPS, which is a critical threshold for the highest-tier gaming displays.

What the numbers suggest is that the limiting component shifts depending on the resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is likely the bottleneck, as the frame rates are so high that the i5-9400’s six physical cores are working near their maximum capacity. At 4K, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility, as evidenced by the larger FPS gaps between settings at that resolution. For example, the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 65 FPS (371.1 vs. 306.1), while at 4K that same gap is 85.6 FPS (325.5 vs. 239.9). This widening gap confirms that the RX 5700 XT is becoming the limiting factor at 4K, though it still performs admirably.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. For a game like Valorant, which is known to favor high single-core performance, this configuration is adequate, though not exceptional. The processor’s benchmark scores provide context: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. The single-core result is more relevant for gaming, and the data suggests it is sufficient to drive the high frame rates observed.

The CPU’s overall percentile ranking is 50, meaning it sits exactly at the median of all tested processors. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, both with an average score of approximately 2300, showing a delta of 0.2% from the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305. This clustering indicates that the i5-9400 is positioned in a competitive mid-range tier, but it is not a top-tier gaming CPU. In Valorant, however, the game’s engine appears to be well-optimized for this level of single-threaded performance, as the frame rates remain high.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth is 42.7 GB/s, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory. The shared 9 MB L3 cache is a notable feature, as it helps reduce latency when the game needs to access frequently used data. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the CPU manages to keep the frame rate above 239 FPS, which strongly implies that the i5-9400 is not severely bottlenecking the system in this title. However, the small FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p (e.g., 311.2 vs. 293.4 at High settings) suggests that the CPU’s limits are being approached, and users with higher refresh rate monitors may want to consider a processor with a higher boost clock.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the more powerful component in this pairing, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s architecture is RDNA 1.0, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC, with a die size of 251 mm² and 10,300 million transistors. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. In terms of raw compute, it delivers 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is more than enough for a competitive shooter like Valorant.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its position in the market. It achieves a PassMark G3D score of 16277 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 77773. Its percentile ranking is 68, which places it above the median GPU. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (with a delta of -0.1%) and the Intel Arc A350M (with a delta of 0.3%), indicating that the RX 5700 XT is closely matched with those products in aggregate benchmarks. In Valorant, the GPU’s role is primarily to handle the rendering workload at higher resolutions and settings, and the data shows it does so effectively.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not a limiting factor in this game, as Valorant is not a memory-intensive title. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 239.9, which is remarkably close to the 240 FPS threshold, and the GPU is clearly capable of handling the graphical load. The fact that the FPS at 4K Low is 325.5, only slightly lower than the 1440p Low result of 351.7, indicates that the GPU has significant headroom. The RX 5700 XT’s launch MSRP was 399 USD. The performance data suggests that the GPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, but it becomes more relevant at 4K, where the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 371.1, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does this combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: Yes, the lowest average FPS across all settings at 3840x2160 is 239.9 (Ultra settings), which is still above the 240 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% higher than the Intel Xeon E-2134.

Q: What is the GPU’s position relative to other graphics cards in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has a percentile ranking of 68, and its average benchmark score of 24731 is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, but 0.3% higher than the Intel Arc A350M.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the FPS difference between Low (371.1) and Ultra (306.1) settings is relatively small, indicating the GPU is not the primary constraint.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 314.9 at 1080p to 300.1 at 1440p, and then to 260.4 at 4K, representing a total decrease of 54.5 FPS from 1080p to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is ranked 1332 out of 1650 tested combos for Valorant, placing it in the 19th percentile of all possible pairings. This ranking might seem low given the high frame rates observed, but it is important to note that Valorant is a game where even mid-range hardware can achieve extremely high FPS, and the database includes many newer and more powerful components. The combo’s rank reflects its position in a crowded field where top-tier CPUs and GPUs can push frame rates even higher.

The rank of 1332 indicates that there are 318 combos that perform better in this game. Given that the i5-9400 is an end-of-life product from 2018 and the RX 5700 XT is from 2019, this result is expected. The data shows that the combo is not a top performer, but it is far from being a poor one. The average benchmark scores for the individual components are 2305 for the CPU and 24731 for the GPU, and these figures align with the combo’s mid-tier ranking.

What the ranking does not capture is the practical usability of this system. The fact that it can deliver over 240 FPS at 4K Ultra settings reflects the efficiency of the Valorant engine and the raw power of the RX 5700 XT. The combo’s rank is a relative measure against all other pairings, and the absolute performance is more than sufficient for competitive play. Users with this setup will not be at a disadvantage in terms of frame rate, as the system consistently hits high numbers that are well above the refresh rates of most monitors. The data suggests that while the combo is not in the top tier, it is a highly capable pairing for this specific title.