Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS where frame rates matter more than almost any other visual feature, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower resolutions and surprisingly resilient at 4K. The benchmark results indicate this combination sits at rank 1324 out of 1650 tested combos in the game, placing it in the middle of the pack, yet the raw frame rates suggest a highly playable experience on high-refresh-rate displays. The data reveals that the Radeon RX 9070, a GPU that sits at the 79th percentile among all graphics cards, is doing the heavy lifting, while the six-core i5-9400, which lands at the 50th percentile for CPUs, keeps pace without becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is modest in percentage terms, which is unusual for a competitive title. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 371.6 at 1920x1080 to 324.9 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 12.6 percent. This relatively small penalty suggests that even at 4K, the RX 9070 has ample headroom and is not being stressed to its limits. The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets, with the High preset dropping from 306.8 FPS at 1080p to 269.1 FPS at 4K, a decrease of about 12.3 percent. Medium settings see a similar trend, falling from 312.8 FPS to 277.9 FPS, while Ultra goes from 301.3 FPS down to 266.6 FPS.

What this scaling behavior indicates is that the limiting component shifts depending on resolution. At 1080p, the delta between Low and Ultra is 70.3 FPS (371.6 vs 301.3), which is a substantial gap driven by the CPU's ability to feed frames. The i5-9400, with its six cores and six threads, reaches its ceiling around the 370 FPS mark, and the GPU cannot fully stretch its legs. Moving to 1440p, the Low-to-Ultra spread narrows slightly to 64.2 FPS (352.5 vs 288.3), showing that the GPU begins to take on more of the workload. By 4K, the spread tightens to 58.3 FPS (324.9 vs 266.6), but the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high for a 4K resolution, confirming that the RX 9070 with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is the dominant factor here.

The data shows that the most significant performance jump occurs when moving from 4K Ultra (266.6 FPS) to 1080p Low (371.6 FPS), a gain of 105 FPS. However, the practical takeaway is that this system never drops below 266 FPS at any resolution tested, which means resolution scaling has a limited impact on playability. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU has more than enough capability to maintain high frame rates, but the scaling curve flattens out because Valorant is not a graphically demanding title by modern standards.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the star of this pairing, and its specifications explain why the frame rates remain so high across all settings. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process, the GPU features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units. Its boost clock reaches 2520 MHz, while the game clock is rated at 2070 MHz, and the memory operates at an effective 20.1 Gbps across a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. These numbers are far beyond what Valorant requires, which is why even the most demanding settings at 4K produce an average of 266.6 FPS.

The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is a key factor in the consistency of results. Valorant is not a VRAM-heavy title, so the capacity is never stressed, allowing the memory subsystem to operate efficiently without any swapping or stutter. The pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s are more than sufficient to handle the game's relatively simple geometry and textures. The benchmark scores for the RX 9070 reflect its capability, with a Passmark G3D score of 25381 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290, placing it at the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

When compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the RX 9070's average benchmark score of 34780 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA A2, which scores 34866 (a delta of -0.2 percent), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970, which scores 34541 (a delta of 0.7 percent). This places the GPU in a performance tier that is vastly overqualified for Valorant, but the data shows that the CPU occasionally limits the GPU's potential. At 1080p Low, the GPU is capable of producing over 371 FPS, but the i5-9400's single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125, appears to be the ceiling. In contrast, at 4K Ultra, the GPU is still not pushed to its limits, as the frame rate only drops to 266.6 FPS, suggesting that the game engine itself is the bottleneck rather than any hardware component.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, the difference between Low and High is only 64.8 FPS (371.6 vs 306.8), but the jump from High to Ultra costs just 5.5 FPS (306.8 vs 301.3). This indicates that High settings offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance at 1080p, as the gains from dropping to Low are marginal relative to the visual downgrade. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates on a 360 Hz monitor, Low settings at 1080p deliver 371.6 FPS, which is the highest recorded average in the entire dataset.

At 1440p, the data suggests that Medium settings provide a sweet spot. The average FPS at Medium is 296.7, which is nearly identical to High at 296.2, but Medium typically offers slightly better visual quality in terms of shadow and texture filtering. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 288.3 FPS, which is still excellent but represents a 2.8 percent reduction from Medium. For 4K gaming, the recommended approach is to use High settings, which produce 269.1 FPS, compared to 277.9 FPS for Medium and 266.6 FPS for Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is negligible at just 2.5 FPS, so players should opt for High to gain the extra visual polish without sacrificing measurable performance.

The data clearly shows that Low settings are only necessary for extreme refresh rate scenarios, as even Ultra at 4K maintains an average above 266 FPS. The most efficient preset across all resolutions is Medium, which delivers 312.8 FPS at 1080p, 296.7 FPS at 1440p, and 277.9 FPS at 4K. This consistency makes Medium the safest recommendation for players who want a uniform experience regardless of their display resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings yields the following average frame rates: Low produces 371.6 FPS, Medium comes in at 312.8 FPS, High reaches 306.8 FPS, and Ultra delivers 301.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 70.3 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium at 58.8 FPS. This indicates that the first step up in quality carries the heaviest performance cost, while subsequent steps are less punishing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 352.5 FPS for Low, 296.7 FPS for Medium, 296.2 FPS for High, and 288.3 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 55.8 FPS, which is slightly smaller than at 1080p, and the difference between Medium and High is a negligible 0.5 FPS. At this resolution, High offers essentially the same performance as Medium, making it a viable choice for those who want better visuals without sacrificing frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the results are 324.9 FPS for Low, 277.9 FPS for Medium, 269.1 FPS for High, and 266.6 FPS for Ultra. The Low-to-Medium drop is 47 FPS, and the Medium-to-High drop is 8.8 FPS, while High-to-Ultra costs only 2.5 FPS. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the Low preset provides a significant boost over Medium, but the differences between Medium, High, and Ultra are small, often within a few percentage points. The highest recorded average is 371.6 FPS at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 266.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, meaning the system never falls below the threshold for smooth competitive play.

FAQ

Q: Does this system maintain high frame rates at 4K?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 269.1 FPS at 4K High settings and 266.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, with the lowest recorded average being 266.6 FPS across all tested configurations.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings deliver 296.2 FPS, which is statistically identical to Medium at 296.7 FPS, so High is recommended for better visuals at no measurable performance cost.

Q: How much performance is gained by using Low settings instead of Ultra?

A: At 1080p, the gain is 70.3 FPS (371.6 vs 301.3), while at 4K the gain is 58.3 FPS (324.9 vs 266.6), showing that Low provides a larger relative boost at lower resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as frame rates remain above 266 FPS, but at 1080p Low the CPU appears to cap performance around 371 FPS, given the i5-9400's six-core configuration.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its closest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, which is 0.2 percent lower than the NVIDIA A2 (34866) and 0.7 percent higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34541).

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average is 371.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings, which is the maximum measured value in the dataset.