Valorant

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 2534 out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant. That places this pairing in the bottom tier of all tested configurations, roughly in the 12th percentile of the database for this specific game. The data places it far from the top, but the rank alone doesn't tell the full story — the measured FPS reveals a combo that can handle the game well at lower settings, even if it trails most other builds.

The rank reflects the aggregate of all tested combos, and this one sits near the bottom because the GPU is a significant bottleneck. The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is exceptionally low. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (scoring 1463, with the B390 ahead by 1.3%), the GeForce 800M (1460, ahead by 1.5%), the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, ahead by 2.5%), and the GeForce GT 710 (1443, ahead by 2.7%). These are all entry-level or legacy parts, and the B390 only edges them by a small margin. In contrast, the CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 places it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, trailing by 0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, trailing by 0.4%) showing that the i5-9400 is a middle-of-the-pack processor.

The combination of a mid-range CPU with a very low-end GPU yields a system that is heavily GPU-limited in most scenarios. The rank of 2534 reflects that imbalance — the CPU is capable enough, but the GPU drags the overall performance down. For Valorant specifically, this combo can still produce playable frame rates, but it won't compete with higher-ranked pairings that feature discrete GPUs with dedicated memory and higher throughput.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process with the Panther Lake chip. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The base clock runs at 300 MHz and boosts up to 2500 MHz, which is a wide boost range that allows the GPU to scale up under load. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 7.680 TFLOPS and FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). The TDP is 80 W, and it uses system shared memory — there is no dedicated VRAM, no dedicated memory bus, and bandwidth is system dependent.

In Valorant, the GPU's shared memory architecture plays a critical role. Since the B390 has no dedicated VRAM, it relies on the system's DDR4 memory, which is shared with the CPU. This is a major limitation for a fast-paced FPS where texture loading and frame buffering need low latency. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU can still push high frame rates at lower settings, but the lack of dedicated memory means performance drops significantly as settings increase. For example, at 1080p Low the combo averages 331 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 198 FPS — a substantial reduction that points to the GPU struggling with higher graphical loads.

The B390's benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is the only GPU benchmark recorded, and it places the GPU in the 9th percentile overall. This is a clear indicator that the B390 is not designed for high-end gaming. In Valorant, however, the game's relatively modest graphical requirements mean the GPU can still deliver playable results, especially at lower settings. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is decent for an IGP, but the shared memory and low fill rates limit its ability to handle higher resolutions and settings simultaneously. The data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint in this combo — the CPU can keep up, but the GPU holds back performance at higher quality presets.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how performance scales across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 331 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 282 FPS — a 14.8% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 225 FPS, which is another 20.2% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops significantly with each resolution increase, even at the lowest settings.

At Medium settings, the pattern continues. 1080p Medium averages 218 FPS, 1440p Medium averages 186 FPS (a 14.7% drop), and 4K Medium averages 149 FPS (a 19.9% drop from 1440p). The High settings show similar trends: 207 FPS at 1080p, 177 FPS at 1440p (14.5% drop), and 141 FPS at 4K (20.3% drop). At Ultra settings, the combo hits 198 FPS at 1080p, 169 FPS at 1440p (14.6% drop), and 135 FPS at 4K (20.1% drop).

The consistent percentage drops across all settings — roughly 14-15% from 1080p to 1440p and another 20% from 1440p to 4K — indicate that the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would not degrade as much with resolution increases, because the CPU workload would remain roughly constant. Instead, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count rises. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (331 to 225 FPS) is a 32% reduction, while at Ultra it's 198 to 135 FPS, a 31.8% reduction. This uniformity suggests the GPU's performance scales linearly with resolution, which is typical of a system where the GPU is fully utilized.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 331 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. However, at 4K Ultra, the 135 FPS average indicates the GPU is struggling to keep up with the pixel workload. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that any attempt to improve performance should focus on the GPU, as the CPU has headroom to spare.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 331 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 218 FPS, with a minimum of 185 FPS and a maximum of 250 FPS. High settings average 207 FPS, and Ultra settings average 198 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 133 FPS, showing that the GPU has a significant impact on performance even at the same resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop across the board. Low settings deliver 282 FPS, Medium averages 186 FPS (min 158, max 214), High averages 177 FPS, and Ultra averages 169 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 113 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, which suggests the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the averages are the lowest. Low settings still manage 225 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 149 FPS (min 126, max 171), High averages 141 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap at 4K is 90 FPS, indicating that the GPU's limitations are more pronounced at higher resolutions.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 185 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it's 158 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it's 126 FPS. These minimums show that even in the worst-case frames, the combo maintains playable frame rates at Medium settings, though the 4K minimum of 126 FPS is approaching the point where competitive players might notice dips.

For competitive Valorant, the 1080p Low setting with 331 FPS average is the standout result. It provides a high enough frame rate for smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors. The 1440p Low average of 282 FPS is also strong, and even 4K Low at 225 FPS is respectable. However, at higher settings, the frame rates drop into the 135-218 FPS range, which is still playable but less ideal for competitive play where higher frame rates are preferred.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, built on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache layout includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU is end-of-life and was released in 2018, but its benchmark results show it remains a capable mid-range processor.

The i5-9400's average benchmark score is 2254, placing it in the 47th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, with the i5-9400 trailing by 0.2%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, ahead by 0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, ahead by 0.4%), and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, trailing by 0.4%). These rivals are all in the same performance band, showing that the i5-9400 sits right in the middle of the pack.

In Valorant, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and frame preparation. With 6 cores and 6 threads, the i5-9400 has enough processing power for a game like Valorant, which is not particularly demanding on CPU resources. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides good single-threaded performance, which is important for FPS games where frame time consistency matters. The single-core benchmark scores — 94 in Cinebench R15, 392 in R20, and 935 in R23 — show that the CPU is competitive in single-threaded tasks.

The measured FPS data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 331 FPS, which is high enough to indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU data faster than the GPU can render frames. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would plateau at a lower value regardless of resolution. Instead, the frame rates drop as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are sufficient for Valorant's workload, and the lack of hyper-threading doesn't appear to be a hindrance in this game.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, combined with the GPU's system shared memory, means that both components compete for the same DDR4 bandwidth. This could be a contributing factor to the performance drops at higher settings, but the CPU itself is not the primary constraint. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield the most significant performance gains for this combo, while the i5-9400 could still hold its own in Valorant for years to come.

# FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 + Intel Arc B390 combo capable of running Valorant at competitive frame rates?

A: Yes, at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 331 FPS, and at 1440p Low it averages 282 FPS. Even at 4K Low, it manages 225 FPS. These are all playable frame rates for competitive play, though higher settings reduce the averages to between 135 and 218 FPS.

Q: What is the limiting component in this combo for Valorant?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU, with an average score of 2254 and a 47th percentile ranking, has more headroom. The frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases, which is a sign of GPU limitation rather than CPU limitation.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The B390 scores 1482 on average, which is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710 (1443). These are all marginal differences, placing the B390 among entry-level GPUs.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-9400 hold up well against its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-9400 scores 2254 on average, which is 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246), and 0.4% behind the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264). All four CPUs are within 0.4% of each other in average score.

Q: What are the best settings to use for this combo in Valorant?

A: For the highest frame rates, Low settings at 1080p produce 331 FPS average. Medium settings at 1080p yield 218 FPS with a minimum of 185 FPS. At 1440p, Low settings deliver 282 FPS, and Medium settings average 186 FPS with a minimum of 158 FPS. For 4K, Low settings are recommended, as they produce 225 FPS, while Medium drops to 149 FPS.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Valorant compare to other tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 2534 out of 2883 tested combinations in Valorant. This places it near the bottom of the database, in roughly the 12th percentile. The low rank is primarily due to the GPU's weak performance, as the CPU is ranked in the 47th percentile among all processors.