Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS built around low-latency, high-frame-rate gameplay, and the measured data for the Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti shows a system that saturates even the fastest displays at every tested resolution. The combination of a 16-core Raptor Lake-S processor and an Ampere flagship GPU delivers frame rates that are consistently above 390 FPS, with the lowest average recorded at 4K Ultra and the highest at 1080p Low. This analysis walks through how the CPU and GPU each contribute to these results, how performance scales across resolutions, and where this specific combo ranks among the 1,650 tested configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor built on the Raptor Lake architecture using Intel’s 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, and it boosts up to 5.40 GHz, which is critical for Valorant’s frame generation. The CPU has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 12,412 in 3DMark max threads, 39,000 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 5,505 in Cinebench R23 single-core. The single-thread performance is especially relevant because Valorant’s engine relies heavily on a primary simulation thread; a high boost clock and strong single-core result keep the game’s logic from becoming a bottleneck.

The data confirms this. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 661.8, which is only 34.2 FPS higher than the 627.6 average at 1440p Low. That small gap suggests the CPU is already near its ceiling for this game’s workload, and the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower settings. Across all resolutions, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is modest—for instance, at 1080p, Ultra averages 542.1 FPS versus 661.8 at Low, a 119.7 FPS spread. In a game like Valorant, where frame times are more important than raw pixel count, the 13700K’s 16 cores (24 threads) provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the measured results show that even the highest preset does not push the CPU into a deficit. The processor’s percentile rank among all CPUs is 93, and its average benchmark score of 47,282 places it within 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which scores 47,334. The 13700K also sits 0.3% above the AMD EPYC 4364P (47,131) and 0.4% above the Intel Core i9-12900F (47,081), indicating that this chip is at the top of its class for general compute, which translates directly into the high FPS floors seen in the game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It carries 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 1365 MHz, boosting to 1665 MHz, with memory running at an effective 19 Gbps. The RTX 3080 Ti has 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, plus 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 34.10 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 532.8 GTexel/s. These specifications are far beyond what Valorant requires, as the game’s visuals are relatively simple, but the GPU still contributes to the higher presets and resolution scaling.

In the measured frames, the GPU’s influence becomes visible when settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 394.9, which is 20.5 FPS lower than 4K High (415.4) and 38.3 FPS lower than 4K Medium (433). At 1080p, Ultra averages 542.1 versus 550.6 at High, a mere 8.5 FPS difference. This pattern indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is not being stressed at 1080p; the CPU handles most of the work, and the GPU has spare capacity. However, at 4K, the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes more relevant, as the 384-bit memory bus and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth help maintain high frame rates even with the extra pixel load. The GPU’s percentile rank among all GPUs is 83, and its average benchmark score of 41,224 is just 0.5% below the RTX 3090 (41,441), while being 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41,610) and 1.1% below the RTX 5070 (41,687). For a game that is not GPU-bound at lower settings, the RTX 3080 Ti’s raw power ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate stays well above 390 FPS, which is far beyond any competitive display’s refresh rate.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear, non-linear scaling pattern as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 34 to 46 FPS depending on the preset. For example, at Low settings, 1080p averages 661.8 FPS, while 1440p averages 627.6 FPS—a 34.2 FPS decrease. At Ultra, the drop is 46.0 FPS (542.1 at 1080p to 496.2 at 1440p). Moving from 1440p to 4K produces a larger absolute drop: Low goes from 627.6 to 578.2 (a 49.4 FPS decrease), and Ultra goes from 496.2 to 394.9 (a 101.3 FPS decrease). The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is telling: Low settings fall 12.6% (661.8 to 578.2), while Ultra falls 27.2% (542.1 to 394.9). This differential indicates that at lower settings, the system is CPU-bound—the GPU has so much headroom that adding pixels barely matters. At Ultra, the GPU becomes more involved, and the extra pixel workload shows up as a larger FPS penalty.

The limiting component shifts based on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the data shows 661.8 FPS, which is only 34.2 FPS higher than 1440p Low, suggesting the CPU is already producing close to its maximum frame rate for this game. At 4K Ultra, the 394.9 FPS average is still high, but the gap to 1080p Ultra (542.1) is 147.2 FPS, which points to the GPU taking on a more dominant role. In practice, this means that for players using a 360 Hz monitor at 1080p, the system will never drop below the refresh ceiling; at 4K, a 240 Hz display would still be saturated in most scenarios, though the Ultra preset leaves less headroom. The overall trend is that this combo is overkill for Valorant at any resolution, with the CPU limiting at low settings and the GPU starting to matter only at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti holds a combo rank of 140 out of 1,650 tested combinations. That places it in the top 8.5% of all combos, which is consistent with the high FPS figures measured. The rank reflects the synergy between a top-tier CPU (93rd percentile among all CPUs) and a high-end GPU (83rd percentile among all GPUs). The 13700K’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks—the 13700KF (0.1% faster), AMD EPYC 4364P (0.3% slower), and Core i9-12900F (0.4% slower)—all have similar compute scores, but the 13700K’s 16-core/24-thread configuration and 5.40 GHz boost clock give it a slight edge in games that benefit from high single-thread performance.

The GPU’s nearest rivals—the RTX 3090 (0.5% faster), Radeon Pro 5300 (0.9% faster), and RTX 5070 (1.1% faster)—are all within a narrow band of average benchmark scores, meaning the RTX 3080 Ti is not leaving performance on the table relative to its peers. In Valorant specifically, the combo rank of 140 suggests that there are 139 combos that achieve higher average FPS, but given that the measured FPS at 1080p Low is 661.8 and even the lowest measured average (4K Ultra at 394.9) is above 390 FPS, the practical difference between this combo and higher-ranked ones is likely negligible for real-world play. The rank is a function of the entire database, which includes combos with newer GPUs or CPUs, but the data shows this pairing is already in the upper echelon.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 102.9 FPS (661.8 versus 558.9), while High and Ultra are nearly identical (550.6 and 542.1). Given that Valorant’s visual fidelity is not the reason players choose the game, the Low preset at 1080p offers the highest average FPS (661.8) and is the best choice for maximizing frame rate; the 119.7 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is meaningful for players on 360 Hz or 500 Hz monitors, where every frame count matters.

At 1440p, Low again leads with 627.6 FPS, but Medium (533.9) and High (516.2) are still well above any current display’s refresh rate. The step from Low to Medium costs 93.7 FPS, which is noticeable, but the visual upgrade may be worth it for players who prefer a cleaner image. At 4K, the situation changes: Low averages 578.2 FPS, but Medium drops to 433, and Ultra falls to 394.9. For 4K players, the Low preset is the only one that keeps the frame rate above 500 FPS, while Ultra still delivers 394.9 FPS, which exceeds 240 Hz displays. The data suggests that for competitive play, the Low preset at any resolution maximizes the CPU-bound frame rate, whereas players who prioritize visual quality can use Ultra at 1080p or 1440p without dropping below 496 FPS. The measured rows show no min or max FPS data, so only averages are considered, but the consistency across presets indicates that this combo is stable enough to recommend the Low preset for pure performance or Ultra for those who want the game’s highest settings without sacrificing the ability to keep up with high-refresh panels.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The exact measured averages are as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 661.8 FPS, Medium averages 558.9 FPS, High averages 550.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 542.1 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, Low averages 627.6 FPS, Medium averages 533.9 FPS, High averages 516.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 496.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 578.2 FPS, Medium averages 433 FPS, High averages 415.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 394.9 FPS. The spread across all 12 measurements is 266.9 FPS (from 661.8 down to 394.9), and the largest single drop between adjacent settings is at 4K, where Medium to High costs 17.6 FPS (433 to 415.4) and High to Ultra costs 20.5 FPS (415.4 to 394.9). At 1080p, the step from Low to Medium is the largest, costing 102.9 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra is only 8.5 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the CPU is the primary driver of frame rate at low settings and lower resolutions, while the GPU’s role grows as resolution and settings increase. The data is measured, not estimated, and every average FPS figure exceeds 390, meaning this combo never dips below that threshold in any tested configuration.