Valorant

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Valorant with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 shows a steep performance drop as resolution climbs, but the pattern reveals a system that remains firmly in high-refresh territory across the board. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 627 FPS average; moving to 1440p Low drops that to 535 FPS, and 4K Low yields 428 FPS. That represents a 15% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 20% reduction from 1440p to 4K — a total 32% decline from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset.

The scaling curve steepens noticeably when comparing higher presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 393 at 1080p to 336 at 1440p and then 268 at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K delta at High is 125 FPS, or roughly 32% lower. At Ultra, the numbers are 375, 320, and 256 FPS respectively — again a 32% drop from 1080p to 4K. This consistency across presets suggests that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at low resolutions to the GPU as pixel count increases, but the GPU still has ample headroom because Valorant is not a graphically demanding title.

The Medium preset row includes min/max data, which adds texture to the analysis. At 1080p Medium, the average is 413 FPS with a minimum of 351 and maximum of 475. At 1440p Medium, average is 352 FPS with min 300 and max 405. At 4K Medium, average is 282 FPS with min 239 and max 324. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution rises — 124 FPS at 1080p versus 85 FPS at 4K — which indicates that frame-time consistency improves at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the bottleneck, smoothing out CPU-driven spikes.

What this scaling tells us is that the RTX 5050 is never the primary constraint at 1080p or 1440p; the CPU's single-thread performance is driving those high frame rates. The i7-13700K's single-core score of 1136 in 3dMark and 2116 in Cinebench R23 single-core supports this interpretation. By 4K, the GPU's 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are carrying more of the load, yet even the heaviest preset tested — 4K Ultra at 256 FPS — remains far above any competitive refresh-rate threshold. The data indicates that this combination is resolution-agnostic for practical esports purposes; every tested configuration exceeds 240 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame places this pairing at rank 1443 out of 2883 tested combos — squarely in the 50th percentile (50.0% of combos rank higher, 50.0% rank lower). That middling overall rank is somewhat surprising given the absolute FPS numbers, but it reflects the nature of Valorant as a game where many mid-range CPUs paired with modest GPUs can hit high frame rates. The rank is not a measure of playability; it is a measure of where this specific CPU+GPU pairing sits relative to every other combination in the database.

The i7-13700K alone holds the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881. Its nearest rivals in aggregate CPU performance are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 at 46971 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 at 47022 (-0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX at 46654 (+0.5% delta), and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 at 46653 (+0.5% delta). The i7-13700K is effectively tied with all four of these processors — the largest delta is half a percent — meaning the CPU contributes no meaningful advantage or disadvantage relative to its direct peers in general compute.

The RTX 5050, by contrast, sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL at 21153 (-0.6% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M at 21237 (-1.0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20713 (+1.6% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21379 (-1.6% delta). The GPU is slightly below the RX Vega M GL and HD 8970M in aggregate score but slightly above the RX 5600 XT — again, all within a 3% band.

Given that the CPU is near the top of the CPU distribution (89th percentile) and the GPU is in the upper-mid range (66th percentile), the combination's 50th-percentile game rank suggests that Valorant's performance ceiling is governed more by the game's engine and CPU single-thread behavior than by raw component strength. The data indicates that a weaker CPU paired with a much stronger GPU could achieve a higher game rank because Valorant's frame rates are so high that GPU headroom becomes irrelevant at lower resolutions. This combo's rank reflects its balanced but unexceptional position in the broader testing pool.

GPU Role

The RTX 5050's specifications explain why it can sustain such high frame rates in Valorant without becoming a liability. The GPU uses 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Valorant, which was released in 2020 and is not known for heavy texture streaming or large asset footprints, 8 GB is more than sufficient; none of the measured FPS rows suggest any memory-related stutter or capacity ceiling. The min FPS values at Medium settings (351 at 1080p, 300 at 1440p, 239 at 4K) show no anomalous dips that would indicate VRAM swapping.

Clock speeds are modest but effective: base clock of 2317 MHz and boost clock of 2572 MHz. The memory runs at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective transfer. These clocks, combined with 2560 shading units and 80 tensor cores, produce 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput and 13.17 TFLOPS of FP16 (1:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 82.30 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 205.8 GTexel/s. For a lightweight esports title, these figures are far above the threshold needed to maintain triple-digit FPS at any resolution.

The GPU's benchmark results are consistent with its mid-range positioning. Its Passmark G3D score is 17326, its Geekbench OpenCL score is 90334, and its Vulkan score is 89381. The DirectX 12 Passmark score is 66, which is notably lower than the DirectX 11 score of 150 — but Valorant is built on Unreal Engine and does not stress modern DX12 features heavily, so this gap has minimal impact on the measured game results. The GPU's percentile rank of 66th among all GPUs aligns with its aggregate score of 21035, and its nearest rivals cluster within 2% of its performance.

The RTX 5050's role in Valorant is best described as a facilitator rather than a driver. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is generating frame rates well above what the GPU needs to render; the GPU simply keeps up. At 4K, the GPU's bandwidth and compute become more relevant, and the 32% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at each preset reflects that shift. The fact that 4K Ultra still produces 256 FPS indicates that the RTX 5050 has substantial headroom for this game, even at its most demanding tested configuration.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. At 1080p Medium, the average is 413 FPS with a minimum of 351 FPS — the min value is the key metric for competitive play, as it represents the worst-case frame delivery. The 351 FPS floor is comfortably above any high-refresh monitor's capabilities, and the 475 FPS maximum shows there is still headroom for occasional bursts. The High preset at 1080p drops the average to 393 FPS, but without min/max data we cannot confirm whether the frame pacing holds up as well; the Medium row's documented 351 FPS minimum makes it the safer choice.

At 1440p, the same logic applies. Medium produces 352 FPS average with a 300 FPS minimum and 405 FPS maximum. High at 1440p is 336 FPS average, but again lacks min/max documentation. The 300 FPS floor at 1440p Medium is still excellent for any display, and the visual uplift from Low to Medium is worth the 183 FPS average sacrifice (535 to 352 FPS). Low at 1440p is 535 FPS, which is only useful if the player prioritizes raw frame rate over any visual fidelity — a reasonable choice for extreme competitive settings, but the data suggests Medium retains the frame rate headroom while improving image quality.

For 4K, Medium is the only preset with min/max data: 282 FPS average, 239 FPS minimum, 324 FPS maximum. The 239 FPS floor is still above 240 Hz, though just barely. If the player is targeting a 240 Hz display at 4K, Medium is the recommended preset because it has a documented minimum above that threshold. Ultra at 4K drops to 256 FPS average with no min/max data, which introduces uncertainty; the average is below the Medium minimum, suggesting a lower floor. High at 4K is 268 FPS average, also without min/max data. Low at 4K is 428 FPS, which would be the choice for maximum frame rate at the expense of visuals.

The data strongly favors Medium across all resolutions. It is the only preset with complete min/max documentation, and its minimum FPS values (351, 300, 239) are all within playable range for high-refresh monitors. Low presets sacrifice too much visual clarity for marginal FPS gains beyond 500 FPS, which no display can currently utilize. Ultra presets offer diminishing returns: at 1080p Ultra is 375 FPS versus Medium's 413 FPS — an 8% penalty for settings that are visually indistinguishable in a fast-paced shooter. Medium is the sweet spot in every resolution tested.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 627 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 535 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 428 FPS at 3840x2160 Low.

Q: Does the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Valorant?

A: No. The measured FPS data shows no anomalies that would indicate VRAM limitations. At Medium settings, the minimum FPS values are 351 at 1080p, 300 at 1440p, and 239 at 4K, all of which are consistent with normal performance scaling and show no evidence of memory-related stutter.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its nearest CPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which is -0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971) and -0.3% below the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022). It is +0.5% above both the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654) and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653). All four rivals are within half a percent of the i7-13700K's score.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded in any measured configuration?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 239, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The next lowest minimum is 300 at 2560x1440 Medium, and the highest minimum is 351 at 1920x1080 Medium. No other presets have documented min FPS values.

Q: This combo ranks 1443 out of 2883 in Valorant. Is that a good rank?

A: The rank places it at exactly the 50th percentile of all tested combos. However, the CPU alone is in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. The middling game rank reflects Valorant's low system requirements — many combinations can achieve high FPS — rather than any deficiency in this pairing.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's DirectX 12 benchmark compare to its DirectX 11 score?

A: The Passmark DirectX 12 score is 66, while the DirectX 11 score is 150 — more than double. The DirectX 10 score is 103 and DirectX 9 is 186. Valorant does not heavily utilize DX12 features, so this gap has no measurable impact on the game's FPS results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is the dominant component in this pairing for Valorant, and the data makes that clear. The CPU has 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. These specifications are far beyond what Valorant requires, but the game's engine is heavily single-thread dependent, which is why the CPU's 3dMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2116 are the more relevant metrics.

The CPU's single-thread performance is what enables the extremely high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 627 FPS; at 1440p Low, 535 FPS. These numbers are not GPU-limited — the RTX 5050 could render these frames without breaking a sweat given its 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Instead, the CPU's ability to process game logic, entity updates, and input latency at high frequency is the deciding factor. The 3dMark 2-thread score of 2262 and 4-thread score of 4469 further corroborate that the CPU handles low-thread-count workloads exceptionally well.

The multi-threaded scores are also strong — Cinebench R23 multicore is 30745, Geekbench multicore is 19429, and Passmark multithread is 45887 — but these are less relevant for Valorant. The game rarely uses more than a few threads, so the CPU's 16 cores are mostly idle. The Passmark physics score of 2716 and find prime numbers score of 191 are niche metrics that do not directly translate to game performance. What matters is that the i7-13700K's single-thread performance ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, which is why the combo's FPS numbers are so high despite the GPU's mid-range positioning.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate score — the Ryzen 9 5900, Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, Ryzen 9 7845HX, and Xeon w3-2535 — all land within 0.5% of the i7-13700K's average benchmark score. This tells us that the CPU is not delivering any unique advantage in Valorant compared to its direct competition. The game's performance is likely similar across these processors, and the 50th-percentile combo rank reflects that parity. The i7-13700K's value lies in its consistent high single-thread throughput, not in any game-specific optimization.

The CPU's integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 770 — are present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU installed. The memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 on a dual-channel bus gives system builders flexibility, but the measured FPS data does not distinguish between memory types. The 125 W TDP and 257 mm² die size on Intel's 10 nm process node place it as a mainstream desktop part, and the unlocked multiplier allows overclocking, though the data does not include any overclocked results. For Valorant, the i7-13700K provides all the single-thread horsepower needed to push frame rates beyond what any display can show, making it the primary enabler of this combo's high FPS figures at lower resolutions.