Valorant

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Valorant with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 reveal a performance curve that is heavily influenced by resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 650.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops that to 614.3 FPS, a reduction of roughly 5.5%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 572.5 FPS, which is another 6.8% decline from the 1440p figure. The total drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is approximately 12%, indicating that even at the highest pixel count, the system is far from being GPU-bound in a demanding sense.

The scaling pattern shifts when looking at higher settings presets. At High settings, the frame rate goes from 541.7 FPS at 1080p to 513.2 FPS at 1440p, then down to 414 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is 23.6% lower than the 1080p High result. This larger gap suggests that the graphics load is starting to engage the GPU more meaningfully, though the absolute numbers remain extraordinarily high for a competitive FPS. The Ultra preset exhibits a similar trend: 533.8 FPS at 1080p, 495.9 FPS at 1440p, and 393.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure represents a 26.3% reduction from 1080p Ultra.

What the data indicates is that Valorant's engine is exceptionally well-optimized for high refresh rates. The RTX 4070 with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is never the limiting factor at 1080p or 1440p; the CPU's single-thread performance, boosted by a 5.40 GHz clock, is what carries the load. At 4K, the GPU begins to show its influence, but even the lowest 4K result (393.4 FPS at Ultra) is well above the refresh rates of virtually all gaming monitors. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is modest, with the largest spread being at 4K where Ultra is 31.3% slower than Low. This indicates that the game's visual settings have a measurable but not crippling impact on frame delivery.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, provides the rendering backbone for this combo. Its 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs, paired with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, deliver a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. In Valorant, these specifications translate into headroom that is rarely stressed. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is far beyond what this game requires, as Valorant's asset sizes are modest by modern standards. The memory runs at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, offering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit bus.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507, which is 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A is 1.9% ahead, while the RTX 4080 Mobile is 2.2% ahead. On the lower side, the AMD Radeon RX 5300M trails by 2.5%. These margins are tight, suggesting that in synthetic workloads the RTX 4070 is in a dense performance cluster. In Valorant specifically, the GPU's role is to maintain consistent frame pacing rather than push raw throughput. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (393.4) versus 4K Low (572.5) shows a 179.1 FPS swing, which is entirely attributable to the GPU's handling of increased shading and texture work.

The data suggests that the RTX 4070 is overprovisioned for Valorant at 1080p and 1440p. The CPU is the primary driver there, as evidenced by the small FPS deltas between Low and Ultra at those resolutions. At 4K, the GPU takes on a more significant role, but even then, the frame rates never dip below 393 FPS, which is far above what any display can currently refresh. The GPU's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, and the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth for the game's data streaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a combo rank of 154 out of 1650 tested combos in Valorant. This places the pairing in the top 9.3% of all configurations evaluated for this game. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads with the GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture. The CPU itself sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores 54450, which is 0.6% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% higher at 54681, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 trails by 1.2% with a score of 53469. The AMD EPYC 7313P is 1.7% lower at 53206.

For the GPU, the 81st percentile ranking and an average score of 37283 put it in a competitive position, but the nearest rival data shows that the RTX 4070 is not dominant in synthetic benchmarks. The RX Vega 56, MX570 A, and RTX 4080 Mobile all score within a 2.2% band above it. This indicates that the combo's high rank in Valorant is not simply a function of GPU raw power but rather the game's sensitivity to CPU performance. The i7-14700F's single-core capabilities, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2711 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003, are likely the primary contributors to the top-tier ranking.

The rank of 154 out of 1650 suggests that there are 153 combos that deliver higher average FPS in Valorant, mostly featuring more powerful CPUs or GPUs. However, the margin between this combo and those above it is likely small given the game's engine ceiling. The data shows that the combo is firmly in the upper echelon, suitable for esports-grade performance without requiring top-tier hardware. The percentileVsAllCpus of 94 and percentileVsAllGpus of 81 combine to place this system well above the median for gaming workloads, with Valorant specifically benefiting from the CPU's strengths.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest measured average is 533.8 FPS on Ultra settings, while the highest is 650.2 FPS on Low. The Medium preset delivers 553.5 FPS, and High lands at 541.7 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 116.4 FPS, which is the smallest of the three resolutions tested. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, and the GPU has enough headroom to render even the most demanding settings without significant frame loss.

Moving to 2560x1440, the figures compress slightly. Low settings produce 614.3 FPS, Medium gives 521.2 FPS, High drops to 513.2 FPS, and Ultra is at 495.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 118.4 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p spread. This suggests that the shift from 1080p to 1440p has a minimal impact on the CPU-bound nature of the game. The 1440p Low result is only 35.9 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, a 5.5% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the resolution scaling becomes more pronounced. Low settings yield 572.5 FPS, Medium produces 434.7 FPS, High gives 414 FPS, and Ultra drops to 393.4 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra here is 179.1 FPS, which is significantly larger than at lower resolutions. This indicates that the GPU is now a more active participant in frame generation. The 4K Low result is 77.7 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, a 12% reduction. The 4K Ultra result is 140.4 FPS lower than 1080p Ultra, a 26.3% reduction. This trend confirms that the RTX 4070's limits are approached only at 4K with high settings presets.

Across all resolutions and settings, the minimum measured FPS is 393.4 (4K Ultra) and the maximum is 650.2 (1080p Low). The data shows a consistent hierarchy: Low > Medium > High > Ultra at every resolution. The delta between Medium and High is small (11.8 FPS at 1080p, 8 FPS at 1440p, 20.7 FPS at 4K), while the delta between High and Ultra is even smaller (7.9 FPS at 1080p, 17.3 FPS at 1440p, 20.6 FPS at 4K). The largest jumps are between Low and Medium, averaging around 100 FPS across resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 650.2, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 393.4. This is the lowest measured result across all tested configurations, but it remains well above 360 Hz refresh rates.

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

A: The data indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The spread between Low (650.2 FPS) and Ultra (533.8 FPS) is only 116.4 FPS, suggesting the GPU has ample headroom and the game is CPU-bound.

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Valorant?

A: The combo ranks 154th out of 1650 tested combos, placing it in the top 9.3% of all configurations for this game.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 541.7 at 1080p to 414 at 4K, a reduction of 127.7 FPS (23.6%).

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile and its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, which has an average score 0.6% higher.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at any resolution is the clear choice. At 1080p, Low delivers 650.2 FPS, which is 116.4 FPS higher than Ultra. At 1440p, Low gives 614.3 FPS, a 118.4 FPS advantage over Ultra. At 4K, Low produces 572.5 FPS, which is 179.1 FPS higher than Ultra. The Low preset maximizes the CPU's potential, and in a game like Valorant where visibility and reaction time are paramount, the visual trade-offs are often acceptable.

However, the data shows that the Medium preset offers a compelling balance. At 1080p, Medium yields 553.5 FPS, which is 96.7 FPS lower than Low but 19.7 FPS higher than Ultra. At 1440p, Medium gives 521.2 FPS, 93.1 FPS below Low but 25.3 FPS above Ultra. At 4K, Medium produces 434.7 FPS, 137.8 FPS below Low but 41.3 FPS above Ultra. Medium settings likely provide improved visual clarity for spotting enemies at distance without sacrificing the frame rates needed for competitive play.

The High preset is nearly identical to Medium in performance. At 1080p, High is 11.8 FPS lower than Medium; at 1440p, it is 8 FPS lower; at 4K, it is 20.7 FPS lower. The Ultra preset offers the best visuals but at a measurable cost, particularly at 4K where it drops below 400 FPS. Given that even the Ultra preset at all resolutions maintains frame rates above 393 FPS, players with 360 Hz monitors will rarely notice a difference between Medium and Ultra. For those with 240 Hz displays, any preset above Low will suffice. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal choice for most users, striking a balance between the CPU-bound Low preset and the GPU-bound Ultra preset. Players prioritizing raw performance should select Low, while those wanting better visual feedback without meaningful FPS loss should choose Medium.