Valorant

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers high frame rates in Valorant across all tested resolutions and presets. Measured data shows average FPS ranging from 222.6 at 4K Ultra to 542.8 at 1080p Low, with the combo ranking 1199th out of 1650 tested combinations. This analysis breaks down resolution scaling, comparative ranking, settings behavior, and the individual roles of the CPU and GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values reveal a consistent pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 542.8 at 1080p to 466.8 at 1440p, then to 370.6 at 4K. This represents a reduction of 76.0 FPS (14.0%) from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 96.2 FPS (20.6%) from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 172.2 FPS, or 31.7% of the 1080p value. For High settings, the progression is 342.0 at 1080p, 291.1 at 1440p, and 230.0 at 4K, a total decline of 112.0 FPS (32.7%). Ultra settings follow a similar trajectory: 322.3 at 1080p, 275.6 at 1440p, and 222.6 at 4K, a drop of 99.7 FPS (30.9%). Medium settings show 355.1 at 1080p, 304.3 at 1440p, and 244.5 at 4K, a reduction of 110.6 FPS (31.1%).

The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that the scaling behavior is largely independent of visual quality. The GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution rises, but even at 4K Ultra the average FPS remains above 220, which is well within playable territory for a competitive shooter. The relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p (roughly 14-15% across presets) suggests that the CPU still has headroom at 1440p, while the larger drop to 4K (another 20% or so) points to the GPU taking on a more dominant role. At 1080p Low, the 542.8 FPS figure is likely near the CPU's practical ceiling, as the GPU is not heavily taxed at that resolution and preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1199th out of 1650 tested combinations in Valorant. This places it in the 27th percentile, meaning 72.6% of tested combos deliver higher average FPS. The CPU itself ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70074. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 70104 and shows a delta of 0%. The GPU ranks in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074; its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600S at 15996, a delta of 0.5%. Despite the CPU's top-tier standing, the combined performance in Valorant is below average. This suggests that the game's frame rate is not solely determined by CPU strength; the GPU's mid-range position and the specific optimization of the title contribute to the lower combo rank. The data indicates that many other combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs or different CPU-GPU pairings, achieve higher FPS in this particular game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS for each preset and resolution provides a clear basis for settings guidance. At 1080p, Low yields 542.8 FPS, Medium 355.1, High 342.0, and Ultra 322.3. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial, a reduction of 187.7 FPS (34.6%), while the difference between Medium and High is only 13.1 FPS (3.7%), and between High and Ultra is 19.7 FPS (5.8%). For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low is the clear choice. However, Medium still delivers 355.1 FPS, which is above 300, and the visual upgrade from Low to Medium is often significant. High and Ultra are nearly identical in performance, with High offering 342.0 FPS and Ultra 322.3 FPS; the 19.7 FPS gap is small enough that either preset is viable depending on visual preference.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar: Low 466.8, Medium 304.3, High 291.1, Ultra 275.6. Medium remains above 300 FPS, while High and Ultra are within 15.5 FPS of each other. At 4K, Low 370.6, Medium 244.5, High 230.0, Ultra 222.6. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS exceeds 220, which is playable for most users. The data suggests that for 1080p and 1440p, the Medium preset offers a strong balance between frame rate and visual quality, as it stays above 300 FPS at both resolutions. For 4K, Low is the only preset that exceeds 300 FPS, but Medium at 244.5 FPS is still respectable. Ultimately, the choice depends on the user's refresh rate and tolerance for visual trade-offs, but the measured numbers show that High and Ultra are never more than 6% slower than Medium at any resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 542.8.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Valorant?

A: It ranks 1199th out of 1650 combos, placing it in the 27th percentile.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock?

A: The i7-14700K has a boost clock of 5.60 GHz.

Q: At which resolution does the FPS drop the most?

A: The largest drop occurs from 1080p to 4K; for example, Low settings drop from 542.8 to 370.6 FPS, a reduction of 172.2 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU's L3 cache size?

A: The i7-14700K has 33 MB of shared L3 cache.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The memory operates at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz, with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1). The GPU's TDP is 160 W, and it requires a 450 W power supply. Its launch MSRP is 349 USD.

In benchmark tests, the RTX 2060 scores 14111 in Passmark G3D and 5488 in Passmark GPU Compute. Its average benchmark score is 16074, placing it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996, a delta of 0.5%. In Valorant, the GPU's role is secondary to the CPU at lower resolutions, but it becomes more influential at 4K. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (222.6) is still high, indicating that the 6 GB VRAM and 336 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game's demands. The GPU's mid-range standing (58th percentile) aligns with its performance in this title, where it does not bottleneck the CPU at 1080p but does contribute to the frame rate drop at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. It includes integrated UHD Graphics 770. The TDP is 125 W, and the launch MSRP is $409. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core 44534, single-core 6287; Geekbench multi-core 18896, single-core 2932; Passmark multithread 52392, single-thread 4472. Its average benchmark score is 70074, placing it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. The nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 70104, a delta of 0%.

In Valorant, the CPU's high single-thread performance is critical, as the game is known to be CPU-bound. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (542.8) is likely near the CPU's practical limit, given that the GPU is not heavily stressed at that setting. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and its strong single-core scores (Cinebench R23 single 6287) support the high frame rates observed. The 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample multi-threaded headroom, though Valorant primarily relies on a few cores. The CPU's boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures rapid response in latency-sensitive scenarios. Overall, the i7-14700K is a top-tier processor that enables very high FPS in Valorant, but the combo's overall rank is tempered by the GPU's mid-range position and the game's specific optimization.