Valorant

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 47th out of 1,650 tested combos in Valorant. This places the pairing in the top 2.8% of all configurations tested for this title, a position that reflects the exceptional headroom both components bring to a game that is far more CPU-sensitive than many modern shooters. The processor sits at the 96th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU holds the 87th percentile against all GPUs — a pairing of two parts that are individually elite but which, in Valorant, are leveraged differently.

The data suggests this combo is not merely fast; it is disproportionately fast for the game's demands. The Core i7-14700KF, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,557 and a single-core score of 6,290. That single-core strength matters enormously in Valorant, where frame pacing is dictated by the main game thread. The RTX 5070 Ti, meanwhile, posts a Passmark G3D score of 32,974, placing it statistically even with the RTX 4080 (deltaPct 0), while also edging out the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.3% in CPU average benchmark score.

What is striking is how the combo rank compares to the individual component ranks. The CPU's 96th percentile and the GPU's 87th percentile would normally suggest a composite rank somewhere in the low-to-mid 90s percentile range. Instead, the 47th place out of 1,650 combos translates to roughly the 97.2nd percentile — better than either part achieves alone. This is the signature of a combination where neither component bottlenecks the other; the CPU's strong single-thread performance feeds the GPU's high raster throughput without creating a frame pacing ceiling.

The nearest CPU rivals — the Core i7-14700K at 0% delta, the AMD EPYC 9115 at 0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at -0.4% — all sit within a razor-thin margin of the 14700KF's average benchmark score of 70,104. That the combo rank is so high despite this clustered CPU competition underscores that Valorant's performance is not about raw multi-core averages but about sustained single-thread responsiveness, an area where the 14700KF's 5.60 GHz boost clock and Raptor Lake architecture excel. For the GPU, the RTX 5070 Ti's nearest rival, the RTX 4080, matches it at 0% delta, yet the measured FPS here indicates the 5070 Ti is more than capable of pushing past 600 FPS at lower settings, a figure that dwarfs what most displays can even present.

FAQ

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

A: It ranks 47th out of 1,650 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.8% of all pairings tested for this game. This is a higher relative standing than either the CPU's 96th percentile or the GPU's 87th percentile individually.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF meaningfully faster than its direct rivals?

A: The data shows the 14700KF's average benchmark score of 70,104 is essentially tied with the Core i7-14700K (70,074, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420, -0.4% delta). It is only 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270, indicating near-parity among top-tier CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other NVIDIA cards?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti's average benchmark score of 52,086 is statistically identical to the RTX 4080 (52,085, 0% delta). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 7700S by 0.8% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 2.5%, while leading the RTX A1000 by 2.5%. Its Passmark G3D score is 32,974.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with high settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 569.4. This is the second-lowest 1080p preset tested, with only Ultra being slower at 558.9 FPS, while Low reaches 680.5 and Medium hits 577.6.

Q: Does increasing resolution to 4K significantly hurt performance?

A: Yes, but the absolute drop is modest relative to the starting point. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 482.3, which is a 13.7% decrease from the 1080p Ultra figure of 558.9. At 4K Low, the average is 599.2, a 11.9% drop from 1080p Low's 680.5.

Q: Which settings preset gives the best balance of quality and speed?

A: Across all resolutions, the Medium preset delivers the best FPS-per-visual-quality tradeoff. At 1080p, Medium averages 577.6 FPS versus 569.4 for High and 558.9 for Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is consistently small (10-15 FPS), while Low offers diminishing returns for competitive play.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo scales across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average is 680.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 645.5 FPS (-5.1%), and at 4K Low it reaches 599.2 FPS (-11.9% from 1080p). For the High preset, the scaling is steeper: 569.4 FPS at 1080p, 540.1 at 1440p (-5.1%), and 499.1 at 4K (-12.3%). The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are nearly identical across Low and High presets, which is a strong indicator that the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

The pattern becomes clearer when examining the Ultra preset: 558.9 FPS at 1080p, 528.4 at 1440p (-5.5%), and 482.3 at 4K (-13.7%). The slightly larger drop at Ultra settings suggests that the GPU begins to engage more meaningfully as pixel count and shading complexity rise. However, even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains an average of 482.3 FPS — a figure that far exceeds the refresh rate of any mainstream monitor and demonstrates that the RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are never stressed by Valorant's modest visual demands.

The resolution scaling analysis points to a CPU-bound configuration. From 1080p to 4K, the average FPS across all presets drops by roughly 12-14%, but this is a small absolute change (around 70-90 FPS) when the starting point is already above 550 FPS. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 5.60 GHz boost clock and 33 MB of shared L3 cache, is the primary driver of frame generation in Valorant's engine. The GPU's role becomes noticeable only at 4K Ultra, where the added pixel shading load begins to exert a measurable influence. In practical terms, users can switch between 1080p and 1440p with minimal FPS penalty, and even 4K remains playable at competitive frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides 12 distinct data points across three resolutions and four quality presets. All figures represent average FPS from measured testing; no min or max FPS values were recorded.

1920x1080:

• Low: 680.5 FPS
• Medium: 577.6 FPS
• High: 569.4 FPS
• Ultra: 558.9 FPS

The spread from Low to Ultra is 121.6 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring from Low to Medium (102.9 FPS). The difference between Medium and High is just 8.2 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 10.5 FPS. This suggests that the transition from Low to Medium involves a significant increase in rendering work, while beyond Medium, the settings have diminishing impact on frame rate.

2560x1440:

• Low: 645.5 FPS
• Medium: 549.9 FPS
• High: 540.1 FPS
• Ultra: 528.4 FPS

At 1440p, the spread narrows slightly to 117.1 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 95.6 FPS, while Medium-to-High is 9.8 FPS and High-to-Ultra is 11.7 FPS. The percentage difference between 1080p and 1440p for each preset is consistently around 5%, indicating that the CPU is still dominant at this resolution.

3840x2160:

• Low: 599.2 FPS
• Medium: 511.5 FPS
• High: 499.1 FPS
• Ultra: 482.3 FPS

At 4K, the total spread is 116.9 FPS. The Low-to-Medium drop is 87.7 FPS, Medium-to-High is 12.4 FPS, and High-to-Ultra is 16.8 FPS. The High-to-Ultra gap at 4K is the largest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU begins to contribute more to the performance equation at this pixel count. Still, the absolute floor of 482.3 FPS at 4K Ultra is far above what competitive play requires.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset is the only one that breaks the 600 FPS barrier at 1080p and 1440p, and it comes close at 4K (599.2 FPS). The Medium preset consistently delivers roughly 85% of Low's performance, while High and Ultra cluster within 10 FPS of each other at every resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p yields the highest possible frame rate at 680.5 FPS, giving players the maximum headroom above display refresh rates. However, the data shows that Low is disproportionately faster than Medium at every resolution — the gap is 102.9 FPS at 1080p, 95.6 FPS at 1440p, and 87.7 FPS at 4K. This suggests that Low disables certain rendering features that have an outsized cost in Valorant's engine, and players seeking every possible frame should select it.

For most users, the Medium preset represents the optimal balance. At 1080p, it delivers 577.6 FPS — only 8.2 FPS more than High — meaning that the visual uplift from Medium to High is nearly free in performance terms. The same pattern holds at 1440p (549.9 vs. 540.1) and 4K (511.5 vs. 499.1). The High preset adds marginal visual fidelity for a cost of 2-6 FPS, which is within the noise of measurement.

The Ultra preset is the least compelling option. At every resolution, it is the slowest preset, and the performance gap from High to Ultra grows as resolution increases: 10.5 FPS at 1080p, 11.7 FPS at 1440p, and 16.8 FPS at 4K. Given that Valorant's competitive visibility relies on clarity and contrast rather than high-detail textures, Ultra's extra effects are unlikely to provide a gameplay advantage. The benchmark data supports a recommendation of High as the maximum sensible preset, with Medium as the default choice for players who want a small FPS buffer without sacrificing noticeable quality.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 511.5 FPS is the recommended starting point. It stays above the 500 FPS threshold and leaves room to toggle up to High (499.1 FPS) or down to Low (599.2 FPS) depending on whether visual fidelity or frame rate takes priority. The combination of the Core i7-14700KF's single-thread performance and the RTX 5070 Ti's raw throughput ensures that no preset at any resolution drops below 480 FPS, making this combo effectively future-proof for Valorant's current engine.