Valorant

Valorant is a fast-paced tactical FPS where frame rate consistency often matters more than absolute graphical fidelity. The benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable of running the game at extremely high refresh rates across all tested resolutions and settings. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes it against other tested combinations, and explains the role each component plays in achieving these results.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 686 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: It ranks 155th out of 2883 tested combos, placing it in the top 5.4% of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 650 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 537 FPS, a difference of 113 FPS.

Q: Is the minimum frame rate ever recorded below 400 FPS?

A: No. The lowest minimum frame rate recorded is 414 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the frame rate differences between settings presets are relatively small (ranging from 566 to 686 FPS), suggesting the CPU is the primary limiter at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance delta between this CPU and its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its base clock is 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and it contains 7168 shading units. In Valorant, the GPU’s role is to handle rendering tasks and resolve the final image, but the game’s low graphical complexity means the RTX 4070 SUPER is rarely pushed to its limits.

The data shows that the GPU's influence on performance becomes more apparent as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the spread between the Low (686 FPS) and Ultra (566 FPS) presets is 120 FPS, indicating that the graphics card is not the bottleneck. However, at 3840x2160, the spread between Low (604 FPS) and Ultra (442 FPS) widens to 162 FPS, showing that the GPU is having to work harder to produce those frames. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not a concern for Valorant, as the game is not memory-intensive, but the card's raw throughput ensures that even at 4K, the system stays well above 400 FPS in all tested settings.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 29995 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627, reflect its high-end positioning, but in Valorant, its capabilities are somewhat underutilized. The GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its nearest rival being the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 with a negligible 0.1% score difference confirm that it is a powerful part, but the game’s engine does not rely heavily on the GPU’s advanced features like ray tracing or DLSS to achieve high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested system combinations for Valorant, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds a rank of 155 out of 2883 total combinations. This means the combo outperforms approximately 94.6% of all other tested systems, placing it firmly in the top tier for this game. The rank is a composite measure of the frame rates achieved across all resolutions and settings, and it reflects a system that is extremely well-suited for high-refresh-rate competitive play.

The high ranking is not surprising given the individual strengths of both components. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 46062, which places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s average benchmark score of 43223 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. When combined, their performance in Valorant is synergistic, as the CPU’s strong single-thread performance (a Passmark single-thread score of 4516) helps feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU load is relatively higher.

Compared to other combos, this system is likely to be in the upper echelon, but it is not the absolute fastest. The 155th rank indicates that there are 154 other combinations that achieve even higher average frame rates, likely featuring more powerful CPUs or GPUs. However, for the vast majority of users, the difference between 155th and, say, 50th place would be imperceptible in actual gameplay, as the system is already pushing well beyond the refresh rate limits of most monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how the system performs across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). All figures are average FPS unless otherwise noted.

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 686 FPS, the Medium preset averages 585 FPS with a minimum of 497 FPS and a maximum of 673 FPS, the High preset averages 575 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 566 FPS. The difference between the lowest and highest presets is 120 FPS, which is relatively modest and suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. The Low preset averages 650 FPS, the Medium preset averages 555 FPS with a minimum of 471 FPS and a maximum of 638 FPS, the High preset averages 546 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 537 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 113 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers impressive performance, but the GPU’s load is more evident. The Low preset averages 604 FPS, the Medium preset averages 487 FPS with a minimum of 414 FPS and a maximum of 560 FPS, the High preset averages 464 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 442 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 162 FPS, the largest of the three resolutions, showing that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck.

In all cases, the minimum frame rates recorded are above 400 FPS, which means the system maintains a very smooth experience even in demanding scenes. The Medium preset data, which includes min and max values, shows that frame times are consistent, with the minimum never dropping more than 15% below the average.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user’s display refresh rate and personal preference for visual fidelity. For users with a 360 Hz or 500 Hz monitor, the Low preset at 1920x1080, which averages 686 FPS, is the clear choice to maximize the chance of hitting the highest frame rates.

However, for those with a 240 Hz monitor, there is significant headroom even at higher settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 566 FPS, which is more than double the refresh rate, so users can comfortably enable Ultra settings without sacrificing performance. The same logic applies at 2560x1440, where even the Ultra preset averages 537 FPS, well above any common refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the choice becomes more nuanced. The High preset averages 464 FPS, which is still exceptionally high, but the Low preset averages 604 FPS. For a 4K display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, either the High or Ultra preset would be suitable, as they both provide frame rates well above 400 FPS. The Medium preset offers a middle ground with an average of 487 FPS and a minimum of 414 FPS, ensuring that even the worst-case frame rate stays above 400 FPS.

Given that the minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 4K is 414 FPS, it is a safe recommendation for users who want a balance between visual quality and guaranteed smoothness. For competitive players who prioritize frame rate above all else, the Low preset at any resolution is the most logical choice, as it provides the highest average FPS with no visual clutter that could distract from gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel interface, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In Valorant, the CPU’s role is critical, as the game is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance. The Core Ultra 5 235 excels in this area, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4516 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085. These scores are reflected in the game’s performance, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. For example, at 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 120 FPS, which is a smaller gap than at 4K, indicating that the CPU is limiting the frame rate rather than the GPU.

The CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads are more than sufficient for Valorant, which typically uses only a few threads. The high boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that the game’s main thread can run at maximum speed, contributing to the high average frame rates observed. The CPU’s percentile rank of 89th among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 46062, place it in the upper echelon of processors, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, show a negligible performance difference of 0.1%.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and DDR5 support also play a role in ensuring that data is fed to the GPU without delay, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates in a fast-paced game like Valorant. Overall, the Core Ultra 5 235 provides the computational muscle needed to drive the RTX 4070 SUPER to its limits, especially at 1080p and 1440p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend in how performance scales with resolution. At each settings preset, the average FPS decreases as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This is expected, as higher resolutions require more GPU work to render each frame.

Looking at the Low preset, the frame rates are 686 FPS at 1080p, 650 FPS at 1440p, and 604 FPS at 4K. This represents a 5.2% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 7.1% drop from 1440p to 4K. The relatively small drops indicate that the CPU is still the limiting factor at Low settings, as the GPU has plenty of headroom to handle the increased resolution.

For the Ultra preset, the frame rates are 566 FPS at 1080p, 537 FPS at 1440p, and 442 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 5.1%, similar to the Low preset, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 17.7%. This larger drop suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at 4K, as the increased resolution puts more strain on the graphics card.

The Medium preset, which has the most complete data, shows a similar pattern. At 1080p, the average is 585 FPS, dropping to 555 FPS at 1440p (a 5.1% decrease) and 487 FPS at 4K (a 12.3% decrease from 1440p). The minimum FPS for the Medium preset also drops from 497 FPS at 1080p to 471 FPS at 1440p and 414 FPS at 4K, showing that the worst-case performance degrades more rapidly at higher resolutions.

This scaling behavior indicates that the system is CPU-bound at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU has enough performance to render frames as fast as the CPU can supply them. At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases significantly, and the system becomes more GPU-bound, as evidenced by the larger frame rate drops and the fact that the spread between Low and Ultra settings widens at 4K. The data shows that even at 4K, the system remains highly capable, with the lowest average FPS (442 FPS at Ultra) still being far above the refresh rate of any mainstream monitor.