Valorant

Valorant is notoriously light on GPU load, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER confirm that this pairing is overwhelmingly CPU-bound at most settings. The data shows a game that scales unusually well with resolution, because the GPU is rarely the limiting factor until you push to 4K. This combination sits in the 129th spot out of 2883 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.5% of all configurations, a ranking that reflects the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's ample headroom for a game that thrives on high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate delta from 1080p to 4K is remarkably small, which is the clearest signal of a CPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 697 at 1920x1080 to 661 at 2560x1440, a mere 5.2% reduction. Pushing all the way to 3840x2160 yields 613 FPS, which is still 88% of the 1080p figure. This indicates that even at 4K, the RTX 4070 SUPER is not being fully utilized; the processor is setting the pace.

The gap widens slightly as settings increase, but the trend remains consistent. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 584 at 1080p to 554 at 1440p, and then to 464 at 4K. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings represents a 16.2% performance loss, suggesting that the GPU starts to take on more responsibility at this resolution. However, the absolute numbers are still exceptionally high, with the 4K average of 464 FPS being far beyond the refresh rate capabilities of nearly all monitors.

Ultra settings show a similar pattern, with 575 FPS at 1080p, 545 FPS at 1440p, and 442 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K here is a 23.1% reduction, which is the largest drop across all presets. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are more demanding on the GPU, but even so, the 4K result remains playable on high-refresh-rate displays. The data suggests that the limiting component shifts from the CPU to the GPU only at the highest resolution and preset combination.

The Medium preset provides the only complete FPS range data, showing a minimum of 505 FPS and a maximum of 683 FPS at 1080p. At 1440p, the range tightens to 479-648 FPS, and at 4K, it narrows to 414-560 FPS. These ranges demonstrate that even at the lowest measured point, the system maintains frame rates that are four times higher than a standard 144Hz display's refresh rate, indicating there is no practical performance ceiling for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 offers the highest average frame rate at 697 FPS. This setting minimizes graphical overhead, but the data shows that it is not necessary for achieving high performance. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 594 FPS, which is only 14.8% lower than Low, while likely providing a more visually stable image for spotting enemies. Given the CPU-bound nature of the game, the difference between Low and Medium is primarily about visual clarity, not raw speed.

The High preset at 2560x1440 provides a balanced experience, with an average of 554 FPS. This is a 20.5% reduction from the Low preset at the same resolution, but the absolute frame rate is still high enough for any competitive scenario. For users with 1440p displays, High settings represent a sensible middle ground, as the performance penalty is minimal compared to the visual upgrade.

Ultra settings at 1440p yield 545 FPS, which is nearly identical to High at 554 FPS. The data suggests that the step from High to Ultra is not particularly taxing on this hardware, costing only 1.6% performance. However, at 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 442 FPS, a 4.7% reduction from High's 464 FPS. For the best experience per the measured rows, High settings at 1440p or 4K offer the most balanced trade-off between visual quality and frame rate, as the GPU is still not fully saturated at these levels.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 697, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is the limiting factor. The FPS only drops from 697 at Low to 584 at High at 1080p, a 16.2% reduction, but the GPU is still delivering over 500 FPS, which is far beyond typical monitor refresh rates.

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

A: The average FPS drops from 697 to 613, a reduction of 12.1%. This small delta confirms that the GPU has significant headroom even at 4K.

Q: Which preset provides the most consistent frame times at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has a reported minimum of 479 FPS and a maximum of 648 FPS. This range suggests a stable experience, but the High preset at the same resolution has a higher average of 554 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer a meaningful advantage over High?

A: At 1440p, the average FPS difference is only 9 FPS (545 vs 554), favoring High. The performance cost of Ultra is negligible, but the visual difference is not quantified in the data.

Q: Can this system maintain over 400 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, all tested presets at 3840x2160 exceed 400 FPS, with the lowest average being 442 FPS on Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 129th out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the 95.5th percentile. This top-tier ranking is driven by the CPU's exceptional single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 points. The processor's 14 cores and 14 threads are not a major factor in Valorant, which is typically not highly threaded, but the high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures low latency and high frame times.

Compared to its nearest CPU rivals in the benchmark database, the Core Ultra 5 245 is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which has an average benchmark score of 49196, a delta of -0.4%. It is also within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 48618. This parity in synthetic benchmarks translates to similar real-world performance in a CPU-bound game like Valorant. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, show a delta of -1%, but the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Valorant's modest requirements.

The high combo rank is not surprising given the game's low graphical demands. The RTX 4070 SUPER's Passmark G3D score of 29995 puts it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, but in this title, the GPU is only a supporting actor. The ranking reflects the synergy of a high-clocked CPU with a mid-range-to-high-end GPU, which is the ideal recipe for achieving maximum frame rates in esports titles.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a 12 GB GDDR6X card with a memory bus width of 192 bits and a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its base clock is 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz. In Valorant, these specifications are vastly overkill, as the game's textures and effects do not require significant VRAM or bandwidth. The data confirms this: the card's performance is consistent across settings, with the average FPS at 1080p only varying by 122 FPS from Low to Ultra.

The GPU's role becomes more apparent at 4K, where the higher pixel count and more demanding Ultra preset begin to tax the card. The drop from 613 FPS at Low to 442 FPS at Ultra at 3840x2160 represents a 27.9% decrease, indicating that the GPU is finally working harder. This aligns with the card's FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS, which is sufficient for 4K rendering in light esports titles but not required for the 1080p and 1440p scenarios where the CPU dominates.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are irrelevant for Valorant, which does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS in the measured presets. The card's 80 ROPs and 224 TMUs ensure that texture filtering and pixel output are not bottlenecks, but the data shows that the limiting factor is the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls. The GPU is essentially idling at 1080p, which is why the frame rates are so high and the resolution scaling is so flat.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 697 FPS on Low, 594 FPS on Medium, 584 FPS on High, and 575 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 505 FPS and a maximum of 683 FPS, providing the only full range at this resolution. The step from Low to Medium costs 14.8% performance, while the step from Medium to High is a negligible 1.7% loss. The Ultra preset is only 1.5% slower than High, indicating that the CPU is the primary constraint.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 661 on Low, 564 on Medium, 554 on High, and 545 on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 479 FPS and a maximum of 648 FPS. The resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p is minor, with the Low preset dropping by 5.4% and the Ultra preset dropping by 5.2%. This consistency reinforces that the GPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 613 on Low, 487 on Medium, 464 on High, and 442 on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 414 FPS and a maximum of 560 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, with the Low preset dropping by 7.3% and the Ultra preset dropping by 18.9%. The High preset shows a 16.2% drop from 1440p, which is the largest single-resolution jump for that settings level. This suggests that 4K is where the GPU begins to have a measurable impact, but the absolute numbers are still exceedingly high for any display technology available.