Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS that responds strongly to high frame rates, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B580 shows a system capable of delivering very high performance across all tested settings. The combination ranks 1908th out of 2883 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the absolute frame rates are well above what most displays can show. The data set includes results at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings, allowing for a detailed look at how the CPU and GPU share the workload in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is primarily CPU-limited at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming a more significant factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 575. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 491 FPS, a decrease of 84 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls to 392 FPS, which is another 99 FPS lower. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is starting to take on more work as pixel count increases, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it at very high rates.

The scaling is more pronounced when comparing the same settings across resolutions. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 361 at 1080p to 308 at 1440p and then to 246 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 53 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 62 FPS. For Medium settings, the averages are 379, 323, and 259 FPS respectively, showing a similar pattern of consistent decline. The Ultra settings produce averages of 344 at 1080p, 293 at 1440p, and 235 at 4K. The consistent reduction across all settings suggests that the Arc B580’s rendering load scales predictably with resolution, while the Core Ultra 9 290K maintains a high enough frame ceiling to avoid becoming the bottleneck until frame rates approach very high values.

The limiting component shifts depending on the resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 575 FPS average is a clear sign of a CPU-bound scenario, as the GPU is not being taxed by complex pixel shading. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 344 FPS average is still likely above what the GPU can sustain at higher resolutions, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 231 FPS, showing that the GPU does have a measurable impact. At 4K Ultra, the 235 FPS average is the lowest in the set, and the difference between 4K Low and 4K Ultra is 157 FPS, which demonstrates that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution. The data shows a smooth transition where the CPU dominates at 1080p and the GPU becomes more relevant as pixel count increases, but neither component ever becomes a severe limitation for achieving high, playable frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average frame rate is 575 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 361 FPS at 1080p to 308 FPS at 1440p, and then to 246 FPS at 4K, showing a steady decline as resolution increases.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution?

A: Yes, at 1080p the difference is 231 FPS (575 vs 344), at 1440p it is 198 FPS (491 vs 293), and at 4K it is 157 FPS (392 vs 235), indicating that the GPU has more headroom at lower settings.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This combo ranks 1908th out of 2883 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database.

Q: Does the data include any minimum or maximum frame rate information?

A: Yes, for Medium settings the data includes minimum and maximum FPS. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 322 and the maximum is 436; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 275 and the maximum is 372; at 4K Medium, the minimum is 220 and the maximum is 297.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Valorant, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the Intel Arc B580 holds a rank of 1908 out of 2883 total combos. This places it in the 66th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly one-third of the tested combos perform better. While the rank is not near the top, the absolute frame rates are very high, suggesting that the rank is influenced by other high-end combinations that achieve even higher numbers, likely with more powerful GPUs.

The CPU itself has a percentile rank of 96 against all CPUs in the database, indicating it is in the top 4% of processors. Its average benchmark score is 84003, and it sits close to several rivals. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which has an average score of 83807, and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX with a score of 83090. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%, which scores 85072. The GPU, however, has a percentile rank of 68 against all GPUs, showing it is more mid-range. Its average benchmark score is 23021, and it is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which is -0.2% behind, and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080. It is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which scores 23172.

The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU explains the rank. The CPU is capable of pushing very high frame rates, but the GPU limits the maximum achievable performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings. In a game like Valorant, which is not graphically demanding, this results in frame rates that are still excellent for competitive play, but the rank reflects that other combinations with stronger GPUs will score higher.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target refresh rate of the display. For a 240Hz monitor, all settings and resolutions provide an average FPS above 240, except for 4K Ultra at 235 FPS. This means that at 1080p and 1440p, even Ultra settings will deliver a smooth experience on a 240Hz display. At 4K, High, Medium, and Low settings all exceed 240 FPS on average, but Ultra falls just short.

For a 360Hz display, the options are more limited. At 1080p, Low settings produce an average of 575 FPS, which is well above 360. Medium and High settings also exceed 360 FPS, with averages of 379 and 361 respectively, while Ultra falls short at 344 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings break the 360 FPS barrier with an average of 491 FPS; Medium and High are below at 323 and 308 FPS. At 4K, no settings reach an average of 360 FPS, with Low being the highest at 392 FPS.

For the best experience in a competitive title, prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity is common. The data shows that 1080p Medium settings provide an average of 379 FPS with a minimum of 322 FPS, which is a good balance for high-refresh-rate displays. If visual quality is a priority, 1440p High at 308 FPS is a strong choice for 240Hz displays. For 4K gaming, High settings at 246 FPS is the highest quality option that still averages above 240 FPS. The choice ultimately hinges on the display's refresh rate and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual detail, but the data clearly shows that this combo can handle high refresh rates at lower resolutions without issue.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured results provides a detailed look at performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. Starting with 1920x1080, the Low settings yield the highest average FPS at 575. Medium settings produce an average of 379 FPS, with a minimum of 322 and a maximum of 436. High settings average 361 FPS, and Ultra settings average 344 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 231 FPS, with a steady decline as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the Low settings average is 491 FPS. Medium settings average 323 FPS, with a minimum of 275 and a maximum of 372. High settings average 308 FPS, and Ultra settings average 293 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 198 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is having a slightly larger impact.

At 3840x2160, the Low settings average is 392 FPS. Medium settings average 259 FPS, with a minimum of 220 and a maximum of 297. High settings average 246 FPS, and Ultra settings average 235 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 157 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The data shows that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus can maintain high frame rates, but the Arc B580’s performance ceiling becomes apparent as resolution and settings increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2 family, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This high boost clock is crucial for a game like Valorant, which is known to be sensitive to single-thread performance. The CPU’s benchmark scores support this, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a multi-core score of 51731. The single-thread performance is in the top tier, as reflected by its percentile rank of 96 against all CPUs.

In the context of the measured FPS, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. At 1080p Low, the 575 FPS average is a clear indication that the CPU is not the bottleneck. The high boost clock and strong single-core performance allow it to process game data quickly enough to reach these very high frame rates. The multi-core performance, while not directly relevant for a single-threaded game, is also strong, ensuring that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay.

However, the CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor in this combo. The data shows that as resolution and settings increase, the frame rate drops, which is a result of the GPU’s workload increasing. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 235, which is still very high and likely above the refresh rate of most displays. The CPU has enough headroom to handle the game at all tested settings, and the bottleneck is clearly the Arc B580. The CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for this game, and the high boost clock ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s demands.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is a mid-range GPU based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with 2560 shading units. Its benchmark scores show a percentile rank of 68 against all GPUs, placing it in the upper-middle range of the database. Its average benchmark score is 23021, and it performs nearly identically to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080.

In Valorant, the GPU’s role is to render the frame, handling pixel shading and geometry. The data shows that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the GPU is likely underutilized, allowing the CPU to push frame rates to 575 FPS. As settings increase to Ultra at 1080p, the average drops to 344 FPS, showing that the GPU’s rendering load is increasing. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with the average FPS dropping from 392 at Low to 235 at Ultra.

The 12 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Valorant, which is not a memory-intensive game. The GPU’s clock speed of 2670 MHz is high, which helps with the game’s simple graphics. The performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 157 FPS, which suggests that the GPU’s shading units and texture mapping units are the primary components being taxed. The data indicates that the Arc B580 is capable of delivering high frame rates in Valorant, but it is the component that limits performance in this particular pairing. For users looking for even higher frame rates at 4K or with higher settings, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, but for most competitive play, this GPU is sufficient.