Valorant

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers an exceptionally high-performance Valorant experience, with the data showing that even at maximum settings and 4K resolution, the average frame rate remains far above the thresholds required for competitive play. The benchmark results indicate that this combination is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes a more significant factor as resolution scales, though neither component ever becomes a bottleneck that prevents a fluid experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, but the absolute drop is remarkably small given the 4x pixel count increase. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 733 FPS at 1080p to 645 FPS at 4K, representing a 12% reduction. This relatively modest decline strongly suggests that the CPU is the primary limiting factor even at 4K Low, as a purely GPU-bound scenario would typically show a much steeper falloff when pixel count quadruples.

The scaling behavior changes notably when examining higher settings presets. With Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 625 FPS at 1080p to 593 FPS at 1440p, then to 487 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is 18%, which is larger than the 5% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This steeper decline at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU begins to take on a more substantial role as the settings and resolution both increase, though the RTX 4070 SUPER still handles the load with considerable headroom.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend, with averages of 615 FPS at 1080p, 580 FPS at 1440p, and 464 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which represents the most demanding configuration tested, produces 605 FPS at 1080p, 553 FPS at 1440p, and 442 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings is 163 FPS, or 27%, which is the largest relative drop across all settings presets. This suggests that at Ultra quality, the GPU workload increases substantially, yet the absolute performance remains exceptional for a competitive FPS title.

The data shows that resolution scaling in Valorant is unusually flat for this hardware combination. Even the worst-case scenario—Ultra settings at 4K—maintains an average of 442 FPS, which is more than double what most high-refresh-rate monitors can display. The limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low to a more balanced CPU-GPU load at 4K Ultra, but neither component ever approaches a state that would compromise the gameplay experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, demonstrates that VRAM capacity is not a concern for Valorant. The game's asset requirements are modest, and the measured frame rates at all resolutions and settings show no signs of memory-related stuttering or performance cliffs. The GPU's 7168 shading units and 80 ROPs, combined with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, deliver ample raw compute power for this title's rendering demands.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s provide a strong foundation for high-resolution rendering. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly working harder than at 1080p Low, as evidenced by the previously noted 27% frame rate drop. However, the absolute performance at 4K Ultra—442 FPS average—indicates that the GPU is far from saturated. The 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than sufficient to handle Valorant's visual effects, even at the highest quality preset.

The GPU's benchmark scores, including a Passmark G3D score of 29995 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627, place it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the aggregate benchmark database include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, which scores 0.1% lower. These comparisons show that the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in a well-populated performance tier, yet in Valorant specifically, it provides far more capability than the game demands.

At 1080p Low, the average frame rate of 733 FPS is so high that the GPU is likely idle much of the time, waiting for the CPU to feed it draw calls. The transition from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution produces a consistent frame rate penalty: at 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 128 FPS (733 to 605); at 1440p, it is 142 FPS (695 to 553); and at 4K, it is 203 FPS (645 to 442). This widening gap as resolution increases confirms that the GPU's role grows with resolution, but even at the most demanding configuration, the RTX 4070 SUPER operates well within its capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is the dominant performance driver in this combination, particularly at lower resolutions. With 24 cores and 24 threads operating at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, this processor provides exceptional single-threaded performance, which is critical for Valorant's game logic and draw call processing. The Passmark single-thread score of 4823 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 both reflect the high frequency and efficient architecture of this Arrow Lake Refresh chip.

The CPU's large cache hierarchy, including 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache, helps minimize memory latency and keeps frequently accessed game data close to the cores. The 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth over DDR5 dual-channel support ensures that the CPU can quickly feed data to the GPU without introducing bottlenecks. This is particularly important in a game like Valorant, where frame times are critical for competitive play.

In the aggregate benchmark database, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus achieves an average score of 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 0.2% higher, while the AMD EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135 score 1.1% and 1.2% higher, respectively. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 1.3% lower. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the 290K Plus is among the fastest desktop processors available, though the data shows it is not an extreme outlier even within its own performance tier.

The benchmark results demonstrate the CPU's dominance in Valorant through the relatively small frame rate differences between resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate only drops from 733 FPS at 1080p to 645 FPS at 4K, a difference of 88 FPS. If the GPU were the primary limiter, this gap would be significantly larger given the 4x pixel count increase. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and the Passmark multithread score of 60860 confirm that the CPU has substantial parallel processing capability, but Valorant's reliance on single-thread performance is better served by the 5.80 GHz boost clock.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data set provides 12 measured configurations, covering four settings presets at three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 733 FPS on Low, 625 FPS on Medium, 615 FPS on High, and 605 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p includes a minimum frame rate of 531 FPS and a maximum of 719 FPS, showing a narrow band of fluctuation. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 128 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding settings have a modest impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 695 FPS on Low, 593 FPS on Medium, 580 FPS on High, and 553 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 504 FPS and a maximum of 682 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra grows to 142 FPS at this resolution, reflecting the increased GPU workload. The 1440p results are consistently lower than 1080p across all settings, but the reductions range from only 38 FPS at Low to 52 FPS at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 645 FPS on Low, 487 FPS on Medium, 464 FPS on High, and 442 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K includes a minimum of 414 FPS and a maximum of 560 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K expands to 203 FPS, which is the largest spread in the entire data set. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is contributing more significantly to the performance envelope, though even the lowest recorded average of 442 FPS at Ultra remains extraordinarily high for a competitive shooter.

The Medium settings preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range is 531 to 719 FPS; at 1440p, it is 504 to 682 FPS; and at 4K, it is 414 to 560 FPS. The ratio of minimum to maximum FPS remains relatively stable across resolutions, suggesting that the hardware combination does not introduce frame pacing irregularities as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 56 out of 2883 tested combinations in Valorant, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations in the database. This high ranking is expected given the CPU's 96th percentile standing and the GPU's 83rd percentile standing, but the result shows that the pairing is particularly well-suited to Valorant's performance profile.

The rank of 56 indicates that only 55 other hardware combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. Given that Valorant is highly CPU-bound at lower resolutions, the 290K Plus's exceptional single-thread performance is likely the primary driver of this strong ranking. Configurations with even faster CPUs or those with higher memory bandwidth might occupy the top 55 spots, but the data shows that this combination is already in rarefied territory.

The CPU's aggregate benchmark score of 84003 is just 0.2% below the Core Ultra 9 285K, which is its closest rival. This near-tie in synthetic benchmarks translates to virtually identical gaming performance, suggesting that the 290K Plus does not offer a meaningful advantage over its predecessor in Valorant. However, the 96th percentile overall ranking means that this CPU is faster than the vast majority of processors in the database, which is the more relevant comparison for understanding its position.

The GPU's aggregate benchmark score of 43223 places it 0.1% below the Quadro M6000 24 GB and 0.1% above the RTX 5050 Mobile, according to the nearest rival data. In the context of Valorant, the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking is less important than the CPU's ranking because the game is not generally GPU-limited at typical competitive settings. The combination's overall rank of 56 reflects the synergy between a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU, with the CPU doing the heavy lifting to achieve this position.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Low settings preset provides the highest average frame rates at every resolution, with 733 FPS at 1080p, 695 FPS at 1440p, and 645 FPS at 4K. However, the differences between Low and Ultra are relatively modest, particularly at 1080p where the gap is only 128 FPS. For competitive players who prioritize maximum frame rates, the Low preset is the clear choice, as it offers the best chance of maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of even the fastest gaming monitors.

For players who value visual quality without sacrificing competitive performance, the Medium preset represents a strong balance. At 1080p, Medium delivers 625 FPS average with a minimum of 531 FPS, which is only 108 FPS less than Low. At 1440p, Medium achieves 593 FPS with a minimum of 504 FPS, and at 4K, it produces 487 FPS with a minimum of 414 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum frame rates are consistently above 400 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes remain fluid.

The High and Ultra presets offer diminishing returns for most players. At 1080p, High produces 615 FPS and Ultra produces 605 FPS, which are within 20 FPS of each other and only slightly below Medium. At 1440p, High and Ultra deliver 580 FPS and 553 FPS, respectively. At 4K, these presets drop to 464 FPS and 442 FPS. The visual improvements from Medium to Ultra may be noticeable, but the frame rate cost at 4K is significant, representing a 45 FPS reduction from Medium to Ultra.

The data supports a recommendation of Medium settings for most players, as it provides the best combination of high average frame rates and consistent minimum frame rates across all resolutions. Players with 360 Hz or lower refresh rate monitors can comfortably use Ultra settings even at 1440p, since the 553 FPS average far exceeds display capabilities. At 4K, all settings presets deliver frame rates above 440 FPS, meaning that even the most demanding configuration remains viable for high-refresh-rate displays, though the Medium preset is the safest choice for maintaining frame rate stability.