Valorant

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces exceptional frame rates in Valorant, positioning this combo in the top 1% of all tested configurations. The benchmark data reveals a system where the CPU’s high clock speeds and the GPU’s substantial memory bandwidth combine to eliminate any practical performance ceiling at standard competitive settings, though the scaling patterns between resolutions and presets expose the specific strengths of each component.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Valorant?

A: This combo ranks 16th out of 2,883 tested combinations, placing it in the top 0.6% of all configurations measured for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in processing power?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83,807) and 1.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 9135 (82,980). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3% (85,072).

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its memory clock runs at 1438 MHz, translating to 23 Gbps effective.

Q: What are the maximum and minimum average FPS recorded across all tested settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 733 at 1920x1080 with Low settings, while the lowest average FPS is 505 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The full spread of averages ranges from 505 to 733 FPS.

Q: Does lowering the settings from Ultra to Low produce a linear FPS increase at each resolution?

A: No, the increase is not linear. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (605 FPS) to Low (733 FPS) is 128 FPS, while at 4K, the same settings change yields a 140 FPS increase (from 505 to 645 FPS). The relative gain is larger at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU’s boost clock and how many cores does it have?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 16 out of 2,883 tested configurations signals that this pairing sits at the very apex of Valorant performance. This is not merely a high-end result; it is a position that places the system above 99.4% of all recorded combinations, which indicates that the hardware is fully leveraging the game’s engine capabilities. The rank reflects a synergy where the CPU’s single-thread performance and the GPU’s rendering throughput are both sufficient to avoid creating a systemic bottleneck.

Within the context of the database, this rank is particularly meaningful because Valorant is a competitive FPS where frame time consistency and high averages directly impact player experience. A rank of 16 suggests that the combination of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the RTX 4080 SUPER is not just capable of high frame rates, but is optimized for the specific rendering paths that Valorant uses. The data shows that this setup outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, including many that might feature higher raw benchmark scores in other applications, because the game’s engine responds exceptionally well to the CPU’s 5.80 GHz boost clock and the GPU’s 10240 shading units.

The delta between this combo and the top spot is likely minimal, given that the measured FPS values exceed 700 in the best case. Since the rank is based on measured data across thousands of combinations, the 16th position indicates that only 15 other configurations have achieved a better balance of average FPS across the tested settings. This is a remarkable result for a desktop platform, as many of the higher-ranked combos may include specialized or overclocked parts that are not typical of standard retail configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER plays a crucial role in this combo’s performance, particularly through its memory subsystem and raw compute capabilities. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, the GPU has ample resources to handle Valorant’s texture streaming and draw calls at any resolution, even at 4K where the average FPS stays above 500. The memory clock of 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) ensures that data transfers are not a limiting factor, which is evident from the relatively small FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings.

The GPU’s architecture, built on a 5 nm process with 45,900 million transistors, provides a theoretical FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS. This compute headroom is largely unused in Valorant, as the game is not graphically intensive by modern standards, but it ensures that the GPU never becomes the bottleneck even at Ultra settings with high resolution scaling. The boost clock of 2550 MHz (base 2295 MHz) allows the card to maintain high utilization during intense firefights, which is reflected in the consistent average FPS across all settings.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54,209, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 4080 (54,247) and 2.8% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757). This places the GPU in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, indicating strong but not class-leading performance. In Valorant, however, the GPU’s role is secondary to the CPU, as the FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution are relatively modest, suggesting that the game is more dependent on CPU clock speed than GPU rendering power.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 605 at Ultra to 733 at Low, with Medium at 625 and High at 615. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 531 and a maximum of 719, indicating that frame times are stable even under load. The gap between Ultra and Low is 128 FPS, which represents a 21% increase in performance when reducing graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop slightly but remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 695 FPS, while High yields 583 FPS, Medium 593 FPS, and Ultra 573 FPS. The Medium preset again provides the only min/max data, with 504 FPS minimum and 682 FPS maximum. The spread between Ultra and Low at 1440p is 122 FPS, showing that the resolution increase has a minimal impact on the overall performance delta between settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages are still impressive, with Low at 645 FPS, High at 530 FPS, Medium at 550 FPS, and Ultra at 505 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 468 FPS and a maximum of 633 FPS. The difference between Ultra and Low at 4K is 140 FPS, which is the largest absolute gap across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU’s workload increases more significantly at higher resolutions when Ultra settings are enabled. Overall, the data shows that this combo never drops below an average of 505 FPS in any configuration, which is far beyond the refresh rate capabilities of most monitors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal setting for most users is Medium, as it provides a balanced improvement over High and Ultra while maintaining near-maximum performance. At 1080p, Medium yields 625 FPS, which is only 10 FPS higher than High (615) but 20 FPS higher than Ultra (605). The Medium preset also provides the only recorded min/max data, showing a minimum of 531 FPS, which ensures that even the worst-case frame drops stay well above 500 FPS.

At 1440p, Medium produces 593 FPS, which is 10 FPS higher than High (583) and 20 FPS higher than Ultra (573). The minimum FPS at this setting is 504, which is still exceptionally high and suitable for any competitive display. At 4K, Medium delivers 550 FPS, outperforming High (530) by 20 FPS and Ultra (505) by 45 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 468, which is the lowest recorded value across all tests but still far exceeds the 240 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings are the clear choice, offering 733 FPS at 1080p, 695 FPS at 1440p, and 645 FPS at 4K. However, the difference between Low and Medium is 108 FPS at 1080p, 102 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K, which may not be perceptible on standard 144 Hz or 240 Hz displays. Ultra settings provide the highest graphical fidelity with a modest FPS penalty, but the data suggests that Medium offers the best trade-off between visual quality and performance, as it consistently stays within 20 FPS of High while providing better frame time stability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is the primary driver of this combo’s exceptional Valorant performance, thanks to its 24 cores and 24 threads operating at a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The CPU’s single-thread performance is critical for Valorant, as the game’s engine relies heavily on high clock speeds for physics calculations and game logic. The CPU’s benchmark scores reflect this strength: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a multi-core score of 51,731, demonstrating that it excels in both single-threaded and multithreaded workloads.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy, with 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB shared L3, ensures that frequently accessed data is stored close to the processing cores, reducing latency. This is particularly important in Valorant, where rapid and consistent frame rendering is required. The 3 nm process node, with 17,800 million transistors, allows for high clock speeds while maintaining thermal efficiency, which is evident in the CPU’s ability to sustain high performance across all tested resolutions.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has a 0.2% higher average benchmark score than the Core Ultra 9 285K and a 1.1% higher score than the AMD EPYC 4584PX. This marginal lead translates into a measurable FPS advantage in Valorant, as the game is sensitive to even small differences in CPU clock speed. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms that it is one of the best processors available for this type of workload, where single-thread performance is paramount.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals valuable insights into which component limits performance at various resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS decreases from 733 at 1080p to 695 at 1440p (a 5.2% drop) and then to 645 at 4K (a 12% drop from 1080p). This relatively small decrease indicates that the GPU is not heavily stressed at Low settings, and the CPU remains the primary bottleneck even at 4K.

At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 605 at 1080p to 573 at 1440p (a 5.3% drop) and then to 505 at 4K (a 16.5% drop from 1080p). The larger drop at 4K Ultra suggests that the GPU begins to play a more significant role when graphical complexity increases. The difference between the Low and Ultra scaling patterns is telling: at 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 128 FPS, but at 4K, the gap widens to 140 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s workload becomes more demanding at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s performance remains relatively constant.

The data shows that the CPU is the limiting component at 1080p and 1440p, as the FPS does not scale significantly with resolution changes. At 4K, the GPU starts to become more influential, particularly at Ultra settings, but the overall performance remains so high that neither component creates a noticeable bottleneck. The 16.5% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is modest compared to many other games, reinforcing that Valorant is optimized for high frame rates and that this combo is well-suited to deliver them at any resolution.