CPU_VS_GPU / 2026-09-11
Intel Core i5-9400FvsIntel Arc B570
Complete bottleneck analysis at 1080p, 1440p, Ultrawide (UWQHD/SUWQHD), and 4K with estimated FPS for popular games.
20%
ESTIMATED GPU BOTTLENECK
Your GPU (Arc B570) is the limiting factor at 2560x1440. In graphically demanding titles you will see lower frame rates; a faster GPU would deliver a clear improvement.
Load estimated by the model, not measured on your PC.
- PROCESSORIntel Core i5-9400F
- GRAPHICSIntel Arc B570
- MEMORY16GB DDR4/DDR5
- RESOLUTION2560x1440
Average across the demanding titles at 2560x1440.
Average across the competitive titles, where the processor leads.
What the build draws (365 W) plus headroom.
DEEP-DIVE ANALYSIS
GENERATED BY THE ENGINEPairing the Intel Core i5-9400F (46/100 on our gaming index) with the Intel Arc B570 (19/100) raises one practical question: do they pull together, or does one hold the other back? We ran this exact combination across all supported resolutions to answer it with numbers rather than guesswork.
Quick take: 1440p with a setting or two turned down
At 1080p the two stay well balanced, whereas at 4K the Arc B570 is the limiting part (~56% GPU bottleneck). No 16:9 size keeps this pair above 60 FPS in demanding titles. 1440p is the highest that stays playable, at roughly 34 FPS on average in AAA. Esports is a different story — around 172 FPS at 1080p.
As you climb from 1080p to 4K, the load shifts from the processor toward the graphics card: every extra pixel lands on the Arc B570. Here, efficiency moves from 93% at 1080p to 44% at 4K — which shows the part the frame rate depends on at each end.
Down to real numbers: In esports titles like Valorant this pair flies — around 275 FPS at 1080p, plenty for a high-refresh monitor. At the other end, a demanding AAA like Alan Wake 2 drops to ~9 FPS at 4K, which is where the Arc B570's ceiling really shows. Overall, expect about 47 FPS average in AAA games at 1080p and around 19 FPS at 4K.
[CPU] Core i5-9400F
On the CPU side: the Core i5-9400F rates 46/100 for gaming in this model and brings 6 cores and 6 threads. At lower resolutions it's the one setting the pace for the whole system.
[GPU] Arc B570
The Arc B570 (19/100 on the model's gaming scale) supplies the raster muscle of the build. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 set how far it can go on resolution and texture quality before video memory runs short.
A detail that's easy to overlook: The graphics card is about 6 years newer than the processor, so watch that the Core i5-9400F doesn't fall short in the most CPU-dependent games. You're combining an Intel platform with an Intel GPU — a perfectly valid mix that imposes no penalty.
DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE ANYTHING?
At 1440p the Arc B570 sets the frame rate. No card in our catalogue clears the bar we use for a recommendation: at least 25% more frames while the Core i5-9400F still keeps it fully fed. The closest, the NVIDIA RTX 5090, adds about 54% in this model. So there is no card we would tell you to buy for this pairing.
PRICE OF EACH PART
Affiliate links — we earn a small commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure
SPECIFICATIONS
CATALOGUE DATA[CPU] Intel Core i5-9400F
- Cores6C / 6T
- Clock2.9 – 4.1 GHz
- TDP65 W
- SocketLGA1151
- Single-thread2,421
- Multi-thread9,457
- L3 cache9 MB
[GPU] Intel Arc B570
- VRAM10 GB GDDR6
- Memory bus160-bit
- TDP150 W
- G3D Mark14,111
- Memory bandwidth380 GB/s
BOTTLENECK BY RESOLUTION
SYNERGY · AVERAGE FPSYour CPU (Core i5-9400F) and GPU (Arc B570) are an exceptionally balanced match for gaming at 1920x1080. No realistic component swap would meaningfully improve this build.
Your GPU (Arc B570) is the limiting factor at 2560x1440. In graphically demanding titles you will see lower frame rates; a faster GPU would deliver a clear improvement.
Your GPU (Arc B570) severely limits the system at 3440x1440 (Ultrawide 21:9), leaving the Core i5-9400F heavily underused. A faster GPU would improve performance dramatically.
Your GPU (Arc B570) severely limits the system at 5120x1440 (Super Ultrawide 32:9), leaving the Core i5-9400F heavily underused. A faster GPU would improve performance dramatically.
Your GPU (Arc B570) severely limits the system at 4K, leaving the Core i5-9400F heavily underused. A faster GPU would improve performance dramatically.
ESTIMATED FPS BY GAME
1920x1080SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS
POWER · VRAM & PCIe · RAMPOWER ESTIMATION
The Core i5-9400F (65W) and Arc B570 (150W) add up to roughly 215W under load. Adding 150W for the rest of the system gives 365W, and with a 30% transient margin, 550W is the safe figure.
VIDEO MEMORY AND PCIe
The Arc B570's memory bus (160-bit) and bandwidth (380 GB/s) describe its own video memory, meaning how fast the card reads its 10 GB of GDDR6, not the PCIe link to the processor. The PCIe link depends on the card, the processor and the motherboard slot together; our catalogue does not record PCIe generation or lane count, so the model does not estimate it. It matters most for cards with an eight-lane interface in older PCIe 3.0 boards: check the card's and the board's specifications.
SYSTEM MEMORY
This page assumes 16 GB in dual channel. At 1440p, the resolution recommended above, that meets the model's capacity target of 16 GB (enough for three in four of the games it covers), so more capacity would add little or nothing there. The target stays at 16 GB even at 4K, so a larger kit is for heavy multitasking or mods, not for these games. Memory speed and a second channel act on the processor's ceiling instead: they matter in the games the CPU limits, by an amount that depends on the game, and the calculator lets you enter your own kit.
HOW THIS PAGE IS CALCULATED
ENGINE v2026.08 · 2026-09-11CALCULATED, NOT WRITTEN
Every figure and every sentence comes from the same deterministic engine, driven by the catalogue specifications. That is what makes it reproducible: with the same engine version (2026.08) and the same catalogue, the same pairing always gives the same result. When either changes, the version and date above change with it, and the changelog says why.
WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM
Specifications come from the official AMD, Intel and NVIDIA datasheets together with PassMark and TechPowerUp. The gaming indices are calibrated against frame rates published by review outlets (TechPowerUp, TechSpot / Hardware Unboxed, Tom's Hardware, Gamers Nexus, Digital Foundry) rather than synthetic scores. That data is compiled, not measured here: this site runs no test bench of its own.
STATED LIMITS
Figures estimate native raster performance at high/ultra quality, with no ray tracing, upscaling or frame generation. We do not yet publish an externally validated error margin — the accuracy page states exactly where that stands.
* Affiliate disclosure: the Amazon links exist to show pricing. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Recommendation order is decided by the engine and does not depend on commission.
TRY WITH YOUR OWN HARDWARE
Customize RAM, resolution, and discover upgrade recommendations.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
5Does the Intel Core i5-9400F bottleneck the Intel Arc B570?
At 1080p the two stay well balanced, whereas at 4K the Arc B570 is the limiting part (~56% GPU bottleneck). Overall, the GPU is the limit at high resolution, with 58% average efficiency across the 12 resolutions our model tests. 1440p is the highest resolution that stays playable, at about 34 FPS on average in AAA titles.
How many FPS do the Core i5-9400F and Arc B570 get at 1080p?
At 1080p this combination averages about 47 FPS in AAA games and around 172 FPS in esports titles. In Valorant we estimate up to 275 FPS.
Is this pairing good for 4K gaming?
Not for AAA titles at native high settings: about 19 FPS on average at 4K. It would take upscaling, much lower settings or faster hardware.
What power supply do I need for the Core i5-9400F and Arc B570?
With an estimated combined draw of 215W across CPU and GPU, we recommend at least a 550W 80+ Gold supply (ideally ATX 3.0) to run with headroom.
Is the Arc B570's 10 GB of VRAM enough?
10 GB covers all 11 tracked games at 1440p in the model; at 4K, 5 of them would need more, which costs frames or texture quality in those titles.