As the world's most popular MOBA, League of Legends runs on a proprietary engine that has been updated for over a decade. Recently, Riot increased the minimum requirements to include AVX instruction support and dropped support for older OSs and DirectX 9. While still lightweight, modern team fights with complex particle effects can strain older integrated graphics. The game scales well with single-thread CPU performance, meaning even modern entry-level processors can deliver high frame rates.
Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors
Performance Report
At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 86 FPS. At 1440p, all settings exceed 86 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 86 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is 1277% above the recommended GPU (GeForce GTX 560) for League of Legends. The Core i3-9100HL is 46% below recommended, but 65% above minimum.
The Core i3-9100HL determines the performance ceiling at all 1080p settings, all 1440p settings, all 4k settings, while the GPU has headroom.
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $1749. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 86 FPS, equivalent to 0.05 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ | 0.049 fps/$ |
* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)
At 1080p low, the Core i3-9100HL sets the ceiling at about 86 FPS, while the GeForce RTX 4090 could reach 684 FPS. In this scenario, the CPU limits the GPU potential by 87% (FPS gap: 598 FPS). Overall distribution: CPU limits 12/12 cells, GPU limits 0/12, balanced 0/12.
Your Core i3-9100HL is the limiting side in the heaviest mismatch. This means part of the GeForce RTX 4090 rendering potential remains unused in those settings.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p (Full HD) | CPU Limits GPU 87% | CPU Limits GPU 85% | CPU Limits GPU 81% | CPU Limits GPU 78% |
| 1440p (2K QHD) | CPU Limits GPU 86% | CPU Limits GPU 83% | CPU Limits GPU 79% | CPU Limits GPU 74% |
| 4K (Ultra HD) | CPU Limits GPU 81% | CPU Limits GPU 77% | CPU Limits GPU 71% | CPU Limits GPU 61% |
We estimate the maximum FPS the processor can sustain and the maximum FPS the graphics card can sustain in each setting, then compare those limits directly.
Limit Factor formula: (stronger - weaker) / stronger. Example: if CPU ceiling is 200 FPS and GPU ceiling is 140 FPS, then GPU limits CPU by 30%.
CPU Limits GPU means the processor ceiling is lower. GPU Limits CPU means the graphics ceiling is lower. Balanced means the FPS ceilings are close enough that the gap is negligible.
The displayed percentages are derived from FPS ceilings, not generic utilization heuristics.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p (Full HD) | CPU44% - 81% <> GPU36% - 41% <> | CPU48% - 90% <> GPU38% - 42% <> | CPU48% - 90% <> GPU38% - 42% <> | CPU46% - 85% <> GPU40% - 45% <> |
| 1440p (2K QHD) | CPU44% - 81% <> GPU44% - 52% <> | CPU48% - 89% <> GPU47% - 54% <> | CPU48% - 89% <> GPU47% - 54% <> | CPU46% - 84% <> GPU48% - 58% <> |
| 4K (Ultra HD) | CPU44% - 81% <> GPU58% - 65% <> | CPU48% - 89% <> GPU62% - 69% <> | CPU48% - 89% <> GPU62% - 69% <> | CPU46% - 84% <> GPU64% - 72% <> |
The Core i3-9100HL + GeForce RTX 4090 pairing runs this title with CPU utilization between 44% and 90% and GPU utilization between 36% and 72%. Core i3-9100HL stays in a controlled operating range, while GeForce RTX 4090 is utilized efficiently without persistent saturation. As resolution scales, average GPU load rises from 40% at 1080p to 66% at 4K, while CPU averages move from 67% to 66%.
The utilization pattern is relatively balanced. The GeForce RTX 4090 reaches 68% average at its highest-load preset, while the Core i3-9100HL peaks at 69% average, with no single component consistently acting as a hard bottleneck.
At 1080p, averages sit around CPU 67% and GPU 40%. At 1440p, that shifts to CPU 66% and GPU 50%, and at 4K it reaches CPU 66% and GPU 66%. This shows that GPU demand scales sharply with resolution while CPU load remains comparatively stable.
4K (Ultra HD) Ultra is the most balanced preset based on this dataset. It runs around CPU 65% (46-84%) and GPU 68% (64-72%), which keeps GeForce RTX 4090 well utilized without constant max-out behavior while Core i3-9100HL remains stable for consistent frame delivery.
Current utilization does not show an urgent upgrade requirement for either component; the Core i3-9100HL and GeForce RTX 4090 remain reasonably matched for this title.
Understanding Hardware Utilization & Bottlenecks: These percentages represent how much of your component's maximum processing power is actively being used during gameplay. This is the key to identifying performance bottlenecks in any system.
Data generated by our Machine Learning engine trained on real-world benchmarks. Shows the approximate average utilization at each setting.
See how your processor and graphics card compare against the game official minimum and recommended system specs. The placement of your hardware is calculated using relative synthetic performance scores to help you gauge overall playability.
Your CPU is 46% below recommended and your GPU is 1277% below recommended, but both meet minimum specs. Playable at Low/Medium settings, 1080p or below.
-46%vsrecommended
+1277%vsrecommended
+65%vsminimum
+6755%vsminimum
Yes, the Core i3-9100HL paired with the GeForce RTX 4090 can run League of Legends smoothly up to 4k achieving around 86 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 1277% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 46% below the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $1749 ($100 CPU (Rank #377 Value) + $1649 GPU (Rank #77 Value)). Since the CPU is the main limiting factor, investing in a stronger processor will improve your framerates and overall value. For example, the Ryzen 9 9950X is a great upgrade option for around $649 (Rank #5 for value).
For League of Legends, upgrading the CPU would have the biggest impact on performance. The Core i3-9100HL is currently the limiting factor — the GeForce RTX 4090 has extra headroom that a faster processor could take advantage of. This is especially noticeable at 1080p where CPU performance matters more. CPU-limited at: 1080p low, 1080p medium, 1080p high, 1080p ultra, 1440p low, 1440p medium, 1440p high, 1440p ultra, 4k low, 4k medium, 4k high, 4k ultra.
League of Legends does not currently support Frame Generation technologies like DLSS 3 or FSR 3. Your performance is based entirely on native rendering. If the game adds support in a future update, newer GPUs will benefit the most.
League of Legends requires at minimum a Core i3-530 (CPU) and GeForce 9600 GT (GPU) with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage. For the recommended experience, you need a Core i5-3330 and GeForce GTX 560 with 4 GB RAM. Your setup meets the minimum requirements but falls short of the recommended specs. You may need to lower some settings for smooth performance.
These League of Legends FPS results are not arbitrary numbers. They come from calculations informed by thousands of real gaming benchmarks, and the typical accuracy range is around 10% to 15%. That makes them far more useful than generic FPS calculators that simply invent values without a benchmark foundation. Actual in-game performance can still vary with drivers, updates, RAM configuration, cooling, and the exact scene being rendered.
Performance estimates are based on synthetic benchmarks and hardware capabilities.
Results may vary based on drivers, OS, and background processes.
