League of Legends FPS on Core i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

League of Legends FPS Performance Results

League of Legends

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.

League of Legends FPS Estimates by Resolution on Core i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors

1080P
low702 FPS
medium702 FPS
high702 FPS
ultra645 FPS
1440P
low702 FPS
medium659 FPS
high624 FPS
ultra554 FPS
4K
low492 FPS
medium414 FPS
high371 FPS
ultra306 FPS

Performance Report

League of Legends Performance Report onCore i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

🎮Visual Experience

At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 645 FPS, suitable for 144Hz+ monitors. At 1440p, all settings exceed 554 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 306 FPS.

Official Requirements

The GeForce RTX 4090 is 1277% above the recommended GPU (GeForce GTX 560) for League of Legends. The Core i9-9940X is 338% above the recommended CPU (Core i5-3330).

⚙️FPS Ceiling Analysis

At lower resolutions (1080p low), the Core i9-9940X sets the FPS ceiling. As graphical load increases at (1080p (high/ultra), 1440p (medium/high/ultra), 4k (medium/high/ultra)), the GeForce RTX 4090 becomes the FPS-limiting side. The FPS ceiling is closely matched at 1080p medium, 1440p low, 4k low.

💰Value Analysis

Approximated average price on current market:

GeForce RTX 4090:$1649
Official Launch Price: $1599
Core i9-9940X:$850
Official Launch Price: $1387

Combo price: $2499. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 645 FPS, equivalent to 0.26 FPS per dollar.

ResolutionLowMediumHighUltra
1080p0.281 fps/$0.281 fps/$0.281 fps/$0.258 fps/$
1440p0.281 fps/$0.264 fps/$0.250 fps/$0.222 fps/$
4k0.197 fps/$0.166 fps/$0.148 fps/$0.122 fps/$

* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)

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League of Legends Combo AnalysisCore i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

📈Analysis

Which Component Limits FPS Most?

This chart answers a simple question: which upgrade is more likely to increase FPS first? In this case, the answer is the GPU.

The largest gap appears at 1440p Ultra, where the GeForce RTX 4090 reaches about 438 FPS, while the Core i9-9940X still has headroom up to roughly 554 FPS.

That means the GeForce RTX 4090 is hitting its performance ceiling first, leaving a 21% gap versus the Core i9-9940X's available headroom in the most unbalanced scenario. Across all tested settings, this pairing is GPU-limited in 8 out of 12 cases, with 1 CPU-limited and 3 balanced results.

Overall, this is a GPU-limited combination in this game.

Verdict

Upgrade Recommendations

GPU-Limited

The GeForce RTX 4090 is usually the limiting part in this game, so upgrading the GPU is more likely to deliver a larger FPS gain than upgrading the CPU.

🧩
Detailed BreakdownShows which upgrade is more likely to unlock more FPS in each tested setting

This chart shows which upgrade is more likely to unlock more FPS in each tested setting. The lower line represents the part that reaches its limit first. When the CPU and GPU lines stay close together, the system is more balanced. When the gap widens, one component is more clearly holding the other back. Hover any setting to inspect it.

CPU vs GPU FPS Ceiling by Resolution and PresetLeague of Legends on Core i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

Core i9-9940XGeForce RTX 4090
FPS9006754502250lowmediumhighultra21%3%7%13%1080Plowmediumhighultra3%11%18%21%1440Plowmediumhighultra5%4%4%5%4K

The lower line is the current limiter. The closer the two lines are, the more balanced the CPU and GPU are for this game.

🧠Methodology

Each line represents an estimated FPS ceiling for one component, rather than live usage alone.

To estimate the CPU ceiling, we pair the Core i9-9940X with GeForce RTX 5090, our current GPU anchor. To estimate the GPU ceiling, we pair the GeForce RTX 4090 with Ryzen 9 9950X3D, our current CPU anchor.

The lower line indicates the current limiter, since that component reaches its FPS ceiling first. In most scenarios, that is also the part most likely to deliver the bigger performance uplift if upgraded first.

The percentage shown represents the gap between the two ceilings. In practical terms, it shows how much of the stronger component's potential is left unused because the weaker one becomes the bottleneck first.

League of Legends Requirements ComparisonCore i9-9940X + GeForce RTX 4090

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.

CPU - Core i9-9940X
cpu icon
28,088
Your Score
MinimumCore i3-530
RecommendedCore i5-3330
GPU - GeForce RTX 4090
gpu icon
38,112
Your Score
MinimumGeForce 9600 GT
RecommendedGeForce GTX 560

Your CPU is 338% above and your GPU is 1277% above the recommended specs. Ultra settings at 1080p, or High at 1440p/4K.

CPU

+338%vsrecommended

GPU

+1277%vsrecommended

CPU

+1239%vsminimum

GPU

+6755%vsminimum

Minimum Requirements
Video Card: GeForce 9600 GT
Processor: Core i3-530
Memory: 2 GB
Disk Space: 16 GB
System: Windows 10 64-bit
Recommended Requirements
Video Card: GeForce GTX 560
Processor: Core i5-3330
Memory: 4 GB
Disk Space: 16 GB (SSD)
System: Windows 11 64-bit

League of Legends FAQ

1Can the Core i9-9940X and GeForce RTX 4090 run League of Legends well?

Yes, the Core i9-9940X paired with the GeForce RTX 4090 can run League of Legends smoothly up to 4k achieving around 306 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 1277% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 338% above the recommended requirements.

2Is there a more cost-effective setup to run League of Legends?

This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $2,499 ($850 CPU + $1,649 GPU). Your GeForce RTX 4090 provides phenomenal top-tier performance but at a premium enthusiast price. Since you are essentially at the ceiling of current hardware capabilities, there are no meaningful performance upgrades available. However, if you wanted a more cost-effective build that still delivers a great experience, you could theoretically step down to a high-end card with a significantly better value rating.

3Which component should I upgrade first to improve League of Legends performance?

Your GeForce RTX 4090 is already a top-tier graphics card. In the Performance Limiter Analysis, it is still the side that most often reaches its FPS ceiling first, but there is no meaningful upgrade path that would drastically improve your League of Legends performance right now. The main bottleneck appears on the GPU side. The largest gap shows up at 1440p Ultra, where the GPU reaches about 438 FPS while the CPU still has headroom up to roughly 554 FPS. Across all tested settings, the distribution is 8/12 GPU-limited, 1/12 CPU-limited, and 3/12 balanced.

4Does this setup support Frame Generation for League of Legends?

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.

5What are the minimum and recommended specs for League of Legends?

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 Core i9-9940X and GeForce RTX 4090 both exceed the recommended specs, so you're well-positioned for a great experience.

6How accurate are these League of Legends FPS estimates for the Core i9-9940X and GeForce RTX 4090?

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.