Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 988th out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the upper half of all systems evaluated. This pairing demonstrates strong overall capability for the game, though the ranking reflects that a substantial number of more powerful configurations exist. The combo’s position is supported by the CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU’s 55th percentile among all graphics cards, indicating a balanced pairing where the processor slightly outranks the graphics card in their respective fields.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s 988th place ranking out of 3712 tested configurations places it comfortably within the top 27% of all systems benchmarked for Minimum. This is a solid result for a mainstream desktop processor paired with a current-generation graphics card. The Intel Core i5-12400 achieves an average benchmark score of 18683, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs tested. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, meanwhile, posts an average benchmark score of 13543, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs.

The discrepancy between the CPU’s higher percentile ranking and the GPU’s more modest one suggests that the processor has more headroom relative to its peers than the graphics card does. When examining the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400 performs nearly identically to the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores an average of 18697 (a mere 0.1% difference). It also closely tracks the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, 0.3% higher) and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, 0.7% higher). The only rival that the i5-12400 notably outperforms is the Intel Core i3-14100F, which scores 18519, putting the i5-12400 0.9% ahead.

For the GPU, the RX 9070 XT’s average score of 13543 places it just ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (13536, 0.1% higher for the rival), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13515, 0.2% higher), and the NVIDIA P106-090 (13470, 0.5% higher). The AMD Radeon Pro 555 trails by a full 1% with a score of 13407. These extremely tight margins indicate that the RX 9070 XT is positioned in a dense performance cluster where small benchmark variations separate adjacent products.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured frame rates across resolutions and presets reveal how the workload shifts between the Intel Core i5-12400 and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT as rendering demands change. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings: 279.8 FPS on Low, 209.6 FPS on Medium, 178.6 FPS on High, and 133.6 FPS on Ultra. The relatively modest gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution — from 279.8 down to 133.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 52% — indicates that the GPU has ample headroom and that the CPU is capable of feeding it sufficient data even at lower graphics loads.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but the scaling pattern changes. The Low preset delivers 181 FPS, Medium 135.4 FPS, High 117.8 FPS, and Ultra 89.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is about 51%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower across the board. At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more pronounced: Low produces 94.9 FPS, Medium 70.9 FPS, High 62.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.7 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is roughly 51% again, but the Ultra preset now falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The data indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, particularly at the Ultra preset in 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, the system is clearly GPU-bound only at the highest settings; the CPU’s role is more significant at lower presets where frame rates reach 200+ FPS. The 4K results show that even this powerful GPU struggles with the most demanding settings, while the CPU continues to provide sufficient throughput for the lower presets. The consistent percentage drop from Low to Ultra across all three resolutions — approximately 51-52% — suggests a predictable relationship between graphics load and frame rate, with the CPU maintaining its part without becoming a limiting factor until frame rates approach 280 FPS at 1080p Low.

Best Settings per Resolution

The measured data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset delivering 133.6 FPS. This makes Ultra the clear best choice for 1080p, providing a substantial margin above the playable threshold. The High preset at 178.6 FPS and Medium at 209.6 FPS offer even higher frame rates for competitive play, but Ultra is the highest quality option that stays well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 89.2 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. All four settings — Low at 181 FPS, Medium at 135.4 FPS, High at 117.8 FPS, and Ultra at 89.2 FPS — remain playable. The best visual quality option is Ultra, which still provides nearly 30 FPS of headroom above the minimum acceptable frame rate. This makes 1440p an excellent resolution for this combo, as the most demanding settings remain fully playable.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 46.7 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset, however, maintains 62.2 FPS, just above the threshold. The Medium preset delivers 70.9 FPS, and Low produces 94.9 FPS. For 4K, the best settings that remain playable are High, which provides 62.2 FPS — a slim but sufficient margin above the 60 FPS target. The verdict data confirms this, listing High as the best playable setting at 3840x2160 with an average FPS of 62.2.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-12400 indicate that several processors would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Minimum. The AMD EPYC 7643 scores within 0.1% of the i5-12400, making it functionally equivalent for this game’s CPU workload. The Intel Core i7-1355U is 0.3% faster, while the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 is 0.7% faster. The Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% slower. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, so any of these CPUs paired with the RX 9070 XT would deliver essentially the same frame rates in Minimum.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT’s closest rivals are a mix of much older and less powerful cards. The AMD Radeon HD 7770M scores 0.1% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 is 0.2% higher, and the NVIDIA P106-090 is 0.5% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 555 trails by 1%. These rivals are all from significantly older generations, and their benchmark scores are remarkably close to the RX 9070 XT despite their age. In practice, a system using any of these GPUs with the i5-12400 would show very similar performance in Minimum, though the RX 9070 XT’s modern feature set and driver support would likely provide advantages beyond raw frame rate.

The combination of the i5-12400 with any of these four rival GPUs would produce frame rates within a few percentage points of the measured results. Similarly, pairing the RX 9070 XT with any of the four rival CPUs would yield nearly identical performance, as the CPU differences are all under 1%. This indicates that the measured performance is robust across a small cluster of comparable hardware, and users upgrading from any of these alternatives would see little change in Minimum performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 3840x2160?

A: The High preset is the most demanding setting that stays above 60 FPS at 4K, delivering an average of 62.2 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 46.7 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at Ultra settings in 2560x1440?*

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 achieves 89.2 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at this resolution remain playable, with Low delivering 181 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to the Intel Core i3-14100F?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.9% higher than the i3-14100F’s 18519. This represents a minimal performance difference in CPU-bound scenarios.

Q: What frame rate does the Low preset produce at 1920x1080?

A: At 1080p with the Low preset, the combo delivers 279.8 FPS. This is the highest frame rate measured across all resolution and preset combinations.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 3840x2160?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 46.7 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Users seeking 4K should use the High preset for 62.2 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 compared to the i5-12400?

A: The AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 has an average score of 18811, which is 0.7% higher than the i5-12400’s 18683. This difference is negligible for gaming performance.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum at all three tested resolutions, though the settings ceiling varies. At 1920x1080, the system handles Ultra settings at 133.6 FPS, providing a large margin above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra remains playable at 89.2 FPS, still comfortably above the target. At 3840x2160, the system can manage High settings at 62.2 FPS, just clearing the 60 FPS bar, but Ultra drops to 46.7 FPS and is not playable.

The verdict data confirms that 1440p Ultra and 1080p Ultra are fully supported, while 4K users must settle for High settings. The combo’s overall ranking of 988th out of 3712 tested configurations demonstrates that it is a capable mid-to-upper tier system for Minimum. The Intel Core i5-12400 provides solid CPU performance with an average score of 18683, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers 13543 on average, and together they produce frame rates that exceed the playable threshold at every resolution when using appropriate settings. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 62.2 FPS is the best option, while 1440p and 1080p users can enjoy the full Ultra experience without compromise.