Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a playable experience in Minimum at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 81 FPS on Ultra settings, while at 2560x1440 it reaches 68 FPS on High settings. The 3840x2160 resolution is not viable for smooth gameplay, as even the Low preset averages only 57 FPS, just under the playable mark.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data for this configuration shows a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the system is thoroughly capable, with the Low preset producing an average of 165 FPS. Moving up the quality ladder, Medium settings yield 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS. High settings drop to 106 FPS average, while Ultra remains comfortably above the playable threshold at 81 FPS. This resolution shows the most headroom, with all four presets clearing the 60 FPS mark by substantial margins.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably but remains playable for most settings. Low settings deliver 106 FPS average, Medium produces 81 FPS with a 69 FPS minimum and 93 FPS maximum, and High hits 68 FPS average. The Ultra preset, however, falls to 52 FPS average, missing the 60 FPS playable threshold. The 1440p data shows a 19 FPS drop between Low and Medium, and another 13 FPS drop between Medium and High, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter at this resolution when pushing higher quality settings.

The 3840x2160 results are uniformly below the playable threshold. Low settings average 57 FPS, Medium drops to 44 FPS with a 37 FPS minimum and 50 FPS maximum, High falls to 37 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29 FPS, showing that the Arc B580 cannot sustain smooth frame rates at this resolution regardless of preset. The 4K Medium preset, which includes min/max data, shows a 13 FPS spread between its minimum and maximum, indicating frame time variance that would be noticeable during gameplay.

Resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces performance by roughly 36% on Low (165 to 106 FPS) and 36% on High (106 to 68 FPS). Scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more severe: Low drops 46% (106 to 57 FPS), and High drops 46% (68 to 37 FPS). This consistent scaling pattern suggests the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not exhausted until frame rates exceed 165 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearby rivals that would produce similar results in Minimum. For the Intel Core i5-12400F, the nearest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which has an average benchmark score of 19047 versus 19039 for the i5, a delta of 0%. This means the Ryzen part would behave essentially identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056 (delta -0.1%), and the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982 (delta 0.3%), both within a fraction of a percent of the i5-12400F. The AMD EPYC 7773X also lands at 18979 (delta 0.3%), though its server-class design would be irrelevant for gaming.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, placing it near the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP at 23061 (delta -0.2%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 at 22895 (delta 0.6%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 at 23172 (delta -0.7%). The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (delta -1%). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these GPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minimum at the tested resolutions and presets. A system with the i5-12400F and an RTX 2080, for instance, would likely produce the same 81 FPS at 1080p Ultra and the same 52 FPS at 1440p Ultra.

The practical implication is that users with any of these rival components can expect the same playability verdicts: 1080p Ultra and 1440p High are viable, while 4K is not. The benchmark scores for both the CPU and GPU place this combo at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs and the 68th percentile among all GPUs, indicating a mid-to-upper tier pairing that excels at lower resolutions but lacks the raw throughput for 4K gaming in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the GPU is the decisive component for Minimum across all resolutions. Evidence for this comes from the performance scaling pattern. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to reach 165 FPS on Low, which is near the upper limit of what the i5-12400F’s single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 909) can support. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck more aggressively. The 46% drop from 1440p to 4K on Low settings (106 to 57 FPS) is a classic GPU-bound signature, as CPU load does not change with resolution.

The CPU’s role is more apparent at lower resolutions and higher frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 165 FPS average suggests the i5-12400F is approaching its limit for this game engine, but it still maintains playable performance. The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities (cinebench_r23_multicore score of 12380) are more than sufficient for a 2014 title like Minimum, which does not scale heavily with thread counts beyond 4-6 cores. The i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the 3dmark_16_threads score of 5895 being nearly identical to the 3dmark_max_threads score of 5912.

Preset scaling also reveals the GPU’s dominance. At 1440p, going from Low to High costs 38 FPS (106 to 68), while at 4K the same preset change costs 20 FPS (57 to 37). The absolute drop is smaller at 4K because the GPU is already saturated, whereas at 1440p it has more headroom to trade for visual quality. The CPU’s contribution to the Ultra preset drops is minimal; the component that determines whether Ultra is playable is purely the GPU’s fill rate and shading power (13.67 TFLOPS FP32). The verdict data confirms this: 1080p Ultra is playable at 81 FPS, 1440p Ultra is not at 52 FPS, and 4K Ultra is far from playable at 28 FPS.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160. At 1080p, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting is Ultra at 81 FPS average, which is 21 FPS above the threshold and provides a smooth experience with maximum visual quality. At 1440p, the playable settings are Low (106 FPS), Medium (81 FPS), and High (68 FPS). The best playable setting is High at 68 FPS, which clears the threshold by 8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not playable at 52 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 57 FPS, which is 3 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 37 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The verdict data lists no playable settings for 4K, meaning users must either lower the resolution, accept sub-60 FPS performance, or upgrade the GPU. The overall combo rank of 2790 out of 3712 in this game indicates that this is a mid-pack configuration for Minimum, not an outlier in either direction.

For gamers targeting 1080p, this system is overqualified, as even Ultra settings leave significant headroom. For 1440p, it is adequately suited for High settings, but Ultra demands more GPU power. For 4K, this pairing is not suitable for Minimum under any preset, and the 57 FPS on Low would likely feel inconsistent due to the lack of min/max data suggesting frame drops below 60.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1080p Ultra settings?*

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 81 FPS, which is 21 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1440p, with an average of 68 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the threshold at 52 FPS.

Q: Why is 4K not playable with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, even the Low preset averages only 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 44 FPS, High averages 37 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The GPU lacks the rendering power for 4K in this title.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to the RTX 2080 in this game?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, while the RTX 2080 scores 22895, a delta of 0.6%. This means the two GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, within the margin of measurement error.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at 1440p. The frame rate drops from 106 FPS on Low to 68 FPS on High, a 38 FPS reduction that cannot be attributed to the CPU, which has sufficient headroom (cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 1680) for this game.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 126, with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS. This is well above the playable threshold and offers a smooth experience.

Best Settings per Resolution

1920x1080: The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 81 FPS. This provides maximum visual quality while maintaining a 21 FPS margin above the playable threshold. Lower presets offer higher frame rates — Low at 165 FPS, Medium at 126 FPS, and High at 106 FPS — but Ultra is the best balance of quality and performance.

2560x1440: The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 68 FPS. This clears the threshold by 8 FPS. The Medium preset (81 FPS) and Low preset (106 FPS) are also playable, but High offers better visual fidelity without dropping below 60 FPS. Ultra is not recommended at this resolution, as it averages 52 FPS.

3840x2160: No preset achieves the 60 FPS playable threshold at this resolution. The Low preset comes closest at 57 FPS average, but it still falls 3 FPS short. Users should avoid 4K with this configuration for Minimum and instead use 1440p High or 1080p Ultra for the best experience.