Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, but the data shows the 4K ceiling is limited. Across the twelve measured configurations, this combo never dips below a 37.4 FPS average even at the most demanding preset, yet it also fails to hold 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results indicate a system that is clearly capable for high-refresh esports play at 1440p, while 4K requires a compromise on visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the i5-12400F and RTX 3070 produce a wide performance envelope. The Low preset delivers an average of 231.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Moving up the quality ladder, Medium averages 177.7 FPS, High drops to 148.6 FPS, and Ultra still holds a strong 111.9 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra is 119.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU has substantial headroom even at the most taxing settings.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the scaling is predictable but steep. Low settings yield an average of 150.8 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. Medium averages 110.6 FPS, High drops further to 92.4 FPS, and Ultra settles at 70.2 FPS. The delta between the lowest and highest presets is 80.6 FPS at this resolution. Notably, the 1440p Ultra average of 70.2 FPS is only 37.3 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra result, showing that the resolution increase takes a measurable but not crippling toll.

At 3840x2160, the performance cliff becomes apparent. Low settings average 77.7 FPS, which is the only 4K preset to clear the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. Medium averages 60.9 FPS, just above the playable line, while High averages 48.9 FPS and Ultra falls to 37.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 40.3 FPS, and the Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Low figure. This demonstrates that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB frame buffer and 256-bit memory bus are stressed by 4K rendering, even in a game from 2014.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which runs at an average of 111.9 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and the data shows it is not a bottleneck for this combo. All four presets at 1080p exceed the playable threshold, but Ultra is the clear recommendation for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is also Ultra, averaging 70.2 FPS. This result clears the 60 FPS line by 10.2 FPS, providing a comfortable margin for demanding scenes. The High preset at 92.4 FPS is also viable, but the gap between High and Ultra is only 22.2 FPS, making the jump to Ultra a worthwhile trade for better visuals.

For 3840x2160, the best setting that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 60.9 FPS. This is a razor-thin margin, just 0.9 FPS above the threshold. Low is also playable at 77.7 FPS, but Medium offers a better balance of fidelity and performance. High and Ultra are not recommended at 4K, as they fall to 48.9 FPS and 37.4 FPS, respectively, which will result in noticeable stutter during fast-paced third-person action.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals that the GPU is the dominant performance limiter in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent drop in FPS across all presets, with the largest absolute decline occurring at Low settings where the average falls from 231.3 FPS to 150.8 FPS, a reduction of 80.5 FPS. This pattern indicates that the RTX 3070 is being pushed harder as pixel count rises, while the i5-12400F has ample headroom.

The shift from 1440p to 4K amplifies this GPU-bound behavior. At Ultra, the average drops from 70.2 FPS at 1440p to 37.4 FPS at 4K, a 46.7% reduction. In contrast, the CPU’s role is less evident in the measured data. The i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p Low, where the 231.3 FPS average suggests no CPU bottleneck. However, at 4K Low, the 77.7 FPS result shows that the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the CPU workload does not scale significantly with resolution.

Preset scaling further illustrates this split. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 119.4, while at 4K the same preset change reduces FPS by 40.3. This smaller absolute delta at 4K indicates that the GPU is already saturated, and shader complexity has less impact than raw pixel throughput. The CPU’s single-thread performance, reflected in a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909, is adequate for the game’s logic, but the RTX 3070’s 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 compute is the deciding factor in frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K Ultra?*

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 37.4, which is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best 4K setting is Medium at 60.9 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the highest playable setting at 2560x1440, with an average of 70.2 FPS. All four presets at this resolution exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How does the 1080p Low preset compare to the 4K Low preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset averages 231.3 FPS, while the 4K Low preset averages 77.7 FPS. This represents a 153.6 FPS reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the primary factor, as evidenced by the large FPS drops when increasing settings. The 1080p Ultra average of 111.9 FPS is less than half of the 1080p Low average, showing the RTX 3070 is the main driver of performance.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among tested systems for Minimum?*

A: This configuration ranks 1636 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the 44th percentile of all tested combos.

Q: Does the RTX 3070 outperform its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: Yes. The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT score of 17083. It also beats the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037) by 1.0%.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database for Minimum, the Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combo is positioned at rank 1636 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems, which aligns with its measured performance. The CPU itself sits at the 73rd percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039, while the GPU is at the 61st percentile with an average score of 17208. The combination of a strong mid-range CPU and a capable upper-mid-range GPU results in a system that is more powerful than the majority of tested configs, but it is not at the extreme high end.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (1.0% slower), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (1.1% slower). The only faster rival is the NVIDIA Tesla K40c, which leads by 1.5%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 3070 is tightly clustered with other high-performance GPUs, and the i5-12400F performs similarly against its nearest CPU competitors, with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS matching its score exactly (0% delta). This suggests that the combo’s rank is more a product of the GPU’s position than any CPU bottleneck.

The Verdict

This system can run Minimum with solid playability at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K requires setting expectations. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra delivering 111.9 FPS—this is the ideal resolution for this combo. At 2560x1440, Ultra also clears 60 FPS at 70.2 FPS, making 1440p a viable high-quality option. The 3840x2160 verdict is more restrictive: only Low (77.7 FPS) and Medium (60.9 FPS) are playable, and Medium just barely crosses the line. High (48.9 FPS) and Ultra (37.4 FPS) are not recommended for a consistent 60 FPS experience.

In practical terms, the i5-12400F and RTX 3070 are a well-matched pair for this title, with the GPU providing ample headroom at lower resolutions and the CPU avoiding any obvious bottleneck. The data shows that gamers targeting 1080p or 1440p can max out the game, while those wanting 4K should stick to Medium settings to stay at or above the playable threshold. The benchmark results confirm that this is a capable machine for Minimum, with the only major compromise being 4K Ultra, which is beyond the RTX 3070’s reach in this title.