Minimum

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Minimum shows a wide performance spread across resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the combination is heavily constrained. The Low preset returns an average of 26.7 FPS, Medium drops to 21.5 FPS, High falls to 18.0 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 16.7 FPS. None of these figures approach a smooth experience, and the gap between Low and Ultra is roughly 10 FPS, indicating that even the least demanding settings leave little headroom at 4K.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers improve but remain below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset averages 53.4 FPS, which is close to playable but still short. Medium delivers 39.4 FPS, High produces 37.1 FPS, and Ultra trails at 27.9 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is substantial, with Low gaining about 26.7 FPS, a doubling of the frame rate. This suggests that pixel count is a dominant factor for this GPU, and the CPU has ample capacity to feed frames at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the results finally become usable. The Low preset averages 80.2 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS bar by a comfortable margin. Medium averages 64.5 FPS, still above the threshold. High drops to 51.1 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 38.2 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p is smooth, with each preset step costing roughly 12 to 13 FPS until the final jump to Ultra, which loses another 12.9 FPS. The data shows that the GTX 1650 is the limiting factor at higher settings, while the i7-12700K provides enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking at 1080p.

Min and max FPS values were not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies on average frame rates. The absence of frame time variance data means that stutter or hitch behavior cannot be assessed, but the averages alone paint a clear picture of where this combo stands.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 3533 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower percentile of all configurations, roughly in the bottom 5% of the database. The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 84th percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35287. The GPU, however, ranks in the 40th percentile against all GPUs with an average score of 7472. This mismatch is the core issue: a high-end processor paired with an entry-level graphics card creates a system where the GPU becomes the primary constraint in most gaming scenarios.

The rank of 3533 reflects the overall balance of the combo. A system with a weaker CPU but a stronger GPU would likely rank higher in this specific title, since Minimum appears to be more sensitive to graphics throughput than to processor speed. The i7-12700K's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i5-13600T with a delta of -0.1%, the Intel Core i7-12700KF at -0.2%, the Intel Core i7-13700T at -0.3%, and the Intel Core 5 213PE at -0.4%. These are all extremely close in average benchmark score, meaning the CPU side of this combo behaves similarly to those alternatives. On the GPU side, the GTX 1650's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 8850M at +0.3%, the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at +0.4%, the AMD Radeon R7 350 at +0.6%, and the Intel Arc A310 at -1.0%. The delta percentages are small, indicating that swapping the GTX 1650 for any of these would yield nearly identical frame rates in Minimum.

The combo rank of 3533, combined with the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile, leads to a clear conclusion: the pairing is heavily GPU-limited. The database shows that the i7-12700K can drive much faster graphics cards, but with the GTX 1650, the system's gaming performance is capped by the GPU's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit memory bus.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best recorded average is 26.7 FPS on Low, which is less than half of the playable threshold. The database lists no playable settings for this resolution, and the verdict confirms that 4K is not viable with this combo.

At 2560x1440, the situation is similar. The Low preset averages 53.4 FPS, which is the highest recorded at this resolution, but it still falls short of 60 FPS. No settings are listed as playable, and the verdict marks this resolution as unplayable as well.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which averages 64.5 FPS. The Low preset averages 80.2 FPS and is also playable, but Medium is the highest quality option that maintains the threshold. High at 51.1 FPS and Ultra at 38.2 FPS both miss the mark. The verdict lists Low and Medium as playable settings at 1080p, with Medium as the best settings choice.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 run Minimum at 60 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, yes, but only on Low or Medium presets. Low averages 80.2 FPS and Medium averages 64.5 FPS. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset at 1920x1080 for this combo?

A: Medium is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, averaging 64.5 FPS. The next step up, High, drops to 51.1 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 2560x1440?

A: The highest average is 53.4 FPS on Low. Medium averages 39.4 FPS, High averages 37.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 27.9 FPS. None reach the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is there any preset at 3840x2160 that is playable?

A: No. The best recorded average is 26.7 FPS on Low. Medium averages 21.5 FPS, High averages 18.0 FPS, and Ultra averages 16.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 7447, the Intel UHD Graphics 750 scores 7441, the AMD Radeon R7 350 scores 7425, and the Intel Arc A310 scores 7550. All are within 1% of each other.

Q: What rank does this combo hold among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 3533 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor between the i7-12700K and the GTX 1650 in Minimum. The CPU is a high-end part with 12 cores and 20 threads, a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and a 3DMark max threads score of 9979. The GPU, by contrast, is a budget part with 896 shading units, 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, and a passmark G3D score of 7880. In gaming, the component that matters more is the one that runs out of headroom first.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant constraint. The frame rates are low across all presets, and the scaling from Low to Ultra is relatively small in absolute terms: 26.7 FPS down to 16.7 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings, and the CPU is not a limiting factor. The pixel throughput required at 4K far exceeds what the GTX 1650 can deliver.

At 2560x1440, the GPU remains the primary limiter, but the headroom improves. Low averages 53.4 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The gap between Low and Ultra is 25.5 FPS, showing that preset changes have a meaningful impact. Still, the CPU's role is minimal because the GPU cannot push beyond the mid-50s even at the lowest settings.

At 1920x1080, the balance shifts. Low averages 80.2 FPS, which suggests that the GPU has enough capacity to render frames faster than 60 FPS when settings are low. The CPU is likely capable of even higher frame rates, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. Medium drops to 64.5 FPS, High to 51.1 FPS, and Ultra to 38.2 FPS. The steep decline from Low to Ultra indicates that the GPU's limited memory bandwidth and shading power are being taxed progressively harder. The CPU, with its high single-thread score of 4013 in PassMark, is not the constraint at 1080p; the GPU's 128.1 GB/s bandwidth and 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are.

The verdict by resolution reinforces this. At 1080p, the combo is playable on Low and Medium, which are the settings where the GPU is not overwhelmed. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU cannot deliver playable performance at any preset, regardless of the CPU's strength. The i7-12700K is effectively wasted in this pairing for Minimum, as the GTX 1650 holds the system back at every resolution above 1080p.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 can run Minimum, but only under specific conditions. The database verdict lists 1920x1080 with Low and Medium as playable settings. Low averages 80.2 FPS, and Medium averages 64.5 FPS. Both clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Medium being the highest quality preset that remains playable.

At 2560x1440, the verdict lists no playable settings. The best average is 53.4 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the verdict also lists no playable settings, with the best average being 26.7 FPS on Low.

The practical answer is that this PC can run Minimum at 1080p with medium settings for a smooth experience. Users who prioritize frame rate can drop to Low for a significant margin, averaging 80.2 FPS. Users who want higher visual quality will need to accept below-60 FPS performance, as High and Ultra are not playable at any resolution in the recorded data.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearby alternatives that would produce similar results in Minimum. On the CPU side, the i7-12700K's closest rivals are the Intel Core i5-13600T, Intel Core i7-12700KF, Intel Core i7-13700T, and Intel Core 5 213PE. The delta percentages are -0.1%, -0.2%, -0.3%, and -0.4% respectively, meaning all of these processors have essentially identical average benchmark scores. Swapping the i7-12700K for any of these would not change the gaming performance in Minimum, since the GPU is the limiting factor.

On the GPU side, the GTX 1650's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 8850M at +0.3%, the Intel UHD Graphics 750 at +0.4%, the AMD Radeon R7 350 at +0.6%, and the Intel Arc A310 at -1.0%. These delta percentages are also very small, so any of these graphics cards would deliver nearly the same frame rates. The Intel Arc A310 scores slightly higher at 7550 versus 7472, but the difference is only about 1%, which would translate to a negligible FPS change. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M, Intel UHD Graphics 750, and AMD Radeon R7 350 all score slightly lower, but again within a range that would not be perceptible in practice.

For a user considering a change, replacing the GPU would have a far greater impact than replacing the CPU. The i7-12700K is already in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the GTX 1650 sits in the 40th percentile of all GPUs. The bottleneck is clearly on the graphics side, and the nearest rivals confirm that this specific GPU is at the bottom of the performance tier for this game. The recorded data shows that the combo's rank of 3533 out of 3712 is driven almost entirely by the GPU's limitations, not the CPU's capabilities.