Counter-Strike 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake desktop processor with a 2.50 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock. Its 18 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support position it as a mainstream CPU that ranks in the 77th percentile against all processors. In Counter-Strike 2, the data shows this CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 4060 at high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is less likely to be the limiting factor.

At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 383.3 FPS average, which is a demanding scenario for the CPU. The i5-12400F's single-thread performance — evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 909 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2221 — is strong, but the game's engine still requires significant multi-core throughput. The 3dmark max-threads score of 5912 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 indicate the CPU has enough headroom to handle the game's simulation and rendering tasks without bottlenecking the GPU at these settings.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 10nm process node are modest by current standards, but the benchmark data shows that the i5-12400F's performance profile is closely matched to the Intel Core i7-8700K, with a delta of just 0.1% in average benchmark score. This places the CPU in a competitive range for esports titles like Counter-Strike 2, where frame consistency matters more than raw multi-threaded throughput.

FAQ

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival in CPU performance?

A: The i5-12400F's average benchmark score is 19221, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, delta 0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, delta 0.3%). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% but leads the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 4060?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 has a launch MSRP of 299 USD.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 still in production?

A: No, the RTX 4060 is marked as end-of-life production status. Its predecessor is the GeForce 30 series, and its successor is the GeForce 50 series.

Q: What are the RTX 4060's memory specifications?

A: The RTX 4060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and a memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective).

Q: How does the RTX 4060 rank among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321, delta -0.6%), followed by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338, delta -0.7%).

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The i5-12400F + RTX 4060 combo ranks 940th out of 1632 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low settings, the combo delivers 383.3 FPS, which drops to 253.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 139.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling is even more pronounced at High settings: 237.2 FPS at 1080p drops to 159.1 FPS at 1440p (a 32.9% decrease) and then to 85.3 FPS at 4K (a 64.0% decrease from 1080p).

The pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to push extremely high frame rates. The gap between Low and High settings at 1080p is 146.1 FPS (383.3 vs 237.2), suggesting that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower quality presets. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the frame rate differences between settings compress — at 4K, the gap between Low and High is 54.1 FPS (139.4 vs 85.3).

This behavior is typical for a CPU that can handle high frame rates but a GPU that struggles at higher pixel counts. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are modest for 4K gaming, and the data confirms that 4K Ultra (65.4 FPS) is the weakest configuration tested.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The i5-12400F + RTX 4060 combo ranks 940th out of 1632 tested combinations in Counter-Strike 2. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking table — specifically, it sits at approximately the 57.6th percentile of all tested combos. Given that the CPU ranks in the 77th percentile and the GPU in the 66th percentile, the combo's overall ranking is lower than either individual component's percentile, which indicates that the pairing does not extract maximum performance from both parts.

The ranking suggests that in Counter-Strike 2, this combination is outperformed by many other pairings, likely because the game is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The i5-12400F's performance is competitive with older high-end CPUs like the i7-8700K, but the RTX 4060's relatively low memory bandwidth (272.0 GB/s) may hold back performance in a game that responds well to faster memory subsystems. The combo's rank of 940 out of 1632 means there are 692 other tested combinations that achieve higher performance, which is a significant portion of the field.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p:

• Low: 383.3 FPS
• Medium: 315.5 FPS
• High: 237.2 FPS
• Ultra: 183.9 FPS

1440p:

• Low: 253.8 FPS
• Medium: 210.2 FPS
• High: 159.1 FPS
• Ultra: 120.3 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 139.4 FPS
• Medium: 116.0 FPS
• High: 85.3 FPS
• Ultra: 65.4 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, Low settings provide the highest frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The largest relative drop from Low to Ultra occurs at 1080p, where the frame rate falls from 383.3 to 183.9 FPS — a 52.0% reduction. At 1440p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 52.6% (253.8 to 120.3 FPS), and at 4K, the drop is 53.1% (139.4 to 65.4 FPS). This consistency suggests that the performance scaling across settings is proportional at all resolutions, but the absolute frame rates at 4K are too low for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For competitive play in Counter-Strike 2, the 1080p Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 383.3 FPS, which far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. Even the 1080p Medium preset (315.5 FPS) provides ample headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, Low (253.8 FPS) and Medium (210.2 FPS) both remain above the 200 FPS threshold, making them viable options for players with 240Hz monitors.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Low settings (139.4 FPS) are the only preset that approaches playable frame rates, while Ultra (65.4 FPS) would likely feel sluggish for an esports title. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should stick to Low or Medium (116.0 FPS) settings, and even then, the frame rates are below what competitive players typically prefer. The best overall experience is achieved at 1080p with Medium or High settings — Medium offers 315.5 FPS, which is a 32.4% improvement over High (237.2 FPS), while the visual difference in a fast-paced shooter is often minimal.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5nm process node and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 17 Gbps effective memory clock are modest figures for a modern GPU, yet its 3072 shading units and 96 TMUs provide solid compute throughput. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz contribute to its 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

In Counter-Strike 2, the RTX 4060's performance is sufficient for high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows it becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM may be sufficient for this game at the tested settings, but the 128-bit memory bus limits bandwidth, which is critical for a game that benefits from high texture throughput. The RTX 4060 ranks in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181 — nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23321, delta -0.6%) and the aging NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338, delta -0.7%).

The GPU's power efficiency is notable — its 115W TDP and 300W suggested PSU make it a low-power option — but its end-of-life production status suggests it may be superseded soon. For Counter-Strike 2, the RTX 4060 delivers a playable experience at all tested resolutions up to 1440p, but it is not a 4K-capable card for this title at high settings. The 4K Ultra result of 65.4 FPS confirms that the GPU's memory subsystem is the bottleneck at higher pixel counts.