Fortnite

# Fortnite with Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a Fortnite experience defined by extreme CPU headroom at lower resolutions and a clear GPU-bound ceiling at 4K. The measured data shows a system that scales from a 415 FPS average at 1080p Low to a 52 FPS average at 4K Ultra, with the 12 measured configurations revealing where each component becomes the primary constraint. This combination ranks 304th out of 3,700 tested combos for Fortnite, placing it in the top 8.2% of all configurations in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a system transitioning from CPU-limited to GPU-limited territory. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 415 at 1080p to 275 at 1440p, a reduction of 140 FPS (33.7%), then further down to 145 at 4K, a 65.1% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline at Low settings indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render once resolution increases.

At Medium settings, the scaling follows a similar pattern: 304 FPS at 1080p drops to 194 at 1440p (36.2% reduction) and then to 102 at 4K (66.4% reduction from 1080p). The High preset shows 236 FPS at 1080p, 150 at 1440p, and 79 at 4K, representing a 66.5% total drop from 1080p to 4K. Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates overall, with 156 FPS at 1080p falling to 99 at 1440p and just 52 at 4K, a 66.7% decline.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings—all hovering around 65-67% from 1080p to 4K—indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K figure (145 FPS) is less than half the 1080p figure (415 FPS) suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor well before 4K, despite the CPU's strong single-thread performance. At 1080p Low, the 415 FPS average is likely near the CPU's practical frame delivery limit for this game, as evidenced by the massive gap between Low and Ultra at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to this configuration, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,257 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 910, while multi-threaded results include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15,989 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 8,564.

In Fortnite, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 415 FPS average. This figure represents the practical ceiling for this processor in this game, as increasing resolution to 1440p at the same settings only drops the frame rate to 275 FPS—a substantial reduction that points to GPU involvement. The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18,683, places it near the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697, 0.1% faster) and Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730, 0.3% faster), while it edges out the Intel Core i3-14100F (18,519, 0.9% slower).

The data suggests that at 1080p, the i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to maintain high frame rates, with the 4.40 GHz boost clock providing the single-thread responsiveness Fortnite requires. However, the 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,873 compared to the single-thread score of 910 indicates that while the processor scales reasonably with threads, Fortnite's engine does not appear to fully utilize all 12 threads, as evidenced by the relatively modest frame rate differences between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (415 vs 304 FPS), which are more likely GPU-driven than CPU-driven.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. Its Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, includes 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, with base and boost clocks of 2,205 MHz and 2,505 MHz respectively. The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate position it as a high-end part, ranking in the 86th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54,247.

The RTX 4080's nearest rivals in the database are the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209, 0.1% faster), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, 1.1% faster), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, 2.6% faster), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, 2.7% faster). This clustering indicates the RTX 4080 sits in a competitive performance band, though its Fortnite results show it can push well beyond 200 FPS at 1440p High.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly apparent as resolution rises. At 4K, the gap between settings narrows proportionally less than at 1080p, with Ultra (52 FPS) achieving only 35.9% of Low's 145 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Fortnite's demands at any settings, so the frame rate differences across presets are driven by compute and memory bandwidth utilization rather than capacity limits. The 716.8 GB/s bandwidth supports the high frame rates observed at 1440p, where the GPU can render 194 FPS at Medium settings with minimums of 165 FPS and maximums of 223 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-12400 + RTX 4080 combination ranks 304th out of 3,700 tested combos for Fortnite, placing it in the 91.8th percentile of all configurations. This top-tier ranking reflects the RTX 4080's strong absolute performance, which compensates for the mid-range CPU in a game that appears to favor GPU throughput at higher resolutions.

The rank of 304 out of 3,700 means that 3,396 other combos score lower in this game, while 303 score higher. Given the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking against all GPUs, the combo's 91.8th percentile game-specific ranking suggests that Fortnite's performance characteristics align well with this pairing—the GPU's strengths are fully utilized while the CPU's weaknesses are partially masked by the game's scalability.

The delta between the CPU's overall percentile (72nd) and the combo's game-specific percentile (91.8th) indicates that Fortnite rewards GPU performance more heavily than average workloads. This is consistent with the measured FPS data showing that even at 1080p, the system maintains frame rates well above 200 FPS, which is more than sufficient for competitive play, while the 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS demonstrates the GPU's limits when fully stressed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends on the target display resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 236 FPS average, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors, while Ultra drops to 156 FPS—still smooth but with a 33.9% performance cost for marginal visual gains. The Medium preset at 304 FPS offers the best competitive advantage, though the 259 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable on very high refresh rate displays.

At 1440p, High settings produce 150 FPS average, which is suitable for 144 Hz displays, while Medium achieves 194 FPS with minimums of 165 FPS and maximums of 223 FPS. The Ultra preset at 99 FPS is playable but leaves performance on the table. For 4K gaming, the data shows that High settings at 79 FPS is the highest quality level that maintains a smooth experience, while Medium at 102 FPS provides better headroom with minimums of 87 FPS. The Low preset at 145 FPS is the only 4K configuration that reliably exceeds 120 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

The measured data suggests that Medium settings offer the best overall experience across all resolutions, as it provides the highest frame rates while still maintaining reasonable visual quality. At 1080p Medium, the 304 FPS average with 259 FPS minimums ensures consistent performance, while at 1440p Medium, the 194 FPS average with 165 FPS minimums remains well above typical display refresh rates. For 4K, Medium at 102 FPS is the recommended choice for those prioritizing smoothness over maximum detail, as the 87 FPS minimum still clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Fortnite?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 415, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: In the database's average benchmark scores, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080's 54,247, making the performance difference effectively negligible.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings at each resolution?

A: At 1920x1080, the minimum is 259 FPS; at 2560x1440, the minimum is 165 FPS; and at 3840x2160, the minimum is 87 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 15,989, while the single-core score is 2,257, representing a roughly 7.1x scaling factor across the 6 cores and 12 threads.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among tested configurations for Fortnite?

A: The combo ranks 304th out of 3,700 total tested combos, placing it in the top 8.2% of all configurations.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM on the RTX 4080 sufficient for Fortnite at 4K?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM limitations, as the 4K Ultra preset achieves 52 FPS and 4K High reaches 79 FPS, both of which are constrained by compute performance rather than memory capacity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 415 FPS, Medium settings achieve 304 FPS with minimums of 259 FPS and maximums of 350 FPS, High settings reach 236 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 156 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 62.4% reduction in average frame rate at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected reduction from increased pixel count. Low settings average 275 FPS, Medium settings produce 194 FPS with a range of 165 to 223 FPS, High settings achieve 150 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 99 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting level ranges from 33.7% (Low) to 36.5% (Ultra).

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080's limits become apparent. Low settings still manage an average of 145 FPS, Medium settings reach 102 FPS with minimums of 87 FPS and maximums of 118 FPS, High settings produce 79 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 52 FPS. The total scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra shows a 87.5% reduction in average frame rate, from 415 FPS down to 52 FPS, demonstrating the massive computational demands of 4K rendering in Fortnite despite the game's relatively modest visual complexity compared to other titles in the database.