Fortnite

Fortnite with the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER presents a fascinating case of CPU-GPU balance in a competitive Battle Royale. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but capable of exceptional frame rates at 1080p. This combination sits at rank 105 out of 1564 tested combos, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations tested, which signals a very strong overall pairing for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and telling. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 413.1 at 1080p to 274 at 1440p, then dramatically to 144 at 4K. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which clearly demonstrates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being saturated as pixel count quadruples.

However, the scaling pattern changes with settings. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 152.7 FPS at 1080p to 99.2 at 1440p and finally 52.5 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K here is 65.6%, nearly identical to the Low setting drop. This consistency suggests that the game's engine scales resolution demands linearly across settings, and the GPU remains the bottleneck throughout.

The 1440p results are particularly revealing. At High settings, 148.1 FPS at 1440p is only 36.8% lower than the 234.4 FPS at 1080p, indicating that the i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads are still feeding the GPU adequately at this resolution. But at 4K, the CPU has more headroom, as evidenced by the GPU being the clear constraint. The data implies that for 4K gaming, the i5-12400 is never the limiting factor in this pairing, while at 1080p, the CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 may start to constrain maximum frame rates.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for Fortnite at any resolution, as the game's textures are not exceptionally demanding. The memory clock runs at 1438 MHz, translating to 23 Gbps effective, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing.

The GPU's boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are relevant to the 4K Ultra result of 52.5 FPS. With 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, the card has substantial compute resources, yet Ultra settings at 4K still halve the frame rate compared to High settings. This suggests that Fortnite's Ultra preset includes effects that heavily tax the 112 ROPs and 320 TMUs. The pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s is being pushed hard at 4K Ultra.

Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores only 0.2% lower in average benchmark score, yet the RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a top-tier part. The 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die at 5 nm process node give it immense compute density, which translates directly to the 144 FPS average at 4K Low settings — a playable frame rate even at 4K for competitive play.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER overkill for Fortnite at 1080p?

A: The data shows 413.1 FPS average at 1080p Low and 234.4 FPS at 1080p High. These numbers far exceed typical 144Hz or 240Hz monitors, indicating the GPU has massive headroom at this resolution, and the i5-12400's single-thread performance becomes the more relevant constraint.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Fortnite?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, it averages 144 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. At 4K High, it drops to 78 FPS, still playable, but 4K Ultra at 52.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider smooth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, placing it 0.1% above the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-8700. It also outperforms the Intel Core i5-11600K by 0.4%. This places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The 2560x1440 results offer the best balance. At High settings, 148.1 FPS is smooth, and at Low settings, 274 FPS is exceptionally high. The 1440p resolution leverages the GPU's power while keeping the CPU relevant.

Q: Is there a big difference between Medium and High settings?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 301.7 FPS versus 234.4 FPS, a 22.3% drop from Medium to High. At 1440p, the drop is from 191.7 to 148.1 FPS, a 22.7% reduction, showing consistent scaling across resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank overall?

A: It ranks 105th out of 1564 tested combos, putting it in the top 6.7% of all configurations. This indicates excellent performance, though the GPU's 88th percentile and CPU's 77th percentile suggest the pairing is well-matched.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the i5-12400 and RTX 4080 SUPER produce exceptional results. Low settings yield an average of 413.1 FPS, Medium delivers 301.7 FPS, High achieves 234.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 152.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 63% reduction, indicating that the Ultra preset introduces significant rendering load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 274 FPS at Low, 191.7 FPS at Medium, 148.1 FPS at High, and 99.2 FPS at Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly 33-35%, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 77.8%, showing that the GPU scales efficiently but the CPU begins to matter more.

At 3840x2160, the results are 144 FPS at Low, 98.8 FPS at Medium, 78 FPS at High, and 52.5 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is 21% (98.8 to 78 FPS), while the gap between High and Ultra is 32.7% (78 to 52.5 FPS). This suggests that Ultra settings at 4K push the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 105 out of 1564 places this configuration in the top 6.7% of all tested combos in Fortnite. This is a strong result, but the CPU's 77th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 88th percentile suggests the i5-12400 is the weaker link in this pairing. The data implies that a higher-end CPU might push this combo even higher, but the i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz are sufficient for most Fortnite scenarios.

The i5-12400's nearest rival, the Core i7-9700, scores nearly identically at 19831 versus 19850, a 0.1% delta. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, this combo would perform almost exactly the same as one with the i7-9700. However, the RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rival, the RX 6900 XT, is 0.2% slower, which could slightly favor this NVIDIA card in GPU-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The data strongly suggests that High settings at 1440p offer the best experience. At 148.1 FPS, this provides excellent visual fidelity while maintaining frame rates well above the 144Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors. For competitive play, 1080p Low at 413.1 FPS is unmatched, but this may exceed monitor capabilities.

At 4K, Low settings at 144 FPS are surprisingly playable and represent the best choice for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals. Medium at 4K (98.8 FPS) is a good middle ground for those wanting better graphics without sacrificing too much smoothness. Ultra settings should be avoided at 4K, as 52.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, and even 1440p Ultra at 99.2 FPS is less smooth than 1440p High.

For most users, 1440p High at 148.1 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a 77.8% pixel increase over 1080p while maintaining frame rates that are 36.8% lower than 1080p High — a trade-off that visual quality enthusiasts will appreciate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache is substantial for a mid-range part. The CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and passmark_single_thread score of 3456 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for Fortnite's game logic and physics.

The CPU's cinebench_r23_multicore score of 15935 shows it can handle multi-threaded workloads, but Fortnite is not heavily multi-threaded. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5873 versus the 3dmark_2_threads score of 1692 reveals that scaling beyond 2 threads is modest, and the CPU's performance is driven primarily by single-thread speed.

At 1080p Low, the 413.1 FPS result suggests the CPU is still keeping up, but the 63% drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution (413.1 to 152.7 FPS) is likely due to the GPU being the bottleneck at Ultra. The i5-12400's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its 0.1% delta over the i7-9700 indicate that this processor is well-positioned for this game, but it is not the star of this pairing — the RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile is the primary driver of the 105th overall combo rank.