Fortnite

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent Fortnite experience across the board, but the data reveals distinct performance ceilings depending on resolution and quality preset. This combination ranks in the 83rd percentile of all tested combos, placing it solidly in the upper tier for competitive and high-refresh-rate play. The following analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) data to determine where this system excels and where its limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the rate of that scaling depends heavily on the selected settings preset. At Low settings, the system is overwhelmingly GPU-bound, providing the cleanest look at raw rasterization performance. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 376.8 to 236, a reduction of roughly 37%. The jump to 3840x2160 at Low yields 125.4 FPS, which is a further drop of about 47% from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is typical of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits, as the RTX 4070 SUPER's 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 1980 MHz base clock are taxed by the increasing pixel count.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar in shape but slightly less severe in percentage terms. The system produces 262.7 FPS at 1080p, 168.5 FPS at 1440p, and 89.6 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency between Low and Medium suggests that the additional visual effects at Medium are not yet saturating the GPU's compute resources, and the bottleneck remains largely on the graphics card.

The High preset tells a more interesting story. At 1080p, the average FPS is 206, which is 21.6% lower than the Medium preset's 262.7 FPS. At 1440p, High produces 127.3 FPS compared to Medium's 168.5 FPS, a 24.4% reduction. The gap narrows slightly at 4K, where High yields 70 FPS versus Medium's 89.6 FPS, a 21.9% difference. This pattern indicates that the CPU (Intel Core i5-12400F) is starting to play a more significant role at lower resolutions with higher settings, as the data shows the FPS penalty from Medium to High is not purely proportional to the GPU load increase.

Ultra settings are where the system struggles to maintain high refresh rates. At 1080p, Ultra produces 135 FPS, which is 34.5% lower than High. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 88.4 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 43.7 FPS — below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider playable for a smooth experience. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra shows a 50.6% drop, indicating that the combination of extreme visual fidelity and high resolution is overwhelming the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 7168 shading units.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p with Low through High settings, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary limiter, as the FPS scales predictably with resolution. However, at 4K with Ultra settings, the system becomes heavily GPU-bound, and the i5-12400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep up, but the GPU simply cannot render the frame fast enough.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is the High preset at 2560x1440 resolution. This combination yields 127.3 FPS, which is well above the 120 Hz refresh rate that many gaming monitors support, while still providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium. The step from Medium (168.5 FPS) to High (127.3 FPS) at 1440p costs 24.4% of the frame rate, but the visual fidelity gains in Fortnite's building and combat scenarios are often worth the trade-off for players who are not competing at the highest levels.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear winner, producing 376.8 FPS. This is 43% higher than the High preset at the same resolution, and it minimizes input latency and provides the smoothest possible motion. The Low preset also gives the system headroom for background tasks, as the i5-12400F is not fully stressed at this settings level. At 1440p, Low still delivers 236 FPS, which is more than enough for any current high-refresh-rate display.

The Medium preset is a reasonable middle ground for players who want some visual polish without sacrificing too much performance. At 1080p, it produces 262.7 FPS, and at 1440p, it produces 168.5 FPS. This preset is recommended for players with 144 Hz monitors who want a bit more visual detail than Low but do not need the absolute maximum frame rate.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K play, as the 43.7 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target. At 1440p, Ultra's 88.4 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive in fast-paced fights. At 1080p, Ultra's 135 FPS is acceptable, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is often subtle in Fortnite's art style, making the performance cost (a 34.5% drop) hard to justify.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark data shows strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 9138. The processor's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core provide ample bandwidth for game logic and asset streaming.

In Fortnite, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and with lower graphical settings. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 376.8 FPS, which is 60% higher than the 4K Low result of 125.4 FPS. This massive gap at the same settings is primarily due to the GPU being the bottleneck at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU is better able to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The i5-12400F's 12 threads are sufficient for Fortnite's engine, which is not heavily multi-threaded but benefits from having a few fast cores.

The processor's single-thread performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 909, is critical for Fortnite's frame pacing. The data shows that at 1080p High, the FPS drops to 206 from 376.8 at Low, a 45% reduction. This is not purely a GPU limitation; the CPU's ability to process the increased draw calls at High settings is a contributing factor. The i5-12400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz is adequate, but it is not the top-tier performer in the CPU benchmark rankings, as indicated by its 77th percentile vs all CPUs.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 265th out of 1564 tested combinations in Fortnite, placing it in the top 17% of all systems. This is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, and it indicates that the pairing is well-balanced for this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the overall benchmark database include the Intel Core i7-8700K (0.1% faster average score), Intel Core i5-1335U (0.3% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (0.7% slower), and AMD EPYC 7773X (1.3% slower). These deltas are all within 1.3%, meaning the i5-12400F's processing power is essentially equivalent to these alternatives in synthetic tests. However, in Fortnite specifically, the combo's rank suggests that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting, as the CPU is not a bottleneck at the tested settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern: the NVIDIA RTX A6000 is 0.2% faster on average, the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X is 1.4% slower. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores its position as a high-end performer, and the measured FPS data confirms that it is capable of driving high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p.

The combo rank of 265 out of 1564 is a practical indicator that this system will handle Fortnite at competitive settings without issue. Players can expect to be in the top tier of performance, though there are faster combinations available for those who prioritize maximum FPS over cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a 5 nm Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It features 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 56 ray tracing cores and 224 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz, with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and it is paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Fortnite, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 43.7 FPS, which is a 65% drop from the 4K Low result of 125.4 FPS. This dramatic decrease is attributable to the GPU's compute load, as the 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is stretched thin by the combination of 4K pixel count and Ultra-quality effects such as shadows, reflections, and anti-aliasing.

The GPU's memory capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for Fortnite at all tested settings, as the game is not particularly VRAM-hungry compared to other modern titles. However, the 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are more critical. At 4K, the data shows a steep drop-off from Medium (89.6 FPS) to High (70 FPS), a 21.9% reduction. This is likely due to the increased memory traffic required for higher-quality textures and post-processing effects, which puts pressure on the memory subsystem.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's benchmark scores reflect its strong rasterization performance. A Passmark G3D score of 29995 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 position it as a capable 1440p and entry-level 4K GPU. In Fortnite, the data confirms that it is well-suited for 1440p High settings, where it achieves 127.3 FPS, and it can handle 4K Low at 125.4 FPS, making it a versatile choice for players who prefer frame rate over visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with High settings produces 127.3 FPS, which is above the 144 Hz threshold. For a 1080p 144 Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 262.7 FPS provides ample headroom, while Low at 376.8 FPS is even smoother.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the system produces 125.4 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it produces 89.6 FPS. At 4K High, the frame rate drops to 70 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 43.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in Fortnite?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at most settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 376.8 FPS, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. However, at 1080p High, the FPS drops to 206, which is a 45% reduction, suggesting that the CPU's single-thread performance is starting to limit the GPU at higher settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 265th out of 1564 tested combinations in Fortnite, placing it in the top 17% of all systems. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low produces 236 FPS, while Ultra produces 88.4 FPS. This represents a 62.5% reduction in frame rate when switching from Low to Ultra, which is a significant trade-off for improved visuals.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of VRAM sufficient for Fortnite?

A: Yes, the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Fortnite at all tested resolutions and settings. The game does not appear to be VRAM-limited, as the FPS drops are more closely correlated with the GPU's compute load and memory bandwidth.