Fortnite

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D presents a striking contrast in Fortnite: a mid-range CPU from 2022 working alongside a flagship GPU from 2025. The benchmark data shows this combination produces very high frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the relationship between the components shifts dramatically depending on the settings and resolution chosen. At lower settings, the CPU becomes the primary driver of performance, while at higher settings and resolutions, the GPU takes over. This analysis breaks down the measured results, provides settings guidance, and explains how each component influences the final frame rates you can expect.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The peak average frame rate recorded is 418 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is significantly higher than the 285 FPS average at the same resolution on High settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival in the GPU benchmark database?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76904, which is 1.1% lower. The RTX 5090 D also holds a 1.6% advantage over the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 78940.

Q: What is the performance gap between the i5-12400F and its closest competitor?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19039, putting it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, scores 19047, representing a negligible 0% difference. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, which is 0.1% lower than the i5-12400F.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D support modern graphics APIs relevant to Fortnite?

A: Yes, the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This includes access to the feature set required by Fortnite's current rendering paths.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from Low to Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 332 on Low settings to 120 on Ultra settings. This represents a 212 FPS decrease, or roughly a 64% reduction in average frame rate when moving to the highest quality preset.

Q: What is the combined rank of this specific CPU and GPU pairing in the game's test database?

A: The combo ranks 34th out of 2740 total tested combinations in Fortnite. This places it in the top 1.2% of all tested pairings, indicating a very high level of overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and raw frame rate. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest average FPS at 418, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, even the High preset at 1080p produces 285 FPS, which remains well above the refresh rate of most high-end displays.

For a balanced experience, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 367 FPS average, which is only 51 FPS less than Low but offers noticeably better visuals. At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 234 FPS average, which is still exceptionally smooth and represents a significant improvement over High's 181 FPS. The Medium preset also provides the only measured minimum FPS data points, showing 312 FPS at 1080p and 199 FPS at 1440p, indicating stable frame pacing.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS average, which may not be sufficient for fast-paced Battle Royale gameplay. The High preset at 4K offers a more playable 96 FPS average, but the Low preset at 175 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. For 4K gaming, the data suggests using High settings to balance visual quality with the 96 FPS average, or dropping to Low if competitive performance is the priority.

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is not linear. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 285 at 1080p to 181 at 1440p (a 36% reduction), then to 96 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). This indicates the GPU is becoming increasingly burdened at higher resolutions. The Low preset shows a different pattern, with 418 FPS at 1080p dropping to 332 at 1440p (21% reduction) and 175 at 4K (47% reduction from 1440p), suggesting a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU's single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1680 and Geekbench single-core score of 1964. In Fortnite, which relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and physics, this is a critical factor.

The multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant. The CPU scores 12380 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5912 in 3dmark_max_threads. Fortnite can utilize multiple cores for rendering tasks, but the data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios tested here. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 418 FPS, which is likely near the practical limit for this CPU. The fact that the frame rate increases from 367 FPS at Medium to 418 FPS at Low at 1080p indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach very high frame rates.

The CPU's cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This is sufficient for Fortnite's working set, though the game's performance at lower settings suggests that CPU cache and memory latency play a role in maintaining high frame rates. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured data does not specify which memory type was used in the test.

The i5-12400F's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is above average but not top-tier. In the context of this GPU pairing, the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings, where the 418 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to process game state updates rather than the GPU's rendering capacity. At 4K Ultra, the CPU's role diminishes, and the GPU becomes the dominant factor.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 34 out of 2740 tested combos in Fortnite. This places the pairing in the top 1.24% of all tested configurations, indicating exceptional performance for the game. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all measured settings and resolutions.

The high rank is primarily driven by the GPU's enormous rendering capability. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the i5-12400F's 73rd percentile CPU ranking, creates a system that is heavily weighted toward graphics performance. In Fortnite, which can be CPU-bound at lower settings, this pairing still manages to achieve frame rates that are competitive with much more expensive CPU configurations.

The 2740 tested combos include a wide range of hardware, from budget to enthusiast. A rank of 34 means this pairing outperforms the vast majority of tested systems. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked systems is likely due to the CPU's limitations at very high frame rates, as the GPU has more than enough power to render Fortnite at any resolution. For context, the nearest CPU rivals in the benchmark database—the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and Intel Core 3 201E—have nearly identical average scores, indicating that the i5-12400F's performance is well-understood and consistent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with 21760 shading units and 680 TMUs. Its FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS places it firmly in the flagship category.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 77712 confirm its position near the top of the performance hierarchy. Its closest rivals in the database—the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and RX 6850M XT—are mobile GPUs with lower scores, highlighting the RTX 5090 D's desktop-class performance advantage. The 32 GB of VRAM is far more than Fortnite requires, ensuring no memory-related bottlenecks at any resolution or settings combination.

The GPU's role in Fortnite becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high (418 FPS at Low) that the GPU is likely not fully utilized, and the CPU is the limiting factor. At 1440p, the GPU begins to take on more work, with frame rates dropping to 332 FPS at Low and 120 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant bottleneck, with frame rates dropping to 175 FPS at Low and 63 FPS at Ultra.

The RTX 5090 D's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is particularly relevant at 4K Ultra settings, where the demand for texture data is highest. The 32 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even the highest quality textures can be stored locally, avoiding any potential stuttering from memory swapping. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it can fully leverage Fortnite's modern rendering features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 418 FPS, while Medium settings yield 367 FPS with a minimum of 312 FPS and maximum of 422 FPS. High settings drop to 285 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 188 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 230 FPS, showing a significant impact from settings changes.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings produce 332 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS and maximum of 269 FPS. High settings yield 181 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 120 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 212 FPS, similar to the 1080p difference.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings produce 175 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 123 FPS with a minimum of 105 FPS and maximum of 142 FPS. High settings yield 96 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 63 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 112 FPS, which is smaller than at lower resolutions because the GPU is already heavily loaded.

The Medium preset stands out as the only setting with complete min/max data at all three resolutions. The minimum FPS values at Medium are 312 FPS at 1080p, 199 FPS at 1440p, and 105 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all above 100 FPS, indicating that even in the most demanding scenes, the combo maintains playable frame rates. The maximum FPS values at Medium are 422 at 1080p, 269 at 1440p, and 142 at 4K.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a 36% reduction in average FPS, from 285 to 181. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 47% reduction, from 181 to 96. This indicates that the GPU's rendering load increases non-linearly with resolution, with 4K being particularly demanding. At Low settings, the scaling is more moderate: 418 to 332 (21% reduction) from 1080p to 1440p, and 332 to 175 (47% reduction) from 1440p to 4K.