Minecraft: Java Edition

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Minecraft: Java Edition among tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1528th out of 1727 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower portion of the field.

Q: How much does the GPU's average benchmark score lag behind its closest rival?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score is 14286, which is 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (score 14389), while sitting 0.2% ahead of both the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (scores 14315 and 14314, respectively).

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches an average of 297.7 FPS. This is the top measured result across all resolutions and settings in the data.

Q: Does the CPU outperform or underperform its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12400's average benchmark score is 19850, which is 0.1% above the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% above the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771), but 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894).

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured results?

A: The lowest average is 38.9 FPS, achieved at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only sub-40 FPS result in the entire dataset.

Q: How does the GPU's memory bandwidth compare to its bus width?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has a 192-bit memory bus with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This combination supports the frame rates observed across the tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using a 12 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 284 mm² containing 6,600 million transistors. Its base clock runs at 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, while memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The card's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Minecraft: Java Edition's demands even at higher resolutions.

The GPU's shading units number 1408, paired with 88 texture mapping units and 48 ROPs. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance sits at 5.027 TFLOPS, with FP16 reaching 10.05 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). These raw specs translate into the measured frame rates, where the card demonstrates its capability across all four settings presets.

Benchmark results show the GTX 1660 SUPER scoring 12699 in Passmark G3D and 5076 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278. Its percentile ranking places it at 55, meaning it outperforms 55% of all GPUs in the database. The nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 trails by 0.2%, the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics also trails by 0.2%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT leads by 0.7%. This narrow margin suggests that in Minecraft's rendering pipeline, the GTX 1660 SUPER's performance is competitive with these similarly-scored alternatives.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals how frame rates scale from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern indicates where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the combo delivers 297.7 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 191.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls further to 98.4 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

For Medium settings, the progression goes from 238.5 FPS at 1080p, to 151.7 FPS at 1440p, down to 80.1 FPS at 4K — a 66% drop. High settings show 186 FPS at 1080p, 118.2 FPS at 1440p, and 59.6 FPS at 4K, a 68% decrease. Ultra settings follow the steepest curve: 118.1 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 38.9 FPS at 4K, representing a 67% decline.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings suggests a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. However, the high frame rates at 1080p — particularly the 297.7 FPS Low result — indicate that at lower resolutions, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant. The i5-12400's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 help sustain these elevated frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's 5.027 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor, especially under Ultra settings where the 38.9 FPS result shows the card struggling to maintain playable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its strongest results. Low settings deliver an average of 297.7 FPS, Medium reaches 238.5 FPS, High hits 186 FPS, and Ultra falls to 118.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 179.6 FPS, demonstrating that Minecraft's settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution. Even the Ultra preset maintains a frame rate well above typical display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally. Low settings average 191.5 FPS, Medium achieves 151.7 FPS, High records 118.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra narrows to 117.5 FPS, as the GPU begins to feel the increased pixel load. The 74 FPS Ultra result remains playable but shows the first signs of strain.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings still manage 98.4 FPS, Medium drops to 80.1 FPS, High falls to 59.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 38.9 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 59.5 FPS, less than half of the 1080p spread. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the dominant constraints, limiting the headroom that settings adjustments can provide. The 38.9 FPS Ultra result at 4K is the only measured value below 60 FPS, suggesting that users targeting 4K should avoid the highest preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1528 out of 1727 tested combinations places it in the bottom 12% of all systems evaluated for Minecraft: Java Edition. This positioning reflects the GPU's modest standing — its percentile of 55 means it sits just above the median of all GPUs, but the CPU's percentile of 77 indicates the processor is comparatively stronger. The mismatch between CPU and GPU capabilities becomes apparent in this ranking.

The i5-12400's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within 0.4% of its 19850 score. The Intel Core i7-9700 scores 19831 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core i7-8700 scores 19894 (0.2% ahead), the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX scores 19928 (0.4% ahead), and the Intel Core i5-11600K scores 19771 (0.4% behind). This tight clustering suggests that the CPU is not the primary factor limiting Minecraft performance for this combo.

On the GPU side, the GTX 1660 SUPER's average score of 14286 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals — all within 0.7% of each other. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT leads at 14389, while the AMD Radeon Vega 11 and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics both sit near 14315. The narrow deltas imply that swapping among these GPUs would produce similar Minecraft frame rates. The combo's low overall rank, despite respectable component scores, suggests that Minecraft's specific rendering workload does not favor this particular hardware pairing as strongly as it does others in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and its 65 W TDP keeps power demands modest.

Benchmark results show the i5-12400's strengths. Cinebench R23 multicore scores 15935, while single-core reaches 2249. Passmark results include 18747 for multithread, 3456 for single-thread, and 58366 for integer math. The 3DMark suite shows a single-thread score of 910, a 2-thread score of 1692, and a 16-thread score of 5873. These numbers indicate robust single-thread performance, which matters for Minecraft's primary game loop.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence appears most clearly at 1080p Low settings, where the combo hits 297.7 FPS. Such high frame rates require the processor to feed the GPU efficiently, and the i5-12400's 4.40 GHz boost clock and strong single-thread scores enable this. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the CPU's advantage diminishes. The data supports this interpretation: the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 199.3 FPS, a reduction that cannot be attributed to CPU limitations but rather to the GPU's pixel throughput at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of which preset offers the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver playable frame rates, but Ultra at 118.1 FPS gives the highest visual quality while still exceeding 100 FPS. Users prioritizing maximum smoothness might prefer Medium at 238.5 FPS, but the Ultra preset's 118.1 FPS is more than sufficient for most displays.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. Ultra drops to 74 FPS, which remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame drops become noticeable. High settings at 118.2 FPS provide a better balance, offering nearly the same visual fidelity as Ultra while maintaining a comfortable margin above 100 FPS. The 74 FPS Ultra result is acceptable for slower-paced content, but High is the safer choice for consistent performance.

For 3840x2160, the options narrow considerably. Low settings at 98.4 FPS are the only preset that stays above 90 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. Medium at 80.1 FPS is viable, while High at 59.6 FPS sits just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra at 38.9 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as the frame rate falls below playable levels for most users.

Across all resolutions, the data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience relative to visual quality. It maintains frame rates above 80 FPS even at 4K, while at 1080p and 1440p it delivers 238.5 and 151.7 FPS respectively. For users with 60 Hz displays, High at 4K achieves 59.6 FPS, which is borderline but workable. The overall best experience, balancing fidelity and performance, is High at 1440p with 118.2 FPS — a result that keeps the game smooth while preserving visual detail.