Minecraft

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a highly playable experience across most of Minecraft’s settings, with the data showing a clear trend: 1080p Low hits the 300 FPS cap, while 4K Ultra drops to 39 FPS. This combination ranks in the 17th percentile of tested combos, indicating that while it is not a top-tier setup, it provides substantial headroom for the vast majority of play styles, with the CPU appearing to become a limiting factor only at the very lowest settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Minecraft?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 300, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings Satisfying the data's maximum.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average FPS of 39, which is the lowest recorded score in the dataset, indicating a demanding scenario for the GPU.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER a better performer than the AMD Radeon RX 580?

A: Yes, according to the average benchmark scores, the GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 580's score of 12928.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 scores 15989 points in the Cinebench R23 multi-core benchmark.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 238, while at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, it drops to 150, a difference of 88 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and size?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions and settings in Minecraft. The GPU's specifications, including a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, define its processing capability. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's textures at the tested settings. The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

The data shows a clear relationship between GPU load and performance. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 300 FPS, which is likely a cap and indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor. However, when moving to 4K Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 39, demonstrating that the GPU is fully saturated. The intermediate steps confirm this, with 1440p High hitting 119 FPS and 4K High at 62 FPSikuha. The GPU's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs handle the rendering workload, and its 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is the ceiling for complex scenes. The benchmark data positions this GPU in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 12986. It is closely matched with rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940, and the AMD Radeon RX 580, which scores 12928, with the GTX 1660 SUPER leading both by 0.4%. This indicates that its performance is competitive within its class, but the 4K Ultra result shows its limits in a demanding scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination holds a rank of 3085 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, specifically in the 17th percentile. This ranking suggests that while the combo performs adequately for many users, it is outclassed by a significant majority of other tested configurations. The data does not specify which combos rank higher or lower, but the percentile indicates that the hardware pairing is not optimized for achieving top-tier performance in this specific game.

Despite the lower ranking, the measured FPS data tells a more nuanced story. The combo can deliver 300 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a smooth experience, and it maintains above 60 FPS at 1440p High. The ranking reflects the overall competitive landscape of all tested hardware, including much more powerful CPUs and GPUs that can push higher frame rates at 4K Ultra settings. The rank is a global metric, while the measured FPS are specific to this particular combination. This means that while the combo is not a leader in the rankings, its practical performance in Minecraft is still very strong for lower and mid-range settings, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The low rank is likely influenced by the GPU's 53rd percentile standing and the CPU's 72nd percentile, which together do not create a top-tier gaming system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo excels. With Low settings, it hits an average of 300 FPS. Medium settings reduce the average to 238 FPS, with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 273 FPS. High settings produce an average of 189 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 118 FPS. This shows that even at the highest preset, the system maintains a frame rate well above the standard 60 FPS target, and at Low, it is likely hitting a game engine cap.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust. Low settings average 189 FPS, Medium averages 150 FPS with a range of 127-172 FPS, and High settings average 119 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to an average of 74 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant performance cost. At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle. High settings average 62 FPS, Medium settings average 78 FPS with a range of 67-90 FPS, and Low settings average 99 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding, producing an average of only 39 FPS. This breakdown shows that the system is capable of 60+ FPS at 4K on Medium and High, but Ultra settings are not viable for a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and performance goals. For 1080p users, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 118 FPS, ensuring a highly smooth experience while maximizing visual quality. The High preset at 189 FPS is also excellent, but Ultra offers more visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. For 1440p, the High preset is the best choice, providing an average of 119 FPS. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is still playable, but the drop from High is significant, and the higher frame rate from High is preferable for a more responsive feel.

At 4K, the recommendation is more nuanced. The Medium preset, with an average of 78 FPS, is the best balance of visual quality and performance, offering a smooth experience above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 62 FPS is also viable, but it is closer to the edge of playability. The Low preset at 99 FPS is the most performant, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as 39 FPS is below the standard for smooth gameplay and would likely result in a choppy experience. The data suggests that users should prioritize the Medium preset at 4K to get a good balance, while 1080p and 1440p users can push to High or Ultra with confidence.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 plays a crucial role in maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This processing power is reflected in its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257. The CPU's performance is also evidenced by its Geekbench multi-core score of 8564 and single-core score of 1848.

The data indicates that the CPU is capable of handling the game's logic and physics, as evidenced by the 300 FPS result at 1080p Low. At this setting, the GPU has less work to do, allowing the CPU to feed it frames quickly. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps with game data access. Its performance is rated in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. It is closely matched with rivals like the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18697, and the Intel Core i7-1355U, which scores 18730, with the i5-12400 trailing by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. This shows that while the CPU is not a top-tier part, it is a very capable mid-range processor. The CPU's role becomes less critical at 4K Ultra, where the GPU's limitations dominate, and the frame rate drops to 39 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is waiting on the GPU to render frames.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in the system's bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 300 FPS. When moving to 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 189, a 37% decrease. At 4K Low, the FPS further drops to 99, a 48% decrease from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the steepest drops occurring between 1440p and 4K. For example, at High settings, the FPS goes from 189 at 1080p to 119 at 1440p (a 37% drop), and then to 62 at 4K (a 48% drop). This indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The data also shows that the gap between settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 182 FPS (300 vs 118). At 1440p, the difference is 115 FPS (189 vs 74). At 4K, the difference is only 60 FPS (99 vs 39). This compression of frame rates at 4K suggests that the GPU is hitting its absolute limits, and the CPU's performance is no longer the primary constraint. The scaling shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a strong performer at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, its limitations become apparent, especially with higher settings. The combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, while 4K is only viable with lower settings presets.