Minecraft

Minecraft’s performance with the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER reveals a system that is heavily skewed toward high refresh rates at every resolution. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high, indicating that this combination never struggles to maintain playable performance, even at the most demanding settings. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops proportionally, but it remains far above the threshold for smooth gameplay. This is a pairing that prioritizes raw speed, making it a strong candidate for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides a clear picture of how this system scales under load. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate is 656 FPS, which is a staggering number that suggests the CPU is the primary limiting factor at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low settings, the average drops to 447 FPS, a decrease of 209 FPS. When pushing to 3840x2160, the average falls further to 234 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that while the GPU is becoming more involved at higher resolutions, the CPU still has enough headroom to keep frame rates extremely high.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the average is 445 FPS, which drops to 281 FPS at 1440p and then to 147 FPS at 4K. The frame rate reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 164 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 134 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is starting to take on more work as resolution increases, but the overall performance remains consistently high. The 4K High result of 147 FPS is still well above the 144Hz refresh rate common on many monitors, meaning this setting is entirely viable for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming.

With Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p average is 278 FPS, which is already a significant reduction from the High preset. At 1440p, the average drops to 176 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 92 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 37%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 48%. This indicates that at Ultra settings, the GPU is becoming the dominant bottleneck, particularly at 4K, where the frame rate dips below the 100 FPS mark for the first time in this dataset. The scaling behavior confirms that this combo is CPU-bound at lower resolutions and becomes progressively more GPU-bound as pixel count increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications are directly reflected in the benchmark results, where the GPU's ability to handle high pixel counts is evident. The 4K Ultra result of 92 FPS is a direct consequence of the GPU's compute capabilities, as the 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units are pushed to their limits.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for Minecraft at all tested settings, as the game is not particularly memory-hungry at these resolutions. The data shows that the frame rate drops are more closely tied to the GPU's raw processing power rather than memory limitations. For instance, the transition from Medium to High at 4K results in a drop from 185 FPS to 147 FPS, which is a 38 FPS decrease. This is a more significant drop than the transition from Low to Medium, which only sees a 49 FPS decrease (from 234 to 185 FPS). This suggests that the higher settings are increasing the GPU's workload in a non-linear fashion, possibly due to more complex shaders and draw calls.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 83 places it in the upper echelon of all graphics cards, and its average benchmark score of 43223 is competitive. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 SUPER is virtually tied with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (deltaPct of -0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct of -0.1%). This indicates that while the card is powerful, its performance is closely matched by other high-end offerings. In Minecraft specifically, the GPU's role is to ensure that frame rates remain high even at 4K, and the data shows it does so effectively, though it does cede the CPU-bound performance crown at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces the highest average frame rate at 656 FPS. If you prioritize raw speed, this is the optimal configuration.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming without significant compromises?

A: Yes, the benchmark results indicate that at 4K with High settings, the average frame rate is 147 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard. Even at Ultra settings, the average remains at 92 FPS, which is still playable.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 43223 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 43262 (deltaPct of -0.1%). It is also within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, which scores 43667 (deltaPct of -1%).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data strongly suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 656 FPS, which is an extremely high number that the GPU alone cannot drive. The Intel Core i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is likely the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured FPS range at 1440p Medium is from 301 FPS as the minimum to 407 FPS as the maximum, with an average of 354 FPS. This indicates a relatively tight range, suggesting stable performance without major frame time spikes.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues in Minecraft?

A: No, the benchmark data shows no indication of VRAM-related performance degradation. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, which suggests that 12 GB is more than adequate for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is ranked 604 out of 3710 tested combos in Minecraft. This places it in the top 16.3% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the sheer number of possible hardware pairings. The high ranking is likely due to the balanced nature of the two components, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance (evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 909) complements the GPU's high throughput.

The CPU itself has a percentile ranking of 73 against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which scores 19047 (deltaPct of 0%). The Intel Core 3 201E is slightly faster with a score of 19056 (deltaPct of -0.1%), while the Intel Core i5-1335U is marginally slower at 18982 (deltaPct of 0.3%). This places the i5-12400F in a tight cluster of similarly performing CPUs, meaning the combo's rank is heavily influenced by the GPU.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 83 is higher than the CPU's, which suggests that the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data, which shows the GPU becoming the bottleneck at 4K Ultra. The combo's rank of 604 reflects the overall balance, but it could be higher if the CPU were slightly more powerful. However, for Minecraft specifically, the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p indicate that the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep the GPU fed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p users with a 144Hz monitor, the High settings preset offers an average of 445 FPS, which is more than enough to saturate the display. Even the Ultra preset at 278 FPS provides a massive headroom, so users can choose Ultra for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The Medium preset at 561 FPS is a middle ground, but the jump to High is relatively small (a 116 FPS drop) and likely worth it for the visual improvements.

At 1440p, the High settings preset delivers an average of 281 FPS, which is ideal for 240Hz monitors. For those with a 144Hz display, the Ultra preset at 176 FPS is the best choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over High while still maintaining a frame rate above the refresh rate. The Medium preset at 354 FPS is also viable, but it leaves performance on the table that could be used for higher settings.

For 4K gaming, the High settings preset is the clear winner, with an average of 147 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS standard and even supports 120Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 92 FPS is still playable, but it represents a 55 FPS drop from High, which is a significant sacrifice for the extra visual details. The Medium preset at 185 FPS is also an option, but High provides a better balance of performance and quality. The Low preset at 234 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where every frame counts, as the visual downgrade is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is nothing short of exceptional across all settings. The Low preset yields an average of 656 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows with an average of 561 FPS, and it has a recorded range of 477 to 645 FPS, indicating very stable frame times. The High preset dips to an average of 445 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 278 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in settings costs roughly 100 FPS or more, but even the lowest score at Ultra is far beyond what most monitors can display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain incredibly high. The Low preset averages 447 FPS, which is still above the 1080p High result. The Medium preset averages 354 FPS, with a range of 301 to 407 FPS. The High preset drops to 281 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 176 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of roughly 32-34% across all settings, which is a reasonable penalty for the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still impressive but begins to show the GPU's limits. The Low preset averages 234 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 1440p Low result of 447 FPS. The Medium preset averages 185 FPS, with a range of 157 to 213 FPS. The High preset drops to 147 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 92 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 142 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than at lower resolutions, highlighting the GPU's increasing workload. The Medium preset's minimum of 157 FPS is notably higher than the Ultra average, suggesting that Medium provides a more consistent experience at 4K.