Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT pairing delivers a solid 1080p experience in Minimum, but the data shows you’ll need to make deliberate settings choices to keep frame rates high at higher resolutions. The measured results indicate a clear hierarchy: performance scales predictably with settings, and the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. This combination sits in the 71st percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 71% of the combos in the database for this title, though it falls short of the top tier.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows show that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 130 FPS with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS, which is a very smooth experience. The jump from Medium to High costs you 21 FPS on average (from 130 to 109), while the jump from Low to Medium only costs 40 FPS (from 170 to 130). This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot where you gain significant visual fidelity over Low without sacrificing the headroom needed for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds. Medium delivers 84 FPS average with a minimum of 71 FPS, which remains comfortably playable. High drops to 70 FPS average, and while still playable, it brings you closer to the edge of noticeable stutter. At 3840x2160, Medium is the only setting that keeps the average above 40 FPS, hitting 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS. High at 4K drops to 38 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 29 FPS, which is below the threshold most users consider acceptable for smooth gameplay.

The data suggests that Ultra should be avoided entirely for this combo. At 1080p, Ultra yields 83 FPS average, which is 47 FPS less than Medium. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 29 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra over High is steep: 26 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 9 FPS at 4K. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra is often subtle in fast-paced shooters, the frame rate loss is not justified. For the best experience, stick with Medium at 1080p or 1440p, and only consider High at 1080p if you have a high-refresh monitor and prefer sharper textures over guaranteed smoothness.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the defining component in this combo’s performance profile. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card delivers 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its clock speeds are substantial: a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. The card’s compute capabilities include 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s. These specifications translate into 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the difference between Low (170 FPS) and Ultra (83 FPS) is 87 FPS, showing that the GPU has plenty of headroom at lower resolutions. However, the scaling from 1080p to 4K is severe: at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 130 to 45, a 65% reduction. This indicates that the RX 6600 XT’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but become limiting factors at 4K.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. It scores 16461 in Passmark G3D and 7520 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a percentile rank of 70 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (0.7% faster), Intel Arc A350M (0.8% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.1% faster). This tells you that the RX 6600 XT is competitive with older high-end cards but not a top-tier performer. The data confirms that for Minimum, the GPU is the primary constraint at 1440p and above, where even Medium settings cannot guarantee 60 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides a strong foundation for this combo. It features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor has 18 MB of shared L3 cache, plus 80 KB of L1 and 1.25 MB of L2 per core. Its benchmark scores demonstrate solid multi-threaded performance: 15989 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6715 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with 2257 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 947 in Cinebench R20 single-core.

The CPU’s role in Minimum is less critical than the GPU, but it still matters at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 170 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates. The processor’s 3DMark scores support this: 910 in single-thread, 1692 in 2-thread, and 5890 in max-thread tests. The i5-12400 ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (-0.1%), Intel Core i7-1355U (-0.3%), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (-0.7%).

At 1080p, the gap between Low and Medium is 40 FPS (170 to 130), and between Medium and High is 21 FPS (130 to 109). This scaling suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at these settings, as the frame rate drops are consistent with GPU load increases. However, at 4K, the CPU becomes less relevant overall, since the GPU is clearly the limiting factor—the frame rates at all settings are below 60 FPS, indicating that the RX 6600 XT cannot keep up with the resolution demand regardless of CPU headroom. The i5-12400’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate for this game, which is a 2014 title and unlikely to stress modern multi-core processors.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2635 out of 3712 combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, which is surprising given the individual component scores. The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile and the GPU in the 70th percentile, yet the combo falls below the median performance level for this game. This discrepancy indicates that Minimum may be particularly demanding on the GPU at higher settings, or that other combos in the database feature more powerful graphics cards.

The combo’s rank of 2635 out of 3712 means that 1077 other configurations perform better. This is not a flattering position, but it reflects the reality that the RX 6600 XT is a mid-range card that struggles with the highest settings at 4K. The data shows that at 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 130 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 84 FPS, still very playable. But at 4K, even Low settings only achieve 59 FPS, and Medium drops to 45 FPS. This suggests that the combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, and its ranking would improve if only tested at those resolutions.

For context, the GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (0.7% faster) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.1% faster). This tells you that the RX 6600 XT performs similarly to a much older high-end card like the RTX 2080 SUPER, but lacks the VRAM and bandwidth for 4K. The CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 1% of its average score, indicating that the i5-12400 is well-matched with other mid-range processors. The combo’s overall rank is thus more a reflection of the GPU’s limitations at high resolutions than any CPU deficiency.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 170 FPS on Low, 130 FPS on Medium, 109 FPS on High, and 83 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, these numbers drop to 110, 84, 70, and 54 respectively. At 3840x2160, they fall to 59, 45, 38, and 29. This represents a dramatic scaling curve: going from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings reduces the average FPS from 130 to 45, a 65% decrease.

The scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by roughly 35-40%. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is even steeper, around 45-50%. This is consistent with the RX 6600 XT’s 8 GB VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient for 4K workloads. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only reach 59 FPS average suggests that the card’s compute power, not just its memory, is also a constraint.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 170 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require a capable CPU to maintain. Since the CPU’s benchmark scores are strong (15989 in Cinebench R23 multi-core), it can keep up with the GPU’s demands at 1080p. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows faster than the CPU’s, so the CPU’s influence on frame rates diminishes. At 4K, the CPU is essentially idle relative to the GPU’s struggle, as evidenced by the narrow FPS range (29-59) across all settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset delivers 130 FPS average with a minimum of 111 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. High drops to 109 FPS, while Low only offers a 40 FPS gain over Medium, making Medium the recommended choice.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 59 on Low settings, and Medium drops to 45 FPS. Ultra falls to 29 FPS. This indicates that 4K is not practical for this combo, as even Low settings cannot guarantee a smooth 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU is 0.7% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, 0.8% faster than the Intel Arc A350M, and 1.1% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER. This places it in a competitive mid-range position.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and above, as shown by the steep FPS drops with resolution. At 1080p, both components are adequate, but the CPU’s strong single-thread score of 2257 in Cinebench R23 ensures it does not hold back the GPU.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2635 out of 3712 combinations for Minimum, placing it in the lower-middle tier. This is despite the CPU ranking in the 72nd percentile and GPU in the 70th percentile, indicating that the GPU’s 4K performance drags down the overall score.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset if I have a high-refresh monitor?

A: No. At 1080p, Ultra yields 83 FPS average, which is 47 FPS less than Medium. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 54 FPS. The performance cost is too high for the visual gains, and Medium or High are better choices for maintaining high frame rates.