Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 133.6 FPS average, which falls to 89.2 FPS at 1440p Ultra—a 33% reduction—and then drops further to 46.7 FPS at 4K Ultra, representing a 65% decline from the 1080p figure. This scaling behavior indicates that at 4K, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT becomes the primary limiting component, as the pixel throughput demand overwhelms even this high-end GPU's 644.6 GB/s memory bandwidth.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 279.8 FPS average, which falls to 181 FPS at 1440p Low (35% drop) and then to 94.9 FPS at 4K Low (66% drop from 1080p). The consistency of the percentage drops across presets—roughly 33-35% from 1080p to 1440p and 63-66% from 1080p to 4K—suggests that resolution scaling is the dominant factor regardless of graphics settings. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs of the RX 9070 XT must process increasingly larger frame buffers.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution reveals the GPU headroom available. At 1080p, the spread between Low (279.8 FPS) and Ultra (133.6 FPS) is 146.2 FPS, indicating that the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU even at the highest settings. At 4K, the spread narrows to 48.2 FPS (94.9 Low vs 46.7 Ultra), which further confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K—the additional pixel load from Ultra settings costs more relative performance when the GPU is already saturated. The data shows that 1440p represents the sweet spot for this game with this combo, where the GPU still has sufficient bandwidth to maintain high frame rates while the visual quality uplift from higher resolutions is meaningful.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 485 out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 72nd percentile (calculated from the rank data). This is a strong showing that positions this combo in the upper tier of tested configurations, though not at the very top. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing: the i5-12400 provides solid single-thread performance with its 4.40 GHz boost clock, while the RX 9070 XT handles the graphical workload with its 2970 MHz boost clock and 16 GB of GDDR6 memory.

The CPU's benchmark scores contextualize this ranking. The i5-12400 achieves an average benchmark score of 19,850, placing it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (avg score 19,831, deltaPct 0.1%) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (avg score 19,894, deltaPct -0.2%), showing that the i5-12400 is statistically tied with these older i7 parts in synthetic workloads. This CPU performance level is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RX 9070 XT in most scenarios, though the 4K results suggest the GPU is the limiting factor.

For the GPU, the RX 9070 XT scores an average of 39,647 across all benchmarks, placing it at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database—AMD Radeon Pro 575 (avg score 39,703, deltaPct -0.1%), NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (avg score 39,568, deltaPct 0.2%), and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (avg score 39,879, deltaPct -0.6%)—are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the RX 9070 XT sits in a tightly contested performance band. The combination of a 77th-percentile CPU with an 82nd-percentile GPU yields a 72nd-percentile combo ranking, which suggests that the pairing is well-matched for this title, with no single component dragging down the overall result.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the strongest choice. At High settings, the combo delivers 117.8 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining high visual quality. 4K at High produces 62.2 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for frame drops.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 133.6 at 1080p Ultra to 46.7 at 4K Ultra, representing a 65% reduction in frame rate. This substantial loss indicates that 4K Ultra is not viable for competitive play with this combo.

Q: Does the RX 9070 XT bottleneck the i5-12400 in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 279.8 FPS average, which suggests the CPU can feed frames quickly. However, at 4K Ultra with 46.7 FPS average, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The bottleneck shifts from CPU-limited at low resolutions to GPU-limited at 4K.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 scores 19,850 average, which is 0.1% ahead of the Core i7-9700 (19,831) and 0.2% behind the Core i7-8700 (19,894). The differences are within noise, meaning the i5-12400 performs essentially on par with these older i7 processors.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Medium, the combo averages 135.4 FPS, while High produces 117.8 FPS. The 17.6 FPS difference (13% reduction) buys improved visual fidelity, making High a reasonable trade-off for most users.

Q: Is the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K in this game?

A: The measured data shows playable performance at 4K High (62.2 FPS) and 4K Medium (70.9 FPS), indicating the 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this title's demands at 4K resolution, though Ultra settings drop to 46.7 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low preset produces 279.8 FPS average, which is the maximum measured value in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 209.6 FPS, High at 178.6 FPS, and Ultra at 133.6 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 52% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but still leaves all presets comfortably above 120 FPS for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the gaps between presets widen proportionally. Low averages 181 FPS, Medium delivers 135.4 FPS, High produces 117.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 89.2 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 91.8 FPS (51% reduction), which mirrors the 1080p pattern. The 1440p results show that even at Ultra settings, the combo maintains frame rates above 85 FPS, making this resolution viable for demanding visual settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low averages 94.9 FPS, Medium produces 70.9 FPS, High delivers 62.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 46.7 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra reduction is 48.2 FPS (51% reduction), consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute numbers are much lower. Only the Low preset maintains a 90+ FPS average at 4K, while Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The data indicates that 4K requires careful settings selection: High at 62.2 FPS is borderline playable, while Medium at 70.9 FPS provides a safer margin above 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to this pairing, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture CPU, built on Intel's 10 nm process, delivers strong single-thread performance as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,249. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample capacity for game data, and the dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support ensures flexible platform compatibility.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. The 279.8 FPS average at 1080p Low indicates that the i5-12400 can sustain high frame generation rates, with its 12 threads efficiently handling the game's physics and AI workloads. The passmark multithread score of 18,747 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,935 demonstrate that the CPU has sufficient headroom for modern game threading models. At 1080p Ultra, the 133.6 FPS result is still high, suggesting that the CPU is not the limiting factor even at maximum settings.

The i5-12400's 3DMark scores show a scaling pattern from 1,692 (2 threads) to 4,745 (8 threads) to 5,890 (max threads), indicating that the CPU benefits from additional threads up to 8, after which gains plateau. This aligns with a game like Minimum that likely uses 6-8 threads effectively. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,850, places it comfortably above the median, ensuring that this processor will not bottleneck the RX 9070 XT in most gaming scenarios, particularly at 1440p and above where the GPU takes on more responsibility.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly favors the High preset at 2560x1440 as the best overall experience. At this configuration, the combo delivers 117.8 FPS average, which provides smooth gameplay with substantial headroom above 60 FPS while maintaining high visual fidelity. The jump from Medium (135.4 FPS) to High (117.8 FPS) costs only 13% performance but likely delivers meaningful visual improvements, making High the recommended choice for most users.

For players with 1080p displays, Ultra settings at 133.6 FPS average are the clear recommendation, as the combo maintains triple-digit frame rates even at maximum settings. The 1080p Ultra configuration provides 146.2 FPS more than 4K Ultra, highlighting the resolution's advantage. If competitive frame rates are the priority at 1080p, the Low preset at 279.8 FPS delivers the highest possible performance, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra 146.2 FPS over Ultra.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts to Medium settings, which produce 70.9 FPS average. This configuration provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, unlike High (62.2 FPS) which is borderline, and Ultra (46.7 FPS) which falls below playable thresholds for most users. The 4K Medium preset strikes the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, offering 24.2 FPS more than Ultra while maintaining reasonable graphical fidelity. For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate at 4K, High at 62.2 FPS is viable, but the data suggests that Medium is the safer choice for consistent performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, equipped with the Navi 48 chip built on TSMC's 4 nm process. This RDNA 4.0 architecture GPU features 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, running at a boost clock of 2970 MHz. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for maintaining performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability and 380.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, positioning it at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs.

The GPU's measured performance in Minimum reveals its capabilities and limitations. At 1080p Low, the 279.8 FPS average demonstrates that the GPU can output frames at extremely high rates when not pixel-bound. However, the scaling to 4K Ultra at 46.7 FPS shows the GPU's throughput limits when processing 8.3 million pixels per frame. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7,260 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 184,026 indicate strong API-agnostic performance, which translates well to this game's rendering demands.

The GPU's memory subsystem plays a critical role in the 4K results. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the game's textures and buffers fit within available memory, preventing stuttering from memory overflow. The 644.6 GB/s bandwidth allows the GPU to feed its 4,096 shading units efficiently, though the 4K Ultra result of 46.7 FPS suggests that raw compute throughput becomes the limiting factor at extreme resolutions. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking, with an average benchmark score of 39,647, confirms that this is a high-end part capable of delivering excellent performance in most scenarios, with the caveat that 4K Ultra in demanding titles will require settings optimization.