Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a highly capable 1080p experience in Minimum, but the data shows a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p, this combo is firmly in playable territory across all settings, with even the demanding Ultra preset maintaining an average above 90 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 34.4 FPS, indicating that the GTX 1080 Ti becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, despite the CPU’s strong 6-core, 12-thread configuration.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this hardware?*

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. All four settings presets at 1080p produce average frame rates above 90 FPS, with Low reaching 190.1 FPS. This provides the smoothest experience without sacrificing visual quality.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 93 FPS, and High achieves 80.8 FPS. However, the Ultra preset falls to 59.9 FPS, which is borderline for high-refresh-rate displays. Low settings at 1440p reach 124.2 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the GTX 1080 Ti and i5-12400?

A: The data suggests 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the combo produces 66 FPS. Medium drops to 53.2 FPS, High to 41.8 FPS, and Ultra to 34.4 FPS. The 11 GB VRAM and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth are not enough to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K with higher presets.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400’s average benchmark score of 19850 is statistically tied with its closest rivals. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K, while being 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-8700 and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX.

Q: What is the GPU’s standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 19402 is essentially identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (0% delta), 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 560X, and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN Xp. It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40m by 0.6%.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance of performance and quality at 1080p?

A: The High preset at 1080p is the standout choice, producing 124.3 FPS. This is 30.5 FPS higher than Ultra (93.8 FPS) while offering significantly better visuals than Medium (146.9 FPS) and Low (190.1 FPS).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for 1080p and 1440p but insufficient for 4K Ultra. The GPU’s base clock of 1481 MHz and boost clock of 1582 MHz, combined with 3584 shading units, drive its 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

Benchmark results reveal the GPU’s position: it ranks in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the GPU is not the limiting factor, but at 4K, its performance collapses. The transition from 1080p Low (190.1 FPS) to 4K Low (66 FPS) represents a 65.3% drop in frame rate, which is far steeper than what the CPU alone would cause. This indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti’s raw compute power is exhausted by the pixel count at 3840x2160.

The GPU’s nearest rival comparison shows it is virtually identical in average score to the GTX 780 (0% delta) and 1.1% ahead of the TITAN Xp. This suggests that while the 1080 Ti is an older architecture, it remains competitive with its immediate peers. However, the 4K Ultra result of 34.4 FPS demonstrates that its 16 nm Pascal architecture is not designed for modern high-resolution gaming with maximum settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides a solid foundation for this gaming combo, but its role diminishes as resolution increases. With 6 cores and 12 threads, clocked at a 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost, the CPU handles the game’s logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck at 1080p. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core support efficient data access.

The CPU’s benchmark scores confirm its strength: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249 place it well above average. In the Passmark suite, it achieves a single-thread score of 3456 and a multi-thread score of 18747. The CPU ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850.

The nearest rival data shows the i5-12400 is nearly identical to the i7-9700 (0.1% ahead) and i7-8700 (0.2% behind). This means the CPU is not a differentiator in Minimum; its performance is entirely sufficient to feed the GTX 1080 Ti. The evidence is in the frame rate scaling: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 190.1 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 66 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the 1080p and 1440p results would be much closer together. The data shows a linear drop with resolution, which is a classic GPU-limited scenario.

Settings Recommendations

For the best measured experience, the High preset at 1920x1080 is the clear recommendation. It delivers 124.3 FPS, which is 30.5 FPS above the Ultra preset (93.8 FPS) and only 22.6 FPS below Medium (146.9 FPS). The visual fidelity gain from Medium to High is substantial, while the performance cost is minimal. Low at 1080p (190.1 FPS) is only useful for competitive play where frame rate trumps visuals.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides the best balance at 93 FPS. High drops to 80.8 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth. Ultra at 1440p (59.9 FPS) is only recommended for slower-paced gameplay. For 4K, the Low preset (66 FPS) is the only viable option; Medium (53.2 FPS), High (41.8 FPS), and Ultra (34.4 FPS) all fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

The data suggests a clear hierarchy: prioritize resolution over settings. At 1080p, you can max out the game. At 1440p, you must compromise on Ultra. At 4K, you must drop to Low. The GTX 1080 Ti’s 11 GB VRAM is not the issue; rather, the 484.4 GB/s bandwidth and 11.34 TFLOPS compute are insufficient for 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 1033rd out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 59.6th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 60% of combos in the database. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU’s high percentile (77th) and the GPU’s lower percentile (61st).

The ranking suggests that while this is a capable mid-range setup, it is not top-tier. The i5-12400’s strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249) helps in CPU-bound scenarios, but the GPU’s age limits the overall score. The combo’s 1080p results are excellent, but its 4K performance drags down its relative standing. The 1733 total combos include many with newer, more powerful GPUs that achieve higher frame rates at 4K, pushing this pairing lower in the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 190.1 FPS, Medium produces 146.9 FPS, High produces 124.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 93.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 96.3 FPS, indicating that the game is highly scalable with settings at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly: Low delivers 124.2 FPS, Medium delivers 93 FPS, High delivers 80.8 FPS, and Ultra delivers 59.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 64.3 FPS, showing that the GPU is starting to limit performance.

At 3840x2160, the results are much lower: Low produces 66 FPS, Medium produces 53.2 FPS, High produces 41.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 34.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is just 31.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the dominant constraint at 4K. The 1080p Ultra result (93.8 FPS) is higher than the 4K Low result (66 FPS), demonstrating the severe impact of resolution on this hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate across all settings drops by approximately 35-40%. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is even steeper, averaging around 45-50% across the settings presets.

This scaling behavior is a direct indicator of a GPU-limited system. The CPU’s performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935) is more than sufficient to handle the game’s processing demands at any resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, with only minor drops as pixel count increases.

The most telling data points are the Low settings results: 1080p Low (190.1 FPS), 1440p Low (124.2 FPS), and 4K Low (66 FPS). The 1440p result is 65.3% of the 1080p result, and the 4K result is 53.1% of the 1440p result. This exponential decay is characteristic of a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count. The GTX 1080 Ti’s 11 GB VRAM buffer is adequate, but its 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate and 139.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K. The conclusion is clear: the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing, and the i5-12400 has ample headroom to drive a more powerful graphics card.