Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400 pairs six Performance cores with twelve threads, a configuration that proves sufficient for Minimum's demands. The CPU's base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide the necessary headroom for a third-person shooter that relies on consistent frame pacing rather than extreme multi-threaded workloads. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) contribute to a solid foundation. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 15,935 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,249 in single-core, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. The data reveals a tight race with its nearest rivals: it sits just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% faster than the Intel Core i5-11600K, while trailing the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4%. These margins are negligible, meaning the i5-12400 delivers a level of processing power that is effectively interchangeable with those competitors in Minimum. The measured frame rates, which reach as high as 280.5 FPS at 1080p Low, suggest the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios; however, at lower resolutions and settings, the game becomes increasingly dependent on the processor's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Minimum?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 280.5, observed at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates that the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is capable of extremely high frame rates when visual fidelity is reduced.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19,850, which is a mere 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700's 19,831. This effectively means the two processors offer statistically identical performance for this title, with no measurable advantage in gameplay.

Q: Does the GPU's performance rank higher than the CPU's?

A: Yes, the data indicates a distinction. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-12400 sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. This suggests the GPU is a slightly stronger component relative to its respective market, which is a relevant factor in a shooter where graphical output is paramount.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields an average of 178.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 89.5 FPS. This represents a reduction of 89.1 FPS, or roughly half the performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How many total combinations were tested for the combo rank?

A: The combo rank is derived from a pool of 1,733 tested combinations. The i5-12400 and RTX 4070 pairing ranks 460th overall in Minimum, placing it in the top 26.5% of all tested hardware configurations.

Q: Is the game more demanding on the CPU or GPU at 4K?

A: The data shows a significant frame rate drop at 3840x2160 compared to 1080p, with the High preset falling from 176.3 FPS to 63.8 FPS. This substantial decrease with increased resolution indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the rendering load on the graphics card scales dramatically.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a pronounced scaling curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 176.3 FPS, but this drops to 112.5 FPS at 2560x1440 — a 36.2% reduction. The trend continues to 3840x2160, where the average falls to 63.8 FPS, marking a further 43.3% decrease from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is a clear indicator that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, suggesting the workload is distributed more evenly, but the CPU's six cores are still capable of keeping up. However, the transition to 1440p and especially 4K places an enormous burden on the GPU's rendering pipeline. The RTX 4070, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, begins to saturate as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K. The result is that the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck at higher resolutions, with the CPU's role diminishing. This is typical for a game from 2014, where the graphical effects and shader complexity are not as demanding on the processor as modern titles, allowing the graphics card to become the dominant factor in frame rate output.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination achieves a rank of 460 out of 1,733 combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the upper quartile of all systems tested, indicating a high level of performance. However, the rank also suggests that there is significant headroom above this configuration, with 459 other combinations delivering higher average frame rates. Given the GPU's 81st percentile standing, the rank is likely held back by the CPU's slightly lower 77th percentile position. The data implies that while this combo is powerful, it is not at the absolute modern. The delta between the CPU and its nearest rivals is so small (within 0.4%) that swapping to a marginally different processor would not change the rank meaningfully. Instead, the rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU, which, while strong, is outperformed by a significant number of other graphics cards in the database. This suggests that the combo's position is solid but not dominant, and users seeking higher ranks would need to look at a more powerful GPU rather than a CPU upgrade.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates exceptional performance across all presets. The Low setting yields an average of 280.5 FPS, which is a staggering figure for a third-person shooter. Medium settings reduce this to 214.4 FPS, while High drops further to 176.3 FPS. The Ultra preset, with its maximum visual fidelity, still manages a very playable 134.8 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the scores remain high but show the expected decline. Low produces 178.6 FPS, Medium 135 FPS, High 112.5 FPS, and Ultra 89.5 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that even at higher resolutions, the combo can comfortably drive high-refresh-rate monitors. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more moderate. Low settings deliver 97.1 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium falls to 76.8 FPS. High settings drop to 63.8 FPS, and Ultra dips to 44.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. This breakdown shows a clear pattern: the combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, only the Low preset provides a high-refresh experience, while higher settings require a compromise on smoothness.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends on the user's display and preference for frame rate versus visual quality. For owners of 1080p 144Hz or 240Hz monitors, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 176.3 FPS. This provides ample headroom above 144 FPS and maintains strong visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 1080p still achieves 134.8 FPS, which is playable but may not satisfy those with 165Hz or higher refresh rate panels who want to maximize their display's potential. At 1440p, the High preset again stands out, offering 112.5 FPS. This is ideal for a 120Hz monitor, providing a smooth experience without sacrificing too much detail. The Medium preset at 135 FPS is an excellent choice for 144Hz displays, but the visual downgrade from High may be noticeable. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that the Medium preset at 76.8 FPS is the best balance, as it remains above 60 FPS while offering better image quality than Low. The High preset at 63.8 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 44.4 FPS is not recommended due to its sub-60 FPS average. Overall, the High preset at 1080p and 1440p, and the Medium preset at 4K, offer the best compromise between smoothness and visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the workhorse of this combination in Minimum. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, the GPU features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operations pipelines. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provide a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 26,927 in Passmark G3D and 14720 in Passmark GPU Compute, ranking in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The data from Minimum shows that the GPU's performance is heavily tied to resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully taxed, allowing frame rates to soar past 280 FPS on Low settings. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload increases exponentially. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is pushed to its limits, resulting in only 44.4 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 4070's capabilities are best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates with room to spare. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this 2014 title, which does not require extensive texture memory. The GPU's nearest rivals show interesting deltas: it trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 by 0.6%, the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A by 1.9%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 2.2%, while leading the AMD Radeon RX 5300M by 2.5%. These figures suggest that in raw compute, the RTX 4070 is comparable to some notably different cards, but its real-world gaming performance in Minimum is what determines its suitability for this title.