Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in Minimum presents a classic case of GPU-bound performance, where the processor's substantial headroom is left largely untapped. The measured frame rates show a steep and consistent decline as resolution scales, indicating that the GTX 1050 Ti is the definitive limiting factor across nearly all tested configurations. At 1080p, the combination can achieve playable rates at low and medium settings, but the experience degrades rapidly as visual fidelity and pixel count increase, ultimately falling below acceptable thresholds at 4K. This analysis examines the scaling behavior, component roles, and measured results to place this combo within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a pronounced penalty for increasing resolution, which directly points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings reduces the average frame rate from 44.5 FPS to 29.9 FPS, a drop of approximately 33%. Extending this to 3840x2160 at High settings yields a further collapse to 14.5 FPS, which represents a 67% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This trend is consistent across all quality presets, confirming that the pixel throughput demands of higher resolutions overwhelm the GTX 1050 Ti's capabilities.

The scaling pattern is telling because the CPU, an Intel Core i5-12400F with 6 cores and 12 threads, possesses ample processing power for this title. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332, far exceed what a third-person shooter from 2014 would require. The fact that frame rates fall so precipitously with resolution—rather than remaining flat or CPU-limited—proves that the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining resources. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 67.6 FPS, suggesting the GPU can still keep up with lighter loads, but any increase in resolution immediately exposes its limitations.

Quantitatively, the scaling from 1080p Low (67.6 FPS) to 1440p Low (42.6 FPS) shows a 37% performance loss, while moving from 1440p Low to 4K Low (24.2 FPS) incurs another 43% loss. This non-linear degradation is characteristic of a GPU running out of pixel processing capacity and memory bandwidth. The GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth, becomes increasingly insufficient as resolution rises. The data indicates that for this specific combo, the limiting component is unambiguously the graphics card, with the CPU's influence being negligible in all measured scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings is 50.5, which is the second-highest result among the 1080p presets, trailing only the Low setting's 67.6 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 12.8 FPS. This is the lowest measured result in the entire dataset, indicating a severely compromised experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Core i5-12400F has high benchmark scores (e.g., 19433 in PassMark multithread), yet frame rates drop sharply with resolution, a signature of graphics-bound performance.

Q: What is the best performance setting at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields the highest average at 42.6 FPS. The Medium setting achieves 32.5 FPS, while High and Ultra trail at 29.9 and 23.0 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1695 out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 2% of all combos for Minimum. This low percentile reflects the GPU's weak performance relative to other pairings.

Q: What is the difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 67.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 33.0 FPS. This represents a 51% reduction in average frame rate when switching from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the decisive component in this configuration, and its specifications explain the observed performance ceiling. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, which are modest by modern standards but typical for its generation. Its 768 shading units and 32 ROPs are tasked with rendering Minimum's scenes, and the data shows these resources are quickly exhausted at higher resolutions. The card's pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s provide theoretical maxima that the measured FPS results approach only at low resolutions and settings.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant to the resolution scaling observed. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, the GTX 1050 Ti delivers 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth. At 1080p, this is sufficient for the Low preset, which achieves 67.6 FPS, but the frame rate drops to 33.0 FPS at Ultra, suggesting that texture and buffer demands strain the memory interface. The situation worsens dramatically at 4K, where the Ultra preset must manage a much larger framebuffer, resulting in just 12.8 FPS. The GPU's percentile ranking of 30 against all GPUs, alongside its average benchmark score of 5316, positions it as a low-tier part, and the nearest rival comparison shows it is virtually matched by the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (deltaPct 0) and slightly ahead of the GeForce 940M (deltaPct 0.4).

The GTX 1050 Ti's 14 nm process and 3,300 million transistors yield a die size of 132 mm², and its 75 W TDP means it requires no power connectors. In practice, this hardware cannot sustain playable frame rates beyond 1080p Medium. The measured FPS at 1440p High (29.9) and 4K High (14.5) confirm that the GPU's compute capacity, measured at 2.138 TFLOPS for FP32, is simply inadequate for higher pixel workloads. The GPU's role is thus one of a strict limiter, capping performance regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across four resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the results are the most viable for actual gameplay. The Low preset averages 67.6 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset and indicates a smooth experience for a third-person shooter. The Medium preset follows at 50.5 FPS, while High drops to 44.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 33.0 FPS, which is still technically playable but shows a significant dip from the lower settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance declines across the board. The Low preset averages 42.6 FPS, which is the only 1440p result above 40 FPS. Medium drops to 32.5 FPS, High to 29.9 FPS, and Ultra to 23.0 FPS. These numbers suggest that 1440p is only feasible at Low settings for a consistent frame rate, and even then, the margin above 30 FPS is thin. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 19.6 FPS, reflecting the GPU's struggle with higher quality assets and effects.

At 3840x2160, the results confirm the combo is not suited for 4K gaming. The Low preset averages 24.2 FPS, which is below the standard of smooth playability. Medium averages 17.0 FPS, High drops to 14.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 12.8 FPS. The progression from 1080p Low (67.6) to 4K Low (24.2) shows a 64% reduction in performance, highlighting the massive penalty for resolution scaling. Across all settings, the data shows a consistent pattern: the GTX 1050 Ti cannot maintain a 60 FPS target at any resolution other than 1080p Low, and even 30 FPS is only achievable at 1080p Medium and below, or 1440p Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti ranks 1695 out of 1733 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the 2nd percentile of all combos. This low rank is unsurprising given the GPU's position in the hardware hierarchy. The GTX 1050 Ti's percentile of 30 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 5316, is a clear indicator of its entry-level status. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (avgScore 5317, deltaPct 0), the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (avgScore 5297, deltaPct 0.4), and the AMD Radeon R7 240 (avgScore 5280, deltaPct 0.7), all of which are similarly weak performers.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong component that is wasted in this pairing. The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, ranking in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (avgScore 19210, deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (avgScore 19364, deltaPct -0.7), indicating it is a mid-to-high-tier processor. However, in Minimum, the combo's rank is held back entirely by the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the combo only achieves 67.6 FPS, which is well below what the CPU could theoretically support if paired with a more capable graphics card.

The rank of 1695 out of 1733 underscores that this pairing is among the weakest tested for this game. The data suggests that the i5-12400F's performance headroom is irrelevant when the GTX 1050 Ti is the bottleneck. For users seeking to improve performance in Minimum, the GPU would be the clear upgrade target, as the CPU has ample capacity. The combo's ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations, and the measured FPS across all resolutions confirms that it cannot deliver a smooth experience beyond 1080p Medium.