Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 lands at rank 1455 out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the lower half of the database. This percentile position suggests the pairing is functional but far from optimal for this 2014 third-person shooter, which is unsurprising given the age of the GPU relative to the CPU. The data indicates a system that can handle the game at 1080p with ease, but struggles significantly as resolution and settings scale upward, revealing a clear bottleneck that shifts depending on the configuration chosen.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1455 out of 1733 puts it in roughly the 16th percentile of all tested pairings for Minimum. This is a low standing, but it is important to contextualize that ranking against the component's individual benchmark percentiles. The CPU sits at the 77th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is at the 51st percentile among all graphics cards. The disparity between these two figures hints that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios, dragging the overall combo rank down. When looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the data shows a tight cluster: the GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 is only 0.7% higher than the Quadro K4200, 1.3% higher than the GTX 880M, 1.4% higher than the GTX 1650 SUPER, and 1.7% higher than the Tesla K20Xm. This suggests that within its own performance class, the GPU is competitive, but that class is simply not high enough to push the combo into a better overall position for this game. The CPU's nearest rivals show similar clustering, with the i5-12400F's average score of 19221 being within 1.3% of the EPYC 7773X, 0.7% of the Ryzen 5 7533HS, and 0.3% of the i5-1335U. The implication is that the processor is not the source of the combo's low rank; rather, the graphics solution holds the pairing back.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for Minimum's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's base clock of 1506 MHz and boost clock of 1683 MHz are the driving forces behind its raw throughput, yielding 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute power is directly reflected in the measured frames: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 139.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 23.5 FPS. The benchmark results indicate a GPU that is well-suited for 1080p gaming in this title, but the 4K High setting's 29.2 FPS average is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered playable, and 4K Ultra's 23.5 FPS is firmly in slideshow territory. The GTX 1070's Passmark G3D score of 13498 places it just above the GTX 1650 SUPER (which has a 1.4% lower score), yet the gap in real-world performance here is more pronounced at higher resolutions, suggesting that memory bandwidth and capacity play a larger role than raw compute in Minimum. The GPU's 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores that it is a mid-pack card, and the measured data confirms that mid-pack status translates to playable but not exceptional performance in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the primary constraint. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 91.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35.7% reduction, and then to 29.2 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 50.3% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where each pixel doubling roughly halves the frame rate. The Low settings tell a similar story: 139.8 FPS at 1080p drops to 87.3 FPS at 1440p (a 37.5% decrease) and then to 46.6 FPS at 4K (a 46.6% decrease from 1440p). The fact that even at Low settings, 4K cannot reach 60 FPS is a clear indicator that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor. Interestingly, the CPU's performance headroom is evident here: if the processor were the bottleneck, the scaling from 1440p to 4K would show a smaller FPS drop, as the GPU would be waiting on the CPU. Instead, the consistent large drops at every settings level confirm that the GTX 1070 is saturated well before the i5-12400F's six cores and twelve threads are fully utilized. The 1080p results, where even Ultra hits 67.2 FPS, suggest that this resolution is the sweet spot for this pairing, allowing the CPU to stretch its legs while the GPU keeps pace.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets achieve playable frame rates, with the lowest average being 67.2 FPS at Ultra settings. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium presets stay above 60 FPS, while at 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its closest rival, the GTX 1650 SUPER?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331, which is 1.4% higher than the GTX 1650 SUPER's 12504 (the deltaPct of -1.4 from the rival's perspective). In practical terms for Minimum, this small synthetic advantage does not translate to a large FPS difference, as both cards sit in the same performance tier.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 23.5 FPS, and the frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a massive drop (from 45.6 FPS to 23.5 FPS), which is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The i5-12400F, with its high single-thread score of 2332 in Cinebench R23, is likely not the limiting factor.

Q: What settings preset provides the largest FPS jump from Low to Medium?

A: At 1080p, moving from Low (139.8 FPS) to Medium (108.9 FPS) results in a 30.9 FPS drop, which is a 22.1% performance penalty. This is the largest relative drop among settings transitions, indicating that Medium introduces a significant graphical load increase.

*Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming in Minimum?*

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 1440p, High settings deliver 58.7 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target, and Low settings achieve 87.3 FPS. However, Ultra settings drop to 45.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but falls short of a smooth experience.

Q: How does the combo's rank of 1455 reflect its actual performance?

A: The rank of 1455 out of 1733 places the combo in the bottom 16% of all tested pairings. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU's mid-tier standing (51st percentile), which limits the system to 1080p-centric performance, while the CPU's high percentile (77th) cannot compensate for the graphics card's ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 139.8 FPS, Medium yields 108.9 FPS, High drops to 91.4 FPS, and Ultra settles at 67.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 72.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom at this resolution to absorb the graphical load of higher presets while maintaining playable rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline predictably. Low settings achieve 87.3 FPS, which is still smooth, while Medium hits 69.6 FPS, and High manages 58.7 FPS. Ultra falls to 45.6 FPS, which is the first preset to drop below the 60 FPS threshold. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 41.7 FPS, a narrower margin than at 1080p, showing the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal at best. Low settings produce 46.6 FPS, Medium drops to 39.0 FPS, High falls to 29.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 23.5 FPS. No preset at 4K reaches even 50 FPS, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 23.1 FPS, the smallest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is approaching its absolute limit regardless of settings. The data shows that this combo is designed for 1080p, capable at 1440p with lowered settings, and unsuitable for 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample bandwidth for feeding the GPU in Minimum. The CPU's benchmark scores are solid: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3481. These figures place it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong performance. In the context of this game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 139.8 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance is likely a contributing factor, but the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rate. The CPU's nearest rival, the i7-8700K, has an average score of 19210, a mere 0.1% difference, suggesting that the i5-12400F is essentially on par with older high-end processors in synthetic tests. However, in Minimum, the frame rates are capped by the GPU, meaning the CPU's additional headroom is unused. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and max-thread score of 5912 show consistent performance across multi-threaded loads, but this game, being a third-person shooter from 2014, likely relies more on single-thread performance, where the CPU's 909 3DMark single-thread score and 234 Cinebench R15 single-core score are adequate but not exceptional. The data implies that swapping in a faster CPU would yield minimal FPS gains at 1080p, as the GPU would remain the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this combo, the data points to 1920x1080 as the target resolution, where every preset is playable. At this resolution, High settings (91.4 FPS) offer a balanced approach, providing a significant visual improvement over Low (139.8 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness, Low settings at 1080p deliver the highest average of 139.8 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play. Medium settings (108.9 FPS) are a reasonable middle ground, but High provides the best visual fidelity per frame rate cost, as the drop from High to Ultra (67.2 FPS) is 24.2 FPS, a 26.5% penalty. At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to Low (87.3 FPS) or Medium (69.6 FPS), as High (58.7 FPS) and Ultra (45.6 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS target. The measured rows show that 4K is not viable for this pairing, as even Low (46.6 FPS) struggles to maintain smooth motion. The optimal configuration is therefore 1080p High, which balances the GPU's capabilities with the CPU's headroom, yielding a consistent and responsive experience. If a higher resolution is desired, 1440p Low is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it the best alternative for players with a 1440p monitor.