Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a robust experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The measured frame rates show that this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU begins to show its limits. The combo ranks in the 76th percentile of tested configurations, indicating strong performance overall, but the data reveals specific bottlenecks and optimal settings that are worth examining.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings presets, which clearly demonstrates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 278 FPS at 1920x1080 to 179 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 97 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35.6% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45.8% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is constraining performance, as the RTX 4070 has ample headroom to push far beyond 278 FPS.

At Medium settings, the same trend continues: 213 FPS at 1080p, 137 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K. The 4K result includes a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but still maintaining playable performance. High settings show 179 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 136 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K — the latter being below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is relatively linear across all settings, with roughly a 35-40% performance drop. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is more severe, especially at Low settings where the frame rate nearly halves. This suggests that the RTX 4070's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being taxed heavily at 4K, particularly when the CPU is not the bottleneck. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, lowering settings from Ultra to High or Medium is necessary to maintain fluid frame rates, while 1440p and 1080p offer much more headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a key factor in the 4K results, where the frame rate at Ultra settings drops to 47 FPS. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, deliver a theoretical FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS. These specifications explain why the card performs so strongly at 1080p and 1440p, where the 12 GB frame buffer is rarely exhausted.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate contribute to the rasterization performance seen in the measured results. At 4K Ultra, the card struggles to maintain 60 FPS, which aligns with the higher pixel throughput demands. The RTX 4070's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present but are not directly relevant to Minimum's rendering workload, as this 2014 title does not leverage ray tracing or DLSS features. The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its overall capability: a PassMark G3D score of 26927 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and the resulting 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for most scenarios, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The difference between 4K High (62 FPS) and 4K Medium (74 FPS) suggests that texture quality and shadow settings have a notable impact on the GPU's workload. The measured results indicate that the RTX 4070 is a capable 1440p card for this title, and can handle 4K with adjusted settings, but it is not a 4K Ultra powerhouse for Minimum.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 885th out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the top 23.8% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The CPU itself has an average benchmark score of 19039, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1% delta). The GPU's average benchmark score of 37648 puts it in the 81st percentile, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile being 1.3% faster and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 being 1.3% slower.

The combo's rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, provide sufficient processing power to feed the RTX 4070 at most resolutions, but the 1080p results show that the CPU is the bottleneck at Low and Medium settings. The rank of 885 suggests that many higher-end combinations (likely with more powerful CPUs) outperform this setup in CPU-bound scenarios, but the overall frame rates are still very playable. The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where the GPU is more fully utilized, and the rank reflects this balance — not at the top, but comfortably above the median.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. At High settings, the average FPS is 115, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K High drops to 62 FPS. The 1440p results at Ultra (88 FPS) are also playable, whereas 4K Ultra (47 FPS) falls below acceptable smoothness.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 is 0.1% faster (37628), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% slower (37507), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% slower (38135), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% faster (37157). These deltas are small, indicating tight competition in this performance tier.

Q: Is the i5-12400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Yes, the evidence is strong. At Low settings, the frame rate at 1080p is 278 FPS, which is essentially the same as the 1440p Low result of 179 FPS when accounting for resolution scaling. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, cannot push beyond roughly 280 FPS in this title, suggesting a CPU limit. At higher settings, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but at Low, the CPU is clearly the constraint.

Q: What is the measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium?

A: The data records a minimum FPS of 63 at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with an average of 74 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. This indicates that even at 4K, the combo can maintain smooth frame rates as long as settings are not pushed to Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The i5-12400F scores 1680 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 12380 in multi-core, while Geekbench shows 1964 single-core and 9472 multi-core. The 3DMark single-thread score is 909, and the max-threads score is 5912. These numbers suggest strong single-thread performance, which is important for older games like Minimum that may not scale well across many threads.

Q: What is the combo's rank relative to all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 885th out of 3712 tested combos, which places it in the top 23.8% of all configurations tested for this game. This is a solid result, indicating that the i5-12400F and RTX 4070 together provide above-average performance in Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 278 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. Medium produces 213 FPS with a minimum of 181 and a maximum of 245 FPS. High yields 179 FPS, while Ultra drops to 136 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, even the Ultra preset remains highly playable, and the Low preset approaches the CPU's maximum output.

Moving to 2560x1440, Low averages 179 FPS, Medium averages 137 FPS (min 117, max 158), High averages 115 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 50.8% reduction in frame rate, which is less severe than the 51.1% reduction at 1080p. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is more consistently the limiting factor across all settings.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 97 FPS, Medium averages 74 FPS (min 63, max 85), High averages 62 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The Ultra result falls below 60 FPS, which is a critical threshold for many players. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 51.5%, which is consistent with the other resolutions, but the absolute numbers are much lower, highlighting the GPU's workload at this resolution.

The data shows that the frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly linear in percentage terms across all resolutions, but the absolute FPS values at 4K drop to levels where smoothness becomes questionable. The Medium preset at 4K provides the best measured balance with a 74 FPS average and a 63 FPS minimum, ensuring no significant frame drops below playable levels.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core are adequate for gaming workloads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and 8-thread score of 4779 indicate that the CPU scales reasonably well with additional threads, but the single-thread score of 909 and 2-thread score of 1699 reveal that its per-core performance is the key strength.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the frame rate caps at 278 FPS. This is significantly higher than the 1440p Low result of 179 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is capable of more at 1080p but the CPU cannot deliver instructions fast enough. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and single-core score of 1680 show that the CPU has strong multi-threaded capabilities for a mid-range part, but the game's engine likely relies on single-thread performance, which is where the CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock helps.

The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 19433 and single-thread score of 3481 place it in a competitive position for its class. However, the nearest rivals in the benchmark database show very tight margins: the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS has an average score of 19047 (0% delta), and the Intel Core 3 201E has 19056 (-0.1% delta). This indicates that the i5-12400F is not an outlier in CPU performance, and its limitations in Minimum at 1080p are typical for this performance tier. The CPU's TDP of 65 W and 10 nm process node suggest it runs efficiently, but the measured FPS data makes it clear that for maximum frame rates at 1080p, a stronger CPU would be needed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without significant frame drops. The High preset at 4K averages 62 FPS, which is borderline, while Ultra at 47 FPS is not recommended for a consistent experience. Players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate might accept High, but the data shows Medium is the safest for maintaining 60+ FPS.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset is viable with an average of 88 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the High preset at 115 FPS provides a better margin for demanding scenes, and Medium at 137 FPS offers even more headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. For competitive play, Low at 179 FPS is the best option, maximizing frame rate for responsiveness.

At 1080p, all presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 136 FPS and Low reaching 278 FPS. The Ultra preset is recommended for the best visual experience, as the 136 FPS average is still smooth on most displays. For players with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 213 FPS or Low at 278 FPS ensures the frame rate stays above the refresh rate, minimizing screen tearing and input lag. The High preset at 179 FPS is a balanced choice for 1080p, offering good visuals and high frame rates.

The data suggests that the combo is most balanced at 1440p High, where the GPU is well-utilized and the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. For 4K, Medium is the sweet spot, and for 1080p, any preset works, but Ultra provides the best visual quality without sacrificing playability.