Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a potent combination for Minimum, a 2014 Third-Person Shooter that clearly favors high refresh rates. The data shows a configuration that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but capable of exceptional frame rates at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, scaling behavior, and how this specific pairing ranks against other tested hardware combos.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking pattern in the measured data is how dramatically average frame rates collapse as resolution increases. At the High settings preset, the combo delivers 191.1 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 122.2 FPS at 2560x1440, and further down to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35.7% performance hit moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 45.2% hit moving from 1440p to 4K. This aggressive scaling curve is a textbook indicator of a GPU-bound scenario at the higher resolutions, as the RTX 5070's rendering workload increases faster than the CPU's frame preparation time.

The Low preset shows the same trend but with steeper absolute drops. At 1080p Low, the system hits 303.2 FPS, falling to 193.4 FPS at 1440p and 106.9 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low is 109.8 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than the 68.9 FPS gap seen between the same resolutions on High. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is feeding frames fast enough that the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck as pixel count rises.

The Ultra preset reveals the game's heaviest load. Starting at 148.1 FPS on 1080p, it falls to 95.9 FPS on 1440p, and bottoms out at 53.3 FPS on 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K here is a 44.4% reduction, which is nearly identical to the High preset's drop, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shader throughput are the limiting factors, not the CPU. The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears sufficient to keep up even at the lowest settings, as the 1080p Low result of 303.2 FPS is far beyond what most displays can show, and the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 suggests ample headroom for this older title.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the data points to the High preset as the optimal choice. It delivers 67 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small margin. The Medium preset at 4K provides 82.4 FPS, which is a 23% improvement over High, but the visual fidelity loss may not justify the jump for a game of this era. The Ultra preset at 4K falls below playable standards at 53.3 FPS, making it a poor choice for that resolution.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. High settings give 122.2 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, Medium offers 151.1 FPS, a 23.6% increase that could be the difference between a stutter-free experience on a 144Hz panel and one that hovers near the cap. Ultra at 95.9 FPS is still playable but sacrifices 21.5% of the frame rate compared to High, so it is only worth it if you prioritize maximum detail over frame time consistency.

For 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot for competitive play. The 191.1 FPS result is above the refresh rate of most standard 1080p gaming monitors. Pushing to Low yields 303.2 FPS, which is a 58.7% increase over High, but this is only beneficial for esports players with 240Hz or 360Hz panels. The Medium preset at 231.5 FPS offers a balanced middle ground, providing 21.1% more performance than High while retaining more visual features than Low. Given the game's age, the visual difference between Medium and High is likely minimal, making Medium the most efficient choice for 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the i5-12400F and RTX 5070 holds the 318th position out of 1733 total combos for Minimum. This places it in the 81.6th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly four out of every five configurations in this specific game. This is a strong result, though not at the very top, which is expected given the CPU's mid-range positioning.

The ranking is largely driven by the GPU's raw performance. The RTX 5070 has a Passmark G3D score of 29137, which places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, has a near-identical average benchmark score (41441 vs 41687), with a delta of just 0.6%. This suggests that the 5070's performance in this engine is on par with last generation's flagship, explaining why the combo ranks so high despite the CPU being less powerful than others in the top 300.

The CPU's contribution is also notable. The i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19221 puts it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, and its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, is only 0.1% slower. This level of single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2221, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5070 in most scenarios, but the 318th rank suggests that systems with faster CPUs (like those in the top 100) can extract slightly more frames, particularly at 1080p where CPU overhead is more visible.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. Low leads with 303.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 231.5 FPS, High at 191.1 FPS, and Ultra at 148.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 155.1 FPS, showing a massive performance cost for maxing out settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the gap narrows. Low delivers 193.4 FPS, Medium hits 151.1 FPS, High produces 122.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 95.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is now 97.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the system's limits. Low provides 106.9 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium offers 82.4 FPS, and High manages 67 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS mark. Ultra falls below playable thresholds at 53.3 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings is a 44.7% reduction, confirming the GPU's memory bus width of 192 bit and bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s are being heavily taxed.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070's specifications directly explain its performance in Minimum. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 192-bit bus, the card has sufficient capacity for this title, which does not require high VRAM usage even at 4K. The effective memory speed of 28 Gbps yields a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is critical for maintaining frame rates at high resolutions. The measured FPS drops suggest that this bandwidth is adequate but not excessive for 4K Ultra, where the card falls to 53.3 FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant. The base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz are high, and the 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are modern additions, but Minimum is a 2014 title that likely does not utilize these features. The card's raw FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS is what drives the frame rates, and its Passmark G3D score of 29137 places it in the 83rd percentile, reinforcing its position as a high-end part. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3090, shows a 0.6% higher average score, but the 5070's newer architecture delivers comparable results in this engine.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5070 in Minimum?*

A: The data suggests it is not a significant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 303.2 FPS, which is extremely high. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and single-core score of 2332 indicate it can feed the GPU efficiently. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU as resolution increases, evidenced by the FPS dropping to 67 FPS at 4K High.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: For 1440p, the Medium preset is the best balance. It delivers 151.1 FPS, which is 23.6% higher than the 122.2 FPS on High. Given the game's age, the visual difference between Medium and High is likely subtle, making Medium the practical choice for high refresh rates.

*Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only on the High preset, which averages 67 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 53.3 FPS, and Medium provides 82.4 FPS if you prefer a higher margin above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 318th out of 1733 combos, placing it in the 81.6th percentile. This is a strong result, outperforming most systems, though it is not in the top tier. The rank reflects the RTX 5070's high GPU percentile (83rd) combined with the i5-12400F's solid 77th percentile CPU score.

Q: Is the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM enough for this game?

A: Yes, the 12 GB of GDDR7 is more than sufficient. Minimum is a 2014 title, and the data does not indicate any VRAM limitations. The performance drops at 4K are due to compute and bandwidth limits, not memory capacity.

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

A: The difference is significant. Low yields 303.2 FPS, while Ultra yields 148.1 FPS. This is a 155.1 FPS gap, meaning Ultra costs over half the frame rate of Low. For competitive play, Low is recommended; for visual fidelity, Ultra is still playable.