Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 478th out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 27.6% of all combinations. That rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other in this third-person shooter, though the GPU carries most of the load as resolution climbs. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27,827 sits within 0.4% of the Intel Core i7-13700H (27,716) and within 0.1% of the Intel Core i5-12600K (27,851), while the GPU’s average of 37,283 is 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371) and 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507). With the CPU in the 84th percentile among all processors and the GPU in the 81st percentile among all graphics cards, this combo is positioned for high-refresh 1440p play and playable 4K, as the measured FPS data confirms.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 478 out of 1,733 tested combinations (top 27.6%) places it in the upper third of the database, but not among the elite pairings. The data shows that the i5-12600KF’s CPU performance is nearly identical to its closest rivals — the Core i9-10900K (27,829, 0% delta) and Core i5-12600K (27,851, -0.1%) — meaning the processor is not a differentiator in this game. Meanwhile, the RTX 4070’s nearest GPU rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507), is only 0.6% faster on average, which is within noise. This rank is therefore driven more by the GPU’s 81st percentile standing than the CPU’s 84th percentile, since Minimum is a shooter that scales with framerate demands.

At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, and that is where the i5-12600KF’s 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, show their strength. The combo achieves 277 FPS on Low settings at 1080p, which is 56.6% higher than the High preset’s 176.8 FPS. That gap suggests the game is not CPU-limited even at lower settings, as the GPU still has headroom to render more frames. The rank of 478 reflects that this pairing can push far beyond 144Hz at 1440p on Medium settings (136.5 FPS) but falls short of the very top combos that would hold 4K Ultra at 60+ FPS without compromise.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz (base 1920 MHz) is paired with 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. In Minimum, the GPU’s role shifts with resolution: at 1080p Low, the 277 FPS result shows the card can brute-force low-detail scenes, but at 4K Ultra, the 48.6 FPS average reveals the GPU is the limiting factor. The memory capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for this 2014 title, as none of the measured settings — even 4K Ultra — would exceed that allocation, and the bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s handles the texture throughput at high resolutions.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 37,283 places it 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371) and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38,008), though those are mobile or older parts. Against desktop-class rivals, the RTX 4070’s 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits comfortably above the median. In this game, the GPU’s 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate translate to strong rasterization performance, which is what Minimum demands. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present but largely unused in this title, as it lacks ray tracing and DLSS support in the measured presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming the GPU as the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 176.8 at 1080p to 116.8 at 1440p (a 33.9% decrease) and then to 61.3 at 4K (a 47.5% decrease from 1440p). This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario: the RTX 4070’s fill rate and bandwidth are taxed as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is even more pronounced in absolute terms: 277 FPS at 1080p falls to 177.6 at 1440p (35.9% lower) and to 96.9 at 4K (45.4% lower from 1440p). The fact that Low settings still lose half the frames from 1080p to 4K indicates that even minimal rendering work is limited by the GPU’s raw throughput.

Conversely, the CPU’s role is visible in the 1080p results, where the i5-12600KF’s single-thread performance (3,309 in Cinebench R23 single-core) allows the GPU to stretch to 277 FPS at Low. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 48.6 FPS, which is 82.5% below the 1080p Low result — a massive swing that shows the GPU cannot keep up with the 4K pixel workload. The 1440p Medium result of 136.5 FPS is the sweet spot for high-refresh monitors, while 4K High at 61.3 FPS barely clears 60 FPS, suggesting that 4K Ultra (48.6 FPS) is not viable for smooth play. The data clearly shows that this combo is 1080p and 1440p-focused, with 4K reserved for lower presets.

FAQ

*Q: What is the combo’s rank among tested CPU-GPU pairings for Minimum?*

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF + RTX 4070 ranks 478th out of 1,733 tested combos, placing it in the top 27.6% of all combinations.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12600KF scores 27,827 on average, which is 0% different from the Intel Core i9-10900K (27,829) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700H (27,716).

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 277, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium yields 211.4 FPS, High yields 176.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 135.7 FPS.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at High settings, where it averages 61.3 FPS. At 4K Medium it averages 76.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 48.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the GPU’s average score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 4070 averages 37,283, which is 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36,371) and 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507).

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium, the average FPS drops from 211.4 at 1080p to 136.5 at 1440p (a 35.4% reduction) and then to 76.4 at 4K (a 44.0% reduction from 1440p), showing a clear GPU-bound scaling trend.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 1440p Medium as the best overall experience for this combo, delivering 136.5 FPS on average — well above the 100 FPS mark and smooth on high-refresh monitors. At 1080p, Ultra settings are viable at 135.7 FPS, which is an excellent result for a 2014 title, but the visual uplift from Medium to Ultra at that resolution is marginal relative to the FPS cost. For 4K, High settings at 61.3 FPS is the only preset that clears 60 FPS, while Medium at 76.4 FPS offers a more comfortable margin for 60 Hz displays, though it trades some visual quality.

The CPU has ample headroom — its 84th percentile standing and 3,309 Cinebench R23 single-core score ensure that even the 277 FPS result at 1080p Low is not CPU-limited. However, pushing beyond that would require a stronger GPU, as the 4K Ultra result of 48.6 FPS shows the RTX 4070 running out of steam. For competitive play, 1080p Low at 277 FPS gives the maximum framerate, but 1440p Medium at 136.5 FPS offers a better balance of image quality and speed. The 1080p High result of 176.8 FPS is also strong, but the gap between High and Medium (211.4 FPS) suggests that the Medium preset provides a larger FPS benefit for a modest visual reduction. Ultimately, the data recommends 1440p Medium for most users, with 4K High reserved for those prioritizing resolution over framerate.