Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a formidable 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, though 4K Ultra demands compromise. The data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions, while the 10-core processor provides ample headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming. This combination ranks in the top 7% of all tested configurations, indicating exceptional overall capability for this title.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested system configurations in Minimum?*

A: The combination ranks 246th out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.6% of all systems evaluated for this game.

Q: What is the performance difference between the i5-12600KF and its closest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF scores 27799 on average benchmarks, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE. The Ryzen 7 6800U holds a 0.3% advantage over this CPU.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest GPU competitors?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER, 1.1% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, 2.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and 2.7% lower than the AMD Radeon 8060S.

Q: What is the maximum FPS achieved by this configuration?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 356 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest minimum FPS recorded is 232 at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the performance scaling suggests a GPU bottleneck. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are heavily utilized, as evidenced by FPS dropping from 229 at 1080p High to 79 at 4K High, a 65% reduction.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the components in this system?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has a launch MSRP of $264, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, especially as resolution increases. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for handling the texture and geometry demands of Minimum at higher settings. The GPU's 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs deliver substantial raw fill rate, with a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s.

The Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, allows for high clock speeds with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz. This clock headroom, combined with the 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, ensures that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor at 1080p. At 4K, however, the GPU's workload increases significantly. The data shows a clear correlation: at 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 61, while at 1920x1080 Ultra, it remains high at 174 FPS.

The RTX 4080's position relative to its peers is tight. It outperforms the RTX 4080 SUPER by a marginal 0.1% in average benchmarks, but trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%. This suggests that while the GPU is powerful, its performance is closely matched by others in its class, and the measured results in Minimum reflect this balance. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status, though not the absolute top tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance scales across resolutions, highlighting the shift in bottleneck from CPU to GPU. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system achieves 229 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops the average to 148 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls further to 79 FPS, which is a 66% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across all settings. At Low settings, 1080p yields 356 FPS, 1440p yields 230 FPS, and 4K yields 124 FPS. The percentage drops are 35% from 1080p to 1440p and 46% from 1440p to 4K. These consistent reductions suggest that the RTX 4080's memory bandwidth and compute capacity are being saturated as pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 313. At 1440p Medium, the average is 176 FPS with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 202. At 4K Medium, the average is 95 FPS with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 109. The frame time consistency degrades with resolution, as indicated by the wider spread between minimum and maximum at 4K, further confirming the GPU-bound nature of higher resolutions.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. From 174 FPS at 1080p, performance drops to 112 FPS at 1440p and then to 61 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 61 FPS is the lowest measured average in the entire dataset, demonstrating that even a high-end GPU like the RTX 4080 struggles to maintain high frame rates at maximum settings in 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 246 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places the system in the top 6.6% of all configurations, which is an excellent result for a desktop setup. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide sufficient processing power to feed the GPU without creating a significant bottleneck.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 79th among all CPUs indicates that it is a solid mid-to-high-range processor, but not the absolute best. However, its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. This single-thread performance is crucial for games like Minimum, which often rely on a few cores for game logic and physics. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, have nearly identical average scores, with deltas of -0.3%, indicating that the i5-12600KF is competitive with older flagship processors.

The GPU, with a percentile ranking of 86th among all GPUs, is the stronger component in this pairing. Its average benchmark score of 54247 places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. The neat rivalry with the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is only 0.1% slower on average, suggests that this GPU delivers flagship-level performance. The combination's overall rank of 246 is driven primarily by the GPU's high performance, with the CPU providing adequate support without dragging down the system's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of very high frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 356. Medium settings reduce this to 273 FPS, with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 313. High settings yield 229 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 174 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is primarily CPU-limited, as even the highest settings allow for frame rates well above 144 Hz.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings achieve 230 FPS, Medium settings achieve 176 FPS (with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 202), High settings achieve 148 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 112 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 35% to 36% reduction in frame rates across all settings, suggesting a consistent increase in GPU load without a shift in the bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low settings produce 124 FPS, Medium settings produce 95 FPS (with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 109), High settings produce 79 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 61 FPS. The 4K results show a 46% to 49% drop from 1440p, which is a larger percentage decrease than the 1440p to 1080p transition. This indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering capabilities are being pushed to their limits at 4K, particularly at higher quality settings.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data across all resolutions. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS grows from 81 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p and then shrinks to 29 FPS at 4K. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is consistently saturated, leading to more stable frame times even though the average FPS is lower.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the system can easily handle Ultra settings with 174 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, for maximum smoothness, Medium settings provide 273 FPS, offering a significant margin above 240 Hz displays. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is 55 FPS, making Ultra a viable choice without compromising playability.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings deliver 112 FPS, which is playable but below the 144 Hz threshold. High settings provide 148 FPS, which is a better match for 144 Hz monitors. Medium settings offer 176 FPS for those with 165 Hz or 180 Hz displays. The data suggests that High settings strike the best balance between visual quality and frame rate at 1440p, as it stays above 144 FPS while providing improved visuals over Medium.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Ultra settings produce only 61 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for most users' comfort. High settings yield 79 FPS, which is a more acceptable frame rate for 4K gaming. Medium settings provide 95 FPS, offering a smoother experience at the cost of some visual fidelity. The data indicates that High settings are the recommended preset for 4K, as they maintain a frame rate above 75 FPS while preserving a reasonable level of graphical detail. Low settings at 4K achieve 124 FPS but likely compromise visual quality too heavily for most players.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing enough processing power to avoid limiting the GPU in most scenarios. The CPU features 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture with a hybrid design of performance and efficiency cores. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz allow for strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for the game logic and frame rendering in Minimum.

The CPU's benchmark results show a balanced profile. In Cinebench R23, it scores 23391 in multi-core and 3302 in single-core. The Geekbench scores of 12137 multi-core and 2157 single-core further confirm its capabilities. The 3DMark scores show scaling from 1016 in single-thread to 7956 in 16-thread tests, indicating that the CPU can handle both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads effectively. The PassMark multi-thread score of 27575 and single-thread score of 3925 demonstrate that the CPU is well-suited for gaming workloads.

In Minimum, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1080p, where the system achieves frame rates exceeding 350 FPS. At these high frame rates, the CPU must process game state updates and issue draw calls to the GPU. The i5-12600KF's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, contributing to consistent frame times. The CPU's performance relative to its rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-10900K with a delta of -0.3%, shows that it is not a bottleneck in this pairing.

At 4K resolution, the CPU's workload decreases relative to the GPU, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The measured FPS data confirms this, as the CPU's high single-thread performance allows the RTX 4080 to operate at its full potential. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it is a capable mid-range processor, but its performance is sufficient to support a top-tier GPU like the RTX 4080 without holding it back in this title.