Overpower

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a playable but not dominant experience in Overpower, with performance scaling that clearly exposes the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data set shows a combination that handles 1080p gaming with ease but begins to strain under the demands of 4K, particularly when settings are pushed to their maximum.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable, yet steep, decline in performance as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 118 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that figure to 106 FPS, a reduction of roughly 10%. Scaling up to 4K at Low settings yields 90 FPS, which is a 24% drop from the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest graphical preset, the rendering load increases significantly with pixel count, and the RX 6600 begins to feel the pressure.

However, the scaling behavior is much more dramatic when settings are increased. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 69 FPS at 1080p to 61 FPS at 1440p, and then to 52 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is nearly 25%, but the absolute numbers are lower, making the performance hit feel more severe. The Ultra preset tells an even more telling story: 57 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and a concerning 43 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is 14 FPS, which is a substantial loss, but the data suggests the component is hitting a performance ceiling.

The most telling metric for bottleneck analysis is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the spread is 61 FPS (118 vs 57), showing that the GPU has headroom when the CPU is less stressed. At 4K, the spread narrows to 47 FPS (90 vs 43), which indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the absolute frame rates are lower regardless of the settings. The data strongly suggests that while the i5-12400 provides adequate processing power, the RX 6600's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints on achieving higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K, especially with more demanding presets. The 1080p results show the most balanced partnership between the two components.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1626 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz. These specifications are reflected in its benchmark scores, where it achieves a Passmark G3D score of 15096 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 28850, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs.

In the context of Overpower, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS dips to 43, which suggests that the memory buffer may be nearing its limit, causing performance to suffer. The 128-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are moderate for the current generation, and the data implies that higher resolutions and texture-heavy settings place a significant strain on the memory subsystem. The GPU's pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p but become less sufficient as the resolution increases.

The RX 6600's performance relative to its direct rivals is tight. Its average benchmark score of 19036 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, which scores 19030 (a 0% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, which scores 19049 (a -0.1% delta). It also sits close to the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (19089, -0.3%) and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18954, 0.4%). This data indicates that the RX 6600's raw compute power is competitive with these cards, but in Overpower, the limiting factors are more likely the memory bandwidth and capacity, which explains the substantial FPS drops at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded at 1920x1080 is 118 FPS, which is achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the highest graphical settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the combination produces an average of 43 FPS, which is the lowest average frame rate in the entire measured data set.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 106 FPS at Low to 51 FPS at Ultra, a 52% reduction, which shows that the GPU's processing capability is being saturated as the workload increases.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate decreases from 118 FPS on Low to 74 FPS on Medium. The Medium preset also records a minimum FPS of 63 and a maximum of 85.

Q: Does the combo maintain a playable frame rate at 4K with Medium settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 56 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, indicating a generally playable experience.

Q: How does the RX 6600's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 19036, which is essentially identical to the NVIDIA Quadro K6000's score of 19030, showing a 0% performance delta between the two.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the combo performs admirably. The Low preset yields an average of 118 FPS. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. The High preset averages 69 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. This shows a clear performance curve where the combo is capable of high refresh rates at lower settings but sacrifices frames for visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance begins to taper off. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, which is still very smooth. The Medium preset averages 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. The High preset averages 61 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 51 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 55 FPS, highlighting the GPU's struggle with increased pixel count and settings.

At 3840x2160, the combo is pushed to its limits. The Low preset averages 90 FPS, which is impressive. The Medium preset averages 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS. The High preset averages 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. The data shows a steep decline from Low to Medium, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes a major constraint at this resolution.

The full data set shows a consistent pattern: the RX 6600 can handle Overpower at 1080p and 1440p with reasonable settings, but 4K gaming requires significant compromises in graphical quality to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Overpower, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 holds a rank of 2894 out of 3713 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking table, indicating that while it is not a top-tier performer, it is far from the bottom. The ranking suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this specific game.

The rank is a holistic metric that considers the combination's overall performance. Given the measured FPS data, particularly the lower scores at 4K Ultra, it is logical that the combo does not rank higher. The GPU's 63rd percentile ranking against all GPUs and the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs do not translate into a top-tier gaming experience for Overpower due to the game's demanding nature at higher resolutions. The combo's rank is a reflection of its mid-range positioning, where it excels at 1080p but falls behind more powerful pairings in higher-resolution scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257. It also achieves a Passmark multi-thread score of 18747 and a single-thread score of 3456, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Overpower, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows a significant performance drop when moving from Low to Ultra settings, which indicates that the workload is primarily GPU-bound. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 118 FPS, which is high enough to suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor at that setting. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 5890 for max threads and 910 for single thread, show that it has sufficient processing power to feed the GPU in most scenarios.

However, the CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is close. Its average benchmark score of 18683 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, -0.1%), the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, -0.7%). It is also slightly faster than the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519, 0.9%). This suggests that the i5-12400 is a balanced mid-range CPU. In Overpower, the data indicates that the CPU is capable of keeping up with the RX 6600, but the combination's overall performance is capped by the GPU's limits, especially at higher resolutions and settings where the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become bottlenecks.