Overpower

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a high-performance experience in Overpower, but the benchmark data reveals a distinct bottleneck profile. The CPU, while capable, demonstrates its limits as resolution drops, while the GPU’s immense raw power remains largely untapped in this title. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested configurations, and examines the role of the GPU’s specifications in shaping these results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: the performance gap between resolutions is relatively modest, indicating that the Intel Core i5-12400 is the limiting component in this pairing. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 226.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 207.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of only 8.3%. This slight decline suggests that even at 4K, the CPU is preventing the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential. The scaling from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 at Low settings is even tighter, with just a 1.6% difference (222.8 FPS vs. 226.5 FPS), further reinforcing the CPU-bound nature of the setup at lower resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the pattern shifts slightly. The frame rate drops from 150.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 133.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 113.8 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 24.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a larger relative drop than seen at Low settings. This indicates that as graphical load increases, the GPU begins to play a more significant role, though the CPU remains a factor. The fact that the 4K Ultra score of 113.8 FPS is still far below what the RTX 5090 could theoretically achieve in a CPU-unconstrained scenario suggests that the i5-12400’s six cores and twelve threads are holding back performance even at the highest resolution.

The data points to a system that is heavily CPU-limited at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU only becoming a more prominent bottleneck at 4K with higher presets. The i5-12400’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 are respectable, but they are not sufficient to feed a GPU of this caliber. The result is a performance curve that is unusually flat across resolutions, a hallmark of a CPU bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing high refresh rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 offers the highest measured average of 226.5 FPS. This setting provides the smoothest experience, though it comes at the cost of visual fidelity. A more balanced option is the High preset at 2560x1440, which delivers 161.3 FPS. This is a significant jump from the 1440p Ultra score of 133.9 FPS, while still offering a solid level of graphical detail. The High preset at 1440p appears to be the sweet spot for this combo, as it maintains a frame rate well above the 144 Hz threshold while not being as demanding as Ultra.

At 4K, the High preset is the most playable option, yielding 138.9 FPS. This is a 22.1% improvement over the Ultra preset’s 113.8 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays. The Medium preset at 4K, at 144.8 FPS, is also viable, but the difference between Medium and High is only 4.1%, suggesting that High provides a better visual return for the minor performance cost. The Ultra preset, while visually the most impressive, pushes the system to its limits, with the 4K score of 113.8 FPS being the lowest measured across all configurations.

The data suggests that the Low preset is only necessary for users with extremely high refresh rate monitors (240Hz or above). For most users, the High preset at 1440p or 4K offers the best combination of performance and visual quality. The Medium preset provides marginal gains over High, making it a less compelling choice. Ultimately, the High preset is the most efficient use of the hardware’s capabilities, as it avoids the steep performance drop seen when moving to Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The Overpower combo, consisting of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, ranks 44th out of 1744 tested combinations. This places it in the top 2.5% of all configurations in the database, a strong showing that reflects the raw power of the RTX 5090. However, the ranking also highlights the inherent imbalance of this pairing. The i5-12400’s average benchmark score of 19850 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (deltaPct 0.1) and Intel Core i7-8700 (deltaPct -0.2). These rivals are older generation parts, yet they perform on par with the i5-12400, underscoring that this processor is not a top-tier performer.

The RTX 5090, by contrast, is a dominant force, with an average benchmark score of 84306 and a 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the RTX 5090 D (deltaPct 0.1) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (deltaPct 0.2), which are essentially equivalent in score. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 39650 confirms its massive compute capability. The discrepancy between the CPU’s 77th percentile and the GPU’s 94th percentile is the core issue. The combo’s 44th rank out of 1744 is a result of the GPU’s high ceiling, but it is not higher because the CPU fails to fully utilize it.

In the context of other combos, this pairing is a high performer, but it sits below configurations that would pair the RTX 5090 with a more powerful processor. The data indicates that the i5-12400 is a mid-range part, and its pairing with a flagship GPU creates a notable bottleneck. The combo rank of 44 is respectable, but it is a clear sign that the CPU is the limiting factor, preventing this setup from reaching the very top of the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS ranges from a high of 226.5 FPS at Low settings to a low of 150.7 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium preset delivers 190.9 FPS, while High achieves 179.9 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 75.8 FPS, a 33.5% reduction. This shows that the CPU is the primary limiter, as even at Low settings, the frame rate is capped well below what the RTX 5090 could theoretically produce.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS values are slightly lower but follow the same pattern. Low settings produce 222.8 FPS, Medium 175.8 FPS, High 161.3 FPS, and Ultra 133.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 88.9 FPS, a 39.9% reduction. This larger percentage drop, compared to 1080p, indicates that the GPU is starting to become more of a factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the impact of the GPU is more pronounced. Low settings yield 207.6 FPS, Medium 144.8 FPS, High 138.9 FPS, and Ultra 113.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 93.8 FPS, a 45.2% reduction. This is the largest percentage drop across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU’s workload is increasing. However, the 4K Low score of 207.6 FPS is still remarkably high, suggesting that the CPU is still a limiting factor even at this resolution. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the Low preset is always the fastest, and the Ultra preset is always the slowest, with the gap between them widening as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship GPU with a massive 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units give it an FP32 compute throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS. These specifications are among the highest in the database, and the GPU’s benchmark scores reflect this, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411 and a PassMark G3D score of 39650. The GPU’s 94th percentile ranking confirms its position as a top-tier component.

In Overpower, however, these specifications are not fully leveraged. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, especially at 1080p and 1440p. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM is far more than the game requires, and its massive bandwidth is not fully utilized. The GPU’s role in this combo is to provide a high performance ceiling, but the CPU prevents it from being reached. The 5 nm process node and Blackwell 2.0 architecture are modern, but they do not help if the processor cannot feed the GPU enough data.

The GPU’s clocks, with a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz, are high, but the effective performance is constrained by the CPU. The data shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of delivering over 200 FPS at 4K Low, which reflects its raw power. Yet, at 1080p Low, the score is only 226.5 FPS, a mere 9.1% increase over the 4K result. This small gain is a clear indicator that the CPU is the limiting factor. The GPU’s role in this pairing is to ensure that high frame rates are possible, but its full potential remains untapped due to the i5-12400’s performance ceiling.