Overpower

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces a combination that ranks 3556 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the CPU is a high-end performer sitting in the 79th percentile among all processors, while the GPU, though in the 74th percentile among all graphics cards, is clearly the limiting factor for this title. The data indicates that this is a pairing where the processor has substantial headroom left untapped, as the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are constrained by the graphics subsystem rather than compute capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 3556 out of 3713 places this system firmly in the lower tier of tested configurations for Overpower. This is a notable underperformance given the components involved, as the CPU alone benchmarks at 27799 average score, which is statistically indistinguishable from its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 (0.3% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 (0.3% lower). This tight grouping suggests the processor is delivering expected performance, yet the overall system still lands near the bottom of the ranking pool.

The GPU side shows a similar story of parity with its nearest competitors, yet the combination still fails to climb the ranks. The Radeon RX 570 averages 28766 in benchmark scores, with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 28874 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon R9 M295X at 28580 (0.7% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28996 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 at 28421 (1.2% lower). When two components that each sit near their respective performance peers are combined, the result should theoretically be competitive, but Overpower’s specific demands expose the GPU’s age and memory limitations, dragging the entire combo down the rankings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is built on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, which are modest figures by modern standards. More critically, the memory configuration consists of 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). This memory capacity and bandwidth become the primary constraint in Overpower, particularly at higher resolutions where texture data exceeds the available VRAM.

The GPU’s compute capabilities include 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. These specifications yield a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 5.095 TFLOPS. The 4 GB VRAM is the standout limitation — as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the measured FPS drops more steeply than would be expected from pixel-count scaling alone, indicating that the GPU is spilling over into system memory or thrashing textures. The data shows this pattern clearly: at 1080p Low the combo achieves 62 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 47 FPS, a 24% reduction that aligns with the GPU hitting its memory ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop varies by settings preset. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 62 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 1440p (an 11% drop) and then to 47 FPS at 4K (a 24% drop from 1080p). This relatively gentle scaling curve at Low settings suggests that the GPU is not entirely overwhelmed, likely because reduced texture quality keeps VRAM usage within the 4 GB limit.

At Medium settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced: 39 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (10% drop), and 29 FPS at 4K (26% drop from 1080p). The High settings preset shows a similar trend, with 36 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p (11% drop), and 27 FPS at 4K (25% drop). Ultra settings exhibit the steepest falloff: 30 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (10% drop), and 23 FPS at 4K (23% drop from 1080p). The consistent 10% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and 23-26% reduction to 4K indicates that the GPU is the limiting component — a CPU-bound system would show more stable frame rates across resolutions, whereas this combo’s FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 62 FPS, which is the only configuration that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 45. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 30 FPS. The spread from 62 to 30 FPS across settings at 1080p represents a 52% performance range, showing that the GPU has headroom only at the lowest quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, all averages fall below the 60 FPS mark. Low settings average 55 FPS, Medium drops to 35 FPS (minimum 29, maximum 40), High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. The 1440p results show a compression of the settings spread — from 55 to 27 FPS, a 51% range — indicating that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck even at Low settings, as the 4 GB VRAM struggles with the higher pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal at best. Low settings average 47 FPS, Medium averages 29 FPS (minimum 25, maximum 34), High averages 27 FPS, and Ultra falls to 23 FPS. The 4K results are particularly telling: even Low settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset’s 23 FPS average is barely playable for an action game. The frame time data at Medium settings shows a minimum of 25 FPS and maximum of 34 FPS, indicating significant variance that would manifest as stuttering during gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Overpower?

A: The highest measured average is 62 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration where the combo reaches or exceeds 60 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872) and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896), but 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712).

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

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 30 at 1920x1080 to 27 at 2560x1440 (a 10% decrease) and then to 23 at 3840x2160 (a 23% decrease from 1080p).

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck in this combination?

A: The data indicates the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting factor, as FPS scales consistently with resolution across all settings presets, and the 4 GB VRAM constrains performance particularly at 1440p and 4K.

Q: Does the GPU’s benchmark performance align with its nearest rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 570 averages 28766 in benchmarks, which is 0.4% lower than the Radeon RX 6800M (28874), 0.8% lower than the Radeon RX 470 (28996), 0.7% higher than the Radeon R9 M295X (28580), and 1.2% higher than the Quadro RTX 8000 (28421).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 25, observed at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings, where the average is 29 FPS and the maximum is 34 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers 62 FPS and is the only setup that achieves smooth, consistent performance above the 60 FPS threshold. At this resolution, Medium settings yield 39 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid, while High (36 FPS) and Ultra (30 FPS) push the frame rate into a range where action game responsiveness may suffer.

For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, 1440p with Low settings (55 FPS) is the best balance, as it maintains near-60 FPS performance while offering a higher pixel density than 1080p. However, any attempt to run Medium or higher at 1440p drops the average to 35 FPS or below, which is a significant compromise for an action title. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 47 FPS, making this resolution impractical for this combination — the data shows that the 4 GB VRAM is insufficient for consistent performance at this pixel count.

The measured frame time variance at Medium settings (minimum 25, maximum 34 at 4K) suggests that this preset introduces stuttering, making it a poor choice even where the average FPS appears marginally acceptable. The recommendation is clear: use Low settings for any resolution above 1080p, or stick to 1080p Low for the best experience. The 62 FPS at 1080p Low is the only data point that provides the frame rate headroom expected for smooth action gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm². It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it interfaces with the system via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

Benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. The Geekbench multi-core score is 12137, while single-core is 2157. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1995 (2 threads) to 7956 (16 threads) and 7952 (max threads), with a single-thread score of 1016. The PassMark multi-thread score is 27575, with single-thread at 3925. These figures place the CPU in the 79th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27799.

Despite this compute capability, the CPU’s role in Overpower is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS does not improve with lower resolutions in a way that would indicate CPU limitation — for instance, at Low settings, the increase from 47 FPS at 4K to 62 FPS at 1080p is proportional to pixel count, not to CPU headroom. The processor’s high single-thread performance (3302 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that game logic and physics are unlikely to bottleneck, but the GPU’s 4 GB VRAM and Polaris architecture cap the overall frame rate. The data suggests that this CPU has substantial untapped potential in this pairing — a more capable GPU would likely shift the combo rank significantly higher, as the processor’s benchmark scores rival CPUs that typically sit in much higher-performing systems.