Overpower

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a fascinating performance profile in Overpower, one that reveals a system where the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, but the CPU is never far from the conversation. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across the board, but the scaling between resolutions and settings tells a story about where the bottlenecks lie and what this hardware combination is truly capable of. This analysis breaks down the data from the benchmark database to understand the relationship between these two components in this specific action title.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear and expected downward trend as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is more moderate than one might expect from a flagship GPU. At the "Low" settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 259 FPS at 1920x1080 to 249 FPS at 2560x1440, and then further down to 236 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a surprisingly small penalty for moving to 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is only 23 FPS, or roughly 9%. This suggests that at lower settings, the game is not heavily taxing the GPU's raw rendering capabilities, and the RTX 5090 D is able to maintain a very high level of performance even when pixel count quadruples.

However, the scaling story changes when we look at higher settings presets. At "High" settings, the average FPS goes from 189 (1080p) to 169 (1440p) to 144 (4K). This is a more pronounced decline, representing a 24% drop from 1080p to 4K. At "Ultra" settings, the trend is even steeper: 157 FPS at 1080p falls to 140 FPS at 1440p and then to 119 FPS at 4K, a 24% reduction from 1080p to 4K as well. The "Medium" preset shows a similar pattern, with 204 FPS at 1080p dropping to 182 FPS at 1440p and then to 155 FPS at 4K.

The data implies that while the RTX 5090 D is the dominant component, the CPU's role becomes more significant at lower resolutions and lower settings. The small FPS delta at Low settings across resolutions indicates that the system is likely becoming CPU-bound at 1080p and even 1440p. The fact that the 4K performance at Low settings (236 FPS) is so close to the 1080p performance (259 FPS) suggests that the GPU has ample headroom, but the game's logic or the CPU's ability to feed it frames is starting to cap the output. As settings increase and the GPU's workload grows, the scaling becomes more linear, showing that the RTX 5090 D is now the primary limiting factor, though it still maintains exceptionally high frame rates.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. In the context of Overpower, these specifications correlate directly with the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 259 FPS, which is a very high number. The relatively small drop to 249 FPS at 1440p and 236 FPS at 4K under the same settings suggests that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's demands even when the resolution increases.

This is a common pattern in action games where the CPU's single-thread performance is critical for game logic and draw call submission. The i5-12600KF's boost clock of 4.90 GHz, combined with its solid single-core benchmark performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1016), appears to be sufficient to avoid creating a severe bottleneck. However, the data also hints that the CPU is a secondary constraint. The fact that the FPS at 1080p Low (259) is not significantly higher than at 4K Low (236) indicates that the CPU is likely reaching its limit in feeding the RTX 5090 D frames, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates at lower resolutions. This makes the i5-12600KF a capable partner, but it is clearly the less dominant piece of this pairing. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory also contribute to its ability to handle the data throughput required by a high-end GPU, though the exact impact is not isolated in this data.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is 119 FPS.

Q: How does the frame rate at 1080p Low compare to the frame rate at 4K Low?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 259 FPS, while at 3840x2160 with Low settings it is 236 FPS, a difference of 23 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is more likely the limiting factor at 1080p, as the FPS at Low settings (259) is not much higher than at 4K (236), indicating the GPU has headroom that the CPU cannot fully utilize.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 119, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 259, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: What is the FPS range for the Medium settings preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 182, with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 209 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how each settings preset impacts performance. For players targeting the highest possible frame rates, the "Low" preset is the clear winner, offering an average of 259 FPS at 1080p, 249 FPS at 1440p, and 236 FPS at 4K. This setting provides a massive performance headroom, likely exceeding the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. However, the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for all users, especially considering how well the higher presets perform.

The "Medium" preset appears to be a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance. It delivers 204 FPS at 1080p, 182 FPS at 1440p, and 155 FPS at 4K. These numbers are all well above the 144 FPS threshold that many gamers consider the sweet spot for smooth gameplay. The "High" preset also remains highly playable, with 189 FPS at 1080p, 169 FPS at 1440p, and 144 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that for a 1440p or 4K display, the "High" preset is an excellent choice, as it maintains a very high frame rate while presumably offering better visual quality than Medium.

The "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, yielding 157 FPS at 1080p, 140 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. While these are still respectable numbers, the drop from High to Ultra is significant, and for 4K gaming, the 119 FPS average might not be ideal for competitive play. Based on the data, the "High" preset at 1440p or 4K offers the best experience for this combo, balancing high frame rates with likely enhanced visuals, while "Ultra" is viable but with a noticeable performance cost.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested configurations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D holds a commendable position. The combo's rank in Overpower is 30 out of 2980 tested combinations. This places it in the top 1% of all tested combos, which is a strong indicator of its overall performance capability. The data shows that this system is far above the median, and the high frame rates measured across all settings and resolutions corroborate this top-tier ranking.

Looking at the individual components, the RTX 5090 D is a significant contributor to this high rank. It sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 77712 is notably higher than its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which has an average score of 78940 and a deltaPct of -1.6. The CPU, while not as dominant, is still a solid performer. The i5-12600KF is in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27799. Its performance is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-10900K, with a negligible deltaPct of -0.3. This combination of a top-tier GPU and an upper-mid-range CPU is enough to secure a very high rank within the database, confirming that this is a powerful pairing for Overpower.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured average frame rates for this combo, organized by resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080:

• Low: 259 FPS
• Medium: 204 FPS (min 174, max 235)
• High: 189 FPS
• Ultra: 157 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 249 FPS
• Medium: 182 FPS (min 155, max 209)
• High: 169 FPS
• Ultra: 140 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 236 FPS
• Medium: 155 FPS (min 132, max 178)
• High: 144 FPS
• Ultra: 119 FPS

The data shows a consistent performance hierarchy: Low settings always yield the highest FPS, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The difference between Medium and High is relatively small at each resolution, while the jump to Ultra is more substantial. For instance, at 4K, the difference between Medium (155 FPS) and High (144 FPS) is 11 FPS, while the difference between High (144 FPS) and Ultra (119 FPS) is 25 FPS. This pattern suggests that the Ultra preset introduces a significant rendering cost that may not be justified by the performance hit, making High the more efficient choice.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a GPU, and its specifications are reflected in the Overpower frame rates. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for any current game at 4K, and in Overpower, it allows the GPU to handle the highest texture and detail settings without any apparent memory-related stutters, as evidenced by the high average FPS at 4K Ultra (119 FPS). The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and its 170 RT cores are also key factors in its ability to maintain high frame rates. The boost clock of 2407 MHz ensures that the GPU operates at a very high frequency during gaming sessions.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. Its Passmark G3D score is 44065, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14326. These numbers place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 77712 is slightly higher than its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which has an average score of 78940 and a deltaPct of -1.6. In Overpower, the GPU's role is to handle the increasing graphical load as settings are raised. The data shows that it does so effectively, with the FPS scaling down gracefully from Low to Ultra. The RTX 5090 D is the clear primary driver of performance in this combo, and its immense resources are what allow the system to achieve the high frame rates seen even at 4K. The 32 GB of VRAM is a forward-looking feature that ensures the GPU will not be a limiting factor in this game for the foreseeable future.