Overpower

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional performance in Overpower, ranking in the top 2% of all tested combinations. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but with a CPU that is more than capable of keeping pace at 1080p. The optimal experience hinges on the display’s native resolution, with the Ultra preset providing a highly playable 110 FPS at 4K, while lower settings unlock frame rates above 250 FPS for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data shows that the Ultra preset is the definitive choice for this configuration at 4K, delivering an average of 110 FPS. This is a fully playable frame rate for an action title, and it maximizes the visual fidelity that the RTX 4090 is designed to provide. While the High preset at 4K offers a higher 130.4 FPS, the jump to Ultra only costs 20.4 FPS, a small price for the significant visual upgrade. For users with high-refresh-rate 1440p displays, the Ultra preset also holds up well, hitting 130.8 FPS. However, the data suggests that the Medium preset at 1440p provides a substantial boost to 168.6 FPS, which may be preferable for those seeking a higher frame rate without a major drop in visual quality.

At 1080p, the story changes slightly. The CPU begins to emerge as a limiting factor, and the performance gains from lowering settings become more pronounced. The Ultra preset still manages a solid 142.2 FPS, but the Low preset reaches 261.4 FPS. For esports-focused players on 1080p monitors, the Low preset is the clear winner, as it nearly doubles the Ultra frame rate. The Medium setting at 185.6 FPS offers a balanced middle ground, but the data indicates that the combination of this CPU and GPU is powerful enough to prioritize either maximum frame rate or maximum quality without a poor experience at either end.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance driver in this system. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for feeding the massive amount of data required at 4K resolution. The GPU’s Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process, houses 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. This hardware translates into a significant performance advantage; the GPU sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 66473 places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40 and 1.3% ahead of the Quadro P6000.

The performance scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU’s dominance. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 110 FPS, which is 22.4% lower than the 142.2 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This drop is expected, as the GPU is working harder to render more pixels. Yet, the fact that the RTX 4090 can maintain over 100 FPS at 4K Ultra in a demanding action game reflects its raw power. The GPU’s 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is the engine behind these high frame rates, ensuring that the visual effects and geometry at higher settings do not become a bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF serves as a capable and reliable partner for the RTX 4090, though its influence on frame rates is most evident at lower resolutions. With 12 cores and 20 threads, this Alder Lake processor has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps feed the GPU with game data. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35355 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and it is virtually tied with its closest rivals: it is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14400 and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900HX.

The CPU’s role becomes clear when comparing frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Ultra and Low settings is 119.2 FPS (261.4 vs 142.2). This large delta indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck; the GPU is still scaling with the workload. However, the difference between 1080p and 1440p on the Low preset is only 8.5 FPS (252.9 vs 261.4). This smaller drop suggests that the CPU is starting to reach its limit, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased resolution without a proportional decrease in performance. The processor’s 3dmark_max_threads score of 9983 and cinebench_r23_multicore score of 28979 show it has the multi-threaded muscle to avoid holding back the RTX 4090 in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 4K display?

A: The Ultra preset is recommended, as it achieves an average of 110 FPS, providing a high-fidelity experience that remains fully playable.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset is 119.2 FPS faster, delivering 261.4 FPS compared to 142.2 FPS on Ultra, a significant 83.8% increase in frame rate.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Yes, the data suggests a partial CPU limitation at 1080p. The frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p on Low settings is only 8.5 FPS, indicating the CPU cannot fully feed the GPU’s potential at the lowest resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between 4K and 1440p on High settings?

A: At 4K High, the system averages 130.4 FPS, while at 1440p High, it averages 152.9 FPS. This is a 22.5 FPS or 17.3% performance improvement when dropping from 4K to 1440p.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66473, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40 and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000, but 0.4% lower than the Tesla T4.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate recorded for this combo in the benchmark?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 261.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system is highly performant, with the Low preset hitting 261.4 FPS and the Ultra preset still managing 142.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop by a relatively modest amount. The Low preset falls to 252.9 FPS, a decrease of 8.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 130.8 FPS, a decrease of 11.4 FPS. This moderate scaling indicates that the GPU is still the dominant factor at 1440p, as it has ample resources to handle the increased pixel count.

The transition to 4K is where the scaling becomes more pronounced. The Low preset drops to 229.4 FPS, a 23.5 FPS decrease from 1440p. The Ultra preset drops to 110 FPS, a 20.8 FPS decrease. These larger drops highlight the increased rendering load on the GPU at 4K. The fact that the frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K (20.8 FPS on Ultra) is larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (11.4 FPS on Ultra) shows that the GPU is working progressively harder. This scaling behavior identifies the GPU as the primary limiting component at 4K, while the CPU’s influence is more apparent at 1080p where the frame rate differences between resolutions are smaller in relative terms.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the average FPS for each tested configuration. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivered 142.2 FPS, High delivered 174.1 FPS, Medium delivered 185.6 FPS, and Low delivered 261.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivered 130.8 FPS, High delivered 152.9 FPS, Medium delivered 168.6 FPS, and Low delivered 252.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivered 110 FPS, High delivered 130.4 FPS, Medium delivered 142 FPS, and Low delivered 229.4 FPS.

These numbers show a consistent pattern across all resolutions: the Low preset provides the highest performance, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra providing the lowest frame rate. The performance gap between Medium and High is relatively small at all resolutions, with a difference of 11.2 FPS at 1080p, 15.7 FPS at 1440p, and 11.6 FPS at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra is also consistent, at 31.9 FPS at 1080p, 22.1 FPS at 1440p, and 20.4 FPS at 4K. This data suggests that the visual quality jump from Medium to High and High to Ultra comes with a predictable performance cost, allowing users to tune their experience based on their refresh rate and visual preferences.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is ranked 34th out of 1744 tested combos in Overpower. This places the system in the top 1.95% of all configurations, underscoring its elite status. This high ranking is a direct result of the GPU’s immense power and the CPU’s ability to support it without becoming a significant bottleneck at typical gaming resolutions. The data shows that this pairing is among the best available for this game, delivering frame rates that exceed the requirements of most high-refresh-rate monitors even at 4K resolution.

The ranking reflects the synergy between the two components. While the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU, its performance is contingent on a capable processor. The i7-12700KF, with its high boost clock and 12 cores, provides the necessary instruction throughput to keep the GPU fed. The result is a system that consistently produces high frame rates, as seen in the measured data. For any user seeking a no-compromise experience in Overpower, this combination represents a top-tier choice, validated by its position in the 99th percentile of all tested hardware pairings.