Pc Building Simulator

# Pc Building Simulator with Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 — Performance Analysis

Pc Building Simulator, the 2019 simulation title, presents a unique hardware load profile where the RTX 4080's raw compute muscle interacts with a CPU that ranks in the 73rd percentile among all processors. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a game that scales unusually well with graphics settings, but the pattern of scaling tells a story about where the bottleneck truly lies. This analysis examines the measured data for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, interpreting what the numbers mean for actual gameplay and system balance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic but consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 224 at 1920x1080 to 141 at 2560x1440, then further to 74 at 3840x2160. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is nearly identical at High settings: 235 FPS at 1080p, 148 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 78 FPS at 4K (67% drop). This consistency across presets strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions — the RTX 4080's workload scales predictably with pixel count.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly softer. The 1080p average of 309 FPS drops to 210 FPS at 1440p (32% reduction) and then to 110 FPS at 4K (64% reduction from 1080p). The smaller percentage drops at Medium compared to Ultra hint that at lower settings, something other than pure pixel throughput begins to assert influence — likely the CPU's ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics updates. Low settings amplify this effect dramatically. At Low, the 1080p average is 351 FPS, dropping to 297 FPS at 1440p (15% reduction) and 155 FPS at 4K (56% reduction from 1080p). The 4K-to-1440p gap at Low (155 vs 297 FPS) is a 48% drop, which is smaller than the 63% drop seen at Ultra between those same resolutions. This compression of scaling at Low settings indicates the CPU begins to cap performance — the i5-12400F cannot push frame rates much beyond the 300-350 FPS range regardless of resolution.

The data implies that Pc Building Simulator is primarily GPU-limited at 4K and 1440p for this combo, but at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU becomes the ceiling. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle even 4K textures without the memory subsystem becoming a constraint. The frame rate scaling pattern — nearly linear with pixel count at Ultra, but flattening at Low — is classic evidence of a system where the GPU dominates at high quality settings while the CPU's single-thread performance becomes relevant only when graphical load is minimized.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080's specifications explain much of the observed behavior. With 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, the GPU has ample parallelism for a simulation game that renders many small objects — PC components, cases, cables — simultaneously. The boost clock of 2505 MHz (with a base of 2205 MHz) ensures that these units are fed with sufficient instruction throughput. The 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than adequate for the shader work Pc Building Simulator demands, which is relatively simple geometry but potentially many draw calls.

The 16 GB GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus yielding 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is a critical asset here. At 4K Ultra, the game maintains a 74 FPS average, which suggests the memory subsystem is not a bottleneck — if VRAM capacity or bandwidth were insufficient, frame rates would collapse rather than degrade gracefully. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 93, and at 1440p Medium it's 179, indicating stable frame pacing rather than stutter-induced dips. The RTX 4080's 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are present but likely unused in this simulation title, which does not feature ray-traced effects in the measured presets.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, positions it near the top of the performance stack. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209 (0.1% delta), meaning the standard 4080 is essentially identical in synthetic performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1%, and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%. For Pc Building Simulator specifically, the GPU's role is to render the workshop environment, component models, and real-time case assembly visualization. The high VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra with many components on screen, texture swapping is minimized.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra, the average FPS falls from 224 at 1080p to 74 at 4K — a 67% reduction. This near-linear scaling with pixel count indicates the RTX 4080's rasterization workload is the limiting factor. The GPU's compute resources (9728 shading units) are fully utilized at higher resolutions, and the 16 GB VRAM with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to avoid memory bottlenecks.

Q: Is the i5-12400F holding back the RTX 4080 in this game?

A: At Low settings, the 1080p average of 351 FPS and 1440p average of 297 FPS show a smaller drop (15%) than at Ultra (37% between the same resolutions). This compressed scaling at Low suggests the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, become the bottleneck when GPU load is light. At 4K Ultra, however, the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

Q: Which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 4K?

A: Medium at 4K delivers 110 FPS average with a minimum of 93 FPS, while High drops to 78 FPS and Ultra to 74 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 93 FPS ensures smoother frame delivery than the higher presets, which lack recorded minimums but likely dip lower given the average values.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54247 on average, which is 0.1% above the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209) and 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828 — note this number is higher, meaning the W5700X actually leads by 1.1%). The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.6% higher, and the Radeon 8060S at 55757 is 2.7% higher.

Q: What does the 1080p Low setting result of 351 FPS tell us about the CPU?

A: The 351 FPS average at 1080p Low, compared to 297 FPS at 1440p Low (only a 15% drop), suggests the frame rate is approaching a CPU-imposed ceiling. The i5-12400F's single-thread score of 1680 in Cinebench R23 and 909 in 3DMark single-thread indicates respectable per-core performance, but it cannot push beyond roughly 350 FPS in this game regardless of resolution.

Q: Is the combo rank of 299 out of 3723 combos good?

A: The rank of 299 out of 3723 places this combination in the top 8% of all tested combos for Pc Building Simulator. This is strong performance, though not top-tier, reflecting that while the RTX 4080 is a high-end GPU, the i5-12400F is a mid-range CPU that slightly limits overall frame rates in CPU-light scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the i5-12400F + RTX 4080 combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 351 FPS, Medium yields 309 FPS (with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 355), High achieves 235 FPS, and Ultra drops to 224 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium (42 FPS) is larger than the gap between High and Ultra (11 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns from the highest quality presets at this resolution. The 1080p Medium minimum of 263 FPS provides a comfortable floor above most high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows clearer scaling with settings. Low averages 297 FPS, dropping to 210 FPS at Medium (minimum 179, maximum 242), then 148 FPS at High, and 141 FPS at Ultra. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 15% at Low, 32% at Medium, 37% at High, and 37% at Ultra — a pattern where the Low setting's smaller drop indicates the CPU is starting to matter. The 1440p Medium minimum of 179 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, ensuring smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes dominant. Low settings yield 155 FPS, Medium 110 FPS (minimum 93, maximum 126), High 78 FPS, and Ultra 74 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 93 FPS is notable because it's above 60 FPS, meaning the game remains playable at this preset without stutter. However, the drop from Medium to High at 4K (110 to 78 FPS, a 29% reduction) is substantial, and the High-to-Ultra gap (78 to 74 FPS, only 5%) suggests Ultra offers little benefit over High at this resolution.

The measured data shows no max FPS values for Low, High, or Ultra presets — only Medium includes both min and max readings. This omission means the variance analysis is limited to Medium, where 1080p shows a range of 92 FPS (263-355), 1440p a range of 63 FPS (179-242), and 4K a range of 33 FPS (93-126). The shrinking range at higher resolutions is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where frame time variance decreases as the GPU becomes the consistent bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K display users, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 is the clear recommendation. The 110 FPS average with a 93 FPS minimum provides a smooth experience that stays above 90 FPS even in demanding scenes. High at 4K drops to 78 FPS, which is still playable but with less headroom, and Ultra at 74 FPS offers only 4 FPS more than High at the cost of additional GPU load. The Medium preset's minimum of 93 FPS is the only recorded minimum above 90 at 4K, making it the safest choice for maintaining consistent frame delivery.

At 1440p, the choice depends on the display's refresh rate. For 144 Hz panels, High at 148 FPS or Ultra at 141 FPS both clear the threshold, though High provides slightly more margin. Medium at 210 FPS would be wasted on a 144 Hz display but ideal for 240 Hz panels. The Medium minimum of 179 FPS ensures even the worst-case frame rate stays above 144 Hz, making it the most robust option for high-refresh gaming.

For 1080p, the story is different. Even Ultra at 224 FPS exceeds most gaming monitors' refresh rates, and the gap between High (235 FPS) and Ultra (224 FPS) is minimal. Low at 351 FPS is unnecessary for visual quality, but Medium at 309 FPS with a 263 FPS minimum provides an excellent balance for 240 Hz displays. Given that Pc Building Simulator is a simulation title where visual detail matters for the building experience, High at 1080p offers the best compromise between visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

The data suggests that users should prioritize Medium at 4K, High at 1440p, and High or Ultra at 1080p, depending on refresh rate. The minimal difference between High and Ultra (11 FPS at 1080p, 7 FPS at 1440p, 4 FPS at 4K) means Ultra rarely justifies its additional GPU load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide adequate data locality for a simulation game that manages many concurrent objects. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039, places it in the mid-to-upper range. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1% delta) — all score within 0.3% of each other, indicating the i5-12400F sits at a performance plateau where minor architectural differences matter little.

In Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's role involves managing the simulation state — component temperatures, power draw, case airflow — alongside rendering. The measured frame rates at Low settings reveal the CPU's ceiling. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 351 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 297 FPS. This 15% reduction is far smaller than the 37% reduction at Ultra between the same resolutions, indicating that at Low settings, the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to maintain the same scaling ratio. The i5-12400F's single-thread performance — 1680 in Cinebench R23 and 909 in 3DMark single-thread — is sufficient for most gaming tasks, but the simulation's game logic may create serial bottlenecks beyond 300 FPS.

The 3DMark multi-thread scores tell a more nuanced story. The 16-thread score of 5895 and max-thread score of 5912 are nearly identical, confirming that the 6-core/12-thread configuration is fully utilized. However, the 2-thread score of 1699 and 4-thread score of 3067 show that scaling from 2 to 4 threads is 80% efficient, but from 4 to 8 threads (4779) is only 56% efficient. This suggests the game's threading model may not scale perfectly beyond 4 cores, which could limit the i5-12400F's advantage over lower-core-count CPUs in this specific title.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node (Alder Lake-S architecture) mean it runs cool and efficient, but its lack of integrated graphics is irrelevant since the RTX 4080 handles all rendering. The passmark multithread score of 19433 and single-thread score of 3481 reinforce the picture of a solid mid-range CPU that can handle the simulation's background tasks without becoming the primary bottleneck at standard gaming resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 299 out of 3723 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator, placing it in the top 8% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's dominant role in determining frame rates at higher resolutions and quality settings. The RTX 4080's 86th percentile GPU ranking (avg score 54247) is substantially higher than the CPU's 73rd percentile (avg score 19039), and the combo's overall rank reflects this imbalance — the GPU is carrying the performance load while the CPU provides adequate support.

The rank of 299 suggests that while this is a strong configuration, it is not optimal for the game. Combos with higher-ranked CPUs (such as those in the 90th+ percentile) would likely achieve better frame rates at 1080p Low settings where the CPU is the limiting factor. The 351 FPS at 1080p Low is impressive, but a top-tier CPU might push that toward 400+ FPS. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the combo's rank would be more favorable because the GPU dominates the workload, and the RTX 4080's performance is near the top of the stack.

The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show that the i5-12400F is not a weak link — it sits within 0.3% of several comparable processors. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (0% delta) and Intel Core 3 201E (-0.1%) are essentially identical in average benchmark score, meaning a swap to these CPUs would produce nearly indistinguishable results in this game. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% delta), similarly show that the 4080 is at a performance plateau where small changes yield negligible differences.

In the context of all 3723 combos, the 299 rank positions this system comfortably in the upper echelon, but the data indicates that the specific pairing of a mid-range CPU with a high-end GPU creates a system where the CPU occasionally caps performance at low settings. For Pc Building Simulator's primary use case — building and testing virtual PCs at moderate settings — this combo delivers excellent performance that will satisfy most users, with the understanding that the 4K Ultra experience (74 FPS) is playable but not optimal. The measured data shows a well-balanced system for a game that is neither extremely CPU-intensive nor GPU-challenging, making the 299 rank a fair representation of its overall capability.