Pc Building Simulator

# Pc Building Simulator: Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces frame rates that are almost entirely GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but at 1080p the CPU begins to assert itself, creating a performance profile that is exceptionally strong yet not perfectly balanced. The data shows this combo ranks 82nd out of 3,002 tested combinations, placing it in the top 2.7% of all systems tested for this simulation title. What is immediately striking is the sheer magnitude of the frame rates: even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 89 FPS, which is playable and smooth, but the scaling pattern reveals where the bottlenecks truly live.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound scaling curve that begins to flatten at the low end due to CPU limitations. At 4K High, the system delivers 94 FPS average; dropping to 1440p High increases performance to 179 FPS (a 90.4% improvement), and further dropping to 1080p High yields 271 FPS (a 188.3% improvement over 4K). This aggressive scaling indicates that the RTX 5090 D has ample headroom at lower resolutions, and the game's rendering load scales dramatically with pixel count.

The 4K to 1440p transition shows the GPU working hard: at 4K Medium, the average is 133 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it jumps to 254 FPS, a 91% increase. Similarly, 4K Low produces 187 FPS, but 1440p Low reaches 301 FPS, a 61% uplift. The pattern is consistent: each resolution drop yields substantial gains, confirming that the RTX 5090 D is the primary limiter at 4K, which is expected given the massive pixel throughput required at 3840x2160.

However, the scaling from 1440p to 1080p tells a different story. At High settings, 1440p delivers 179 FPS while 1080p delivers 271 FPS, a 51.4% gain — less than the 90.4% gain seen when moving from 4K to 1440p. At Medium settings, the jump from 1440p (254 FPS) to 1080p (309 FPS) is only a 21.7% improvement, and at Low settings, the difference narrows further: 301 FPS at 1440p versus 351 FPS at 1080p, a mere 16.6% gain. This diminishing return is the signature of CPU limitation.

The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, becomes the bottleneck at 1080p Low where the system hits 351 FPS average. The fact that 1440p Low (301 FPS) is only 14.2% slower than 1080p Low, while 4K Low (187 FPS) is 37.9% slower than 1440p Low, shows that the CPU can feed frames up to roughly 300 FPS before it runs out of steam. Beyond that, the GPU is waiting on the processor. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as evidenced by the 49.7% drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low (301 to 187 FPS), which far exceeds any CPU constraint.

The Ultra preset data reinforces this: 4K Ultra averages 89 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 171 FPS, and 1080p Ultra averages 267 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is 92.1%, but from 1440p to 1080p it is 56.1%. This consistent compression at 1080p across all settings indicates that the CPU headroom is exhausted around the 270-350 FPS range, depending on the preset's draw call overhead.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets, and the optimal choice depends heavily on the target resolution. At 4K, the High preset at 94 FPS is the sweet spot for visual fidelity and smoothness, as Ultra drops to 89 FPS (a 5.3% reduction) while Medium sits at 133 FPS and Low at 187 FPS. Given that the game is a simulation where visual detail may matter less than system stability, Medium at 133 FPS offers a 41.5% improvement over High while still maintaining respectable visuals, making it the strongest 4K recommendation for high-refresh displays.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 254 FPS is the standout choice. It delivers 41.9% more performance than High (179 FPS) while only sacrificing a modest amount of visual quality, and it maintains a minimum of 216 FPS, ensuring no noticeable stutter. The Low preset at 301 FPS is available for competitive play, but the jump from Medium to Low yields only 18.5% more frames, which is unlikely to be perceptible on most displays. Ultra at 171 FPS is still excellent, but it trails Medium by 48.5% and offers diminishing returns for the visual uplift.

At 1080p, the situation is more nuanced due to CPU limitations. The Ultra preset at 267 FPS and the High preset at 271 FPS are nearly identical (1.5% difference), suggesting that the CPU is the limiter at this resolution, not the GPU. Medium at 309 FPS is the best balance, offering 14% more performance than High while maintaining a minimum of 263 FPS. Low at 351 FPS is the maximum achievable, but the 13.6% gain over Medium comes at the cost of significant visual degradation. For most users, Medium at 1080p provides the best experience, as it clears the 300 FPS threshold and stays well above any refresh rate commonly found on gaming monitors.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the universal recommendation across all resolutions. At 4K it provides 133 FPS, at 1440p it provides 254 FPS, and at 1080p it provides 309 FPS, each representing a substantial improvement over High while retaining enough visual quality for a simulation game. The Ultra preset is only marginally better than High at every resolution, with differences of 5.3% at 4K, 4.5% at 1440p, and 1.5% at 1080p, making it the least efficient choice.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the extraordinary frame rates observed. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the card delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for any current simulation title. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed, and the GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. This massive memory subsystem is paired with 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, enabling a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

The RTX 5090 D's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,112. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, +1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, -2.4%), show that it sits in a competitive band, though the deltaPct values are small (within 2.4%). In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the card scores 14,326, and in Geekbench Vulkan it achieves 376,915, while OpenCL reaches 310,674. These synthetic scores align with the in-game results: the card is clearly capable of driving 4K at high frame rates, as evidenced by the 94 FPS average at 4K High.

The 32 GB VRAM is a significant asset for a simulation game, which often involves large amounts of data (system components, 3D models, and textures). While the measured FPS data does not include VRAM usage, the capacity ensures that memory is never a limiting factor at any resolution or preset. The card's dual-slot design and 575 W TDP indicate that it is a power-hungry component, but the benchmark results show that this power translates directly into performance.

The GPU's role in this pairing is clear: it is the primary driver of performance at 4K and 1440p, where the frame rates scale closely with the GPU's compute and memory capabilities. At 4K Low, the card achieves 187 FPS, which confirms its raw throughput, but the fact that 4K Ultra drops to 89 FPS (a 52.4% reduction) shows that the card is sensitive to preset complexity, particularly pixel shading and post-processing effects common in simulation titles.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo can achieve in Pc Building Simulator?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 351, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the ceiling for this pairing, as the CPU becomes the limiting factor beyond this point.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the data indicates GPU limitation at 4K. The 4K Ultra average is 89 FPS, while 1440p Ultra reaches 171 FPS (a 92.1% increase), showing that the GPU's rendering load at 4K is the primary constraint, not the CPU.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 82nd out of 3,002 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.7% of all systems benchmarked for this game.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 254 FPS average with a minimum of 216 FPS, making it the best balance of performance and visual quality. It outperforms High (179 FPS) by 41.9% and remains well above any common refresh rate.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: Yes, the evidence is strong. At 1080p, the difference between Low (351 FPS) and Medium (309 FPS) is only 13.6%, and between Medium and Ultra (267 FPS) it is 15.7%, indicating that the i5-12400F cannot feed the GPU fast enough to fully utilize its capabilities at this resolution.

Q: What is the RTX 5090 D's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GPU sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 77,112, with nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, +1.1%) and AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, -1.6%).

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 82 out of 3,002 tested combinations places it in the top 2.7% of all systems evaluated for Pc Building Simulator. This is a strong result, but it is important to contextualize it: the RTX 5090 D is one of the most powerful GPUs available, yet the i5-12400F is a mid-range processor from the Core 12th Gen series. The rank reflects the fact that the game is not heavily CPU-bound at higher resolutions, allowing the GPU to dominate. However, the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 19,039) and its nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS at 19,047, +0%; Intel Core 3 201E at 19,056, -0.1%; Intel Core i5-1335U at 18,982, +0.3%; AMD EPYC 7773X at 18,979, +0.3%) show that it is a competent but not exceptional processor.

The gap between the GPU's 92nd percentile and the CPU's 73rd percentile creates an imbalance that manifests at 1080p. If this combo were paired with a stronger CPU, the 1080p frame rates would likely improve beyond 351 FPS, potentially pushing the combo higher in the rankings. As it stands, the rank of 82 is respectable, but the data suggests that the system leaves performance on the table at lower resolutions. The 4K and 1440p results are where this combo shines, as the GPU's massive compute resources are fully utilized, and the CPU keeps pace adequately.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a mainstream part, but its benchmark scores reveal a nuanced performance profile. In Cinebench R23, it scores 12,380 multi-core and 1,680 single-core; in Geekbench, it achieves 9,472 multi-core and 1,964 single-core; and in Passmark, it reaches 19,433 multi-thread and 3,481 single-thread. These scores place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,039.

The CPU's role in Pc Building Simulator is evident from the resolution scaling analysis. At 4K, the CPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates are primarily determined by the GPU's pixel throughput. At 1440p, the CPU begins to matter more, but it still has enough headroom to feed the GPU effectively, as shown by the 179 FPS High result. At 1080p, however, the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The 3DMark scores illustrate this: the CPU achieves 5,895 in the 16-thread test, 4,779 in the 8-thread test, and 3,067 in the 4-thread test, with a single-thread score of 909. These scores indicate that the CPU's single-thread performance is adequate but not outstanding, which matters in a simulation game where game logic and component interactions may rely heavily on single-threaded performance.

The Passmark data provides further insight: the CPU scores 233,327 in data compression, 11,679 in data encryption, 72 in find prime numbers, 46,759 in floating point math, 59,995 in integer math, and 22,975 in random string sorting. These varied scores show that the CPU handles mixed workloads well, but the find prime numbers score of 72 is notably low, suggesting that certain computational tasks could be a weak point. In the context of Pc Building Simulator, where the game simulates hardware interactions, the CPU's 12 threads are likely sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but the 1080p ceiling of 351 FPS indicates that the CPU's instruction throughput is the limiting factor.

The CPU's nearest rivals, all within 0.3% of its average benchmark score, include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, Intel Core 3 201E, Intel Core i5-1335U, and AMD EPYC 7773X. This tight clustering shows that the i5-12400F is not a performance outlier; it is a solidly mid-range processor that pairs well with a high-end GPU at resolutions above 1080p. The data unequivocally shows that for this game, the CPU is sufficient at 4K and 1440p, but at 1080p, users seeking the absolute highest frame rates would benefit from a more powerful processor.