Ready Or Not

# Ready Or Not with Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The data for this Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination tells a clear story about balancing a 12-core Alder Lake processor with a 40-series Ada Lovelace GPU in a tactical shooter. Across 12 measured data points, this combo ranks 998th out of 1748 tested configurations in Ready Or Not, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p, where the CPU's 20 threads appear to keep up with the RTX 4060's output. The core question this data raises is whether the i7-12700K's headroom is being wasted at 4K, or whether the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM is the true bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component clearly. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 213.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 131.8 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 69.4 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 67.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a steep curve that points directly at the GPU as the primary constraint. The RTX 4060, with its 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, simply cannot feed the 4K pixel count at the same rate the i7-12700K can process the game's logic.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the drop goes from 264.9 FPS at 1080p to 166.8 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 89.8 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate barely exceeds 90 FPS suggests that resolution, not graphical fidelity, is the dominant factor. At Ultra settings, the story is even more pronounced: 146.5 FPS at 1080p craters to 96 FPS at 1440p and then to 48 FPS at 4K. This halving from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is a textbook sign of pixel throughput limits, likely tied to the RTX 4060's 48 ROPs and 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The data implies that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where the i7-12700K's 5.00 GHz boost clock can keep the GPU fed. At 4K, the CPU's potential is largely untapped, as the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The 89.8 FPS at 4K Low versus 69.4 FPS at 4K High shows only a 22.7% improvement from dropping settings, which is modest compared to the 51.5% improvement seen at 1440p when going from Ultra to Low.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Ready Or Not?

A: The data shows 4K average frame rates ranging from 48 FPS at Ultra settings to 89.8 FPS at Low settings. While Low settings are playable, the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS, and even High settings only reach 69.4 FPS. This indicates 4K is possible but requires reduced settings for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: At 1440p, the measured frame rates are significantly more comfortable, with all settings presets exceeding 96 FPS. The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 131.8 FPS, which suggests 1440p is the sweet spot where the RTX 4060's capabilities align with the i7-12700K's processing power.

Q: How much performance is lost by enabling Ultra settings?

A: Compared to High settings, Ultra reduces average FPS by 31.5% at 1080p (from 213.9 to 146.5), 27.2% at 1440p (from 131.8 to 96), and 30.8% at 4K (from 69.4 to 48). The penalty is consistent across resolutions, indicating a uniform cost from the additional graphical workload.

Q: Does the i7-12700K become a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. Even at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 264.9 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. However, at 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads may begin to approach their limits, though the exact threshold is not directly measured.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 998th out of 1748 tested combos in Ready Or Not, meaning it sits slightly below the median. This ranking reflects the RTX 4060's mid-range positioning rather than the CPU, as the i7-12700K scores in the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Is there a large difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: At 1080p, the gap is 31.8 FPS (264.9 vs 233.1), at 1440p it is 21.9 FPS (166.8 vs 144.9), and at 4K it is 10.2 FPS (89.8 vs 79.6). The difference narrows as resolution increases, suggesting that at 4K, the GPU is so constrained that settings changes have less impact.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 998 out of 1748 tested configurations, this system sits in the lower 43rd percentile of all Ready Or Not setups. The ranking is somewhat surprising given the i7-12700K's strong synthetic performance—its average benchmark score of 35684 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's middling rank points to the RTX 4060 as the limiting factor. The GPU's percentile ranking of 66th among all GPUs is far lower, and when paired with a high-end CPU, the overall combo performance is dragged down.

The nearest rivals for the CPU are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with an average score of 35802 (0.3% ahead), the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 35940 (0.7% ahead), and the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35468 (0.6% behind). These differences are negligible, meaning the i7-12700K's performance is consistent with its peers. For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23321 (0.6% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 23338 (0.7% ahead), and the Intel Arc B580 at 23021 (0.7% behind). The RTX 4060 essentially trades blows with these competitors, reinforcing its mid-range status.

The implication of this ranking is that owners of this combo should not expect top-tier frame rates in Ready Or Not, but the measured FPS data shows they will still get a highly playable experience at 1080p and 1440p. The rank of 998 is likely influenced by the fact that many higher-ranked combos pair the i7-12700K with more powerful GPUs, as this CPU has the headroom to support them.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread across settings. The Low preset delivers 264.9 FPS, Medium drops to 233.1 FPS, High reduces further to 213.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 146.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 118.4 FPS, a substantial 44.7% reduction. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has ample performance to drive high-refresh-rate monitors, even with the most demanding preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear step down. Low settings produce 166.8 FPS, Medium reaches 144.9 FPS, High holds at 131.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 96 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is notable because it barely exceeds 60 FPS, which is the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 70.8 FPS, a 42.4% reduction from the Low baseline.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. Low settings yield 89.8 FPS, Medium drops to 79.6 FPS, High manages 69.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, which is a critical threshold for competitive play. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41.8 FPS, a 46.5% reduction. The data pattern shows that the RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K with quality settings enabled.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K features 12 cores and 20 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz boosts up to 5.00 GHz, and it carries 25 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and a single-core score of 4128, with a Geekbench multicore score of 13892. The PassMark multithread score of 34404 further confirms its strong multi-threaded capabilities.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, given the frame rate patterns. The fact that the combo reaches 264.9 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates without bottlenecking. However, the 3DMark scores tell an interesting story: the 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 indicate that scaling beyond 8 threads (score of 7202) provides diminishing returns. This is relevant for a tactical shooter like Ready Or Not, which may not fully utilize all 20 threads.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it performs essentially on par with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.3% difference) and Intel Core i7-13700T (0.6% difference). The 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs means this processor is well above average, and its 125 W TDP suggests it has power headroom for sustained loads. The data indicates that the i7-12700K is not the limiting component in this combo; rather, it provides a solid foundation that the RTX 4060 cannot fully exploit at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 213.9 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, easily exceeding any standard monitor's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 146.5 FPS is also viable and provides the best visual fidelity, but the 31.5% FPS cost may not be justified for competitive play.

At 1440p, the High preset at 131.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains high frame rates while delivering good visual quality. The Medium preset at 144.9 FPS offers a small performance boost (10% over High) with a modest visual trade-off, making it a viable alternative. The Ultra preset at 96 FPS is still playable but falls close to the 60 FPS threshold, so it is best suited for slower, more methodical gameplay rather than fast-paced action.

For 4K, the data suggests that the Low preset at 89.8 FPS is the most practical choice, as it stays comfortably above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 79.6 FPS is also acceptable, but the High preset at 69.4 FPS and Ultra at 48 FPS may cause noticeable stuttering in intense firefights. The recommendation is to prioritize frame rate at 4K, as the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus limit its ability to handle high-quality textures at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring the AD107 chip with 18,900 million transistors. Its base clock runs at 1830 MHz with a boost clock of 2460 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s.

The RTX 4060's performance in Ready Or Not is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 48 FPS result is below the 60 FPS threshold, and even at 4K High, the 69.4 FPS is marginal. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 19545 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, which is solidly mid-range. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321 (0.6% ahead), while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 23338 (0.7% ahead)—showing the RTX 4060 is competitive with older flagship cards.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a particular concern for Ready Or Not, which features detailed environments and AI-driven characters. The data shows that at 4K, the gap between Low and High settings is 20.4 FPS, which may be partly due to VRAM limitations causing texture thrashing at higher quality presets. The 128-bit memory bus delivers 272.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's 115 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU indicate it is an efficient card, but its performance ceiling in this game is clearly below what the i7-12700K can support.