Roblox

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces extraordinary frame rates in Roblox, but the data reveals a significant bottleneck. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is clearly the limiting factor at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s immense power only becomes fully utilized at 4K Ultra settings. This combination ranks in the top 1% of all tested configurations, yet its performance profile is counterintuitive for such a high-end graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 735.5 FPS. This is the highest score recorded for this combo across all tested settings and resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700's score of 19831. It is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K, which scores 19771.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306. This places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of tested graphics cards.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p High and 4K High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the combo achieves 591.1 FPS. Dropping to 4K High yields 225.9 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 62% when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's score compare to the RTX 5090 D?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average score of 84306, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D's score of 84241. The deltaPct between the two is a mere 0.1%.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for Roblox?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 11th out of 1800 tested combos in Roblox. This puts it in the top 0.6% of all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, and it can boost up to 4.40 GHz. The processor has an 18 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. It was released in January 2022 with a launch MSRP of $199.

In the context of Roblox, the CPU's role is critical. The game's engine often relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and physics. The i5-12400's single-thread benchmark scores are strong, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249. These scores indicate the CPU can handle the core game simulation tasks efficiently. However, at lower resolutions like 1080p, the GPU is so powerful that it can render frames faster than the CPU can prepare them, creating a bottleneck.

The data strongly supports this. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 735.5 FPS, but as resolution increases, the FPS drops. This is not because the CPU gets slower at higher resolutions, but because the GPU's workload increases, finally allowing it to catch up to the CPU's output. The CPU's multithreaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935, is also adequate for the game, but Roblox does not appear to be a heavily threaded title. The 12 threads are available, but the game's performance scaling suggests a single-thread limitation is the primary constraint. The CPU's performance percentile of 77 versus all CPUs further confirms it is a solid mid-range part, but it is not in the same performance tier as the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. It is a power-hungry part with a TDP of 575 W and a suggested PSU of 950 W.

In Roblox, the GPU's role is to render the game's visuals. At 4K Ultra settings, the RTX 5090 is finally pushed to its limits. The combo achieves 182 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is the lowest average FPS recorded in the dataset. This shows that the GPU is working hard at this resolution and settings combination. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than Roblox requires, even with high-resolution textures, so VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor. The GPU's raw compute power, measured at 104.8 TFLOPS FP32, is immense, but the game's simple geometry and lighting in many scenarios cannot fully utilize it.

The GPU's benchmark scores are top-tier. It has a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 380114. These scores place it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. In this pairing, the RTX 5090 is significantly overqualified for the task at standard resolutions. It is only when the resolution is set to 4K and the settings are cranked to Ultra that the GPU's workload becomes substantial enough to prevent the CPU from being the sole limiting factor. At lower settings, the GPU's frame output is bottlenecked by the i5-12400's instruction throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 11th out of 1800 tested combinations for Roblox. This is an exceptional ranking, placing the system in the top 0.6% of all configurations tested by the database. This high rank is primarily driven by the GPU's sheer performance, which allows for incredibly high frame rates even when bottlenecked.

The ranking demonstrates that this is one of the fastest systems possible for Roblox. However, it is important to note that the rank reflects the overall average performance across all tested settings. The CPU is a clear weak link in the chain. While the RTX 5090 is a top-tier component, the i5-12400 is a mid-range processor. The data shows that with a more powerful CPU, this combo could potentially rank even higher, as the GPU has headroom to produce even more frames at lower resolutions. The 0.1% delta in average benchmark scores between the i5-12400 and the i7-9700 shows that the CPU is performing as expected for its class, but it cannot match the GPU's potential. This is a classic case of an unbalanced pairing where the GPU is far more capable than the CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates the bottleneck. At 1080p High, the combo produces 591.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 393.3 FPS, a reduction of 33%. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 225.9 FPS, which is a 62% drop from the 1080p result.

This scaling pattern is a textbook indicator of a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. When the GPU is not the limiting factor, the frame rate is dictated by how fast the CPU can process game logic and draw calls. As resolution increases, the GPU's rendering workload increases, and the frame rate drops accordingly. At 1080p, the GPU is waiting for the CPU to send it data. At 4K, the GPU is finally working near its full capacity, and the frame rate is more representative of the GPU's actual performance.

The data for Low settings shows a similar trend. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 735.5 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 493.6 FPS, and at 4K Low, it is 281.6 FPS. The fact that even at 4K Low settings, the frame rate is 281.6 FPS, still far above a typical 144Hz monitor's refresh rate, shows that this system is incredibly powerful. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 33% reduction, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K is a 43% reduction. This suggests that the GPU is taking on more of the load as resolution increases, but the CPU is still a factor even at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is measured from the benchmark database. All values are average FPS.

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 735.5 FPS. This is the absolute peak performance of this combo, limited by the CPU.
• Medium: 667.3 FPS. A slight decrease from Low, showing the impact of increased GPU load.
• High: 591.1 FPS. The frame rate remains extremely high, further confirming the CPU bottleneck.
• Ultra: 478.7 FPS. Even at the highest settings at 1080p, the combo exceeds the refresh rate of any mainstream monitor.

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 493.6 FPS. A significant drop from 1080p, but still exceptionally high.
• Medium: 448.9 FPS. The GPU is taking on more work, but the CPU is still keeping pace.
• High: 393.3 FPS. This is a 33% reduction from the 1080p High result, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a factor.
• Ultra: 324.0 FPS. The system remains far above the 240Hz refresh rate that many high-end gamers target.

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 281.6 FPS. The GPU is now doing substantial work, but the system is still not fully GPU-bound.
• Medium: 254.8 FPS. The frame rate is still above 240 FPS, showing the system's immense power.
• High: 225.9 FPS. This is a 62% drop from the 1080p High result.
• Ultra: 182.0 FPS. This is the lowest recorded score, and it is the only setting where the GPU appears to be the primary limiting factor. This is still a very high frame rate for 4K Ultra settings.