Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS where frame rates are king, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination show a system that is clearly overqualified for the task. The data indicates that this pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, firmly placing it in the upper echelon of tested configurations. The combination ranks 1154th out of 2883 tested combos, placing it in the top 40% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mid-range pairing. The analysis below breaks down how this specific CPU and GPU handle the game, what the scaling patterns mean, and which settings provide the most sensible experience for a competitive player.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data for this combo reveals a predictable but important trend: performance scales down as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 526 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 499 FPS, and at 4K it falls further to 463 FPS. This is a relatively modest drop of about 12% from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset, which suggests that at lower settings, the CPU is doing most of the heavy lifting and the GPU has plenty of headroom to spare.

The scaling behavior changes significantly when we look at higher settings. At the High preset, the average frame rate goes from 441 FPS at 1080p, to 401 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 320 FPS at 4K. This represents a much steeper 27% drop from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the system delivers 434 FPS at 1080p, 381 FPS at 1440p, and only 305 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is substantial—463 FPS versus 305 FPS—which indicates that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor as both resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the frame rates are so high that they far exceed the refresh rate of any standard gaming monitor. Even the most demanding Ultra preset at 1440p still produces an average of 381 FPS. It is only at 4K with High or Ultra settings that the system begins to show any signs of being pushed, but even then, the lowest average recorded is 305 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. The fact that the system never drops below the 300 FPS mark at any tested configuration suggests that the limiting component at lower resolutions is the CPU, while at 4K with high settings, the GPU starts to assert its influence.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In the context of Valorant, which is known for being highly sensitive to single-thread performance, this CPU's specifications are well-suited for the task. The benchmark data supports this, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1848. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is exactly what a game like Valorant needs to maintain high frame rates.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also respectable, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a Passmark multithread score of 18747. However, these are less critical for Valorant's performance. The game's engine typically does not scale perfectly across many cores, so the i5-12400's 6 physical cores are likely more than sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics calculations. The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution, as even the lowest average FPS of 305 at 4K Ultra is far above what would indicate CPU limitation.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 72 means it outperforms 72% of all CPUs in the benchmark database, placing it in a solid mid-to-upper tier. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7643 and the Intel Core i7-1355U, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of -0.1% and -0.3% respectively. This indicates that the i5-12400's performance is very consistent with other capable processors in its class, and for Valorant specifically, its strong single-threaded performance is likely the primary driver of the high frame rates observed. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache probably helps too, by keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, which provides a substantial memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. With 2560 shading units, this card is designed to handle high resolutions and demanding graphical effects. In Valorant, a game that is not particularly GPU-intensive, this hardware is more than adequate to push frame rates to the stratosphere.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 20974 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, which is a decent mid-range standing. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has a delta of -1.7%, and the AMD Radeon RX 9060, with a delta of -1%. This shows that the RX 7700 is competitive with other popular mid-range cards of its generation. The 16 GB of VRAM is a notable feature, though for Valorant, it is unlikely that the game uses more than a few gigabytes at most, meaning there is significant headroom for future titles or for running other applications in the background while gaming.

The GPU's role in the measured results becomes more apparent at higher resolutions and settings. The drop from 463 FPS at 4K Low to 305 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates that the GPU is doing more work when graphical fidelity increases. The texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s are high enough to handle the demands of 4K rendering, but the data shows that there is a measurable performance cost. The card's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its class, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures it can communicate efficiently with the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1154 out of 2883 tested combos for Valorant. This places the pairing in the 60th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms 60% of the combinations in the database. This is a strong result for a pairing that is not considered top-of-the-line, showing that the hardware is well-matched for this specific title.

The ranking suggests that while the system is not in the absolute top tier of performance, it is far above average and would provide an excellent competitive experience. The high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are what likely drive this ranking, as many systems tested may struggle to maintain such high averages. The data indicates that this combo is better suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p or 1440p rather than for 4K gaming, where the gap between this system and the absolute best combos would likely widen.

The fact that this system ranks in the top 40% is impressive considering the CPU's 72nd percentile and GPU's 58th percentile individual rankings. This suggests that the synergy between the CPU and GPU is particularly good for Valorant. The i5-12400's strong single-thread performance complements the RX 7700's raw power well, resulting in a balanced system that doesn't have a clear bottleneck. The nearest rival combos would likely be those pairing similar tier CPUs and GPUs, and the data suggests this particular combination is a solid choice for competitive play.

Settings Recommendations

For a game like Valorant, where frame rate consistency is often more important than visual fidelity, the data points to a few clear recommendations. The Low preset at 1080p provides the highest average frame rate of 526 FPS, but the difference between Low and High at 1080p is only 85 FPS (526 vs 441). Given that both are well above the refresh rate of any high-end monitor, most players would not notice a significant difference in smoothness.

The most sensible recommendation for competitive play is the High preset at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p High, the system averages 441 FPS, and at 1440p High, it averages 401 FPS. These settings provide a better visual experience without sacrificing the frame rate headroom needed for a competitive advantage. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 449 FPS at 1080p and 421 FPS at 1440p, but the slight visual improvement from Medium to High is likely worth the small frame rate cost.

For players with a 4K monitor, the High preset at 320 FPS is still an excellent experience, but the Ultra preset drops to 305 FPS. The difference between these two is minimal, so choosing High over Ultra at 4K would be a safe bet to maintain a slight edge in frame stability. The Low preset at 4K is not recommended, as the visual downgrade is severe for minimal performance gain (463 FPS vs 320 FPS at High). The sweet spot for this combo is clearly the High preset, offering the best balance of visual quality and raw performance across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at how this system performs across all tested scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 526 FPS on Low settings, 449 FPS on Medium, 441 FPS on High, and 434 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded min and max FPS, showing a range of 381 to 516 FPS, which indicates a stable frame time experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 499 FPS on Low, 421 FPS on Medium, 401 FPS on High, and 381 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset again shows a min of 357 FPS and a max of 484 FPS, demonstrating that even at a higher resolution, the frame pacing remains consistent. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 118 FPS, which is significant but still leaves the Ultra preset well above 300 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 463 FPS on Low, 336 FPS on Medium, 320 FPS on High, and 305 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a min of 286 FPS and a max of 387 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system dips below the 300 FPS mark, and it does so only at the Ultra setting. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 158 FPS drop, which is the most pronounced across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution with high settings. The data overall shows a system that is extremely capable for Valorant, with no configuration tested producing an average below 300 FPS.