Valorant

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a highly playable Valorant experience across all tested settings and resolutions. The data shows that this combination is heavily CPU-bound, as the integrated GPU's performance scales with resolution, but the frame rates remain remarkably high. The measured results indicate that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 135 FPS, which is well above competitive thresholds. However, the most striking finding is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings, which reveals how the game's load shifts between the processor and the graphics solution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 331 FPS average, but this drops to 282 FPS at 1440p and further to 225 FPS at 4K. This 32% reduction from 1080p to 4K is relatively modest for a game like Valorant, which suggests the CPU is doing the heavy lifting at lower resolutions. The i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, are evidently sufficient to feed the Arc B390 at these frame rates.

The scaling pattern changes when moving to higher settings. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (207 FPS) to 1440p (177 FPS) is 14.5%, and from 1440p to 4K (141 FPS) is another 20.3%. This steeper decline at higher visual quality indicates the GPU starts to become more relevant, though it never fully becomes the limiting factor. The Medium settings row, which is the only one with complete min/max data, shows 218 FPS at 1080p, 186 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 4K—a consistent 14.7% drop between each step.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates but still remain playable. The 4K Ultra result of 135 FPS is 39% lower than the 1080p Low result of 331 FPS. This spread of nearly 200 FPS between the most demanding and least demanding configurations tells a clear story: the Arc B390, despite sitting in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, is not the primary constraint. The GPU's 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs are modest by modern standards, but Valorant's engine is designed to run on much weaker hardware.

The limiting component here is likely the GPU at higher resolutions, but only marginally. Consider that the 4K Low result (225 FPS) is still higher than the 1080p Ultra result (198 FPS). If the CPU were the sole bottleneck, you would expect similar frame rates across resolutions at the same settings. The fact that 4K Low is 27% higher than 1080p Ultra indicates that both components share the load, with the CPU dominating at low settings and the GPU becoming more influential as pixel count and visual effects increase.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B390 combo capable of 144Hz gaming in Valorant?

A: Yes, across every tested resolution and settings combination. The lowest recorded average is 135 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is just below a strict 144Hz target. All other configurations exceed 141 FPS, with 1080p Low reaching 331 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Valorant?

A: The data shows that 1440p provides the best balance. At Medium settings, 1440p delivers 186 FPS, which is only 14.7% lower than the 1080p result but offers significantly more visual detail. The 4K results are also playable, but the frame rates begin to approach the 135 FPS floor at Ultra settings.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score is 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a low-power integrated solution.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the system in Valorant?

A: The benchmark results suggest the i5-12400 is not a bottleneck. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 15989, and single-core is 2257. The 3DMark single-thread score is 910. These scores, combined with the high frame rates observed, indicate the CPU has ample headroom for Valorant's workload.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The average frame rate drops from 331 FPS on Low to 198 FPS on Ultra, a 40.2% reduction. Even at the lower figure, the system maintains nearly twice the refresh rate of a standard 100Hz monitor, so the visual upgrade from Ultra is essentially free in terms of playability.

Q: Is the i5-12400 a competitive processor in its class?

A: The i5-12400 sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. It is nearly identical in performance to the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% slower), the Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% slower), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (0.7% slower). It is 0.9% faster than the Intel Core i3-14100F.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p is the obvious choice if maximizing frame rate is the sole priority. The 331 FPS average provides the largest margin above any display's refresh rate, ensuring the lowest possible input latency. However, the data suggests that this is overkill for most scenarios. The Medium preset at 1080p still delivers 218 FPS, a 34% reduction from Low, but with substantially better visual fidelity in a game where spotting enemies at range matters.

The sweet spot for this combo is Medium settings at 1440p. The 186 FPS average is still exceptionally high, and the min FPS of 158 ensures that even in busy team fights, the frame rate stays well above 144Hz. This configuration uses the Arc B390's capabilities more fully without sacrificing responsiveness. The measured min/max data for this setting shows a range from 158 to 214 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing.

High settings are also viable, with 207 FPS at 1080p and 177 FPS at 1440p. The difference between High and Medium at 1440p is only 9 FPS, or 4.8%, which makes High a reasonable choice for players who want extra visual polish without a meaningful performance hit. Ultra settings, while playable, are the least recommended. The 135 FPS at 4K and 198 FPS at 1080p are still respectable, but the performance cost over High is 9.5% at 1080p and 4.7% at 1440p, with marginal visual gains in a fast-paced tactical shooter.

For players with a 240Hz monitor, the recommendation narrows. Only the 1080p Low (331 FPS) and 1080p Medium (218 FPS) configurations come close to saturating that refresh rate, though 1440p Low (282 FPS) also qualifies. The 4K Low setting at 225 FPS is another option for those prioritizing resolution over refresh rate. Ultimately, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, balancing the GPU's modest compute resources against the CPU's strength.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 331 FPS. Medium settings yield 218 FPS, with a minimum of 185 and a maximum of 250. High settings average 207 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 198 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 133 FPS, which demonstrates the CPU's ability to push high frame rates regardless of visual load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. Low settings average 282 FPS. Medium settings average 186 FPS, with a min of 158 and max of 214. High settings produce 177 FPS. Ultra settings average 169 FPS. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 15% of the frame rate across all settings, which is a modest penalty.

At 3840x2160, the system still performs admirably. Low settings average 225 FPS. Medium settings average 149 FPS, with a minimum of 126 and a maximum of 171. High settings yield 141 FPS. Ultra settings produce 135 FPS. The 4K results show the Arc B390's limits, but the frame rates remain playable. The Medium setting's min FPS of 126 is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, yet it still clears the 120Hz threshold.

The complete data set shows a consistent pattern: Low settings are dramatically faster than Medium, but the gap between Medium, High, and Ultra is relatively small. At 1080p, the difference between Medium (218) and High (207) is 5.0%, and between High and Ultra (198) is 4.3%. This suggests that the visual quality settings beyond Medium have diminishing returns on performance, while the Low-to-Medium jump costs 34.1% of the frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2534 out of 2883 tested combos in Valorant. This places it in the 12.1% percentile of all configurations, meaning roughly 88% of tested systems deliver higher frame rates. This ranking might seem low given the absolute FPS numbers, but it reflects the benchmark database's inclusion of many high-end discrete GPU setups.

The ranking is primarily dragged down by the Arc B390's position as an integrated graphics solution. The GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (2.5% slower), and GT 710 (2.7% slower). These are all entry-level mobile or OEM parts, highlighting the Arc B390's limited compute resources.

However, the combo's ranking in Valorant is higher than the GPU's overall percentile would suggest. This is because Valorant is a CPU-intensive game that rewards the i5-12400's strong single-thread performance. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3456 indicate excellent per-core performance, which is crucial for a game that typically runs on one or two primary threads.

Compared to the CPU's own rivals, the i5-12400 is well-positioned. It is 0.1% slower than the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% slower than the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, while being 0.9% faster than the Intel Core i3-14100F. This near-parity with very different processors (a server EPYC and a mobile i7) shows that the i5-12400 offers balanced performance that scales well across workloads.

The gap between this combo's rank and the top performers is likely due to the GPU's 9th percentile standing. A discrete GPU with even modest performance would boost this combo significantly in the rankings. The data indicates that the i5-12400 is not the limiting factor; the CPU's 72nd percentile standing among all CPUs is far higher than the GPU's 9th percentile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting to 4.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides strong multi-threaded performance while maintaining excellent single-thread responsiveness.

In Valorant, the CPU's role is critical. The game's engine is known for relying heavily on a few threads, and the i5-12400's single-thread performance is exceptional. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257 and Geekbench single-core score of 1848 place it well above the median. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 further confirms this. These scores translate directly to the high frame rates observed at 1080p Low, where the GPU is under minimal load and the CPU must process game logic and frame rendering commands as quickly as possible.

The multi-threaded performance is also relevant. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and PassMark multi-thread score of 18747 show that the CPU can handle background tasks while gaming without impacting frame rates. The 12 threads allow for smooth operation of streaming or recording software, which is a common use case for competitive gamers.

The CPU's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 is worth noting, though the measured FPS data does not differentiate between memory types. The dual-channel memory bus and the system-shared memory architecture of the GPU mean that system RAM speed could influence performance. However, the benchmark data was collected with unspecified memory, so the results reflect a typical configuration.

The i5-12400's 65 W TDP and 163 mm² die size indicate an efficient design. The CPU's 72nd percentile standing among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683, positions it as a solid mid-range performer. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% slower), which is a server chip with far more cores, and the Intel Core i3-14100F (0.9% faster), which has fewer cores but higher clocks. This suggests the i5-12400 offers a balanced mix of core count and clock speed.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key specification for Valorant. The game's frame rate at 1080p Low (331 FPS) is likely limited by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game state. The fact that 4K Low (225 FPS) is still 32% lower than 1080p Low indicates that the GPU does impose some limit at higher resolutions, but the CPU's headroom is substantial. For players considering this combo, the i5-12400 provides more than enough processing power for Valorant, and the system's overall performance is constrained by the Arc B390's integrated nature rather than the CPU's capabilities.