Valorant

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Valorant?

A: This combination ranks 1,594 out of 1,650 tested combos in the database for Valorant, placing it near the bottom of the performance hierarchy.

Q: What average frame rate does this system achieve at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured data shows 287.6 FPS average at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations for this combo.

Q: How much performance difference exists between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 244.6 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 141.4 FPS — a 103.2 FPS gap. This indicates a substantial performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

Q: Does the GTX 1650 bottleneck the i5-12400 in this game?

A: The data suggests yes. The GPU ranks in the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 77th percentile. The GPU's lower relative standing aligns with the frame rate drops observed at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the best 4K setting for this combo in Valorant?

A: Low settings at 3840x2160 produce 195.6 FPS average, which is the only 4K configuration exceeding 150 FPS. High, Medium, and Ultra all fall below 130 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1650 scores 8,713 on average benchmarks. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 8,746, a 0.4% advantage for the rival, while the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 scores 8,671, 0.5% behind the GTX 1650.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 places 1,594th out of 1,650 tested combinations in Valorant. That is a bottom-3.4% finish. The data positions this as a low-tier configuration for competitive FPS play, despite the game's reputation for high frame rates on modest hardware. The combination's rank reflects the GTX 1650's modest standing — 43rd percentile among all GPUs — rather than the CPU's stronger 77th percentile. In practical terms, this system sits below most modern gaming rigs but remains functional for Valorant at lower settings. The measured frames range from 114.2 FPS at 4K Ultra to 287.6 FPS at 1080p Low, meaning the system never falls below playable thresholds in any tested configuration, but it cannot sustain the highest refresh-rate experiences at maximum quality. The ranking suggests this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming with tuned settings, not for pushing 4K high-refresh monitors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This is a 10 nm Alder Lake-S desktop processor with 18 MB of shared L3 cache, supporting both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a single-thread score of 3,456 and a multithread score of 18,747 on PassMark, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,935. These numbers place it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, a strong result for a mid-range chip.

For Valorant, a game that scales heavily with single-thread performance, the i5-12400's capabilities exceed what the GTX 1650 can utilize in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 287.6 FPS, which indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far beyond its rendering limits. The CPU benchmarks show a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a 2-thread score of 1,692, both solid figures. However, the measured FPS ceiling across all settings never exceeds 287.6, suggesting the GPU becomes the constraint before the CPU reaches its full potential. The 12 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and game logic, but in Valorant's engine, the six physical cores handle the primary workload with efficiency. The CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock is the key driver for frame pacing in this title, as the game's logic relies on rapid single-thread execution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 287.6 FPS on Low, 187.9 FPS on Medium, 179.2 FPS on High, and 166.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 121.1 FPS, showing that settings dramatically impact performance at this resolution. At 2560x1440, frames drop to 244.6 FPS on Low, 161.1 FPS on Medium, 154.2 FPS on High, and 141.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 103.2 FPS at 1440p, indicating diminishing returns from settings changes as resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the numbers fall further: 195.6 FPS on Low, 126.6 FPS on Medium, 118.7 FPS on High, and 114.2 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra gap compresses to 81.4 FPS at 4K.

These results show a consistent pattern: Low settings always provide a significant advantage, while Medium, High, and Ultra cluster closer together. At 1080p, Low is 53% faster than Medium, but Medium is only 4.6% faster than High. At 1440p, Low is 51.8% faster than Medium, but Medium is 4.5% faster than High. At 4K, Low is 54.5% faster than Medium, but Medium is 6.7% faster than High. The Ultra preset consistently trails High by 7-8% across all resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 uses the Turing architecture with a TU117 chip on a 12 nm process. It has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 1485 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz, and it offers 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its FP32 compute is 2.984 TFLOPS. The card draws 75 W TDP and requires no external power connectors, making it a low-power solution.

In synthetic tests, the GTX 1650 scores 7,880 in PassMark G3D and 8,713 on average benchmarks. Its nearest rivals are within 0.5% in either direction: the RTX 3050 A Mobile leads by 0.4%, while the Quadro P2200 trails by 0.5%. The GTX 1650's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it below mainstream gaming standards. In Valorant, the GPU's 4 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's moderate texture demands, but the 128-bit memory bus limits bandwidth-heavy operations at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (114.2) versus 1080p Low (287.6) shows a 60.3% reduction, which is less severe than in many modern titles but still indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at high resolutions. The card's 1665 MHz boost clock helps maintain playable frames, but it cannot sustain the CPU's potential output above 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to Low settings as the optimal choice for competitive play. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 287.6 FPS, which is 53% higher than Medium and 72.7% higher than Ultra. This margin is decisive for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p Low, the 244.6 FPS result remains excellent, still 51.8% above Medium. Even at 4K Low, the 195.6 FPS figure is playable, though not ideal for serious competitive play. Medium settings offer a moderate visual upgrade with a significant FPS penalty: 187.9 FPS at 1080p and 161.1 FPS at 1440p. These numbers remain above 144 FPS, making Medium viable for players with 144 Hz monitors. High and Ultra settings provide marginal visual improvements over Medium but cost 4.6-7.6% in frame rate at each resolution. High delivers 179.2 FPS at 1080p, which dips below 144 FPS territory only at 1440p (154.2) and 4K (118.7). For players prioritizing smoothness over visuals, Low is the clear recommendation. For those wanting a balance, Medium at 1080p or 1440p offers the best compromise between fidelity and performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K illustrates the GPU's role as the limiting component. At Low settings, performance falls from 287.6 FPS at 1080p to 244.6 FPS at 1440p (a 14.9% reduction) and then to 195.6 FPS at 4K (a 32% reduction from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the decline is from 166.5 FPS at 1080p to 141.4 FPS at 1440p (15.1% down) and 114.2 FPS at 4K (31.4% down from 1080p). This scaling pattern shows a consistent 15% penalty from 1080p to 1440p and a cumulative 31-32% penalty from 1080p to 4K, regardless of settings. The uniformity of these drops suggests the GPU's fixed memory bandwidth and compute capacity are the bottlenecks, not the CPU. If the CPU were the limit, the FPS would remain flat across resolutions. Instead, each resolution increase taxes the GTX 1650's 128.1 GB/s bandwidth and 2.984 TFLOPS compute proportionally. The i5-12400's strong single-thread performance (3,456 PassMark single-thread score) means it can handle 1080p Low easily, but the GPU cannot keep pace at higher pixel counts. For players targeting 240 Hz displays, 1080p Low is the only viable path; for 144 Hz, 1440p Medium or Low works; for 4K, only Low settings keep the frame rate above 190 FPS.