Valorant

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a balanced mid-range combination that delivers exceptional performance in Valorant. The data shows this combo achieves frame rates far beyond what competitive play requires at every resolution, from 434.8 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 296.8 FPS at 4K Ultra. This makes the pairing particularly strong for high-refresh-rate monitors, as the CPU’s single-thread performance and the GPU’s substantial bandwidth combine to eliminate most potential bottlenecks.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700.

Benchmark results show a strong single-thread score of 910 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2249 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. That single-core strength is directly relevant to Valorant, which is a lightly-threaded competitive FPS where frame pacing depends heavily on the primary thread’s responsiveness. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1692 also indicates solid dual-core performance for game logic and render thread work. In multi-threaded tests, the chip scores 15935 in cinebench_r23_multicore and 5890 in 3dmark_max_threads, which is more than sufficient for background tasks while gaming.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the i5-12400 sits within a tight performance band. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-9700 and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-11600K. It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4%. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the i5-12400’s per-core speed is competitive with older high-end parts, which matters for Valorant’s engine that tends to scale with single-thread throughput.

The 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates this processor is comfortably in the upper tier for general compute. For Valorant specifically, the combination of a 4.40 GHz boost clock and 18 MB of L3 cache provides fast access to frequently used game data, reducing latency in firefights. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5873 confirms that even when other applications run concurrently, the CPU has headroom to maintain consistent frame delivery.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti uses the GA104 chip on Samsung’s 8 nm process, with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective speed. The GPU has 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, along with 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores.

Base clock is 1410 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz. The card’s pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s, texture rate is 253.1 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance reaches 16.20 TFLOPS. Power draw is rated at 200 W, with a suggested 550 W power supply. The card measures 242 mm in length and 112 mm in height, using a dual-slot design with a single 12-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 3060 Ti scores 20349 in passmark_g3d and 10006 in passmark_gpu_compute. Its 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 result is 2626. The GPU’s 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it as a solid mid-to-high tier performer. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, 0.5% behind both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and the AMD Radeon 890M, and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP. These differences are minor.

For Valorant, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is more than adequate, as the game’s textures and shaders fit easily within that capacity even at 4K. The high memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s ensures that frame buffers are updated quickly, which contributes to the high average FPS seen in the measured results. The boost clock of 1665 MHz provides consistent shader throughput, though the game’s low graphical complexity means the CPU often dictates overall frame rates.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 529.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 503 FPS, a reduction of 5.0%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 464.3 FPS, which is 12.3% below the 1080p Low result. This relatively modest drop suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly even as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. 1080p High delivers 442.1 FPS, 1440p High drops to 388.3 FPS (12.2% lower), and 4K High falls to 313.7 FPS (29.0% lower than 1080p). The larger drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings indicates that the GPU becomes more involved as texture quality and shading complexity increase. Still, even at 4K High, the 313.7 FPS result is far above typical monitor refresh rates.

Ultra settings show a similar trend. 1080p Ultra produces 434.8 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 372.4 FPS (14.3% lower), and 4K Ultra is 296.8 FPS (31.7% lower than 1080p). The consistent pattern — with 4K drops ranging from 12.3% at Low to 31.7% at Ultra — indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions but begins to exert influence at higher pixel counts and quality presets. For competitive play at 1080p or 1440p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, given the small FPS differences between resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the lowest measured preset is Low with 529.4 FPS. Medium increases to 446.7 FPS, which is a 15.6% reduction. High sits at 442.1 FPS, nearly identical to Medium. Ultra delivers 434.8 FPS, only 1.7% below High. The small spread between Medium, High, and Ultra at 1080p suggests that the game’s settings have minimal impact on GPU load at this resolution, and the CPU’s single-thread performance is the main driver.

At 2560x1440, Low produces 503 FPS. Medium drops to 411.6 FPS, an 18.2% reduction. High is 388.3 FPS, and Ultra is 372.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 26.0%, which is larger than at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth begin to matter more as resolution increases, though the absolute FPS numbers remain exceptionally high.

At 3840x2160, the results are 464.3 FPS on Low, 325.4 FPS on Medium, 313.7 FPS on High, and 296.8 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 36.1%, the largest spread across all resolutions. This shows that at 4K, the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being exercised more heavily, but the card still delivers frame rates that are far beyond the requirements of even the most demanding 240 Hz or 360 Hz monitors.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 680th out of 1650 tested combos in Valorant. That places it in the 58.8th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s strong single-thread performance, which is critical for Valorant’s frame generation, and the GPU’s high memory bandwidth, which prevents any VRAM or fill-rate bottlenecks.

Given that Valorant is designed to run on modest hardware, the 680th ranking is more a function of the sheer number of high-end combos tested rather than any weakness in this pairing. The measured FPS numbers are consistently above 290 FPS even at 4K Ultra, which is far above what most competitors would need. The combo’s rank suggests that systems with newer, higher-clocked CPUs or GPUs with more raw compute can push higher averages, but the practical difference in gameplay is minimal beyond a certain refresh rate threshold.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 77 and the GPU’s percentile of 69 indicate that both components are above-average individually. Their combined performance in Valorant, as shown by the 680th rank out of 1650, confirms that this is a coherent pairing where neither component severely limits the other. At 1080p, the CPU is likely the ceiling; at 4K, the GPU becomes more relevant, but the combo still holds up well.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players with a 1080p 240 Hz or 360 Hz monitor, the Low preset at 529.4 FPS is the most competitive choice, as it maximizes frame rate and minimizes input latency. The jump from Low to Medium costs 82.7 FPS, which is a 15.6% reduction, and the difference between Medium and Ultra is only 11.9 FPS. Since Low provides the highest headroom for frame time consistency, it is the recommended setting for ranked play where every millisecond matters.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 503 FPS remains the best for competitive play, but the Medium preset at 411.6 FPS is still well above 360 Hz. For players who prioritize visual clarity over raw speed, Medium offers a good balance, as it delivers 411.6 FPS while slightly improving texture and effect quality. High and Ultra at 1440p (388.3 and 372.4 FPS) are acceptable but provide diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the FPS loss.

At 4K, the Low preset at 464.3 FPS is still the top choice for competitive integrity, but the Medium preset at 325.4 FPS is more than sufficient for a 240 Hz display. The Ultra preset at 296.8 FPS remains playable and is suitable for casual play or content creation where visual quality matters more than peak frame rate. Given the data, the Low preset offers the best experience across all resolutions for players seeking maximum responsiveness, while Medium provides a sensible compromise for those who want improved visuals without sacrificing competitive viability.