Valorant

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a combination that is often expected to be CPU-limited in competitive shooters, but the measured frames from Valorant tell a more nuanced story. Across all tested resolution and preset configurations, the pair never drops below 382 frames-per-second average, even at the 3840x2160 Ultra preset. That makes this combination capable of stumping any current high-refresh monitor, with the data showing that frame delivery is constrained much more by CPU single-core speed than by the raw throughput of the GPU, which sits at the 83rd percentile among all tested GPUs while the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile.

Resolution Scaling

Looking at the collected average framerates across the three resolutions, the drop-off from 1080p to 4K is present but far from catastrophic. At the Low preset, the average at 1920x1080 is 526 frames per second, at 2560x1440 it is 499, and at 3840x2160 it is 463. Following the same trend, the High preset yields 441, 419, and 388, while the Medium and Ultra presets follow a nearly identical slope. The Ultra preset averages 434 at 1080p, 412 at 1440p, and 382 at 4K. So the penalty for moving from the 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is roughly 72 frames per second on the low preset and only 52 frames per second on the highest preset. These numbers indicate that the game's rendering workload scales moderately with pixel count, but the absolute values are so high that the GPU is never the absolute bottleneck.

What the curve reveals is the nature of the limiting component. Because the reduction from 1080p to 4K is only a small fraction of the frame rate, the bottleneck lies with the CPU's ability to prepare draw calls and processes per frame. The i5-12400's single-thread performance, measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 910, is strong enough to feed the GPU with an average of 382 frames even at 4K Ultra. If the GPU were the limiter, the frame rate would drop much more consistently across this resolution span. The fact that the delta between 1440p and 1080p is only a few tens of frames, while the delta between 4K and 1440p is similarly small, suggests the frame rate is heavily influenced by the game's simulation and input processing rather than pixel shading.

The data also shows that frame times are stable and smooth, with the measured runs all exceeding 1,000 average FPS at any given settings. The lowest 1% low we have numbers for comes from the 3840x2160 Medium preset, where a minimum of 336 frames was recorded out of an average of 336 to 454. That solidity matters for a game where frame spikes directly translate to aim disruptions. At no resolution does the 4070 SUPER have to break a sweat; the GPU will regularly run at low utilization when the CPU is feeding frames at this speed.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS with this setup at 1080p on the Low preset?

A: The measured average is 526 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER faster than the RTX 4090 Mobile according to the benchmark?

A: The data places the RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score at 43223, which is 1% lower than the nearest rival RTX 4090 Mobile (deltaPct of -1). It also sits 0.1% below the Quadro M6000 24 GB and exactly at the same level as the Quadro M6000 (both have deltaPct of -0.2 and -0.1, respectively).

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683. It is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643 and 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330. It is 0.9% higher than the Intel Core i3-14100F.

Q: Can this combo handle a pro-level 240 Hz monitor?

A: With the High preset, at 1920x1080 the average is 441 FPS, meaning it reaches well beyond a 240 Hz display. Even at 4K with the High preset, the average is 388 FPS, exceeding 144 Hz comfortably. A 360 Hz monitor also appears possible, as the Low preset at 1080p averages 526 FPS.

Q: What is the measured launch MSRP for these parts?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 had a launch MSRP of $199, and the RTX 4070 SUPER had a launch MSRP of $599 USD. The exact price itself is excluded from recommendations.

Q: What do the minimum FPS numbers indicate for consistency?

A: For the Medium preset, the recorded minimums are 381 at 1080p, 362 at 1440p, and 336 at 4K. Those minimums, while lower than the averages, still sit far above V-sync thresholds and indicate the game will rarely stutter during dense fight sequences.

CPU Role

The i5-12400 is a six-core, twelve-thread Alder Lake processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. For a game like Valorant, which is fundamentally a serial single-thread workload, these factors are precisely what drive the frames. The CPU's single-thread performance in industry benchmarks—to put the numbers exactly: 910 in 3DMark single-thread and 2257 in Cinebench R23 single-core— explains why the pairing is able to push three hundred frames per second. The multi-thread scores are equally telling: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and 3DMark max-thread score of 5890 show that the chip has balanced throughput, but the game does not demand that level of parallelism.

Valorant's engine mostly needs to process player inputs, hit-registration, ability ticks, and the axis real-time data, all before the GPU can paint each frame. Because the RTX 4070 SUPER is so far above the typical frame-push requirement, the i5-12400's ability to drive a high tick rate is what limits how many frames are delivered. The measured scaling across resolution supports this: the FPS delta between 4K and 1080p is only about 20% of the frame rate, which is not typical of a GPU-bound scenario (where the difference would be large). Instead, the difference is near-linear and small, demonstrating that the initial simulation and driver overhead carried by the CPU dominates.

The power bracket is also modest at a 65W TDP, meaning the chip can sustain these boost clocks without throttling in a typical air-cooled case. The user's dataset has no temperature numbers, but the efficient 10nm process of the Alder Lake architecture combined with an active 4.40 GHz boost clock gives a strong single-thread result. For those looking at competitive e-sports titles, the i5-12400 is essentially that rare “cheap but capable” chip that, when paired with a fast GPU, doesn’t create a large CPU bottleneck, as the measured frame dominates over 400 FPS at any resolution setting.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global Valorant database of tested CPU-GPU combinations, the i5-12400 + RTX 4070 SUPER combo is ranked number 1167 out of a total of 3708 measured combos. It places in the upper third of the field—above a clear majority but not in the top tier, which is reasonable considering that the CPU is a mid-range desktop chip. The ranking is also more dominated by the CPU than the GPU; because Valorant is extremely CPU-sensitive, higher-ranked combos typically pair more powerful single-thread chips (often unlocked or higher-binning parts) alongside current generation GPUs. The RTX 4070 SUPER's own standing is strong—the 83rd percentile of GPUs—but in this game, the i5's own 72nd percentile position matters more.

Considering the sense of the ranking, the 1167th spot indicates that there is a gap before the config is considered truly "top of the board". However, the absolute numbers for the measured FPS are so high that for a human player, the ranking difference to those many combos above may not be noticeable: the difference between a 450 and a 520 FPS average is often invisible on a 240 Hz display. The data also shows that only a handful of combos are able to exceed the 500 FPS mark at 1080p Low; this pairing does so easily (526 FPS).

This rank also places the combo near the CPU and GPU's own edge performance. The CPU averages 18683 on the selected synthetic slate, and the GPU averages 43223. Both are nearly at the 0-1% gap with their nearest rivals in the traces, which confirms that the combo is actlual, i.e., there is no wasted overhead in pairing the CPU and GPU. But the rank of the combo itself - 1167 - suggests that despite the good all-round numbers, the overall system isn't tuned to the absolute top—likely because the game appreciates a CPU with an even higher single-core ceiling in the low, but that does not reduce its strong gameplay practicality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following tables capture the exact average, as well as the min and max values recorded for the Medium setting. For rows where min/max are not present, we omitted them in the dataset.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 1920x1080 | High | 441 | – | – |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 526 | – | – |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 449 | 381 | 516 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 434 | – | – |

| 2560x1440 | High | 419 | – | – |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 499 | – | – |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 425 | 362 | 489 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 412 | – | – |

| 3840x2160 | High | 388 | – | – |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 463 | – | – |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 395 | 336 | 454 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 382 | – | – |

Looking at the set of measurements, the highest average is at 1080p Low, 526, and the lowest iterative average is at 4K Ultra 382. The Medium preset's min frame rate consistently remains above 330 across all three resolutions—well beyond the surface of any VSync threshold. The precision of the data set, since every data point is measured, ensures these numbers represent real scenario, and the High preset at 1440p (419) is a sweet spot for players who want one frame high enough to drive a 360Hz monitor without sacrificing visual quality.

The press of resolution is small. At Medium, moving from 1080 to 4K only drops the average from 449 to 395 - not even a 54-frame difference. That pattern is also visible in the High and Ultra presets. The result is that any player using this setup is essentially free to choose whichever resolution matches their panel's native format; the panel or its refresh rate will be the limit, not the PC.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the most practical advice is to prioritize the presentation over an incrementally higher FPS number. At all resolutions and all presets, the average FPS is above 400, which virtually every modern gaming monitor beyond 360 Hz. Therefore, we can treat the high value for competitive integrity as already more than preserved.

For players on 1920x1080 displays, the Low preset offers the highest average of 526 FPS, but the Medium preset gives only 449 FPS while still delivering a massive boost to visual fidelity. The drop from Low to Medium is about 17% of the average, but in absolute numbers still leaves an enormous margin above refresh. For those who want the least CPU interference in the sim, the High preset is 441 and yields some gain over Medium. There is no drawback to using High or Ultra for this configuration at this resolution because the gains from dropping settings are so nature in absolute terms.

The 4K options are just as strong. Even with the Ultra preset at 3840x2160, the average is 382, which is far beyond the 240 Hz class. Using the Low preset at 4K delivers 463 FPS, but the difference in perceptual smoothness between 382 and 463 is virtually invisible due to the diminishing returns above the refresh rate. Therefore, players with a 4K monitor can confidently set the preset to High (avg 388) to get a pleasant blend of sharpness and quality. The Rescaled it even high average display the "high" and "high" with minimal cost.

In competitors, the Low and Medium presets at 1440p are the favorite— they provide 499 and 425 average values respectively, while still rendering clear visuals. The balance of the resistor is such that any preset will work, but the data suggests that game is so CPU-constrained that the most stable frame input comes from the medium and high settings, which allow the GPU a little more per-frame time to avoid rare spikes on slower systems. In practice, the recommendation would be: 1080p – Medium, 1440p – High, 4K – High. In each case, the average FPS remains within the same bracket as the lowest measured average of any preset at that resolution, so no performance is lost.

To summarize, with the i5-12400 and RTX 4070 SUPER in Valorant, you can freely push Boosts up to 4K. The game will never drop below 300 FPS on any tested preset, so the enemy component will be your monitor's refresh rate. For pure esports consistency at the fastest possible input, run the