Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS where frame rate consistency often matters more than absolute visual fidelity, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 reflects this dynamic. The combination posts exceptionally high average frame rates across all tested configurations, but the differences between settings presets and resolutions reveal a system that is heavily influenced by CPU performance at lower graphical loads. The dataset shows a clear hierarchy where the Low preset consistently delivers the highest average FPS, while the gap between Medium, High, and Ultra is surprisingly narrow, suggesting that the game’s engine and the processor’s single-thread capabilities are the primary arbiters of performance in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the Low preset is the definitive choice for maximizing frame rate, delivering 532.3 FPS at 1080p, which is the highest average recorded for this combo. This represents a substantial 93.6 FPS advantage over the Ultra preset at the same resolution, where the average drops to 438.7 FPS. The performance hierarchy is consistent across all resolutions: Low always outpaces Medium, High, and Ultra, with the margins shrinking slightly as resolution increases. For instance, at 1440p, Low yields 504.7 FPS, while Ultra trails at 415.4 FPS. At 4K, the spread tightens, with Low achieving 466.8 FPS and Ultra producing 387 FPS.

For players prioritizing competitive responsiveness, the Low preset is the only logical choice, as the data shows it provides the highest headroom above refresh-rate caps. However, the difference between Medium and High is minimal—449.9 FPS versus 445.1 FPS at 1080p—indicating that High might be acceptable for those seeking slightly better visuals without a major penalty. The Ultra preset, while visually richer, offers the lowest average FPS in every resolution tier, making it the least favorable option for esports-focused play. The data suggests that the Medium preset is a balanced compromise, but for pure performance, Low is unmatched, especially since the game’s competitive nature rewards the extra frames.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070’s role in this pairing is interesting because Valorant is not typically a GPU-bound title, yet the GPU still exerts influence, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2512 MHz, with a base clock of 2325 MHz. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is more than capable of handling the game’s demands, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS remains at 387, which is far above playable thresholds.

The GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth are likely not bottlenecks here, given the modest VRAM requirements of Valorant. Instead, the data shows that the GPU’s frame output scales inversely with resolution, which is typical, but the magnitude of the drop from 1080p to 4K is relatively small compared to more graphically intensive titles. This implies that the RTX 5070 has substantial headroom, and the limiting factor at lower resolutions is the CPU. The GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41687, confirms its high-end status, but in Valorant, its raw compute power is underutilized, as evidenced by the relatively flat FPS differences between Medium and Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides critical insight into which component is driving performance. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 532.3 FPS, which drops to 504.7 FPS at 1440p—a decline of 27.6 FPS or about 5.2%. Moving to 4K, the Low preset averages 466.8 FPS, a further drop of 37.9 FPS from 1440p. This scaling pattern suggests that the GPU becomes more relevant as resolution climbs, but even at 4K, the frame rates are exceptionally high, indicating that the CPU is still keeping pace.

For the Ultra preset, the scaling is more pronounced: 438.7 FPS at 1080p, 415.4 FPS at 1440p, and 387 FPS at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K on Ultra is 51.7 FPS, or roughly 11.8%, which is larger than the Low preset’s 12.3% decline. This suggests that the higher graphical settings place additional load on the GPU, but the overall performance remains CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The data implies that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p to a more balanced CPU-GPU interplay at 4K, though neither component becomes a true bottleneck given the high absolute FPS numbers.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a combo rank of 424 out of 1650 total combos for Valorant. This places it in the top 25.7% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The rank reflects the system’s ability to deliver consistently high frame rates, but it also indicates that there are many other combinations that perform better, likely those with more powerful CPUs that can feed the GPU even faster.

The CPU’s percentile ranking versus all CPUs is 77, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores 19210 with a delta of 0.1%, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS at 19364 with a delta of -0.7%. These tiny deltas suggest that the i5-12400F is positioned very closely to its peers in synthetic benchmarks, and the combo rank in Valorant likely reflects this competitive position. The GPU’s percentile is 83, with nearest rivals like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (delta 0.6%) and AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (delta 0.2%), indicating that the GPU is well above average, but the combo rank is dragged down by the CPU’s more modest standing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has an 18 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU’s single-thread performance is a key factor in Valorant, as the game is known to rely heavily on a few cores. The benchmark data shows a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332, which are respectable but not top-tier numbers.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is evident in the small gaps between settings presets at 1080p. For example, the difference between Low (532.3 FPS) and High (445.1 FPS) is 87.2 FPS, which is larger than the difference between High and Ultra (6.4 FPS). This pattern suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU can easily handle the graphical load, but the processor’s ability to issue draw calls and manage game logic caps the frame rate. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking and its close rivalry with the i7-8700K (delta 0.1%) support the notion that it provides adequate, but not exceptional, performance for a competitive FPS, meaning the combo’s ranking is more dependent on the GPU’s strength than the CPU’s.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low preset delivers 532.3 FPS, Medium achieves 449.9 FPS, High reaches 445.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 438.7 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest settings is 93.6 FPS, with Low being the clear outlier on the high end. The step from Low to Medium is a significant 82.4 FPS drop, but the subsequent steps from Medium to High (4.8 FPS) and High to Ultra (6.4 FPS) are negligible, indicating a plateau in performance once the Low preset is abandoned.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 504.7 FPS for Low, 430.9 FPS for Medium, 424 FPS for High, and 415.4 FPS for Ultra. The relative pattern is identical to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board. The gap between Low and Medium narrows to 73.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra remains small at 8.6 FPS. At 3840x2160, the averages drop further: Low yields 466.8 FPS, Medium produces 399.1 FPS, High achieves 391.9 FPS, and Ultra trails at 387 FPS. The Low-to-Medium gap is now 67.7 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra gap is just 4.9 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently provides the highest frame rates, with the margin over other settings shrinking as resolution increases. The data shows that the system is capable of maintaining over 387 FPS in the worst-case scenario (4K Ultra), which is exceptional for any hardware combination. The min and max FPS fields are null in the dataset, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS, but these averages are consistently high enough to suggest that frame time consistency is likely strong, though not directly measured.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Valorant?

A: The highest average FPS is 532.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 532.3 FPS, which is 93.6 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s 438.7 FPS at 1080p.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K, the Low preset averages 466.8 FPS and Ultra averages 387 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes more involved, but the high absolute numbers suggest neither component is a hard bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Valorant?

A: It ranks 424 out of 1650 tested combos, placing it in the top 25.7% of all systems.

Q: What is the average benchmark score of the Intel Core i5-12400F compared to its nearest rival?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 11 points higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K’s 19210, a delta of 0.1%.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium averages 430.9 FPS and High averages 424 FPS, a difference of 6.9 FPS in favor of Medium.