Valorant

Valorant is a competitive FPS that is notoriously sensitive to frame pacing and response time, making the choice of CPU and GPU combination critical. The data for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti shows a system that is heavily skewed toward delivering maximum frame rates, with the processor acting as the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. Across the three resolutions tested—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—the average frame rates remain exceptionally high, yet the variance between settings reveals that the GPU has significant headroom that is left unused at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the specific roles of the CPU and GPU, and the ranking of this combo against the broader database of tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in Valorant?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination ranks at position 433 out of 1650 tested combos. This places it in the upper quarter of all configurations, which indicates strong overall performance for this specific title.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5070 Ti compared to its closest rival in the GPU benchmark?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 52086, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 52085, resulting in a deltaPct of 0. The RTX 5070 Ti is also 2.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000, which scores 50826.

Q: What is the performance difference between the i5-12400F and the Intel Core i7-8700K?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the i7-8700K's score of 19210. This makes the two processors virtually identical in overall synthetic CPU performance.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 533.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 436.9 FPS. This represents a performance drop of approximately 96 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Does the resolution impact the frame rate more at High settings or Low settings?

A: The impact is more pronounced at Low settings. Moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings reduces the average FPS from 533.1 to 466.7, a drop of 66.4 FPS. At High settings, the same resolution change reduces FPS from 441.4 to 393, a drop of 48.4 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance in synthetic tests?

A: The CPU achieves a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a max-thread score of 5912. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2332 in single-core and 16518 in multi-core, showing a significant scaling capability across its 6 cores and 12 threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a high-end graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, featuring 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 896.0 GB/s, which is a substantial resource for handling high-resolution textures and effects. The card's boost clock is listed at 2452 MHz, and its raw compute capability is measured at 43.94 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In the synthetic benchmark suite, the GPU achieves a Passmark G3D score of 32974 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 231226, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs.

In the measured Valorant data, the GPU's role is paradoxical. At 4K resolution, the frame rates are high enough to suggest the GPU is being utilized, but the difference between settings is relatively small. For instance, at 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 466.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 383.2 FPS. This 83.5 FPS gap indicates that the GPU is capable of processing the additional visual load, but the frame rates are still so high that the CPU is likely limiting the absolute maximum output. The card's performance relative to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080, is a 0% deltaPct, meaning they are statistically tied in average benchmark score. This suggests that in GPU-bound scenarios, this card should perform on par with that previous-generation flagship, but in Valorant, the game's engine and the CPU's speed will often prevent the GPU from becoming the limiting factor.

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. Its cache configuration includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for gaming workloads that require fast access to frequently used data. The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores show a strong balance between single-thread and multi-thread performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2332 points in single-core and 16518 points in multi-core. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 909, while the max-thread score reaches 5912. This performance places the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221.

For a game like Valorant, which relies heavily on a few primary threads for game logic and rendering commands, the single-core performance is often more indicative of real-world results. The data supports this, as the frame rates at 1080p are consistently higher than at 4K, but the gap between the Low and Ultra presets is not as large as one might expect from a GPU-heavy workload. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces 533.1 FPS. When moving to 4K with Low settings, the frame rate drops to 466.7 FPS. This drop of 66.4 FPS is a direct result of the GPU having to render more pixels, but the fact that the 1080p Low preset cannot exceed 533 FPS suggests a CPU-imposed ceiling. The CPU's closest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores nearly identically in synthetic tests (deltaPct of 0.1%), which implies that older high-end CPUs will exhibit similar frame-capping behavior in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti achieves a rank of 433 out of 1650 combos. This percentile ranking places it roughly in the top 26% of all systems tested, which is a solid result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The ranking is likely held back by the CPU, as the GPU's 87th percentile score is significantly higher than the CPU's 77th percentile score. This imbalance indicates that the system is not fully utilizing the GPU's potential in this particular game.

The data suggests that while the combo is powerful, it is not optimized for absolute top-tier performance in Valorant. Combos that feature CPUs with higher single-thread scores would likely rank higher, as they would be able to feed the GPU frames at a faster rate. However, for the vast majority of users, a rank of 433 out of 1650 is excellent, and the frame rates measured are far beyond what is necessary for competitive play, which typically requires 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors. The system is clearly overqualified for standard esports requirements, and the bottleneck is consistently the CPU, not the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions: the Low preset provides the highest average frame rate, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 533.1 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. The Medium preset drops to 452.7 FPS, High to 441.4 FPS, and Ultra to 436.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents an 18% decrease in performance, which is a modest penalty for the visual improvements.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same ordering is preserved, but the absolute numbers decline. The Low preset averages 503.6 FPS, while Medium, High, and Ultra record 427.8 FPS, 421 FPS, and 415.3 FPS respectively. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 88.3 FPS, which is slightly larger than the 96.2 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more involved as the resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the trend continues, with Low achieving 466.7 FPS, Medium 394.9 FPS, High 393 FPS, and Ultra 383.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 83.5 FPS.

The most striking observation is the small difference between the High and Ultra presets at all resolutions. At 4K, the gap is only 9.8 FPS, while at 1080p it is just 4.5 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset is not significantly more demanding than High, or that the CPU is bottlenecking the GPU before the extra settings can have a major impact. The data indicates that the system is always capable of delivering frame rates well above 300 FPS, even at the most demanding settings and resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. For users with a 360 Hz or 500 Hz monitor, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that pushes the average frame rate above the 500 FPS mark, hitting 533.1 FPS. This is the recommended choice for maximizing responsiveness and minimizing input latency, as the visual differences in a fast-paced tactical shooter are often less important than raw frame rate.

For users with a 240 Hz monitor, the Low preset at 2560x1440 provides 503.6 FPS, which is more than enough headroom to avoid any frame drops, and it offers a higher resolution that can make enemy models clearer at a distance. The Medium preset at 1440p (427.8 FPS) is also a viable option if the user prefers slightly better visual effects, as it still provides a massive margin above the 240 Hz refresh rate. At 4K, even the Ultra preset averages 383.2 FPS, which is still sufficient for a 360 Hz monitor, though the Low preset at 466.7 FPS is the better choice for competitive play.

The data suggests that the High and Medium presets offer a negligible difference in frame rate at the same resolution, so users should select Medium if they want a slight visual upgrade without sacrificing performance. The Ultra preset is only recommended for those with very high refresh rate displays at 4K, as it delivers a still-excellent 383.2 FPS. Ultimately, the Low preset is the best choice for pure performance, but the system has enough power to run any setting at frame rates that exceed the requirements of all but the most extreme esports displays.