Valorant

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers exceptional frame rates in Valorant, a competitive FPS. The benchmark data shows that even at the highest resolution and settings, this combination maintains performance well above what is required for smooth competitive play. The average frame rates across all tested configurations never drop below 267 FPS, with the 1080p Low preset reaching a staggering 595 FPS. This analysis breaks down the scaling, ranking, and component roles based on the measured FPS data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how heavily Valorant's performance scales with resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 595 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings, the average drops to 560 FPS, a decrease of approximately 6%. At 4K, the Low preset delivers 447 FPS, which is a 25% reduction from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern indicates that even at 4K resolution, the system is not bottlenecked by the GPU, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

With the High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p average is 412 FPS, dropping to 351 FPS at 1440p (a 15% decrease) and further to 281 FPS at 4K (a 20% decrease from 1440p). This trend shows that as the resolution increases, the GPU's workload becomes more significant, but the frame rates remain well within the range of high-performance gaming. The data suggests that the CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is capable of feeding frames quickly enough at lower resolutions, but the GPU begins to play a more limiting role at 4K.

The Medium settings show similar trends: 432 FPS at 1080p, 369 FPS at 1440p, and 295 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings also follow this pattern, with averages of 392 FPS, 334 FPS, and 267 FPS respectively. The consistent drop in FPS as resolution increases indicates that Valorant is scaling as expected, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions. However, given that even the lowest average FPS is 267, the limiting component is not causing any issues for competitive play.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The average FPS is 595, which is the highest recorded across all tested configurations.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 267 FPS, while 1080p Ultra hits 392 FPS, making the 4K result about 32% lower.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination yields the lowest average FPS?

A: The lowest average FPS is 267 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Are there any frame rate data points for minimum or maximum FPS?

A: Yes, the Medium settings at every resolution have both min and max FPS data. For instance, at 1080p Medium, the min is 367 and the max is 497. At 1440p Medium, the min is 313 and the max is 424, and at 4K Medium, the min is 251 and the max is 339.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The average FPS at Low is 560, while at Ultra it is 334, a difference of 226 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: The high frame rates at 1080p, such as 595 FPS on Low, suggest that the CPU is capable of driving high FPS, with the GPU not being a limiting factor at this resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a larger drop, indicating the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the optimal settings depend on the target refresh rate of the display. For a 144Hz monitor, the Medium settings at 4K provide an average of 295 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate. However, for maximum performance, the Low settings at 1440p offer an average of 560 FPS, making it the best choice for a 240Hz or 360Hz display. In competitive gaming, where high frame rates are crucial, the Low settings at 1080p yielding 595 FPS are the most effective, giving the highest frame rate for the lowest graphical load. The Medium settings at 1440p offer a balanced experience with an average of 369 FPS, ensuring high refresh rates are met while slightly improving visual fidelity over Low.

For players prioritizing visual quality with a high refresh rate, the High settings at 1080p produce 412 FPS, allowing for a smooth experience on high-refresh displays. The Ultra settings at 1080p still deliver 392 FPS, making them viable for visual quality without sacrificing performance on a 240Hz monitor. At 4K, the High settings provide 281 FPS, which is sufficient for a 240Hz display, but the Low settings at 447 FPS are more suitable for achieving maximum frame rates on monitors with refresh rates above 300Hz. The data shows that the system is versatile, and the settings can be tailored to either maximize FPS or enhance visual quality while maintaining high performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings is 412 for High, 595 for Low, 432 for Medium, and 392 for Ultra. The Medium setting also has a minimum of 367 and a maximum of 497. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 351 for High, 560 for Low, 369 for Medium, and 334 for Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a min of 313 and a max of 424. At 3840x2160, the averages are 281 for High, 447 for Low, 295 for Medium, and 267 for Ultra. The Medium setting reports a min of 251 and a max of 339. These numbers show a consistent pattern of frame rate scaling across resolutions, with Low settings always delivering the highest average FPS and Ultra the lowest.

The data also reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra settings grows with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 203 FPS (595 vs 392). At 1440p, the difference is 226 FPS (560 vs 334). At 4K, the difference is 180 FPS (447 vs 267). This indicates that the impact of settings on FPS is relatively consistent, with a slight variation. The overall performance is so high that even the most demanding setting at 4K Ultra, with an average of 267 FPS, is above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600 and the RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1794th out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant. The 12600KF's performance percentile vs. all CPUs is 79, indicating it is in the top quarter of all processors. Its average benchmark score is 27799, which is only -0.3% different from the Intel Core i9-10900K, and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE. The RTX 2070 SUPER has a percentile vs. all GPUs of 65, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its performance is -1% compared to the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, -1.2% vs. the RTX 3070 Mobile, and -1.3% vs. the Intel Arc B570. The combo's rank of 1794 out of 3708 places it in the top half of all tested combinations, reflecting a strong balance of CPU and GPU capabilities for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, which supports high single-thread performance critical for FPS games. The CPU's single-thread performance is evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3302. These scores show a strong single-thread performance, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates in Valorant. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache also helps in game performance. The CPU's scores are 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE and 0.3% below the Intel Core i9-10900K, indicating a competitive performance in this tier. The high single-thread performance allows the CPU to handle the game's logic and physics efficiently, even at high frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with a TDP of 215 W. The GPU's performance is indicated by its PassMark G3D score of 18169, which is -1% against the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and -1.2% against the RTX 3070 Mobile. In Valorant, the GPU's role becomes more significant at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 267, compared to 595 at 1080p Low, demonstrating the GPU's impact as resolution and settings increase. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game at all tested settings, as the frame rates remain high. The RTX 2070 SUPER shows a balanced performance, with the GPU becoming more of a limiting factor at 4K, but still delivering frame rates that remain well above 240 FPS even at the highest settings.