Valorant

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Valorant, consistently exceeding 240 FPS across nearly all tested settings and resolutions. The data indicates a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower resolutions and increasingly CPU-bound as resolution scales, yet remains powerful enough to saturate high-refresh-rate displays in every scenario measured.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. This processor features a hybrid design, though the fact pack does not specify the P-core/E-core split; what matters for Valorant is the combination of high single-thread performance and substantial multi-thread headroom.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700KF scores 1043 in 3DMark single-thread and 4071 in Cinebench R23 single-core, placing it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs tested. This single-thread strength is critical for an esports title like Valorant, where game logic and draw calls often rely on a few fast cores. The multi-threaded scores are equally robust: 28838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 34092 in Passmark multi-thread, indicating that the processor will not bottleneck the GPU in any scenario this game presents.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700KF sits in a tight cluster. It essentially ties the Intel Core i7-13700T (deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (deltaPct 0.2), while also matching the Intel Core i7-12700K (deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core 5 213PE (deltaPct -0.2). These delta percentages are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the CPU’s performance headroom is virtually indistinguishable from these alternatives in aggregate benchmark scores. For Valorant specifically, the 5.00 GHz boost clock is the standout feature, as it allows the processor to maintain high instruction throughput during rapid-fire gameplay sequences.

The L3 cache is 25 MB shared, with 1.25 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. This cache hierarchy helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for a game that requires quick reaction times and consistent frame pacing. The memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5, though the fact pack does not list measured bandwidth, so the impact of memory type remains qualitative. The processor’s PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has a fast connection, though the RTX 2060 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16, which is backward compatible.

For Valorant’s measured results, the CPU’s role becomes apparent when examining the 1080p Low setting, where the average FPS reaches 596. At this point, the GPU is not the limiting factor; instead, the CPU’s ability to process frames quickly determines the ceiling. The i7-12700KF’s high boost clock and strong single-core scores provide the necessary headroom to push frame rates beyond 500 FPS, a figure that most competitive players would consider more than sufficient.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, while memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU has 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 34 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores, producing 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

This GPU sits in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs in the fact pack’s benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (deltaPct -0.4), the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct -0.5), the AMD Radeon RX 460 (deltaPct -1.5), and the Intel Arc A770M (deltaPct -1.6). The RTX 2060 SUPER trails these alternatives by less than two percent in aggregate scores, placing it in a competitive mid-range tier.

In Valorant, the GPU’s role is less about raw pixel throughput and more about maintaining consistent frame delivery at high refresh rates. The 8 GB VRAM is more than adequate for a game with relatively modest texture requirements, even at 4K Ultra settings. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 243 FPS average, which suggests the GPU is still capable of pushing high frame rates despite the resolution load. The boost clock of 1650 MHz ensures that the GPU can sustain these rates without thermal throttling, though the fact pack does not provide temperature data.

The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for Valorant’s scene complexity, which typically involves low-polygon environments and simple shaders. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 64 ROPs handle fill-rate requirements easily, as evidenced by the 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate. The texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s further supports the GPU’s ability to process the game’s textures without bottlenecking.

At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS reaches 596, which is likely near the CPU’s limit rather than the GPU’s. The GPU is clearly not the limiting component at lower settings, as its utilization drops and the CPU takes over. Conversely, at 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 243, indicating that the GPU is now doing more work, but it still remains well above the 144 Hz threshold that most competitive monitors offer.

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 that illuminates the balance between CPU and GPU load. At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 596. When moving to 2560x1440 Low, the FPS drops to 508, a reduction of approximately 15 percent. At 3840x2160 Low, the FPS falls to 406, which is about 32 percent lower than the 1080p figure. This scaling is relatively mild, suggesting that the GPU is not being heavily taxed even at 4K with Low settings.

The High settings show a similar trend but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 374. At 1440p High, it rises slightly to 319, and at 4K High, it drops to 255. The drop from 1080p to 4K is about 32 percent, consistent with the Low settings scaling. This indicates that the GPU is handling the resolution increase without a disproportionate performance hit, which is typical for a game with simple rendering demands.

Medium settings provide the most detailed data, as they include min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 392 FPS with a min of 334 and max of 451. At 1440p Medium, the average is 335 FPS with a min of 285 and max of 385. At 4K Medium, the average is 268 FPS with a min of 227 and max of 308. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is approximately 32 percent, matching the other settings.

Ultra settings show the largest absolute drop. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 356 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it is 304 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 243 FPS. The 4K figure is 32 percent lower than 1080p, again consistent with the other presets. This consistent ~32 percent scaling across all settings suggests that the limiting component shifts gradually from CPU at 1080p to a more balanced load at 4K, but the GPU never becomes a hard bottleneck.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, as frame rates exceed 500 FPS on Low and remain above 350 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the GPU takes on more work, but the FPS still remains above 240, which is far beyond the needs of most displays. The fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is only about one-third suggests that Valorant is not a graphically intensive game, and the RTX 2060 SUPER has ample headroom even at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2215 out of 3708 tested combos in Valorant, placing it in the 60th percentile of all configurations measured. This rank reflects the fact that while the CPU is in the 85th percentile and the GPU is in the 62nd percentile, the overall combo performance is moderated by the game’s engine and the balance between the two components.

This ranking means that roughly 40 percent of tested combos outperform this setup in Valorant, likely those with newer GPUs or higher-end processors. However, the absolute FPS numbers are so high that the rank may be more indicative of the fact that many other combos also achieve very high frame rates, making the field crowded at the top. A rank of 2215 out of 3708 suggests that this combo is solidly mid-pack among all hardware pairs, but it does not reflect the actual playability, which is excellent.

The CPU’s percentile of 85 versus the GPU’s percentile of 62 highlights a potential imbalance: the processor is significantly stronger than the graphics card in relative terms. In Valorant, this imbalance is not problematic because the game is not GPU-intensive. The combo rank being lower than the CPU percentile alone suggests that the GPU does drag down the overall standing, but the measured FPS data shows that this drag is minimal in practice.

Compared to other combos that might pair the i7-12700KF with a more powerful GPU, this setup would likely rank higher, but the fact pack does not provide such comparisons. The nearest rival GPUs to the RTX 2060 SUPER all have similar aggregate scores, so swapping to an RTX 3060 Mobile or a Radeon Pro 5700 would likely yield similar results in Valorant, given the game’s low GPU demands.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 596 FPS, which is the highest figure in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 392 FPS with a minimum of 334 and a maximum of 451. The High preset averages 374 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 356 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 240 FPS, indicating that settings have a moderate impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 508 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. The Medium preset averages 335 FPS with a minimum of 285 and a maximum of 385. The High preset averages 319 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 304 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 204 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to take on more load as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 406 FPS, demonstrating that even at 4K, the combo can push well beyond 400 FPS on minimal settings. The Medium preset averages 268 FPS with a minimum of 227 and a maximum of 308. The High preset averages 255 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 243 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 163 FPS, showing that settings have less impact at 4K because the GPU is more heavily utilized.

The min FPS values are only provided for Medium settings across all resolutions: 334 at 1080p, 285 at 1440p, and 227 at 4K. These minimums indicate that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not drop below 227 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The max FPS values for Medium settings are 451 at 1080p, 385 at 1440p, and 308 at 4K, showing a consistent pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Valorant?

A: The highest average FPS is 596, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does this combo maintain over 240 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the average FPS is 406 on Low, 268 on Medium, 255 on High, and 243 on Ultra, all exceeding 240 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 on average, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, deltaPct -0.1) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, deltaPct 0.2).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 227, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 334, and at 1440p Medium, it is 285.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all GPUs tested?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is in the 62nd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 18093.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Valorant?

A: The combo ranks 2215 out of 3708 tested combinations, placing it in the 60th percentile.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target display refresh rate. For a 144 Hz monitor, all settings at all resolutions provide ample headroom, with even the lowest 4K Ultra average of 243 FPS exceeding this threshold. For a 240 Hz monitor, the data shows that 1080p Low (596 FPS), 1080p Medium (392 FPS), 1080p High (374 FPS), and 1080p Ultra (356 FPS) all deliver above 240 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset (508 FPS) exceeds 240 FPS, while Medium (335 FPS), High (319 FPS), and Ultra (304 FPS) also remain above 240 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset (406 FPS) is the only one that stays above 240 FPS, as Medium (268 FPS), High (255 FPS), and Ultra (243 FPS) all fall below this threshold.

For a 360 Hz monitor, the only preset that exceeds 360 FPS is 1080p Low (596 FPS). No other combination of resolution and settings reaches 360 FPS. For a 165 Hz monitor, every setting at every resolution is sufficient, including the lowest recorded average of 243 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The most balanced experience for competitive play is likely 1440p Medium, which averages 335 FPS with a minimum of 285 FPS. This provides a high margin above 240 Hz displays while offering better visual fidelity than Low settings. The 4K Medium preset (268 FPS average) is also viable for 240 Hz monitors, though the minimum of 227 FPS does dip below 240, which could cause occasional frame drops on such displays.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates above all else, 1080p Low delivers the highest average at 596 FPS. However, this setting sacrifices visual quality for a marginal competitive advantage, as the difference between 596 FPS and 392 FPS (1080p Medium) is unlikely to be perceptible on most monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a better balance of visual clarity and performance, with a 392 FPS average and a 334 FPS minimum.

The Ultra settings are not recommended for competitive play, as they offer diminishing visual returns while reducing the FPS margin. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 243 FPS, which is barely above a 240 Hz refresh rate and provides less headroom for frame time spikes. The data suggests that Medium or High settings at 1440p or 1080p offer the best combination of performance and visual quality for this hardware configuration in Valorant.