Valorant

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers exceptional performance in Valorant, with all measured configurations exceeding 280 FPS on average. The data shows that even the most demanding settings at 4K resolution produce an average of 284.3 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate capabilities of most displays. For players seeking the highest competitive advantage, the Low preset at 1080p yields 606 FPS, representing the absolute ceiling of this combination’s performance. However, the most balanced experience is found at the High preset, which maintains an average of 443.8 FPS at 1080p and 373.4 FPS at 1440p. This preset offers a substantial visual upgrade over Low while still providing frame rates that exceed 360 Hz displays. The Medium preset provides a marginal improvement in visual fidelity over Low with an average of 460.4 FPS at 1080p, but the difference in frame rate between High and Ultra is minimal—only 22.4 FPS at 1080p—suggesting that High is the optimal choice for most users. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, reduces performance to 421.4 FPS at 1080p, which is still exceptionally high but represents the smallest performance headroom relative to the other presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in Valorant?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 606 at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. This represents the peak performance of the combo, with the 1080p Low configuration being the only setting that breaks the 600 FPS barrier.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to the High preset in terms of performance?

A: At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 421.4 FPS, which is 22.4 FPS lower than the High preset’s 443.8 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 14 FPS (359.4 vs 373.4), and at 4K, the gap narrows to 18.5 FPS (284.3 vs 302.8). The performance penalty for Ultra is consistent across resolutions, ranging from 4% to 6% relative to High.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 the limiting factor at 1080p resolution?

A: No. The data indicates that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p. The transition from Low to Ultra at 1080p only reduces FPS from 606 to 421.4, a 30.5% drop, while the same transition at 4K shows a smaller relative drop from 481.9 to 284.3, a 41% reduction. The relatively small DeltaPct between settings at 1080p suggests the CPU is holding back the GPU, whereas at 4K the GPU becomes more influential.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations for Valorant?

A: The combo ranks 633rd out of 1650 tested combinations, placing it in the top 38.4% of all systems tested for this game. This percentile position indicates that while the combo is not in the elite tier, it still delivers frame rates that are far above what most competitive players require.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35355. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336, a delta of only 0.1%. This places the 12700KF in a statistical tie with the i5-14400, though it slightly trails the Intel Core i7-13800H by 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i9-12900HX by 0.2%.

Q: Does the GPU’s average benchmark score align with its in-game performance?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181 and ranks in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, scores 23321 (0.6% higher), while the Intel Arc B580 scores 23021 (0.7% lower). The GPU’s mid-tier benchmark position is consistent with its in-game behavior, where it provides ample performance at 1080p but becomes more of a limiting factor at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, average FPS drops from 443.8 at 1080p to 373.4 at 1440p, a 15.9% reduction, and then to 302.8 at 4K, a further 18.9% reduction from 1440p. The Low preset shows a steeper decline, with 606 FPS at 1080p falling to 577.8 at 1440p (4.7% drop) and then to 481.9 at 4K (16.6% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is the dominant bottleneck, as the GPU has minimal work to perform and the frame rate remains exceptionally high even at 4K.

The Medium and Ultra presets exhibit similar scaling behavior to High. Medium drops from 460.4 FPS at 1080p to 397.2 at 1440p (13.7%) and then to 314.5 at 4K (20.8% from 1440p). Ultra falls from 421.4 FPS at 1080p to 359.4 at 1440p (14.7%) and then to 284.3 at 4K (20.9% from 1440p). The consistent 14-21% reduction between each resolution step across Medium, High, and Ultra suggests that the GPU begins to play a more significant role as settings increase, while the Low preset’s smaller reductions indicate a CPU-bound scenario that persists even at 4K.

The absolute FPS values at every resolution and setting combination are remarkably high, with the lowest recorded average being 284.3 FPS at 4K Ultra. This indicates that the combination of the i7-12700KF and RTX 4060 is never truly GPU-limited in Valorant, even at 4K with maximum settings. The game’s low graphical demands relative to the GPU’s capabilities mean that the CPU’s performance is the primary constraint across all tested configurations. The scaling data suggests that players using 1080p or 1440p displays will experience no practical difference in gameplay smoothness, as all settings produce frame rates well above 300 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 633rd out of 1650 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Valorant, positioning it in the 62nd percentile of all systems. This mid-tier ranking is somewhat surprising given the absolute performance levels, but it reflects the fact that Valorant is highly CPU-sensitive and many higher-ranked combos likely feature newer or more powerful processors. The i7-12700KF’s average benchmark score of 35355 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 4060’s score of 23181 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. The disparity between these percentile rankings explains why the combo does not rank higher overall: the GPU is comparatively weaker than the CPU, and in a game that primarily relies on CPU throughput, the GPU’s lower percentile drags the combined ranking down.

The nearest rival CPUs to the i7-12700KF—the i5-14400, i7-13800H, i9-12900HX, and i5-13600T—all have average scores within 0.3% of the 12700KF. This tight clustering indicates that the CPU’s performance is representative of mid-to-high-range 12th and 13th generation Intel processors. Similarly, the RTX 4060’s nearest rivals—the RX 6600M, GTX 780 Ti, Arc B580, and Radeon 760M—are all within 0.8% of its score, showing that the GPU sits in a dense performance band where minor architectural differences produce negligible real-world impact.

In the context of Valorant specifically, the combo’s 633rd ranking does not reflect its practical suitability. The measured FPS data shows that even the worst-case configuration (4K Ultra) averages 284.3 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any competitive display. The ranking is likely influenced by other combos that feature higher-end GPUs paired with similar or better CPUs, but in actual gameplay, the RTX 4060 provides more than enough rendering power for this title. The combo’s ranking should be interpreted as a measure of raw hardware capability rather than gaming suitability, as Valorant’s low graphical requirements mean that even mid-tier GPUs achieve frame rates beyond what most players can perceive.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial on-chip storage for game data, while the dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 allows for flexible system configuration. The CPU’s benchmark scores are consistently strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, the latter being particularly relevant for Valorant’s engine, which typically relies on a few high-frequency threads.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 89 against all CPUs underscores its position as a high-performance part, though its nearest rivals show that it is not exceptional within its own generation. The 3dmark scores reveal a scaling pattern from 1043 in single-thread to 9983 in max-threads, indicating solid multithreaded efficiency. For Valorant, the single-thread performance is the most critical metric, and the 3dmark single-thread score of 1043, combined with the Geekbench single-core score of 2526, suggests that the CPU can sustain high frame rates when the workload is largely serialized.

The measured FPS data confirms that the CPU is the primary driver of performance in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 606 FPS, and increasing the resolution to 4K Low only reduces the average to 481.9 FPS—a 20.5% drop that is proportionally smaller than the 4.3x increase in pixel count. This indicates that the CPU is not significantly challenged by the resolution change, whereas the GPU has to work substantially harder at 4K. The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for any background tasks or streaming workloads that might run concurrently with the game, ensuring that frame times remain stable under load. The unlocked multiplier also allows for overclocking, which could push the already high FPS figures even further, though the measured data already shows performance well beyond the needs of any current display technology.