SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Get a comprehensive performance analysis of your gaming rig with detailed benchmarks, bottleneck detection, and upgrade recommendations

Build Configuration

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PROCESSOR (CPU)

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GRAPHICS CARD (GPU)

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90 Score

Top 10% Ranking

90 / 100

ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 10% of systems. Capable of 4K Ultra gaming and advanced rendering.

4K 60+ FPSVR ReadyRay Tracing

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio

Well Balanced

CPU

84%

GPU

97%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core i5-12400

18,683 Benchmark Score

Top 16% Market Ranking

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GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

60,347 Benchmark Score

Top 3% Market Ranking

View Full Specs →

Market Position

How your build compares to others

Budget

0-30

Mid-Range

30-60

High-End

60-85

Enthusiast

85-100

Your Build

Game Performance Benchmarks

Real-world 4K FPS in popular titles

View All Games →

Performance Insights

Tips to maximize your system

Optimal Performance

Your system is in the top tier. You can run any modern game at maximum settings.

4K Gaming Ready

Consider a 4K 144Hz monitor to fully utilize your hardware capabilities.

Compatible Games See what you can play Compare CPUs Find upgrades Compare GPUs Find upgrades

Performance Tiers Explained

90-100

Ultimate

4K Ultra gaming, VR ready, ray tracing enabled, professional workloads

4K 60+ FPS VR Ready

70-89

High-End

1440p Ultra or 4K High settings, excellent for modern AAA titles

1440p Ultra 4K High

50-69

Mid-Range

1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, great value for most gamers

1080p Ultra 1440p Med

30-49

Entry Level

1080p Medium settings, suitable for eSports and older titles

1080p Med eSports

0-29

Legacy

Basic gaming, older titles, consider upgrading for modern games

720p-1080p Low Older Games

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop configuration that combines a mid-range 12th-generation processor with a flagship Ada Lovelace graphics card. The benchmark data for this pairing is based on measured FPS figures across a wide range of titles, and the results reveal a system that delivers exceptional frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with performance scaling predictably as resolution increases. This analysis examines the measured data, comparing the components' relative strengths and the overall balance of the build for various workloads.

Gaming Performance

The measured FPS data for this build, captured at ultra settings, shows a clear pattern of performance dominance at lower resolutions and a natural decline as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080, the system achieves high triple-digit frame rates in many esports and lighter titles, such as 361.1 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 and 435.4 FPS in Valorant. Heavier AAA titles still perform admirably, with Cyberpunk 2077 hitting 88 FPS and Red Dead Redemption 2 reaching 100.1 FPS at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable, though the scaling from 1080p shows the GPU working harder. Counter-Strike 2 drops to 237 FPS, while Valorant manages 410.8 FPS. Cyberpunk 2077 falls to 79 FPS, and Red Dead Redemption 2 settles at 74.5 FPS. The data indicates that 1440p is a sweet spot for this pairing, offering a balance between visual fidelity and high refresh rates in most titles.

At 3840x2160, 4K performance is where the RTX 4090's capabilities are tested, and the CPU's limitations become more apparent in certain scenarios. The frame rates drop significantly across the board, with Cyberpunk 2077 at 52 FPS and Red Dead Redemption 2 at 48.8 FPS. Esports titles remain fluid at 4K, with Valorant still achieving 384.1 FPS and Counter-Strike 2 at 133 FPS. However, some demanding titles like Ark: Survival Ascended dip to just 17 FPS, indicating that this pairing is not universally suited for max-settings 4K gaming in every title.

Usage Scenarios

For high-refresh gaming at 1080p and 1440p, this build is exceptionally strong. The measured data shows frame rates well above 144 FPS in most competitive titles at both resolutions, with Valorant at 435.4 FPS (1080p) and 410.8 FPS (1440p), and Counter-Strike 2 at 361.1 FPS (1080p). The RTX 4090's raw power ensures that even the most demanding games can push past the 144 Hz threshold at 1440p, making this an ideal setup for competitive and fast-paced gaming.

Streaming and content creation are well-served by this pairing, though the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration is a limiting factor. The RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance handle video encoding and rendering acceleration, but the i5-12400's multi-threaded scores, such as 15,989 in Cinebench R23, are modest. The system can handle streaming with GPU-based encoding, but heavy multitasking with simultaneous gameplay and rendering may strain the CPU.

Video editing benefits from the GPU's compute power, with the RTX 4090 scoring 25,5416 in Geekbench OpenCL. The 24 GB VRAM allows for large timelines and complex effects, and the 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth facilitates fast data movement. However, the CPU's 8,564 Geekbench multicore score means that tasks like timeline preview and export encoding, which rely on CPU cores, will not be as fast as with higher-core-count processors.

3D rendering is a mixed bag. GPU-accelerated renders will be exceptionally fast, with the RTX 4090's 16,384 shading units and 128 RT cores providing massive parallel compute. The GPU scores 38,194 in Passmark G3D, indicating strong rasterization performance. CPU-based rendering, however, is limited by the i5-12400's 5,890 3DMark max-threads score, making it a bottleneck for workflows that rely on CPU rendering engines.

Software development sees a capable, though not leading-edge, CPU. The i5-12400's single-thread score of 3,456 in Passmark ensures responsive compilation for smaller projects, and the 12 threads handle typical parallel builds adequately. The RTX 4090 does not directly aid in code compilation but provides fast shader compilation and GPU debugging capabilities. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data locality in development workloads.

Student and office work is more than adequately handled by this build, though it is overkill for such tasks. The CPU's single-thread performance is strong, with a 2257 Cinebench R23 single-core score, ensuring snappy application responsiveness. The integrated UHD Graphics 730 provides a fallback for basic display tasks, and the RTX 4090's power is entirely unnecessary for word processing, spreadsheets, or web browsing, but it does not detract from these activities.

Balance and Bottleneck

The data indicates a significant imbalance between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The RTX 4090 sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-12400 is at the 72nd percentile among CPUs. This discrepancy manifests most clearly in gaming, where the CPU can struggle to feed the GPU enough data at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the frame rates in many games are higher than at higher resolutions, but the CPU's limits are exposed. For instance, in Counter-Strike 2, the frame rate drops from 361.1 FPS at 1080p to 237 FPS at 1440p, a 34% decrease, while the resolution increases by 78% in pixel count. This suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 72nd percentile confirms that the processor is the weaker link.

At 4K, the bottleneck shifts to the GPU, as the frame rates drop more uniformly across titles. The average FPS across all games at 1080p is 209.2, but the system's overall pair rank of 171 out of 3732 pairs indicates that this combination is in the top 5% of all tested pairs. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p and 4K shows that the GPU is increasingly the limiting factor at higher resolutions, with the CPU having more headroom to feed frames.

Who Should Build It

This build is tailored for gamers who prioritize high refresh rates at 1440p and are willing to accept that 4K gaming will require settings adjustments for the most demanding titles. The measured data shows that at 1440p, most games exceed 100 FPS, with many exceeding 200 FPS. Gamers with 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors at 1440p will find this pairing delivers a consistently smooth experience.

Content creators who work primarily with GPU-accelerated applications, such as video editors using CUDA or 3D artists using GPU renderers like Octane or Redshift, will benefit from the RTX 4090's massive compute resources. The 24 GB of VRAM is sufficient for large 3D scenes and high-resolution video projects. However, those who rely heavily on CPU rendering or complex CPU-based simulations should consider a more powerful processor.

Software developers and data scientists who need to run local GPU workloads, such as TensorFlow or PyTorch, will find the RTX 4090's 512 tensor cores and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP16 performance exceptionally useful. The CPU is adequate for code editing and compilation, but the system's overall performance is heavily skewed toward GPU tasks. Students and office workers would be vastly over-served by this configuration, as the performance is far beyond what typical productivity software requires.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and features 18 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core.

Benchmark scores indicate a solid mid-range performer. The CPU achieves a single-thread score of 910 in 3DMark and a max-threads score of 5,890. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2,257 in single-core and 15,989 in multi-core. The Passmark single-thread score is 3,456, and the multithread score is 18,747. These results place the CPU at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18,683.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400 is closely matched. It is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643, 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U, and 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330. It is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F. This indicates that the i5-12400 sits in a highly competitive performance bracket, with negligible differences between these processors in average scores. The CPU's real-world performance is characterized by strong single-thread capabilities, which benefit gaming and everyday tasks, while its multi-thread performance is adequate but not exceptional for heavily threaded workloads.

GPU Analysis

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and the AD102 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

The GPU is equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS (1:1). The pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s.

Benchmark scores reflect the GPU's dominant position. It scores 9,223 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 255,416 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 271,631 in Geekbench Vulkan. In Passmark, it scores 38,194 in G3D and 26,613 in GPU Compute. The GPU is at the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% ahead), and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% behind). The RTX 4090's performance is clearly geared towards high-resolution gaming and professional rendering tasks, with its massive VRAM and bandwidth enabling it to handle the most demanding workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS across all measured games for this build?

A: The average FPS across all games tested is 209.2 at 1920x1080 resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-14100F?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F in average benchmark score.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is at the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 scores 15,989 in Cinebench R23 multicore.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s.

Q: How many RT cores does the RTX 4090 have?

A: The RTX 4090 has 128 RT cores.

Q: What is the combined percentile for this CPU+GPU pairing?

A: The combined percentile for this build is 80.

Build Overview

This is a desktop-class build combining the Intel Core i5-12400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The pairing represents a significant mismatch in performance tiers: the CPU is a mid-range 6-core part, while the GPU is a flagship 24 GB graphics card. The combined percentile for this system is 80, indicating that it outperforms 80% of all tested configurations in the database. The GPU's 88th percentile and the CPU's 72nd percentile highlight the disparity in their respective performance levels. This system is designed for users who want maximum graphical performance and are willing to pair it with a more modest processor, potentially for cost reasons or for workloads where the GPU is the primary compute engine.

Benchmark Performance

The benchmark data shows a clear performance hierarchy. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 18,683, with a 3DMark max-threads score of 5,890 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1,848. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 60,347, with a Passmark G3D score of 38,194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 271,631. The CPU is at the 72nd percentile, while the GPU is at the 88th percentile.

The combined picture is one of a system that is heavily GPU-limited in most scenarios. In gaming, the pair achieves a rank of 171 out of 3,732 pairs, placing it in the top 4.6% of all tested configurations. The average FPS across all games at 1080p is 209.2, demonstrating the GPU's raw power. However, the CPU's lower percentile suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, such as low-resolution gaming or heavily threaded productivity tasks, the i5-12400 will hold back the system's overall performance, preventing it from reaching the levels that the RTX 4090 could achieve with a more powerful processor.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core i5-12400 uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform, which supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU provides PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes, while the RTX 4090 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface. This means the GPU is not limited by the CPU's PCIe version, as PCIe 4.0 is sufficient for the RTX 4090's bandwidth needs. The system has a suggested PSU of 850 W, with the CPU having a 65W TDP and the GPU having a 450W TDP.

The most sensible next upgrade for this platform would be to replace the CPU with a higher-core-count 12th or 13th-generation Intel processor that fits the Socket 1700. This would address the current bottleneck where the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration limits performance in CPU-bound workloads. The RTX 4090 is currently at end-of-life status, but its performance is so high that it would not need upgrading for several generations. A CPU upgrade would unlock additional multi-threaded performance, as the current i5-12400's 15,989 Cinebench R23 multicore score is modest compared to what higher-tier Socket 1700 processors can offer. The platform's support for DDR5 memory also provides a future upgrade path, though the current memory support is sufficient for the existing components.

Rate My PC: Intel Core i5-12400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Apex Performer

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core i5-12400

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

Market Position

Game Performance Benchmarks

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Minecraft: Java Edition

Minecraft

Performance Insights

Optimal Performance

4K Gaming Ready

Performance Tiers Explained

Ultimate

High-End

Mid-Range

Entry Level

Legacy

Gaming Performance

Usage Scenarios

Balance and Bottleneck

Who Should Build It

CPU Analysis

GPU Analysis

FAQ

Build Overview

Benchmark Performance

Upgrade Path and Platform

4K Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1440p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1080p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

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