Minecraft

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 delivers a wide spread of frame rates in Minecraft depending on resolution and quality preset. At 1080p the combination is clearly strong, but at 4K the GPU becomes the limiting factor and only the Low preset remains comfortably playable. The recorded data shows a consistent pattern: lower resolutions and lower settings produce high averages, while the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 24 FPS on average, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold used by the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the i3-12100F and RX 570 produce very high frame counts across all four presets. The Low preset averages 187 FPS, which is the single highest average recorded for this combination in any configuration. Medium drops to 148 FPS on average, with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 171 FPS. High averages 118 FPS, while Ultra, the most demanding preset at this resolution, still averages 74 FPS. All four 1080p presets clear the 60 FPS threshold by a substantial margin, and even the lowest minimum recorded at 1080p, which is 126 FPS on Medium, is more than double the playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear step down from 1080p. The Low preset averages 118 FPS, identical to the High preset at 1080p, which indicates that the CPU and GPU are still well within their capabilities at this resolution when settings are low. Medium averages 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS. High averages 74 FPS, which matches the Ultra average at 1080p, showing that resolution scaling at this tier is roughly equivalent to one preset step. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 46 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the first preset and resolution combination where the system fails to maintain 60 FPS on average.

At 3840x2160, the RX 570 begins to struggle more noticeably. Low averages 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, and this is the only 4K preset that remains playable. Medium averages 49 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, meaning even the maximum frame rate at Medium 4K is below the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. The 4K results show a steep drop-off between Low and Medium, a 13 FPS difference, and then a further 10 FPS drop from Medium to High, followed by a 15 FPS drop from High to Ultra. This suggests that the GPU memory bandwidth and shading resources are heavily taxed at 4K, particularly when higher quality settings increase the rendering workload.

The minimum and maximum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the frame range spans 126 to 171 FPS, a 45 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 80 to 108 FPS, a 28 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range narrows further to 42 to 56 FPS, a 14 FPS spread. This tightening of the frame range as resolution increases indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant factor, reducing the variability that the CPU would otherwise introduce at lower resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that at 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role than at higher resolutions. Evidence for this comes from the scaling between presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 113 FPS on average, from 187 to 74 FPS. This large spread suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU at low settings, but as the preset increases, the GPU workload rises and frame rates drop proportionally. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, has a passmark single thread score of 3444 and a passmark multithread score of 14015, which places it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. In a game like Minecraft, which is known for being single-thread sensitive, the single-thread performance is likely the more relevant factor, and the data supports this by showing very high frame rates at 1080p Low.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to assert more influence. The Low preset still averages 118 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High average. This indicates that at 1440p Low, the GPU is still able to keep up with the CPU's output. However, the Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 46 FPS, which is 28 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra average of 74 FPS. The difference between 1080p Ultra and 1440p Ultra is 28 FPS, while the difference between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is 69 FPS. This asymmetric scaling suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher presets, while the CPU is the bottleneck at lower presets. In other words, at 1440p Low, the CPU limits the frame rate to around 118 FPS, but at 1440p Ultra, the GPU limits the frame rate to 46 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the frame rates. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is only slightly above the 60 FPS threshold, and the Ultra preset averages just 24 FPS. The difference between 4K Low and 1440p Low is 56 FPS, from 118 to 62 FPS. The difference between 4K Ultra and 1440p Ultra is 22 FPS, from 46 to 24 FPS. The fact that the 4K Low average is so much lower than the 1440p Low average indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated at 4K, regardless of the CPU's capability. The RX 570 has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s from its 256-bit GDDR5 interface. These specifications suggest that 4K rendering at high quality is beyond the card's comfortable range, and the measured data confirms this.

Looking at the preset scaling within each resolution, the pattern is consistent. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 187 to 148 to 118 to 74 as the preset moves from Low to Medium to High to Ultra. The step from Medium to High is 30 FPS, and the step from High to Ultra is 44 FPS. At 1440p, the same sequence produces 118, 94, 74, and 46 FPS, with the High to Ultra step being 28 FPS. At 4K, the sequence is 62, 49, 39, and 24 FPS, with the High to Ultra step being 15 FPS. The shrinking absolute differences at higher resolutions reinforce that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the incremental cost of each preset becomes smaller when the GPU is already near its limit.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the Intel Core i3-12100F in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 and a delta of 0 percent, the Intel Core i5-9500 with an average score of 13452 and a delta of 0.3 percent, the Intel Core 5 120UL with an average score of 13594 and a delta of negative 0.7 percent, and the Intel Core i7-1250U with an average score of 13351 and a delta of 1.1 percent. In practical terms, these CPUs should produce nearly identical frame rates in Minecraft when paired with the same GPU, since their average benchmark scores are within 1.1 percent of each other. The i5-9500, for example, is only 0.3 percent slower than the i3-12100F according to the database, so a system with that CPU and an RX 570 would likely show very similar FPS numbers.

For the AMD Radeon RX 570, the database places it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28766. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6800M with an average score of 28874 and a delta of negative 0.4 percent, the AMD Radeon R9 M295X with an average score of 28580 and a delta of 0.7 percent, the AMD Radeon RX 470 with an average score of 28996 and a delta of negative 0.8 percent, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 with an average score of 28421 and a delta of 1.2 percent. The RX 470 is particularly relevant because it shares the same Polaris architecture, with the RX 570 being a slightly higher clocked variant. The delta of negative 0.8 percent means the RX 470 is 0.8 percent faster in the database's average benchmark score, which would translate to a negligible difference in Minecraft frame rates. The R9 M295X, a mobile GPU, is 0.7 percent slower than the RX 570, and the RTX 8000 is 1.2 percent slower, which is surprising given that the RTX 8000 is a workstation card, but the database's average benchmark score reflects a mix of tests, not just gaming.

A user considering this i3-12100F and RX 570 combination could expect that swapping the CPU to an i5-9500 or swapping the GPU to an RX 470 would produce nearly identical results. The recorded data for this combo at 1080p Ultra shows 74 FPS average, and a system with an RX 470 would likely be within a frame or two of that figure. Similarly, a system with an i5-9500 would be unlikely to change the 1080p Low average of 187 FPS, since the CPU is not the bottleneck at that setting. The key takeaway is that this combo sits in a dense cluster of hardware with similar performance, and the measured FPS values are representative of a broad range of mid-range systems from the same era.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Minecraft?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 187, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only preset and resolution combination that exceeds 180 FPS on average.

Q: Can this system run Minecraft at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with an average of 62 FPS. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS, all of which fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440 with the Ultra preset, the combo averages 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. This means the Ultra preset is not playable at 1440p, and users should select a lower preset for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

Q: Which resolution and preset combination has the lowest average FPS?

A: The lowest recorded average FPS is 24, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold and indicates a very demanding configuration for this hardware.

Q: Is there a large difference between the Low and Medium presets at 4K?

A: Yes, the difference is 13 FPS on average, from 62 FPS at Low to 49 FPS at Medium. Additionally, the Medium preset has a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, meaning even the best case at Medium 4K is below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset at 1920x1080 that stays at or above 60 FPS?

A: All four presets at 1920x1080 stay at or above 60 FPS. The most demanding preset that meets this criterion is Ultra, which averages 74 FPS. This is also the highest preset tested at this resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 74. This is the highest quality setting available in the test set, and the system clears the 60 FPS threshold with 14 FPS to spare. The Low, Medium, and High presets also all stay above 60 FPS, with averages of 187, 148, and 118 FPS respectively, so users have headroom to choose any preset at this resolution without dropping below the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average FPS of 74. This matches the 1080p Ultra average, which suggests that the GPU is capable of handling a medium-high quality setting at this resolution, but not the maximum. The Low preset averages 118 FPS and Medium averages 94 FPS, both of which are also playable. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 46 FPS, so it should be avoided if the goal is to maintain 60 FPS on average.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average FPS of 62. This is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, leaving only 2 FPS of margin. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS, all of which fall below the playable threshold. For 4K gameplay, the Low preset is the only viable option according to the recorded data.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 3485 out of 3710 tested combos in Minecraft, according to the database. This places it in the lower portion of the field, specifically around the 94th percentile from the bottom, with only 225 combos ranking below it. The rank reflects the fact that the GPU is an older, end-of-life product, and the CPU, while competent, is an entry-level desktop part with 4 cores and 8 threads. In a game like Minecraft, which can be demanding on both CPU and GPU depending on the settings, this combo is outclassed by a large number of newer systems.

The percentile data for the individual components paints a more nuanced picture. The CPU sits in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is above average compared to the full range of processors in the database. The GPU sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, which is also above average. However, the combo rank of 3485 out of 3710 suggests that the combination does not perform as well as the individual percentiles might imply. This discrepancy is likely due to the fact that the combo rank is specific to Minecraft, where the interaction between the CPU and GPU can produce bottlenecks that are not captured by general benchmark scores. The measured FPS data shows that the combo is quite capable at 1080p, but at 1440p and 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent, pulling the overall rank down.

The rank also indicates that there are 225 combos that perform worse than this one in Minecraft, which means the i3-12100F and RX 570 is not the weakest system in the database. However, it is far from the top, and users who prioritize high resolution or maximum quality settings would need to look at more powerful hardware. The combo's best performance is at 1080p, where it can handle even the Ultra preset at 74 FPS on average, but the drop-off at higher resolutions is steep.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear: this PC can run Minecraft at 60 FPS or above in all tested presets at 1920x1080, in three of four tested presets at 2560x1440, and in only one of four tested presets at 3840x2160. At 1080p, the system is fully playable across the board, with the Ultra preset averaging 74 FPS, which is 14 FPS above the playable threshold. At 1440p, the High preset averages 74 FPS, which is also playable, but the Ultra preset drops to 46 FPS, making it unsuitable for a consistent 60 FPS experience. At 4K, only the Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is just 2 FPS above the threshold, and all other presets fall short.

For users who primarily play at 1080p, this combo is a solid choice for Minecraft, offering high frame rates even at maximum quality settings. The measured data shows that the Ultra preset at 1080p produces 74 FPS on average, which should provide a smooth experience in most gameplay scenarios. For users who want to play at 1440p, the High preset is the best option, as it also averages 74 FPS, but the Ultra preset should be avoided unless the user is willing to tolerate frame rates in the mid-40s. For 4K, the system is only marginally playable at the Low preset, and users who want higher quality at 4K would need to consider a more powerful GPU. Overall, the database verdict lists 1920x1080 as fully playable at all presets, 2560x1440 as playable at High, Low, and Medium, and 3840x2160 as playable only at Low.