Minimum

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 presents a clear performance profile for Minimum across the three tested resolutions. The data indicates that this combination is a solid 1080p and 1440p performer, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. The measured average frame rates show a predictable scaling pattern, with performance dropping as resolution and graphical fidelity increase, yet the margins between settings reveal specific strengths and limitations of this hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results, with all four settings clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold comfortably. The Low preset produces an average of 174.4 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this configuration. Moving up to Medium yields 133.3 FPS, while the High preset averages 108.4 FPS. The most demanding option, Ultra, still maintains a robust 82 FPS average. The performance deltas between presets are considerable: dropping from Low to Medium reduces frame rate by approximately 23.5%, and the step from High to Ultra costs another 24.4%. This indicates that the GPU has ample headroom at 1080p, even under maximum load.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with tighter margins. The Low preset averages 114.2 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. Medium follows at 84.9 FPS, and High lands at exactly 70 FPS. However, the Ultra preset drops to 52.4 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS target. The scaling from Low to Medium represents a 25.7% reduction, while the jump from Medium to High costs 17.5%. The most severe drop occurs between High and Ultra, where performance falls by 25.1%. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces a significant load increase that the RX 7600 cannot fully absorb at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. The Low preset is the only option that comes close to playable, averaging 57.1 FPS — just under the 60 FPS line. Medium drops to 46.4 FPS, and High falls further to 38.3 FPS. The Ultra preset manages only 27.6 FPS, which is less than half the playable threshold. The relative differences here are steeper: moving from Low to Medium costs 18.7%, Medium to High costs 17.5%, and High to Ultra costs 27.9%. The data shows that 4K resolution places a heavy burden on the GPU, regardless of settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

The "best" setting is defined as the highest quality preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, the answer is Ultra, with an average of 82 FPS. This is the most demanding option available, and the system clears the threshold with a 22 FPS margin, indicating that even the maximum settings leave performance to spare.

At 2560x1440, the best setting is High, averaging 70 FPS. This preset stays above 60 FPS, but the next step up, Ultra, drops to 52.4 FPS, which is not playable per the threshold. The 70 FPS average provides a modest 10 FPS cushion, suggesting that while High is viable, there is limited headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, no setting achieves the 60 FPS target. The closest is Low at 57.1 FPS, which is 2.9 FPS short. The verdict data confirms that the playable settings list for 4K is empty, meaning this resolution is not recommended for smooth gameplay with this hardware combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom at lower settings. The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, posts a single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 4051 in the 16-thread test. These figures suggest adequate processing power for a 2014 title like Minimum, which likely does not demand extensive multi-core utilization.

Evidence for GPU dominance comes from the scaling between resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 174.4 FPS, but at 1440p Low it drops to 114.2 FPS — a 34.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 57.1 FPS, a further 50% drop from 1440p. This steep decline as resolution increases is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the RX 7600's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become constraining factors. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 16634 and its 57th percentile ranking among all GPUs corroborate this, showing it is a mid-range part that struggles with 4K workloads.

Conversely, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and higher frame rates. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 92.4 FPS (from 174.4 to 82), which indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to maintain high throughput. The CPU's passmark single-thread score of 3444 and its 68th percentile ranking versus all CPUs suggest it is not a limiting factor at these settings. However, the fact that the 4K Ultra preset drops to 27.6 FPS — a 66.3% reduction from 1080p Ultra — reinforces that the GPU's pixel throughput, not CPU capability, dictates the upper limits.

The scaling between presets at a fixed resolution also points to GPU sensitivity. At 1440p, the jump from High to Ultra costs 17.6 FPS, while the same jump at 1080p costs 26.4 FPS. This non-linear behavior suggests that the GPU is hitting its memory bandwidth ceiling as resolution increases, with the 288.0 GB/s bandwidth proving insufficient for 4K Ultra textures and effects.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: this PC can run Minimum at 1080p and 1440p with specific settings, but it cannot achieve 60 FPS at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the threshold, with Ultra averaging 82 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 70 FPS is the best option, with Low and Medium also playable at 114.2 and 84.9 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset fails at 52.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, no settings are playable; the best effort is Low at 57.1 FPS, which falls short by 2.9 FPS.

The verdictByResolution data confirms this: 4K lists no playable settings, while 1440p lists High, Low, and Medium, and 1080p lists all four. For users targeting 60 FPS, the optimal experience is at 1080p Ultra or 1440p High. The 1080p Ultra result is particularly notable because it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the threshold. At 1440p, the High preset offers a balanced experience, though users must avoid Ultra to stay smooth.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1080p with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 82 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 1440p?

A: The High preset, which averages 70 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 52.4 FPS, which is below 60 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combo?

A: No. The best result at 3840x2160 is the Low preset at 57.1 FPS, which is 2.9 FPS short of the 60 FPS target.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 174.4 to 114.2, a reduction of 60.2 FPS or approximately 34.5%.

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

A: The data suggests the CPU is sufficient, as the system reaches 174.4 FPS at Low settings. The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher presets, with Ultra dropping to 82 FPS.

Q: Which preset should be avoided at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset should be avoided, as its 52.4 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3712 tested combinations in Minimum, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2527th. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which aligns with the measured performance data. The rank is influenced by the CPU's 68th percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 57th percentile among all GPUs, both of which are mid-range positions. The ranking indicates that while this combo is far from the top performers, it is also not among the weakest, and its 1080p and 1440p results are respectable for a mid-range build.

The combo's rank relative to its parts' individual percentiles suggests that the pairing is balanced, with neither component dragging the other down significantly. The CPU's higher percentile (68) compared to the GPU (57) implies that the GPU is the more limiting factor in this configuration, which is consistent with the resolution scaling observed in the FPS data.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for each component provides insight into what other hardware would behave similarly. For the CPU, the Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494. Its closest rival is the Intel Core 3 N355, with an average score of 13492 and a delta of 0%, meaning they perform virtually identically. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, 0.3% lower, while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, which is 1.1% lower. Any of these processors would produce nearly the same frame rates in Minimum, assuming the GPU remains constant.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 15171. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199, a difference of -0.2% (meaning the RTX 3050 OEM is 0.2% faster). The AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 15082, 0.6% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti scores 15063, 0.7% slower. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, 0.7% faster. In practical terms, swapping the RX 7600 for any of these GPUs would yield nearly identical performance in Minimum, with differences of less than 1% in average FPS.

These alternatives suggest that users with slightly different hardware — such as an RTX 3050 OEM or a Core i5-9500 — would experience the same playability profile: smooth 1080p and 1440p gaming with 4K remaining out of reach. The tight clustering of scores within 1% means that the verdict for this combo applies broadly to a family of comparable mid-range components.