Minimum

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a dominant performance profile in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Measured data shows this combination clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at nearly every preset across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with only the absolute maximum settings at 4K falling short. The dataset confirms a 1051st place ranking out of 3712 tested combos, placing this pairing in the upper third of all configurations for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p)

At the lowest settings, the combo produces an average of 267 FPS. This is the highest recorded average across all resolutions and settings. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 204 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and a maximum of 235 FPS. High settings yield 171 FPS on average, while Ultra settings still manage a robust 131 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 136 FPS swing, representing a 51% reduction in average frame rate, but even the most demanding preset remains more than double the 60 FPS target.

2560x1440 (1440p)

Low settings at 1440p produce an average of 172 FPS. Medium settings average 132 FPS with a minimum of 112 FPS and a maximum of 151 FPS. High settings deliver 110 FPS on average. Ultra settings at this resolution average 84 FPS, which is still comfortably above the playable threshold. The drop from Low to Ultra is 88 FPS, a 51% decrease, mirroring the relative scaling seen at 1080p.

3840x2160 (4K)

Low settings at 4K average 93 FPS. Medium settings average 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, showing that even the frame time floor hits the playable mark. High settings average exactly 60 FPS. Ultra settings fall below the threshold, averaging only 45 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 48 FPS reduction, which is a 52% drop in average performance.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS by roughly 35-40% at equivalent settings, while the step from 1440p to 4K reduces averages by another 45-50%. For instance, Low settings go from 267 FPS at 1080p to 172 FPS at 1440p to 93 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 204, 132, and 71 FPS respectively.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which runs at an average of 131 FPS. This leaves substantial headroom, meaning even the heaviest settings are far from taxing this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is also Ultra, averaging 84 FPS. This is a 47 FPS drop from the 1080p Ultra result, but still provides a smooth experience well above the 60 FPS line.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS or higher is High, averaging exactly 60 FPS. Medium also qualifies at 71 FPS, and Low at 93 FPS, but High represents the highest visual quality that stays playable. Ultra at 4K averages 45 FPS, which misses the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant performance limiter as resolution increases, while the CPU’s role diminishes. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 131 to 267 depending on settings, showing that the RTX 3080 is capable of extremely high frame rates, but the wide spread suggests that settings changes have a large impact on GPU workload. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, appears sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates, as even the lowest average of 131 FPS at Ultra does not show signs of CPU bottlenecking in the data.

Moving to 1440p, the average FPS across settings drops to between 84 and 172. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 95 FPS (from 267 to 172), which is a 36% decrease. This is a larger relative drop than the 25% increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million), indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed. However, the CPU still keeps up, as the Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 84 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target.

At 4K, the GPU workload increases dramatically. The pixel count jumps to 8.29 million, which is 2.25 times that of 1440p. The data shows Low settings at 4K average 93 FPS, which is a 46% drop from the 172 FPS at 1440p Low. This nearly matches the pixel count scaling, confirming that the RTX 3080 is the primary constraint. The CPU’s role is further reduced because frame rates are lower, giving the i3-12100F more time to process each frame.

The scaling between presets also reveals the GPU’s dominance. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 48 FPS (93 down to 45), while at 1080p the same preset swing is 136 FPS. This means that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing settings from Ultra to Low yields diminishing returns, whereas at lower resolutions, the GPU has enough headroom that settings changes have a larger absolute effect. The i3-12100F’s single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674 indicate adequate per-core performance for a game from 2014, which likely relies more on single-threaded performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 45, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which averages exactly 60 FPS.

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 267, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the maximum value in the measured dataset.

Q: Is the performance consistent at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: The data shows Medium settings produce averages of 204 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS at each resolution is 174, 112, and 60 respectively, indicating that frame rates stay above the playable threshold even in the worst-case measured moments.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172 and sits at the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA P106-100 with a score of 23249 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 at 23250 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23273 (0.4% higher). The differences are minimal, all within 0.4%.

Q: Does the i3-12100F hold back the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, the i3-12100F does not appear to bottleneck the GPU at any resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still averages 131 FPS, and at 4K High it averages 60 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K closely matches the pixel count increase, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 1051st out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the 72nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 72% of configurations in this game.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Minimum with high quality at all three tested resolutions, with one exception. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 131 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with Ultra averaging 84 FPS. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages exactly 60 FPS and is the best playable option, while Low and Medium also exceed 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K fails to reach the target, averaging 45 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p and 1440p offer full freedom to use the highest settings, while 4K users must settle for High settings to maintain a consistent 60 FPS experience. The combination of the i3-12100F’s solid single-thread performance and the RTX 3080’s raw throughput makes this a capable system for the game, with the GPU being the primary determinant of performance at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3712 tested hardware combinations for Minimum, this pairing holds the 1051st position. This ranking places it in the upper 28% of all configurations tested, indicating that it is a strong performer for this title. The i3-12100F itself sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest CPU rivals are the Intel Core 3 N355 (score 13492, 0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 (score 13452, 0.3% higher), the Intel Core 5 120UL (score 13594, 0.7% lower), and the Intel Core i7-1250U (score 13351, 1.1% higher). The RTX 3080 also sits at the 68th percentile of GPUs with an average score of 23172, placing it in a tight cluster with rival cards that differ by less than half a percent.

The combo’s rank of 1051 reflects a balanced pairing where the GPU’s high-end class (68th percentile) and the CPU’s mid-range class (68th percentile) combine to produce frame rates that are well above average for the game. The data suggests that the RTX 3080 is the stronger component relative to the CPU, as evidenced by the GPU’s ability to push frame rates to 267 FPS at 1080p Low, while the CPU’s benchmark scores are more modest. However, the overall ranking shows that this combination performs better than most, with only 28% of tested systems achieving a higher rank in Minimum.