The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces a notably lopsided performance profile in The Medium. The benchmark data shows a system capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, but one that begins to strain at 4K Ultra settings. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, the division of labor between CPU and GPU, and how this specific combination ranks against other tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates provided for each scenario. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest raw performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 143.9 FPS, which drops to 118.8 FPS on Medium. The High preset averages 91 FPS, while the demanding Ultra preset still manages a solid 71.2 FPS average. All four presets at 1080p clear the 60 FPS playable threshold by a comfortable margin, with even the most demanding setting staying 11.2 FPS above the line.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably but remain robust. The Low preset averages 135.9 FPS, representing a 5.6% decrease from the 1080p result. Medium drops to 104.7 FPS, which is an 11.9% reduction from the equivalent 1080p setting. The High preset averages 75.5 FPS, down 17% from 1080p High. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages exactly 64 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by only 4 FPS. This is the tightest margin of any playable configuration in the dataset.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. The Low preset still delivers a very playable 122.4 FPS average, and Medium follows at 84.1 FPS. However, the High preset drops to 59.1 FPS average, falling just 0.9 FPS short of the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K averages only 50.3 FPS, which is 9.7 FPS below the threshold. This means that at 4K, only Low and Medium settings are classified as playable by the verdict data, while High and Ultra fall short.

The scaling between presets at each resolution follows an expected pattern. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium costs 25.1 FPS, from Medium to High costs 27.8 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 19.8 FPS. At 1440p, the same transitions cost 31.2 FPS, 29.2 FPS, and 11.5 FPS respectively. At 4K, the transitions cost 38.3 FPS from Low to Medium, 25 FPS from Medium to High, and 8.8 FPS from High to Ultra. The diminishing returns at higher presets are most evident at 4K, where the gap between High and Ultra is less than 9 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at all tested settings. The RTX 5080, with its 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, provides the dominant performance contribution. The Core i3-12100F, with only 4 cores and 8 threads, shows its limitations primarily in the benchmark scores rather than in the measured frame rates.

The resolution scaling tells a clear story. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 143.9 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 135.9 FPS, a 5.6% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops further to 122.4 FPS, a 9.9% reduction from 1440p. This relatively mild scaling across a 4x increase in pixel count indicates that the GPU has substantial headroom at lower resolutions, and the CPU is keeping pace adequately at these frame rates.

However, the Ultra preset scaling tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 71.2 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 64 FPS, a 10.1% reduction. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 50.3 FPS, a 21.4% reduction from 1440p Ultra. The steeper percentage drops at Ultra settings suggest that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as both resolution and graphical complexity increase. The CPU's 3dmark_16_threads score of 4051 and cinebench_r23_multicore score of 11860 indicate modest multi-threaded capabilities, but the data shows this does not bottleneck the GPU at 1080p or 1440p.

The verdict data confirms this interpretation. At 4K, the playable settings list only includes Low and Medium, with Medium being the best playable option at 84.1 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's raw compute power is sufficient for Medium settings at 4K but cannot handle the additional load of High or Ultra. The CPU's role becomes more passive at higher resolutions, where the GPU's workload dominates the frame time budget.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this system. The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, placing it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rival is the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 and a deltaPct of 0. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, which is 0.3% lower. The Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, which is 0.7% higher, while the Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, which is 1.1% lower.

These CPU rivals would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the performance deltas are all within 1.1% of the i3-12100F. The Core 5 120UL would be the closest match from the higher side, while the Core 3 N355 would be virtually indistinguishable in gaming workloads. The differences between these CPUs are well within the margin of measurement noise for frame rate testing.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 56083, placing it at the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 8060S with an average score of 55757 and a deltaPct of 0.6%. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 2.3% lower. On the higher side, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher.

For gaming performance in The Medium, the Radeon 8060S and RX 6750 GRE would produce nearly identical frame rates to the RTX 5080, with differences of less than 1%. The RX 9070 GRE would be slightly faster, potentially adding 1-2 FPS at each preset. The Pro W5700X would be slightly slower, but the 2.3% delta would translate to only a few FPS difference in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 267th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the top 7.2% of all tested configurations. The rank reflects the overall performance across all resolutions and presets, weighted by the playability criteria.

The rank is notable because it places this budget-oriented CPU with a flagship GPU in the upper echelon of tested combos. The data indicates that the i3-12100F does not significantly drag down the RTX 5080's performance in this particular game. The 267th rank out of 3724 combos suggests that there are 266 tested configurations that outperform this pairing, many of which likely feature higher-end CPUs. However, the fact that it ranks above 3457 other combinations demonstrates that the GPU dominates the performance equation in The Medium.

The gap between this combo and the top-ranked configurations is not quantified in the data, but the percentile placement at 68th for the CPU and 87th for the GPU provides a rough indication. The GPU's higher percentile suggests that the combo's ranking is primarily driven by GPU performance, while the CPU's lower percentile is mitigated by the game's apparent preference for GPU throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K resolution?

A: The Medium preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS at 3840x2160, achieving an average of 84.1 FPS. The High preset falls short with an average of 59.1 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset work at 2560x1440?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 64 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by 4 FPS. This is the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 50.3 FPS, which is 20.9 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra average of 71.2 FPS. This represents a 29.4% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The data shows the system achieves 143.9 FPS at 1080p Low, and the mild scaling to 135.9 FPS at 1440p Low indicates the GPU has substantial headroom. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a passmark_single_thread score of 3444, suggest it is keeping pace at these frame rates.

Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 267th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the top 7.2% of all tested systems.

Q: How close is the nearest GPU rival to the RTX 5080?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S has an average score of 55757, which is 0.6% lower than the RTX 5080's 56083. This translates to a negligible difference in frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding setting that stays at or above 60 FPS, achieving an average of 71.2 FPS. All four presets are playable at this resolution, with the Low preset reaching 143.9 FPS and the Medium preset at 118.8 FPS. The High preset averages 91 FPS. The Ultra preset provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable 11.2 FPS margin above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset also qualifies as the best playable setting, with an average of 64 FPS. This is a narrower margin of only 4 FPS above the threshold, but it remains playable. The High preset at 75.5 FPS offers more headroom, while the Medium preset at 104.7 FPS and Low preset at 135.9 FPS provide increasingly higher frame rates for users prioritizing performance.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the best playable setting, averaging 84.1 FPS. The Low preset achieves 122.4 FPS for users who want maximum frame rates at 4K. The High preset at 59.1 FPS and Ultra preset at 50.3 FPS are both below the 60 FPS playable threshold and are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the settings ceiling varies significantly. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with the Ultra preset achieving 71.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with the Ultra preset at 64 FPS representing the highest visual quality within the playable range. At 3840x2160, only the Low and Medium presets are playable, with Medium providing the best balance at 84.1 FPS.

The verdict data classifies this system as playable at all three resolutions, but with an important caveat at 4K. Users targeting 4K should stick to Medium settings or lower to maintain the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 4K falls just short at 59.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 50.3 FPS. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the system offers full preset flexibility, including the Ultra preset at both resolutions. The data indicates that this combination of a quad-core Intel CPU and a flagship NVIDIA GPU is well-suited for The Medium, with the primary limitation appearing only at 4K with High or Ultra settings.