Counter-Strike 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a highly capable Counter-Strike 2 experience, with measured frame rates ranging from a playable 80.1 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 457.4 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows this combination ranks 637th out of 1632 tested combos in this specific title, placing it in the upper portion of the field. The CPU, a 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake part with a 3.30 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock, holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU, with its 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth, sits in the 74th percentile among all GPUs. This balance suggests the system is well-matched for a competitive title like Counter-Strike 2, where high refresh rates are often prioritized over absolute visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this hardware in Counter-Strike 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 457.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is followed closely by 378.1 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: How does the CPU perform in synthetic benchmarks relative to its closest competitors?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which places it virtually level with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534, delta of -0.1%) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, delta of 0.4%). It is 1.8% faster than the Intel Core i7-7700K.

Q: What is the GPU's standing compared to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti's average benchmark score is 30849. This puts it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME and 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700. It trails the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 by 0.9% and the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q by 1.2%.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system fail to maintain a 100+ FPS average?

A: The only measured configuration that falls below a 100 FPS average is 3840x2160 (4K) with Ultra settings, which yields an average of 80.1 FPS. All other settings at 4K, and every configuration at lower resolutions, exceed 100 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance difference exists between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The frame rate drops from 457.4 FPS on Low to 219.1 FPS on Ultra at 1920x1080. This represents a performance reduction of over half when moving to the highest preset.

Q: Is the system more limited by the CPU or the GPU based on the data?

A: The data suggests a GPU limitation at higher resolutions and settings. For example, at 4K, dropping from High to Low settings increases the average FPS from 104.5 to 171.3. Conversely, at 1080p, the large frame rate jumps across settings indicate the CPU is capable enough to feed the GPU a high volume of frames, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution and load increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. With a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, it provides the foundational processing power for game logic and physics in Counter-Strike 2. The CPU's benchmark results show a balanced profile: it scores 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 4051 in 3dmark_16_threads, indicating that its single-thread performance is strong relative to its multi-thread capability, a characteristic that aligns well with the demands of a competitive FPS.

The data shows the CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 contribute to its ability to feed data to the GPU. In gaming, the i3-12100F's performance is reflected in its average benchmark score of 13516, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1250U, scores 13462, a negligible 0.4% difference, while the older Intel Core i7-7700K is 1.8% behind. This suggests that the i3-12100F provides more than adequate computational throughput for this game, especially when paired with a high-end GPU.

The relationship between CPU and game performance becomes clearer when examining frame rates at 1080p. At this resolution, the GPU has less work to do per frame, so the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game state becomes more critical. The system achieves 457.4 FPS on Low settings and 283.7 FPS on High settings at 1920x1080, demonstrating that the CPU can sustain very high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and single-core score of 1681 further contextualize this capability, showing a processor that is strong in both single-threaded and lightly-threaded workloads typical of modern esports titles.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture and fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It features 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1575 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Crucially for high-resolution gaming, it is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is a key factor in the GPU's ability to handle the texture and geometry loads at 4K resolution.

In Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes the dominant factor as resolution and graphical settings increase. The benchmark data shows a clear correlation between GPU load and frame rate. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 171.3 on Low to 104.5 on High and further to 80.1 on Ultra. This substantial decrease of 91.2 FPS between Low and Ultra at 4K highlights the GPU's processing limits under maximum load. The GPU's general performance is strong, with a passmark_g3d score of 23356 and a percentile rank of 74 among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 30849 places it in close competition with the AMD Radeon RX 6700, which scores 31112, a difference of only -0.8%, showing that the 3070 Ti is a competitive high-end card.

The GPU's 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s provide ample compute power for the game's rendering pipeline. The measured frame rates at 2560x1440 illustrate this capability, with the system achieving 300.1 FPS on Low settings and 187.2 FPS on High settings. This indicates that at 1440p, the GPU is still capable of delivering high refresh rate performance, but the scaling from 1080p shows the increasing burden. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this title, as no out-of-memory issues are indicated by the data, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential across all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset yields an average of 457.4 FPS, while Medium produces 378.1 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 283.7 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 219.1 FPS. These figures show that even at the highest preset, the system maintains well over 200 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. The Low preset averages 300.1 FPS, and Medium averages 252.6 FPS. High settings deliver 187.2 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 147.2 FPS. The data at this resolution indicates that the system is still capable of exceeding 144 FPS on all presets except Ultra, which falls slightly below that mark.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is pushed harder. The Low preset averages 171.3 FPS, and Medium averages 138.1 FPS. High settings produce 104.5 FPS, and Ultra settings result in 80.1 FPS. This is the only resolution where the average frame rate drops below 100 FPS, and it only does so on the Ultra preset. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a steady decline, with the most significant relative drop occurring between Medium (138.1 FPS) and High (104.5 FPS), a 24.3% reduction.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals how the system's performance scales across resolutions. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings, the average FPS drops from 283.7 to 187.2, a reduction of 34.0%. Scaling from 1080p to 4K on the same settings yields a more dramatic drop to 104.5 FPS, a 63.2% decrease. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component as resolution increases, as the CPU's workload does not scale in the same proportion.

On Low settings, the scaling is less severe in absolute terms but still significant. The 457.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 300.1 FPS at 1440p and 171.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 62.5%, which is very close to the High preset's 63.2% drop. This consistency suggests that the GPU's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count, reinforcing the conclusion that it is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with 219.1 FPS at 1080p, 147.2 FPS at 1440p, and 80.1 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 63.4%. The near-uniform scaling across presets indicates that the system's performance is primarily constrained by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth, which are fixed regardless of the quality settings. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 893 score in 3dmark_single_thread, ensures it does not introduce a bottleneck that would cause scaling to vary between presets.

Settings Recommendations

For players with a 1080p high-refresh-rate display, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers an average of 219.1 FPS while providing the highest visual quality. This frame rate is sufficient for competitive play and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 283.7 FPS offers a slight performance boost for those prioritizing maximum frame rates, but the visual trade-off is generally not worth it given the high baseline at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the optimal choice, yielding 187.2 FPS. This provides an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance, easily exceeding 144 Hz. The Medium preset at 252.6 FPS is an alternative for players who want to push refresh rates beyond 240 Hz, but the jump from High to Medium is substantial. The Ultra preset at 147.2 FPS is still playable and offers the best image quality, but it falls below the 144 Hz threshold that many high-refresh monitors use.

For 4K displays, the data suggests that the High preset at 104.5 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS standard and is close to the 100 FPS mark. The Medium preset at 138.1 FPS is the better choice for those with 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K monitors, as it offers a significant performance boost while sacrificing some visual detail. The Ultra preset at 80.1 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, as the lower frame rate could impact input latency and responsiveness, though it remains a viable option for casual play or screenshots. The Low preset at 171.3 FPS is the best option for maximum performance, but it negates the benefits of a high-resolution display.