Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 44 out of 2,848 tested combos in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This places the pairing in the top 1.5% of all tested configurations, a position that reflects the unusual coupling of a modest quad-core processor with one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available. The rank is particularly striking given that the CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards. The data indicates that the GPU is carrying the performance load in this title, but the CPU is not holding the combo back to a degree that would push it far down the rankings.

In terms of overall average benchmark scores, the CPU's 13,494 average puts it within a hair of the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13,492 (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13,452 (0.3% ahead). The GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76,904 and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940. These aggregate scores suggest that the CPU is a mid-pack performer while the GPU is near the top, yet in CS:GO the combined result is far stronger than either component's individual standing would imply, indicating that the game's engine favors the GPU's raw throughput.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is substantial for a game like CS:GO that is not traditionally memory-bandwidth-bound. The GPU's 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In CS:GO, the GPU's role is primarily to push frame rates to extreme levels at high resolutions. The measured data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 1,238 FPS average, which drops to 1,015 FPS at High settings and 866 FPS at Ultra. At 4K, the GPU still manages 412 FPS at High settings, demonstrating that even at the highest resolution tested, the RTX 5090 D is not the bottleneck. The GPU's FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1) are far beyond what CS:GO requires, yet the benchmark results show that the GPU's headroom is what enables the triple-digit frame rates across all settings. The 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this title, but they contribute to the GPU's overall capability profile that ranks it at the 92nd percentile.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 1,015 at 1080p to 698 at 1440p, a decrease of 317 FPS, and then to 412 at 4K, a further drop of 286 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings represents a 59.4% reduction in average frame rate. At Low settings, the drop is more pronounced in absolute terms: from 1,238 FPS at 1080p to 948 FPS at 1440p to 560 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 54.8%.

The pattern indicates that the limiting component changes as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads with a 3.30 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock are likely the primary constraint, as the GPU has ample headroom. This is evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low (1,238 FPS) and Medium (1,170 FPS) at 1080p, suggesting the CPU is saturating before the GPU can fully stretch. As resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU's workload increases, and the frame rate drops more steeply, but even at 4K Ultra (352 FPS), the combo remains far above playable thresholds. The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D is so powerful that even at 4K, the CPU still plays a significant role in limiting maximum frame rates, as the 560 FPS at 4K Low versus 352 FPS at 4K Ultra shows a 208 FPS spread that is driven by GPU load rather than CPU capability.

# Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 1,170 FPS average with a minimum of 995 FPS and maximum of 1,346 FPS, which is only 68 FPS below the Low preset's 1,238 FPS average. At 1440p Medium, the average is 807 FPS with a minimum of 686 FPS and maximum of 928 FPS, representing a 141 FPS drop from Low but a 211 FPS gain over High. At 4K Medium, the average is 477 FPS with a minimum of 405 FPS and maximum of 548 FPS, which is 83 FPS above High and 125 FPS below Low.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot because it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining frame rates that are well above the refresh rates of virtually all gaming monitors. The minimum FPS values for Medium at each resolution (995 at 1080p, 686 at 1440p, 405 at 4K) are all comfortably high, indicating that even in demanding scenes, the combo will not drop below playable thresholds. The Ultra preset, by contrast, shows a steep performance penalty: 866 FPS at 1080p, 596 FPS at 1440p, and 352 FPS at 4K, with the 4K Ultra result being the only measured value below 400 FPS. For competitive play, Low or Medium at 1080p would maximize frame rates, but for a balance of visuals and performance, Medium at 1440p or 4K provides the best experience per the measured data.

# FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in CS:GO?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combo ranks 44th out of 2,848 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.5% of all configurations.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 1,238 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 1,170 FPS, and High achieves 1,015 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13,494, which is 0% different from the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452), and 1.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13,351).

Q: What is the GPU's aggregate benchmark standing relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712, which is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940).

Q: What is the lowest average FPS measured across all settings and resolutions?

A: The lowest average FPS is 352 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is still well above typical display refresh rates and indicates no playability concerns.

Q: How much FPS is lost going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 1,015 at 1920x1080 to 698 at 2560x1440 to 412 at 3840x2160, a total reduction of 603 FPS (59.4%) from 1080p to 4K.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on the Alder Lake architecture on a 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a TDP of 58 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. Its launch MSRP is $97.

In CS:GO, the CPU's role is critical at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully utilized. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium settings is only 68 FPS (1,238 vs 1,170), whereas at 4K, the difference between the same settings is 83 FPS (560 vs 477). This pattern suggests that the CPU is near its limit at 1080p, and the GPU's immense power cannot fully compensate for the CPU's 4-core limitation. The single-thread performance, as indicated by the 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,674, is strong for a budget processor, which is important for CS:GO's engine that relies heavily on single-thread performance.

The CPU's percentile rank of 68 among all processors places it above the median, but its aggregate benchmark scores show it is closely matched with the Intel Core 3 N355 (0% delta) and Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% ahead). In the context of CS:GO, the CPU's performance is sufficient to drive frame rates above 1,000 FPS at 1080p Low, but the data indicates that a stronger CPU would likely push those numbers even higher, as the GPU clearly has more to give. The 4K results, where the CPU is less of a factor, show that the GPU alone can deliver 560 FPS at Low settings, suggesting that the CPU may be the limiting factor in the 1080p and 1440p results.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low settings: 1,238 FPS average
• Medium settings: 1,170 FPS average, 995 FPS minimum, 1,346 FPS maximum
• High settings: 1,015 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 866 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low settings: 948 FPS average
• Medium settings: 807 FPS average, 686 FPS minimum, 928 FPS maximum
• High settings: 698 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 596 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low settings: 560 FPS average
• Medium settings: 477 FPS average, 405 FPS minimum, 548 FPS maximum
• High settings: 412 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 352 FPS average

The data reveals consistent scaling across all settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 372 FPS (1,238 to 866), representing a 30.0% reduction. At 1440p, the spread is 352 FPS (948 to 596), a 37.1% reduction. At 4K, the spread is 208 FPS (560 to 352), a 37.1% reduction. The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is nearly identical at 1440p and 4K, suggesting that the GPU is the primary constraint at these resolutions, while at 1080p, the smaller percentage reduction indicates CPU involvement.

The Medium preset, which is the only setting with measured minimum and maximum FPS values, shows that the combo maintains high minimum frame rates at all resolutions. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium (995) is higher than the average FPS at 4K High (412), and even the 4K Medium minimum (405) remains above 400 FPS. The maximum FPS values follow a similar pattern, with the 1080p Medium maximum of 1,346 FPS being the highest recorded value across all settings and resolutions. These measurements confirm that the combo delivers exceptional performance throughout the resolution and settings range, with no configuration falling below the threshold where frame pacing would become noticeable in competitive play.