Doom

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, though 4K Ultra settings will challenge the combo. The measured data shows this pairing ranks 446th out of 1681 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of all systems tested for this title. The CPU, with 4 cores and 8 threads boosting to 4.30 GHz, provides sufficient single-thread performance to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth keep frame rates high even at demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can I expect at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The measured average is 228.5 FPS. This is slightly below the 274.4 FPS seen at Medium, but still far above the 186.6 FPS recorded at Ultra, indicating High offers a strong balance for 1080p.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 3840x2160. Average frame rates drop from 110 FPS at Low to 64.8 FPS at Ultra. The gap between the 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 results at the same settings is substantial, highlighting the GPU’s workload at higher pixel counts.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to its nearest CPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 1.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280). It trails the Intel Core i7-1250U by 0.4% and the Core i3-10105 by 0.6%.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 41224, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3090 (41441) and 1.6% lower than the Tesla M40 (41897).

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming smoothly?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, even the most demanding Ultra preset achieves an average of 119.4 FPS. The High preset reaches 151.6 FPS, while Low and Medium exceed 179.9 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rates?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves its highest measured average of 311.2 FPS. For a more visual quality-focused experience, 1080p High still delivers 228.5 FPS, which is nearly double the 4K High result of 84.1 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rate data points to a clear sweet spot for this hardware combination. For users prioritizing high refresh rates at 1920x1080, the High preset offers the best experience, delivering 228.5 FPS average. This is a significant improvement over the 186.6 FPS seen at Ultra, with only a modest visual fidelity trade-off. The Medium preset at 274.4 FPS is an option for competitive play, but High provides a better balance of image quality and speed.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again stands out as the optimal choice, achieving 151.6 FPS. This is comfortably above the 144 Hz threshold, making it ideal for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The Ultra preset at 119.4 FPS is still playable, but the 32.2 FPS drop from High to Ultra is noticeable. For 4K resolution, the High preset at 84.1 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it stays above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 64.8 FPS is only marginally playable, while Low and Medium offer higher but less visually consistent experiences.

The data indicates that High settings provide the most efficient performance-to-quality ratio across all three resolutions. The scaling from Medium to High shows a smaller frame rate penalty (from 95.5 to 84.1 FPS at 4K) than the jump from High to Ultra (84.1 to 64.8 FPS), suggesting the Ultra preset introduces disproportionately heavy effects for this GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions. With a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, the GPU processes Doom’s geometry and textures efficiently. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates at 4K where texture data demands are highest.

The GPU’s raw compute power is substantial, with an FP32 throughput of 34.10 TFLOPS. This translates directly into high fill rates in Doom, a game known for its fast action and detailed environments. The passmark G3D score of 26896 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 confirm its strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant since Doom supports modern rendering APIs. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 171798 further indicates excellent low-level API performance, which Doom leverages for its id Tech engine.

The 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it above most discrete graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, scores only 0.5% higher on average, meaning the 3080 Ti delivers nearly flagship-tier performance. The difference in measured frame rates between the 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 presets (e.g., 151.6 vs. 84.1 FPS at High) demonstrates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading units are fully utilized at higher resolutions, but it remains capable of exceeding 60 FPS at 4K on High settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 446th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the top 26.5% of all systems evaluated, a strong position given the CPU’s relatively modest specifications. The ranking reflects that while the GPU is high-end, the quad-core CPU may limit performance in certain scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high.

The combo’s rank is more impressive when considering the CPU’s general benchmark position. The i3-12100F sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark list include the Threadripper PRO 3975WX and the Core i7-7700K, showing that it competes with much more expensive processors in synthetic tests. However, in Doom, the actual frame rates are heavily GPU-bound, allowing the 3080 Ti to shine.

The 1681 combos tested include a wide range of hardware, and a rank of 446 indicates that this pairing outperforms the majority of systems. The fact that the combo achieves 228.5 FPS at 1080p High while the GPU’s percentile is 83 suggests that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at this resolution for this game’s engine. At 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 64.8 FPS, which is respectable for a demanding preset, but the rank would likely improve with a stronger CPU in CPU-limited scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides the foundation for this system, with 4 cores and 8 threads. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz boosts up to 4.30 GHz, offering solid single-thread performance that is crucial for Doom’s game logic and physics. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, while the dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU efficiently.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong scaling with thread count. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4051 is nearly identical to the 8-thread score of 4026, confirming that the 8 threads are fully utilized. However, the single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and 1681 in Cinebench R23 highlight its modest per-core performance compared to higher-end CPUs. The passmark single-thread score of 3444 is its strongest result, indicating that the Alder Lake architecture is efficient for lightly-threaded workloads.

The CPU’s role in Doom becomes evident when comparing frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 311.2 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 64.8 FPS. This scaling is primarily due to the GPU, but the CPU must keep up with the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The 4.30 GHz boost clock helps maintain minimum frame rates, even if the average is high. The CPU’s 58 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate efficient power delivery, which is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions. With a percentile rank of 72 among all CPUs, it is above average, but its 4-core design means it cannot match the multi-threaded performance of 8-core or higher CPUs in other workloads. In Doom, however, the i3-12100F proves adequate for the RTX 3080 Ti, as the data shows no obvious CPU-induced stutters or abnormal frame drops at any preset.