Minimum

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a playable experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. Across the measured presets, the combo demonstrates a wide performance envelope, from a highly fluid 166.2 FPS at 1080p Low down to a demanding 26.9 FPS at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, setting recommendations, CPU role, and ranking to provide a clear picture of what this combination can achieve.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a predictable but steep decline in frame rates, indicating that the Radeon RX 5700 XT is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 108.4 FPS at 1080p to 67.4 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 41.0 FPS. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls further to 34.4 FPS, which is only 31.7% of the 1080p performance. This pattern suggests that while the CPU can feed frames efficiently at lower resolutions, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are saturated as the pixel workload quadruples.

The scaling behavior differs by preset. For Low settings, the transition from 1080p (166.2 FPS) to 1440p (105.6 FPS) represents a 36.5% performance loss, while the jump to 4K (56.8 FPS) represents a 65.8% loss from the 1080p baseline. This indicates that even at the lowest graphical load, the RX 5700 XT struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are consistently lower across all resolutions, with the 4K result of 26.9 FPS being particularly demanding. The data shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo if aiming for 60+ FPS, as only the Low (105.6 FPS) and Medium (85.1 FPS) presets exceed that threshold at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance for most users. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 131.9 FPS, which is 23.5 FPS higher than High (108.4 FPS) and only 34.3 FPS lower than Low (166.2 FPS). This provides a smooth experience while maintaining better image quality than the lowest settings. At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 85.1 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while the High preset drops to 67.4 FPS.

For users with 4K displays, the data indicates that only the Low preset (56.8 FPS) approaches playability, while Medium (44.6 FPS) and High (34.4 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution for competitive play, as it only reaches 81.8 FPS at 1080p and falls to 26.9 FPS at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that dropping from High to Medium at 1440p yields a 17.7 FPS improvement (67.4 to 85.1 FPS), which is a significant gain for minimal visual compromise. At 1080p, the High preset is viable for those prioritizing image quality, but the Medium preset is the safer choice for maintaining high refresh rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2224. The multi-threaded results are also respectable for a quad-core part, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and the Passmark multithread score of 14015.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The frame rate gap between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings (e.g., High: 108.4 to 67.4 FPS) suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck when pixel count increases. However, the 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 and 8-thread score of 4026 indicate that the CPU can handle the game's threading requirements without becoming a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The Passmark physics score of 985 is moderate, but this game's age (2014) means it likely does not demand extensive physics processing.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) provide adequate bandwidth for feeding the GPU. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 166.2 FPS, which suggests the CPU can sustain high frame rates when the GPU is not under heavy load. The processor's percentile ranking of 72 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516, places it slightly behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) but ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280). This indicates that the i3-12100F is a capable mid-range option that does not bottleneck the RX 5700 XT in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 1322 out of 1733 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower 76th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's position relative to other graphics cards; the RX 5700 XT has a percentile of 68 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24731. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763, 0.1% higher), the Intel Arc A350M (24647, 0.3% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (24592, 0.6% lower).

The CPU's ranking is slightly higher, with a percentile of 72 versus all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534, 0.1% higher), the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, 0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i3-10105 (13430, 0.6% lower). The combo rank of 1322 suggests that while the individual components are mid-tier, their combined performance in Minimum is below the median of tested systems. This is primarily due to the GPU's age—the RX 5700 XT launched in 2019 and is now end-of-life—and its inability to handle 4K Ultra settings, as evidenced by the 26.9 FPS result.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60 FPS?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 85.1 FPS and the Low preset achieves 105.6 FPS, both above 60 FPS. The High preset at 1440p is 67.4 FPS, which is also viable. At 4K, only the Low preset (56.8 FPS) comes close to 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 24731, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24763) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Arc A350M (24647).

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F scores 11912 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, with a single-core score of 1681.

Q: Does the combo achieve playable frame rates at 4K Ultra?

A: No, the 4K Ultra preset yields an average of 26.9 FPS, which is below standard playability thresholds. Even the 4K High preset (34.4 FPS) is not smooth.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

• 3840x2160 (4K): Low 56.8 FPS, Medium 44.6 FPS, High 34.4 FPS, Ultra 26.9 FPS.
• 2560x1440 (1440p): Low 105.6 FPS, Medium 85.1 FPS, High 67.4 FPS, Ultra 54.1 FPS.
• 1920x1080 (1080p): Low 166.2 FPS, Medium 131.9 FPS, High 108.4 FPS, Ultra 81.8 FPS.

The data shows a consistent delta between settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 84.4 FPS, while at 4K, the difference narrows to 29.9 FPS. This indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint, reducing the impact of settings changes. At 1440p, the Medium preset (85.1 FPS) is 17.7 FPS faster than High (67.4 FPS), making it the most efficient choice for maintaining fluid motion. The 4K Low preset (56.8 FPS) is the only 4K option that approaches a playable frame rate, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. Overall, the benchmark results indicate that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower settings and less demanding scenes.