Minimum

The pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT in Minimum presents a study in extremes: a four-core processor built for efficiency paired with a high-end graphics card built for raw throughput. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is consistently capable of high frame rates, yet the relationship between the two components shifts dramatically depending on the resolution and quality settings selected.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. This is a modest foundation for a game, but the benchmark scores suggest it is not a weak link in this particular title. In Cinebench R23, the processor scores 11912 points in multi-core and 1681 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 7413 multi-core and 2224 single-core. These numbers indicate a processor with strong single-thread performance, which often matters more in games than raw multi-core muscle.

The data implies that Minimum does not heavily tax the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities. The 3dmark scores show a plateau: 4051 with 16 threads, 4026 with 8 threads, and 4023 with max threads. This near-flat scaling from 8 to 16 threads suggests the game engine does not utilize more than a handful of cores effectively. The 4-thread score of 2859 is notably lower, but the 2-thread score of 1659 shows that even with just two active threads, the processor can maintain a significant portion of its performance. This points to a game that is more dependent on the speed of individual cores than on the total number of threads available.

The processor’s percentile ranking of 72nd among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516, places it in the upper-middle tier. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i3-12100F is essentially neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, trailing by only 0.1%, and it leads the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8%. This suggests that for a game like Minimum, the i3-12100F’s architectural efficiency and high clock speeds are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck, even when paired with a far more powerful GPU.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Intel Core i3-12100F compare to its closest rival in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, which is a 0.1% difference. The i3-12100F is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U and 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K.

*Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this combo in Minimum?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 278.6, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this combination in the measured data.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo fail to maintain 60 FPS on average?

A: The only configuration that falls below 60 FPS is at 3840x2160 (4K) with Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops to 46.1. All other tested settings at 4K and every setting at lower resolutions maintain an average above 60 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the combo at 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 278.6, while at 4K Ultra, it is 46.1. This represents a performance drop of over 83% when moving from the lightest to the heaviest configuration.

Q: What is the GPU’s average benchmark score and percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has an average benchmark score of 39647 and ranks in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs. This places it well above the majority of graphics cards tested.

Q: Does the combo perform better in Vulkan or OpenCL for the Radeon RX 9070 XT?

A: The GPU’s Geekbench scores show a Vulkan score of 184026, which is higher than its OpenCL score of 160317. This indicates the card has a slight edge in Vulkan-based workloads.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Out of 1733 tested combinations in Minimum, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 446th. This top-quartile placement is noteworthy given the disparity in component tiers. The ranking suggests that while the GPU is capable of extreme performance, the CPU limits the combo from reaching the very top echelons of the leaderboard.

The rank of 446 implies that there are 445 other combinations that achieve higher average performance across the tested settings. Given the GPU’s strong showing—it is only 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile and 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 in average score—the bottleneck is likely the processor. The i3-12100F’s 4-core design, while efficient, cannot feed the RX 9070 XT enough data to keep it fully occupied, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU’s role is more prominent. This ranking is a clear indicator that the combination is balanced but not optimal; a stronger CPU would likely push this combo significantly higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s behavior. At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high. Low settings yield an average of 278.6 FPS, Medium drops to 214.4, and High manages 178.6. Ultra settings still produce a very playable 135.2 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the combo is rarely stressed, and even the most demanding preset remains well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low settings average 180.3 FPS, Medium 138.9, High 113.6, and Ultra 85.7. The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low represents a 35% drop, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable margin.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the load. High settings average 62.6 FPS, which is right at the edge of smooth gameplay. Medium settings improve this to 76.1 FPS, and Low settings jump to 95.5 FPS. However, Ultra settings push the combo over the edge, resulting in an average of only 46.1 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that fails to maintain 60 FPS, signaling that the RX 9070 XT’s limits are reached at 4K with maximum quality.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals which component is the primary constraint. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 278.6 FPS at 1080p to 180.3 FPS at 1440p, and then to 95.5 FPS at 4K. This is a steady decline that correlates almost perfectly with the increase in pixel count (1080p to 4K is a 4x increase in pixels, and the FPS drops by roughly 66%). This pattern indicates that at Low settings, the GPU is the limiting factor; as the resolution increases, the GPU has to work harder to fill those pixels, and the CPU is not the bottleneck.

However, the scaling becomes less linear at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 135.2 at 1080p to 85.7 at 1440p, and finally to 46.1 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions and settings suggests that the GPU is hitting its raw compute limits. The RX 9070 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, is powerful, but the demands of 4K Ultra in Minimum are simply too high.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. If the i3-12100F were the bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS remain relatively flat as resolution increases, because the CPU would be unable to process more frames regardless of the GPU’s workload. Instead, the FPS drops consistently with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The i3-12100F is feeding the GPU adequately, and the performance ceiling is set by the Radeon RX 9070 XT.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players aiming for the smoothest experience, the data strongly favors the Medium preset at 1440p. At this setting, the combo averages 138.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and even high-refresh-rate 120 Hz displays. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p results in a 24.7 FPS loss (from 138.9 to 113.6), which is a significant cost for what is likely a marginal visual improvement. The Medium preset offers the best balance between fidelity and speed.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. High settings average 62.6 FPS, which is just barely above 60. Medium settings provide a more comfortable 76.1 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. Ultra should be avoided, as the 46.1 FPS average will result in noticeable stutter and a less responsive feel. For those with a 1080p monitor, the High preset at 178.6 FPS is an excellent choice, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium (214.4 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most display refresh rates.

The Low presets are only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is the absolute priority. At 1080p Low, the 278.6 FPS is exceptionally high, but the visual sacrifices are likely too steep for most players. The data suggests that Medium or High at 1080p, or Medium at 1440p, are the sweet spots for this combination.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in this pairing. Based on the Navi 48 chip and RDNA 4.0 architecture, it features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its boost clock reaches 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s, alongside 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its high-end status, with a 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and a Passmark G3D score of 26795.

The GPU’s role in Minimum is clearly the primary driver of performance. The frame rates scale with resolution and settings in a way that is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, and it is unlikely that memory capacity is a limiting factor at any of the tested settings. The high bandwidth ensures that textures can be streamed quickly, even at 4K.

The RX 9070 XT’s performance in the measured FPS data shows that it is a capable card for this title, but it is not invincible. The 4K Ultra result of 46.1 FPS is a clear indication that even a top-tier GPU has its limits. The card’s 82nd percentile ranking and its close competition with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (0.6% difference in average score) suggest that while it is a strong performer, it is not in the absolute highest tier of GPUs. This is an important context for understanding why the combo ranks 446th overall; the GPU is strong, but it is not so powerful that it can overcome the limitations of the i3-12100F in all scenarios.