Overpower

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER presents a classic 1080p-focused build, and the measured data for Overpower confirms this expectation while revealing the precise nature of its performance ceiling. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 100 FPS, which falls to 89 FPS at 1440p and further to 76 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, but the pattern is more dramatic at higher presets. With High settings, the average drops from 58 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p and 44 FPS at 4K—a 24% loss from 1080p to 4K, but the absolute numbers are already low enough that the 4K result sits below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 62 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings are the most demanding, delivering 48 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The consistent ~10-12% drop between each resolution step at every setting level points to the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth being the primary constraint, not the CPU. The i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are not the bottleneck here, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count—a hallmark of GPU limitation rather than CPU limitation.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a predictable and steep resolution scaling curve that firmly places this combo in 1080p territory. At 1080p Low, the system produces 100 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but this drops to 89 FPS at 1440p and 76 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 11%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 15%, showing that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are increasingly overwhelmed as pixel count rises. For High settings, the scaling is similar in percentage terms but starts from a lower base: 58 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset follows the same pattern, with 62 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with 48 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. What this scaling tells us is that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs are the limiting factor. The i3-12100F, with its boost clock of 4.30 GHz and 12 MB of L3 cache, is capable of feeding the GPU at all resolutions, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS deltas are purely resolution-driven. The 4K results are uniformly below 60 FPS, and even the best 4K result (76 FPS on Low) is only achievable by sacrificing visual fidelity dramatically. The 1440p results are playable at Low and Medium, but the High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS. The 1080p results are the only ones that consistently hit the 60 FPS target across all settings except Ultra, which sits at 48 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance on which preset to choose based on your performance target. For 1080p, the Low preset delivers 100 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors or competitive play where responsiveness matters more than visual detail. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a meaningful visual upgrade over Low while maintaining smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1080p yields 58 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS target but may be acceptable for players who prioritize image quality over a perfect frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 48 FPS, which is a noticeable compromise in smoothness for marginal visual gains. For 1440p, the Low preset delivers 89 FPS, making it the only 1440p setting that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 56 FPS, which is close to but not quite at the 60 FPS target, and the High preset at 1440p falls to 51 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is 43 FPS, which is substantially below the playable threshold. At 4K, no setting achieves 60 FPS, with the Low preset at 76 FPS being the only option above 50 FPS, and the Medium preset at 47 FPS being the only other option above 40 FPS. The practical recommendation is to use Low settings at 1080p for maximum frame rates, Medium at 1080p for a balanced experience, or Low at 1440p if you prefer higher resolution over maximum FPS. The High and Ultra presets are best avoided except in single-player scenarios where 50-60 FPS is acceptable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, and its benchmark results indicate it is more than sufficient for Overpower. The CPU's single-thread performance is strong, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674, which ensures that game logic and physics calculations are handled efficiently. The multi-threaded performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and a Passmark multithread score of 14015. The CPU's percentile ranking of 68 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13494, places it in the upper-middle tier of desktop processors. Critically, the measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 100 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would typically expose CPU limitations if they existed, but the frame rate scales cleanly with resolution, indicating the GPU is the constraining factor. The i3-12100F's boost clock of 4.30 GHz and 12 MB of L3 cache provide adequate single-thread performance for the game's Action genre, which typically relies on a few heavily loaded threads. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 and the Intel Core i5-9500 with an average score of 13452, are all within 1.1% of the i3-12100F's average score, confirming that this processor sits in a well-populated performance tier. The 4-core, 8-thread configuration is adequate for Overpower, as the game does not appear to scale significantly beyond 8 threads based on the fact that the 3dmark 8-thread score of 4026 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 4023.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3178 out of 3713 tested combos in Overpower, placing it in the bottom 15% of all configurations tested. This ranking is a reflection of the GPU's age and position in the market, as the GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986 and a percentile ranking of 53 among all GPUs. The CPU, while not a top-tier part, is not the limiting factor in this pairing, as evidenced by the fact that the combo's ranking is likely dragged down by the GPU's performance ceiling. The GTX 1660 SUPER's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with an average score of 12940 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 580 with an average score of 12928 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon 740M with an average score of 12870 (0.9% higher). This tight clustering of scores in the 12870-13075 range indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is competitively positioned within its performance tier, but that tier itself is not sufficient for high-end 1440p or 4K gaming. The combo's rank of 3178 out of 3713 means that 535 other combinations deliver better performance in Overpower, which is a significant number but not surprising given that the GTX 1660 SUPER is an end-of-life product released in 2019. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with moderate settings, as higher resolutions and presets push the GPU beyond its comfort zone.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance in Overpower for this combo, and its specifications explain the observed frame rates. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p gaming but becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs provide a raw compute throughput of 5.027 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards. The boost clock of 1785 MHz and base clock of 1530 MHz are typical for this class of GPU. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 100 FPS result indicates that the GPU has headroom to spare, but at 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS result shows the GPU is heavily loaded. The GPU's average benchmark score of 12986 and percentile ranking of 53 place it squarely in the mid-range of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within 1% of its score, indicating that it is a well-balanced design for its era. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 12699 and DirectX 12 score of 50 provide additional context, showing that the GPU is capable of handling modern APIs but not at high resolutions. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is a notable limitation, as modern games at 1440p and 4K with high textures can exceed this amount, leading to potential stuttering or texture pop-in, though the measured FPS data does not explicitly indicate VRAM-related issues. The GPU's predecessor, the GeForce 10 series, and successor, the GeForce 20 series, bracket its position in NVIDIA's lineup, with the 1660 SUPER offering a balance of performance and efficiency (125 W TDP) that made it popular for budget builds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for Overpower with this combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 100 FPS average, the Medium preset delivers 62 FPS average with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS, the High preset delivers 58 FPS average, and the Ultra preset delivers 48 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 89 FPS average, the Medium preset delivers 56 FPS average with a minimum of 47 FPS and maximum of 64 FPS, the High preset delivers 51 FPS average, and the Ultra preset delivers 43 FPS average. At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 76 FPS average, the Medium preset delivers 47 FPS average with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 54 FPS, the High preset delivers 44 FPS average, and the Ultra preset delivers 36 FPS average. The Medium preset at each resolution is the only one with min/max data, and the spread of 19-20 FPS between minimum and maximum at 1080p (53-72), 17 FPS at 1440p (47-64), and 14 FPS at 4K (40-54) suggests that the frame pacing is more consistent at higher resolutions, likely due to the GPU being more uniformly loaded. The step from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 38 FPS (from 100 to 62), which is a substantial drop for a single preset level, indicating that Medium introduces significant visual effects that tax the GPU. The step from Medium to High at 1080p costs only 4 FPS (from 62 to 58), which is a minimal penalty for the visual upgrade. The step from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 10 FPS (from 58 to 48), showing that Ultra settings are disproportionately expensive. This pattern repeats at 1440p and 4K, with the Low-to-Medium transition being the most costly in percentage terms, while the Medium-to-High transition is the least costly. The data indicates that Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p, while Low settings are the only viable option for 1440p gaming at 60+ FPS.