Pc Building Simulator

The pairing of an Intel Core i3-12100F with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER in Pc Building Simulator produces a frame-rate profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics settings, ultimately revealing a system that is GPU-limited at 4K but increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The data shows that this combination ranks 137th out of 1769 tested combos, placing it in the top 8% of all configurations for this title. The benchmark results indicate that while the GPU is a top-tier performer, the quad-core processor creates a significant bottleneck at 1080p, capping performance well below what the graphics card is capable of delivering.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a classic resolution-scaling curve, but with an unusual twist at the top end. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 223 to 142.2, a reduction of 36%. This is a substantial decline, but the more telling metric is the jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Ultra, where the average falls further to 71 FPS—a 50% drop. This steep decline at 4K strongly suggests that the rendering load is shifting entirely onto the GPU, as the processor can no longer feed frames fast enough to keep up with the graphics card's demands.

At the Low preset, the scaling behavior is even more revealing. The RTX 4080 SUPER manages 344.6 FPS at 1080p, 296.6 FPS at 1440p, and 152.2 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is only 14%, which indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at both resolutions. The larger 49% drop from 1440p to 4K shows where the GPU finally takes over as the primary constraint. This pattern—small declines at lower resolutions followed by a sharp cliff at 4K—is the signature of a quad-core processor bottlenecking a high-end graphics card.

The Medium preset tells a similar story, with 307 FPS at 1080p, 206.5 FPS at 1440p, and 109.3 FPS at 4K. The 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p is larger than the Low preset, indicating that the increased graphical load is starting to engage the GPU more, but the CPU still holds performance back. By 4K, the frame rate is less than half of the 1440p result, confirming that the GPU is now the sole limiting component. This data collectively indicates that for this title, 1080p and 1440p performance is constrained by the processor, while 4K performance is constrained by the graphics card.

CPU Role

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 3DMark scores provide context for its gaming performance: a single-thread score of 893, a 4-thread score of 2859, and a max-thread score of 4023. The Cinebench R23 results show 1681 points for single-core and 11912 for multi-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 72nd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the i3-12100F is essentially on par with that workstation chip in this aggregate metric.

In Pc Building Simulator, the benchmark results clearly show that the CPU's 4 cores are the bottleneck at high frame rates. At the Low preset with 1080p resolution, the average FPS of 344.6 represents a practical ceiling for this processor. This is consistent with the CPU's 3DMark 8-thread score of 4026, which is nearly identical to its max-thread score of 4023, indicating that the processor has no headroom for additional threads. The lack of scaling from 8 threads to max threads confirms that all physical and logical cores are already saturated during gameplay. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache provides adequate data for the limited core count, but the 80 KB L1 cache per core and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core are relatively small, which may contribute to the performance ceiling observed.

The CPU's percentile rank of 72 means it outperforms 72% of all tested processors in general benchmarks, but this does not translate to top-tier gaming performance in this simulation title. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4051 is only slightly above the 8-thread score, further emphasizing that the processor offers no multi-threading headroom beyond its 8 threads. This is a critical limitation for a game that appears to benefit from higher core counts, as evidenced by the frame rate stagnation at 1080p across different settings—from 235.7 FPS at High to 344.6 FPS at Low, the CPU imposes a hard limit that the GPU cannot overcome.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a formidable graphics card with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores deliver a raw compute capability of 52.22 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. The card's boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are standard for the Ada Lovelace architecture. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 34245 in Passmark G3D and 246994 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 53610. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 53489, which is only 0.2% lower, indicating near-parity in aggregate performance.

In Pc Building Simulator, the GPU's role becomes dominant only at 4K resolution. At Ultra settings, the card produces 71 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a playable frame rate but far from the high refresh rates available at lower resolutions. The drop from High settings at 4K (75.6 FPS) to Ultra (71 FPS) is only 6%, suggesting that the game's Ultra preset adds minimal graphical stress beyond High. The gap between Low and High at 4K is more pronounced, with 152.2 FPS versus 75.6 FPS, a 50% reduction, showing that the game's higher presets significantly tax the GPU's shader and memory subsystems.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the card maintains 71 FPS without any indication of memory-related stutters. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s is sufficient for the game's texture and geometry data. However, the GPU's performance at 1080p is heavily constrained by the CPU, as evidenced by the fact that increasing the resolution from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings only reduces the frame rate from 344.6 to 296.6. This 14% drop is far less than expected for a GPU-bound scenario, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 134 and DirectX 11 score of 301 suggest that the card's API performance is adequate for this DirectX 12 Ultimate title.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds the 137th rank out of 1769 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator, placing it in the top 7.7% of all configurations. The ranking reflects the system's strong overall performance, particularly at 4K, but it is held back by the CPU's limited core count. The data indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, but it does not reach the top tier, which is likely occupied by combinations featuring higher-core-count processors paired with similarly powerful GPUs.

The delta between the CPU and GPU percentile ranks—72 for the CPU versus 88 for the GPU—highlights a significant imbalance. The GPU is a top-12% performer, while the CPU is only a top-28% performer. This mismatch is directly observable in the benchmark results, where the combo's 1080p performance is nearly identical across different settings at the high end. For instance, the Ultra preset at 1080p yields 223 FPS, while the Medium preset yields 307 FPS, a 38% difference that is far smaller than what the GPU alone could deliver. The combo's ranking of 137 suggests that while the system is capable of high frame rates, it leaves substantial performance on the table, particularly for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p monitors.

The ranking also implies that the system's 4K performance is competitive with more balanced builds. At 4K Ultra, the 71 FPS result places this combo in a range where the GPU becomes the primary driver of performance, mitigating the CPU bottleneck. The data suggests that for this game, the combo's rank would improve if paired with a more capable processor, but as configured, it represents a solid, albeit imbalanced, gaming system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive picture of the system's capabilities across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 223 at Ultra to 344.6 at Low, with High at 235.7 and Medium at 307. The scaling is non-linear: the jump from Low to Medium is only 37.6 FPS (12%), while the jump from Medium to High is 71.3 FPS (23%), and from High to Ultra is 12.7 FPS (5%). This pattern indicates that the Low preset is the least demanding, allowing the CPU to push its maximum frame rate, while the Ultra preset introduces enough graphical load to slightly engage the GPU but still remains CPU-limited.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 142.2 at Ultra to 296.6 at Low, with High at 149.6 and Medium at 206.5. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 14% at Low, 20% at High, 33% at Medium, and 36% at Ultra. The increasing percentage drops at higher settings indicate that the GPU is becoming more involved, but the CPU still imposes a ceiling, as evidenced by the 296.6 FPS at Low, which is only 14% lower than the 1080p result. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 7.4 FPS (5%), suggesting that the Ultra preset offers minimal visual improvement over High for this game.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 71 at Ultra to 152.2 at Low, with High at 75.6 and Medium at 109.3. This resolution shows the most significant scaling, with the Low preset delivering more than double the frame rate of the Ultra preset. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 49% at Low, 49% at High, 47% at Medium, and 50% at Ultra. These consistent drops confirm that the GPU is the sole limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU's bottleneck is no longer relevant. The 4K results are the most balanced, with the GPU fully utilized across all settings.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data suggests that the Ultra preset is not the optimal choice for this combo at any resolution. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 223 FPS, which is only 12.7 FPS higher than High (235.7), but the 4K Ultra result of 71 FPS is only 4.6 FPS lower than High (75.6). The performance difference between High and Ultra is consistently small—5% at 1080p, 5% at 1440p, and 6% at 4K—indicating that the Ultra preset provides negligible visual benefits in Pc Building Simulator. Therefore, the High preset offers the best experience per the measured rows, as it delivers nearly identical frame rates to Ultra with likely reduced graphical overhead.

For users with a 1080p monitor, the High preset at 235.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a smooth experience without the CPU-induced frame rate ceiling seen at lower settings. The Medium preset at 307 FPS offers a 30% increase over High, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for a simulation game where detail matters. At 1440p, the High preset at 149.6 FPS is again the sweet spot, as it is within 5% of Ultra (142.2) but provides a 30% improvement over Medium (206.5). At 4K, the High preset at 75.6 FPS is the most balanced, as it is close to Ultra (71 FPS) but offers better performance than Medium (109.3) without sacrificing much visual fidelity.

The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates, is not recommended for this game, as the simulation genre benefits from visual clarity to read system information and component details. The data shows that the Low preset at 1080p (344.6 FPS) is 46% faster than High (235.7), but this comes at the cost of visual quality that is likely too severe for a game centered on building and inspecting PCs. The Medium preset provides a middle ground, but the High preset offers the best balance of performance and fidelity across all resolutions, with frame rates that exceed 75 FPS even at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Pc Building Simulator?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 149.6 FPS, offering a strong balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K, the High preset drops to 75.6 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results indicate the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The Low preset yields 344.6 FPS, but increasing to High only drops to 235.7 FPS, suggesting the processor caps performance regardless of graphical load.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 137th out of 1769 tested combos, placing it in the top 7.7% of all configurations for this game. The ranking reflects strong 4K performance but a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 75.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 71 FPS. This is a difference of only 6%, indicating that Ultra offers minimal performance cost for this game.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB VRAM become a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations. The card maintains consistent frame rates at 4K Ultra (71 FPS) without any indication of memory-related performance drops, suggesting 16 GB is sufficient for this title.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the game's results?

A: The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 indicate strong per-core performance. This contributes to the high frame rates at 1080p, but the 4-core limit prevents scaling beyond 344.6 FPS at the Low preset.