Ready Or Not

# Ready Or Not with Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 presents a stark contrast in hardware capability, and the measured frame rates in Ready Or Not reflect this unusual pairing. The CPU is a 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake-S part with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, while the GPU is an Ada Lovelace flagship with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The benchmark data shows this combination delivers playable to extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions, but the scaling patterns reveal a system where the CPU becomes a limiting factor at lower resolutions. This analysis walks through the CPU and GPU roles, settings recommendations, ranking position, resolution scaling behavior, and a full breakdown of the measured FPS data.

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

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a quad-core processor with 8 threads, running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU sits in the 68th percentile of all processors according to average benchmark scores, with an average benchmark score of 13,494. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (average score 13,492, delta 0%), the Intel Core i5-9500 (average score 13,452, delta 0.3%), and the Intel Core 5 120UL (average score 13,594, delta -0.7%). These numbers place the i3-12100F in a competitive position for a budget quad-core, but its 4-core / 8-thread configuration is modest by modern standards.

In Ready Or Not, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 515 FPS average, which is an extremely high frame rate. However, the jump from 1080p Low (515 FPS) to 4K Low (171 FPS) shows a 344 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU is being pushed harder at higher resolutions. The CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 at 1080p, but the data suggests that the CPU's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893, Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,674) is what enables these high frame rates. The CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz helps maintain responsiveness in a tactical shooter where frame pacing matters.

The benchmark scores for the i3-12100F show strong multi-threaded performance relative to its core count: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,860, Passmark multithread score of 14,015, and Geekbench multi-core score of 7,252. In Ready Or Not, which is not a heavily threaded title, the 4-core configuration appears adequate, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains an average of 95 FPS. The CPU's L3 cache of 12 MB shared and L2 cache of 1.25 MB per core are modest, but they do not appear to bottleneck the game at the tested settings. The data indicates that the CPU is capable of driving the RTX 4090 to high frame rates, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a massive GPU with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The GPU's benchmark scores are exceptional: Passmark G3D score of 38,194, Geekbench OpenCL score of 255,416, and Geekbench Vulkan score of 271,631. The RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (average score 60,326, delta 0%), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (average score 60,140, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (average score 61,896, delta -2.5%).

In Ready Or Not, the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for any of the tested settings, as the game does not appear to exceed memory capacity at any resolution. The GPU's raw compute power—82.58 TFLOPS FP32, 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate, and 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate—allows it to push very high frame rates even at 4K. The measured data shows that at 4K High, the combo averages 136 FPS, while at 4K Medium it averages 149 FPS, and at 4K Low it averages 171 FPS. These numbers demonstrate that the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K, as the CPU's role diminishes with increasing resolution.

The RTX 4090's boost clock of 2520 MHz and memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s are critical for maintaining high frame rates in a game like Ready Or Not, which features detailed environments and tactical scenarios. The GPU's performance at 1080p is extraordinary—at 1080p Low, the combo hits 515 FPS average, which is far beyond what most displays can show. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the RTX 4090 is underutilized, and the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the GPU's VRAM capacity is not a concern in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 95 is still playable, though it is the lowest measured value in the dataset.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings produce very high frame rates: Low averages 515 FPS, Medium averages 452 FPS (with min FPS of 385 and max of 520), High averages 411 FPS, and Ultra averages 289 FPS. For a 1080p display with a 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset offers a good balance, delivering 452 FPS average with a minimum of 385 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without the visual compromises of Low settings. The High preset at 411 FPS is also viable, but the drop to Ultra (289 FPS) is significant, suggesting that the Ultra preset may not be necessary for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the standout choice. It delivers an average of 286 FPS, with a minimum of 243 FPS and maximum of 328 FPS. The Low preset averages 327 FPS, while High averages 260 FPS, and Ultra averages 182 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a high frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, while High is still very playable at 260 FPS. The Ultra preset at 182 FPS is acceptable for a 144Hz display, but the step down from Medium to Ultra (104 FPS difference) is substantial. For players with a 1440p 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, Medium is recommended, as it provides a comfortable margin above the refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset again offers the best balance. It averages 149 FPS, with a minimum of 127 FPS and maximum of 172 FPS. The High preset averages 136 FPS, while Low averages 171 FPS, and Ultra averages 95 FPS. For 4K gaming on a 120Hz or 144Hz display, Medium is the recommended choice, as it maintains an average above 144 FPS with a minimum above 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is playable on a 60Hz display but may not satisfy players with higher refresh rate monitors. Overall, the Medium preset provides the best experience across all resolutions, offering high frame rates with reasonable visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 155th out of 3,714 tested combos in Ready Or Not. This rank places the combo in the top 4.2% of all tested configurations, which is impressive given the CPU's modest specifications. The rank reflects the RTX 4090's dominant performance, as the GPU alone is capable of driving high frame rates even with a budget quad-core CPU. The data indicates that the combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, with only 154 combos achieving higher performance.

The rank of 155 out of 3,714 is notable because it shows that the RTX 4090's performance is not severely hampered by the i3-12100F in this game. The CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to avoid significant bottlenecks at most settings, as evidenced by the high FPS values even at 4K. However, the rank also suggests that some combos with more powerful CPUs achieve higher frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU performance matters more. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked combos is not quantifiable from the data, but the rank position implies that the CPU does limit the GPU's full potential in certain scenarios.

The combo's rank is particularly interesting when considering that the RTX 4090 is an end-of-life product (released 2022-09-19) with a launch MSRP of 1,599 USD, while the i3-12100F has a launch MSRP of $97. The pairing of a high-end GPU with a budget CPU is unusual, but the data shows that it still delivers top-tier performance in Ready Or Not. The rank of 155 out of 3,714 combos demonstrates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in this game, and the CPU's influence is secondary, mainly affecting frame rates at lower resolutions.

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

Examining the FPS scaling across resolutions reveals the relationship between CPU and GPU workload in Ready Or Not. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 515 FPS, while at 1440p Low it averages 327 FPS (a 188 FPS drop), and at 4K Low it averages 171 FPS (another 156 FPS drop). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 344 FPS, which is a 66.8% reduction. This substantial drop indicates that the GPU is being increasingly taxed as resolution increases, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 1080p averages 452 FPS, 1440p averages 286 FPS (a 166 FPS drop), and 4K averages 149 FPS (a 137 FPS drop). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 303 FPS, or 67.0%. At High settings, the drop is from 411 FPS at 1080p to 260 FPS at 1440p (151 FPS drop) to 136 FPS at 4K (124 FPS drop), totaling 275 FPS or 66.9%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 289 FPS at 1080p to 182 FPS at 1440p (107 FPS drop) to 95 FPS at 4K (87 FPS drop), totaling 194 FPS or 67.1%.

The consistent percentage drop of approximately 67% from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not drop as dramatically with resolution increases, since CPU load is resolution-independent. The fact that the FPS drops by roughly two-thirds when moving from 1080p to 4K indicates that the RTX 4090's rendering workload scales with resolution, and the CPU is capable of keeping up. However, at 1080p, the extremely high FPS values (515 FPS at Low, 411 FPS at High) suggest that the CPU may be approaching its limit, as the GPU could potentially render even faster if the CPU could feed it more frames. The data supports the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU becomes more influential at 1080p, though it does not severely bottleneck the system.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 452, with a minimum of 385 and a maximum of 520, as measured in the benchmark data.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Ready Or Not?

A: The combo ranks 155th out of 3,714 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configurations.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM sufficient for this game at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the 24 GB VRAM is more than enough, as the game runs at an average of 95 FPS at 4K Ultra without any indication of VRAM limitations.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The FPS drops from 411 at 1080p to 136 at 4K, a reduction of 275 FPS or approximately 67%.

Q: Which CPU benchmark scores indicate the i3-12100F's performance?

A: The CPU scores 11,860 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 1,674 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and 14,015 in Passmark multithread.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4090 is in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347.

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

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are as follows: Low settings average 515 FPS, Medium settings average 452 FPS with a minimum of 385 FPS and maximum of 520 FPS, High settings average 411 FPS, and Ultra settings average 289 FPS. This resolution shows the highest frame rates, with the Low preset exceeding 500 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not heavily taxed at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the FPS decreases across all settings: Low averages 327 FPS, Medium averages 286 FPS with a minimum of 243 FPS and maximum of 328 FPS, High averages 260 FPS, and Ultra averages 182 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a robust 286 FPS average, while the Ultra preset still delivers 182 FPS, which is playable on high refresh rate displays.

At 3840x2160, the FPS drops further: Low averages 171 FPS, Medium averages 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS and maximum of 172 FPS, High averages 136 FPS, and Ultra averages 95 FPS. The 4K resolution shows the GPU being pushed harder, with the Ultra preset dropping below 100 FPS, while the Low preset maintains 171 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers 149 FPS average, which is suitable for 120Hz displays.

The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, the Low preset yields the highest FPS, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The Medium preset consistently provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, with minimum FPS values that are only slightly below the average, indicating stable frame delivery. The Ultra preset at 4K (95 FPS) is the only setting that falls below 100 FPS, suggesting that players seeking maximum visual fidelity may need to accept lower frame rates at 4K.