Undisputed

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a balanced 1080p and 1440p experience in Undisputed, with performance scaling predictably across its four quality presets. At 4K, the combination remains playable at Medium settings, though Ultra settings push the frame rate below the 60 FPS threshold. This analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, ranks the combo against other tested configurations, and examines how resolution changes affect the limiting component.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo produces an average of 142.9 FPS at 1080p with High settings, which drops to 89.7 FPS at Ultra.

Q: How does the frame rate scale when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 174.2 at 1080p to 121.4 at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 30%.

Q: Is this configuration capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with Low settings, it averages 108.6 FPS; at Medium, 80.8 FPS; at High, 65.1 FPS; and at Ultra, it drops to 43 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among all tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT rank 1015th out of 1580 tested combos in Undisputed, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462) and 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i3-10105 (13430).

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

A: The Radeon RX 6650 XT sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, matching the CPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz can boost up to 4.30 GHz, and it carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In Undisputed, which is a sports title that does not heavily tax multi-threaded workloads, this processor's single-thread strength is a key asset. The 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 indicate solid per-core performance, which helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The CPU's multi-threaded capability is modest by modern standards, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7413. This places the i3-12100F in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, a negligible 0.1% difference, while the Intel Core i7-7700K trails by 1.8% with a score of 13280. In Undisputed, the CPU's 4-core/8-thread configuration is sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings (239.8 FPS), but at higher resolutions, the workload shifts to the GPU.

The lack of integrated graphics on this chip means all video output must come from the discrete GPU, which is standard for a gaming-focused build. The 58W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility are relevant for system builders, but the benchmark data shows that the CPU's role in this game is primarily to avoid becoming a limiting factor at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's game clock is 2410 MHz, with a boost clock of 2635 MHz, and it delivers 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. With 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs, this card is designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming, which aligns with the measured results in Undisputed.

At 1080p, the GPU is the primary driver of performance, with average FPS ranging from 239.8 at Low to 89.7 at Ultra. The gap between Medium (174.2 FPS) and High (142.9 FPS) is 31.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being taxed as settings increase. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 43 FPS suggests a compute limitation rather than a memory capacity issue. The GPU's percentile ranking of 72nd places it near the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (29011 average score, 0% delta) and the Intel Arc A370M (29175, -0.5% delta), showing that the 6650 XT holds its own against mobile and entry-level desktop parts.

The GPU's 176W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are standard for this class, and the 1x 8-pin power connector simplifies installation. In Undisputed, the RX 6650 XT demonstrates that it can handle 4K at Medium settings (80.8 FPS) without issue, but Ultra settings at 4K require a more powerful GPU to maintain smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1015th out of 1580 tested combos in Undisputed, placing it in the 36th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the fact that while both components are competent individually, they are not top-tier parts in the database. The CPU's 72nd percentile and GPU's 72nd percentile scores suggest a balanced pairing, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the CPU's limited core count, which may bottleneck in more demanding scenes.

Compared to the nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% slower average score), the i3-12100F offers similar single-thread performance but with fewer physical cores. This does not significantly impact Undisputed, as the game appears to be GPU-bound at most settings. The combo's rank of 1015 out of 1580 means that roughly 565 other configurations perform better, which is expected given the mid-range nature of both components. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo still delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across all quality settings, making it a viable option for competitive play.

The data indicates that the combo's performance is more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, as evidenced by the large FPS swings when changing quality settings at a fixed resolution. For example, at 1440p, the difference between Low (170.4 FPS) and Ultra (68.5 FPS) is 101.9 FPS, which is a GPU-driven change. The CPU's role is to keep up with the GPU's output, and the 3DMark 4-thread score of 2859 suggests it does so adequately.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At 1080p, the combo achieves 239.8 FPS at Low, 174.2 FPS at Medium, 142.9 FPS at High, and 89.7 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, these figures drop to 170.4, 121.4, 105.6, and 68.5 FPS respectively. At 4K, the numbers fall further to 108.6, 80.8, 65.1, and 43 FPS for Low, Medium, High, and Ultra.

The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is substantial: 239.8 FPS down to 108.6 FPS, a reduction of about 55%. This indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates, but the GPU cannot maintain them as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the drop from 89.7 FPS (1080p) to 43 FPS (4K) is a 52% reduction, showing that the GPU is the limiting factor across all quality levels. The fact that the frame rate scales nearly linearly with pixel count suggests that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the primary constraints.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at any resolution, as even at 1080p Low (239.8 FPS), the frame rate is well above the 60 FPS target. This is consistent with the CPU's single-thread performance, which is strong enough to avoid limiting the GPU. The combo's ability to maintain 65.1 FPS at 4K High is notable, as it demonstrates that this configuration can handle 4K gaming with reduced settings, though 4K Ultra at 43 FPS is not recommended for smooth play. Overall, the scaling pattern indicates a well-balanced system for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being feasible only at lower quality presets.