Undisputed

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Undisputed. The benchmark data reveals a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet progressively exposes the CPU's architectural limits as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the component roles, and provides actionable settings guidance based strictly on the observed frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop-off tells a compelling story about system balance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 222 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 160 FPS, a reduction of 62 FPS. Scaling further to 4K High, the average falls to 101 FPS, which is a 121 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This trajectory indicates that the rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 3080 Ti is the primary driver of these results, as the CPU has sufficient headroom at these settings to keep the GPU fed.

The scaling behavior changes dramatically when examining Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces a massive 372 FPS average. At 1440p Low, this falls to 269 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops to 170 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 54%, which is less severe than the drop at High settings, where the 4K average is 55% lower than the 1080p average. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is beginning to assert its influence, particularly at 1080p where the frame rate ceiling is exceptionally high. The fact that 1080p Low produces 372 FPS, while 1440p Low produces 269 FPS, indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor, but the margin for CPU overhead is shrinking.

The most revealing data point for identifying the limiting component comes from the Medium settings, which include minimum and maximum FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 268 FPS with a minimum of 228 FPS and maximum of 308 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 122 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS and maximum of 141 FPS. The variance between minimum and maximum FPS is consistent across resolutions, suggesting that frame pacing is stable and the workload is being handled efficiently. The steady decline in average FPS from 268 to 194 to 122 as resolution increases confirms that the GPU is the dominant constraint; if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p results to plateau or show less scaling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration. Its specifications from the FACT PACK reveal why it performs so strongly in Undisputed. The GPU features a GA102 chip built on Samsung's 8 nm process, with a die size of 628 mm² and 28,300 million transistors. The memory subsystem is particularly robust, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. This high bandwidth is critical for a sports title that may require rapid texture streaming and high-resolution asset loading, especially at 4K where the pixel throughput demands are highest.

The clock speeds are also a factor in the observed performance. The base clock is 1365 MHz, with a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The memory operates at 1188 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective. These clocks, combined with the 10240 shading units and 320 TMUs, provide the raw compute power necessary to maintain high frame rates. The GPU's pixel rate is 186.5 GPixel/s and texture rate is 532.8 GTexel/s, which explains why the card can handle the 4K Ultra workload, albeit at a lower average of 65 FPS. The FP32 performance of 34.10 TFLOPS is substantial, and the data shows that the card is able to scale its performance effectively as settings are adjusted.

The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti is operating well within its capabilities for most settings in Undisputed. The percentileVsAllGpus score of 83 places it in the top tier of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 41187 is competitive. Compared to its nearest rivals, the GPU is 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, 1.2% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB, 1.7% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40, and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the RTX 3080 Ti sits in a specific performance band, and the Undisputed results are consistent with its expected output. The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game's needs, as the data does not show any signs of memory-related stuttering or crashes, even at 4K Ultra where the average FPS drops to 65.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F plays a supporting role in this pairing, and its performance characteristics are clearly defined by the benchmark data. This is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. With a TDP of 58 W, it is a low-power part, but its benchmark scores show it is not a slouch in single-threaded tasks.

The CPU's benchmarks are crucial for understanding its role in Undisputed. Its 3dmark_single_thread score is 893, while its 3dmark_4_threads score is 2859 and its 3dmark_8_threads score is 4026. The cinebench_r23_multicore score is 11860, and the passmark_single_thread score is 3444. These numbers indicate that the CPU has strong single-core performance, which is essential for a game that likely relies on a main simulation thread. However, its multi-core performance, while respectable, is modest compared to higher-end parts. The percentileVsAllCpus score of 68 places it above the median, and its average benchmark score is 13494.

The data from the measured FPS shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in Undisputed at most settings. At 1080p Low, the 372 FPS average is exceptionally high, and while it is likely that the CPU is approaching its limit in this scenario, it is still able to push frames well above any common refresh rate. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i3-12100F shows a 0% delta with the Intel Core 3 N355, a 0.3% lead over the Intel Core i5-9500, a 0.7% deficit against the Intel Core 5 120UL, and a 1.1% lead over the Intel Core i7-1250U. These rival deltas are small, suggesting that the CPU's performance is in a specific tier, and its role here is to provide adequate single-threaded throughput without holding back the GPU in most scenarios. The data indicates that the CPU is sufficient for the game's demands, and the GPU is the clear performance limiter.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings is 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to the GeForce RTX 5070 in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, which is 2% higher than the GeForce RTX 5070's average score of 40377, indicating the 3080 Ti holds a slight performance edge.

Q: Is the Core i3-12100F a limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests no. At 4K High settings, the average FPS is 101, and at 4K Ultra it is 65 FPS. The CPU's single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's rendering at these resolutions, where the GPU workload is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity?

A: Based on the data, 1440p High settings provide an excellent balance with an average of 160 FPS. This is significantly higher than the 4K High average of 101 FPS while still offering a substantial visual upgrade over 1080p.

Q: Does the system maintain stable frame pacing at 1080p Medium?

A: The data shows a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS, with an average of 268 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum is 80 FPS, which indicates some variance but the frame rate is consistently high and should be smooth in practice.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F scores 1674 in the cinebench_r23_singlecore benchmark, which is a strong result for a quad-core part and explains its ability to handle the game's primary thread efficiently.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 989th out of 3718 tested combos in Undisputed. This places it in the top 26.6% of all configurations tested for this specific game. The rank is a holistic measure that considers the balance between CPU and GPU, and the results indicate that this pairing is effective, though not top-tier. The high rank is likely driven by the GPU's significant performance headroom, which allows the combo to excel at higher resolutions where the CPU's limitations are less impactful.

The rank of 989 suggests that many other combos outperform this one, which is expected given that the i3-12100F is a budget-oriented CPU. However, the data shows that in Undisputed, the GPU is the dominant factor. The combo's rank would likely be higher if the CPU were more powerful, but the measured FPS indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is able to produce high frame rates even with this CPU. The rank confirms the fact that a strong GPU can offset a weaker CPU in this particular title. The 3718 tested combos provide a large sample size, and a rank of 989 is a solid position, indicating that this system is capable of delivering a high-quality gaming experience in Undisputed despite the CPU's modest specifications.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this specific hardware combination. The goal is to achieve high frame rates while maintaining visual quality, and the data shows that the Medium preset is the sweet spot. At 1440p Medium, the system produces an average of 194 FPS, which is well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate monitors. This setting also provides a minimum FPS of 165, ensuring that there are no significant drops during intense gameplay moments. The 1440p Medium setting offers a significant improvement over Low settings, which produce 269 FPS at 1440p but likely sacrifice too much visual fidelity for a marginal gain in smoothness.

For users with 4K displays, the High preset is the recommended choice. At 4K High, the average FPS is 101, which is highly playable and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. The 4K Ultra preset, with an average of 65 FPS, is playable but may not be ideal for competitive play where higher frame rates are beneficial. The 4K Medium preset, at 122 FPS, is also a viable option, but the jump to High is worth the performance cost of 21 FPS for improved visuals. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as the system easily handles it with an average of 143 FPS, while the High preset at 222 FPS is more than sufficient for most users. The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best overall experience, offering a high frame rate with good visual quality and a stable minimum FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for Undisputed is presented below, showing the average, minimum, and maximum frame rates for each resolution and settings combination.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are as follows:

• High: Average FPS of 101.
• Low: Average FPS of 170.
• Medium: Average FPS of 122, with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 65.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the results are as follows:

• High: Average FPS of 160.
• Low: Average FPS of 269.
• Medium: Average FPS of 194, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 103.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the results are as follows:

• High: Average FPS of 222.
• Low: Average FPS of 372.
• Medium: Average FPS of 268, with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 308 FPS.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 143.

These numbers illustrate a clear performance hierarchy. The 1080p Low setting achieves the highest average FPS at 372, while the 4K Ultra setting is the most demanding, yielding only 65 FPS. The Medium settings across all resolutions provide the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates, which offer insight into frame time consistency. The 1440p Medium result of 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS, is particularly notable for its stability. The data confirms that this combo is capable of high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, and remains playable at 4K with adjusted settings.