Undisputed

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread desktop processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The chip’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684.

In Undisputed, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings, where frame rates scale dramatically. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 239.7 FPS, which is 100 FPS higher than at 1080p High (139.7 FPS). That spread suggests the processor is feeding the GPU efficiently at low graphical loads, but the game’s engine still benefits from the i7-12700K’s strong single-thread performance. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and PassMark single-thread score of 4,013 indicate solid per-core strength, which matters for a sports simulation where physics and AI tick rates can bottleneck.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i7-12700K sits within a tight band. It is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (avg score 35,802) and 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-14500HX (avg score 35,940). Conversely, it leads the Intel Core i7-13700T by 0.6% and the Intel Core i7-13800H by 0.8%. These deltas are negligible, meaning the i7-12700K’s CPU-bound behavior in Undisputed should mirror those parts closely. The multi-threaded scores—Cinebench R23 multi-core at 29,241 and Geekbench multi-core at 13,892—confirm that the 12 cores (with 8 performance and 4 efficiency cores implied by the 20 threads) provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the game’s frame pacing is more likely tied to the boost clock of 5.00 GHz.

The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,276 versus max-thread score of 9,979 shows scaling beyond 16 threads is modest, which aligns with a game that may not fully utilize 20 threads. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45.2, and the CPU’s influence fades as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Still, the i7-12700K’s 89th percentile ranking ensures it is not the bottleneck in most scenarios, particularly when compared to the GPU’s 63rd percentile ranking. The data suggests the processor is overqualified for this title at high settings, but at Ultra with heavy effects, the CPU’s L3 cache and memory bandwidth (dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 support) help maintain consistency.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K strong enough for Undisputed at high refresh rates?*

A: Yes. At 1080p High, the combo averages 139.7 FPS, and at 1080p Low it reaches 239.7 FPS. The CPU’s single-thread score of 4,013 in PassMark and boost clock of 5.00 GHz keep frame rates well above 120 FPS even at high settings.

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-12700K’s average score of 35,684 is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802) and 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35,940). It is 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T (35,468) and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-13800H (35,416).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 45.2, while at 4K Low it jumps to 107.6. The large gap indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at higher settings, as the CPU’s performance (89th percentile) far exceeds the GPU’s (63rd percentile).

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the i7-12700K, and does it affect its ranking?

A: The launch MSRP is $409. The processor ranks in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684, placing it among the top tier for gaming workloads.

*Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance impact Undisputed?*

A: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29,241 and PassMark multi-thread score of 34,404 show robust parallel capability. However, the game’s FPS scaling from 1080p Low (239.7) to 1080p Ultra (88.3) suggests single-thread performance is more critical, as the 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,065 is relatively strong.

Q: Is the i7-12700K a better pairing for this game than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845?

A: The difference is minimal. The i7-12700K trails the Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by only 0.3% in average benchmark score, which translates to a negligible impact on Undisputed’s frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: Undisputed scales aggressively with resolution, but the scaling factor depends heavily on settings. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 25% across all settings. Specifically, at High settings, 1080p delivers 139.7 FPS, while 1440p yields 104.4 FPS—a 35.3 FPS reduction. At Low settings, the drop is steeper in absolute terms: from 239.7 FPS at 1080p to 172 FPS at 1440p, a 67.7 FPS decrease. This larger absolute drop at Low settings indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor, as the CPU can produce high frame rates but the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes constrained.

Moving from 1440p to 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced. At High settings, 1440p averages 104.4 FPS, but 4K falls to 63 FPS—a 39.6% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is even more severe: 66.9 FPS at 1440p versus 45.2 FPS at 4K, a 32.4% reduction. The Ultra setting at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, which suggests that the combination of 4K resolution and maximum graphical fidelity overwhelms the RX 7600 XT’s 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 22.57 TFLOPS compute.

The limiting component shifts across the resolution spectrum. At 1080p, the CPU’s 5.00 GHz boost clock and 25 MB L3 cache allow the GPU to run at full tilt, evidenced by the 239.7 FPS at Low. At 4K, the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus become the bottleneck, as the FPS at Ultra (45.2) is less than half of the 1080p Ultra figure (88.3). The data indicates that the i7-12700K is never the primary constraint; even at 4K Low, the 107.6 FPS shows the CPU can feed frames, but the GPU’s rasterization limits kick in as pixel count quadruples.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 239.7 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this pairing. Medium settings yield 170 FPS, High settings drop to 139.7 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 88.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 151.4 FPS, indicating that graphical effects such as shadows and reflections heavily tax the GPU even at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 172 FPS at Low, 125.1 FPS at Medium, 104.4 FPS at High, and 66.9 FPS at Ultra. The step from Medium to High costs 20.7 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 37.5 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate remains above 60 FPS, which is playable for a sports title, but the margin is thinner than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 107.6 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 80.5 FPS, High to 63 FPS, and Ultra to 45.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire dataset. The scaling from 1440p Ultra (66.9 FPS) to 4K Ultra (45.2 FPS) represents a 21.7 FPS loss, while the 1080p Ultra (88.3 FPS) to 1440p Ultra loss is also 21.4 FPS. These consistent drops suggest the GPU’s shading units (2,048) and ROPs (64) are the limiting factors at high resolutions.

Across all resolutions, Low settings provide the highest headroom, with 4K Low (107.6 FPS) outperforming 1080p Ultra (88.3 FPS). This indicates that players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity can achieve high refresh rates even at 4K, while those seeking maximum quality must accept 45.2 FPS at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 6 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s clock speeds are 1,980 MHz base, 2,470 MHz game, and 2,755 MHz boost, with a 190 W TDP and a launch MSRP of 329 USD. It has 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, and 32 ray tracing cores, providing 22.57 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Undisputed, the GPU’s role is pivotal at higher settings and resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM is ample for the game’s textures, even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS of 45.2 indicates the bottleneck is raw compute rather than memory capacity. The GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 20,146. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600, scores 20,258 (0.6% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER scores 19,774 (1.9% lower). The RX 7600 XT’s delta of -1.9% versus the RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534) shows it sits in a competitive mid-range tier.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,348 and PassMark G3D score of 17,132 correlate with the measured FPS. At 1080p Low, the 239.7 FPS is possible because the GPU’s pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s are not challenged. However, at 4K Ultra, the 45.2 FPS reflects the GPU’s limited ROP count (64) and memory bandwidth, as the 128-bit bus struggles with the higher pixel workload. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 88,301 suggests good driver overhead, but the game’s engine appears to favor raw fill rate over compute.

Compared to the CPU’s 89th percentile, the GPU’s 63rd percentile makes it the weaker link in this pairing. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the CPU can push 239.7 FPS, but the GPU’s ceiling is evident at 4K Ultra (45.2 FPS). The RX 7600 XT’s 16 GB memory is a standout feature, but it does not compensate for the 128-bit bus’s bandwidth limitation in a resolution-heavy title like Undisputed. The GPU’s boost clock of 2,755 MHz helps at lower resolutions, where the 1080p Medium average of 170 FPS shows strong scaling, but the 4K Ultra result indicates that players should lower settings to maintain smooth gameplay.