Undisputed

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Undisputed, with benchmark results indicating that the combination is capable of pushing frame rates well beyond the refresh rates of most standard displays. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the measured average FPS never dips below 71, which places the combo in the 735th position out of 3718 tested combinations, putting it in the top 20% of all systems evaluated. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the dominant force, but the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance ensures that even at lower resolutions, the processor does not become a bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies within this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 404 FPS, which drops to 292 FPS at 1440p and further to 185 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial drop that indicates the GPU is being increasingly taxed as pixel count rises. The pattern continues across all settings presets, though the percentage drops vary.

At High settings, the frame rate falls from 240 FPS at 1080p to 174 FPS at 1440p, and then to 110 FPS at 4K — a 54% total reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend, with 290 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 133 FPS at 4K, which is a 54% decline as well. Ultra settings exhibit the steepest relative drop, going from 155 FPS at 1080p to 112 FPS at 1440p and finally 71 FPS at 4K, representing a 54% decrease. The consistency of this 54% reduction across all presets strongly suggests that the scaling is purely resolution-driven, with the GPU's rendering workload scaling linearly with pixel count.

The fact that the 1080p to 1440p transition results in a 28% FPS drop (for example, from 404 to 292 at Low) while the 1440p to 4K transition results in a 37% drop (from 292 to 185) is telling. This non-linear scaling pattern indicates that the RX 7900 XT's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K begins to outpace the GPU's raw compute capabilities. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates (240-404 FPS) suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately, but the GPU is no longer the limiting factor — the rendering pipeline itself becomes the constraint. The data shows that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, where the 174-292 FPS range exceeds the capabilities of most monitors, while 4K remains viable for slower-paced sports simulation.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in Undisputed?*

A: The highest measured average is 404 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the combo has massive headroom for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Undisputed?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 71, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. At 4K High settings, the average rises to 110 FPS, providing a much smoother experience.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K scores 19,784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which places it within 0.4% of its nearest rivals. It trails the Intel Core i5-13600T by 0.1%, the Intel Core i7-12700KF by 0.2%, and the Intel Core i7-13700T by 0.3%, while leading the Intel Core 5 213PE by 0.4%.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The data includes minimum and maximum FPS only for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the range is 247-334 FPS with an average of 290; at 1440p, the range is 178-241 with an average of 210; at 4K, the range is 113-153 with an average of 133. This indicates tight frame pacing with minimal stuttering.

Q: Is the GPU's performance percentile indicative of its gaming capabilities?

A: The RX 7900 XT sits at the 55th percentile versus all GPUs, which is modest, but its measured gaming performance in Undisputed is exceptional. This suggests the game is well-optimized for RDNA 3.0 architecture, as the GPU's synthetic benchmark scores (29,009 in Passmark G3D) do not fully reflect its in-game results.

Q: How does the combo's overall ranking compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 735th out of 3718 tested combinations, placing it in the top 19.8% of all systems. This is a strong result, indicating that the pairing of the i7-12700K with the RX 7900 XT is well-balanced for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, featuring a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its performance in Undisputed is best understood through its synthetic benchmarks, which show a strong single-threaded capability (1,850.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core) and exceptional multi-threaded throughput (19,784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core). The processor's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for the game's physics and AI calculations, which are likely to be significant in a sports simulation.

The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this system, even at 1080p. The fact that the combo achieves 404 FPS at 1080p Low settings suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU with more than 400 frames per second, which is far beyond what most displays can show. However, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when examining the scaling from 1080p to 1440p. The drop from 404 to 292 FPS at Low settings is a 28% reduction, which is entirely attributable to the GPU's increased workload. The CPU maintains its ability to process game logic without becoming a limiting factor, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates at high refresh rates.

The i7-12700K's performance relative to its nearest rivals is remarkably tight, with all four competitors (i5-13600T, i7-12700KF, i7-13700T, and Core 5 213PE) scoring within 0.4% of each other in average benchmark scores. This indicates that the Alder Lake architecture provides a solid foundation for gaming, and the 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded tasks, such as game engine tick rates, are handled with minimal latency. The CPU sits at the 84th percentile versus all CPUs, which aligns with its observed gaming performance — it is a high-end processor that does not hold back the GPU in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preferences. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 240 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, as it exceeds the 144 Hz and 165 Hz refresh rates common on modern monitors. The Medium preset at 290 FPS offers even more headroom but with a minimal visual improvement over High, making High the recommended choice for most users. The Ultra preset at 155 FPS is still viable for 144 Hz displays, but the 35% performance penalty compared to High may not justify the visual gains in a fast-paced sports game.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 174 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 210 FPS provides additional margin for those with 240 Hz displays, while Ultra at 112 FPS remains playable but may exhibit occasional dips below 100 FPS during intense gameplay moments. For 4K users, the High preset at 110 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides a smooth experience on 60 Hz and 120 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 133 FPS is also viable for 120 Hz screens, but the Ultra preset at 71 FPS should be avoided unless the user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate, as it falls below the 75 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for comfortable gaming.

The data from the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum FPS values, provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 247-334 FPS range shows a 29% variance from min to max, while at 1440p the 178-241 range shows a 30% variance, and at 4K the 113-153 range shows a 31% variance. This consistent variance across resolutions suggests that the game's frame time distribution is stable, with no sudden spikes or drops. Consequently, the High preset is recommended as the "sweet spot" for most users, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining frame rates that are 32-38% higher than Ultra across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 735 out of 3718 tested combinations places it in the top 19.8% of all systems evaluated in Undisputed. This is a strong result, considering that the GPU sits at only the 55th percentile versus all GPUs and the CPU at the 84th percentile versus all CPUs. The discrepancy between the component percentiles and the in-game rank indicates that Undisputed is particularly well-optimized for this specific hardware combination, likely due to the RX 7900 XT's RDNA 3.0 architecture benefiting from the game's rendering pipeline.

The ranking suggests that this combo outperforms a significant majority of systems, including those with more expensive or newer components. The fact that the RX 7900 XT's nearest rivals in average benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon 660M (0.5% lower score) and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (0.5% lower score) might suggest that the GPU is not top-tier, yet its in-game performance tells a different story. The RX 9070 XT, which scores 1.5% higher in average benchmarks, is ranked as a rival, but the RX 7900 XT's 20 GB VRAM and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a distinct advantage in Undisputed's dynamic environments.

This ranking also indicates that the combo is well-balanced, as neither component significantly bottlenecks the other. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads ensure that the game's AI and physics calculations are processed efficiently, while the RX 7900 XT's 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs handle the graphical workload. The result is a system that delivers consistently high frame rates across all settings, making it a solid choice for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low settings produce an average of 404 FPS, the Medium settings produce 290 FPS (with a range of 247-334), the High settings produce 240 FPS, and the Ultra settings produce 155 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 62% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but expected given the visual fidelity increases.

At 2560x1440, the Low settings yield 292 FPS, Medium yields 210 FPS (range 178-241), High yields 174 FPS, and Ultra yields 112 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 62%, consistent with the 1080p results. At 3840x2160, the Low settings produce 185 FPS, Medium produces 133 FPS (range 113-153), High produces 110 FPS, and Ultra produces 71 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 62% as well, indicating that the GPU's performance scaling with settings is consistent across resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, allowing for a detailed analysis of frame pacing. At 1080p, the average of 290 FPS sits between the minimum of 247 and maximum of 334, showing a spread of 87 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 63 FPS (178-241), and at 4K it narrows to 40 FPS (113-153). This decreasing spread at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is more consistently loaded, reducing the variance in frame times. The tightest spread at 4K (30% variance) indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, whereas at 1080p (35% variance), there may be occasional CPU-side stalls that are masked by the high frame rate.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a formidable graphics card based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 render output units. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus provides 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Undisputed at any resolution. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz ensure that it can sustain high throughput during extended gaming sessions, while its 84 ray tracing cores provide additional compute capabilities that may be utilized in newer game updates.

The GPU's performance in Undisputed is exceptional, as evidenced by the frame rates achieved at 4K. The fact that it can maintain 110 FPS at 4K High settings and 71 FPS at 4K Ultra settings demonstrates that the Navi 31 chip is well-suited for this title's graphical demands. The 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate provide ample raw processing capability, while the 804.4 GTexel/s texture rate ensures that the game's detailed environments are rendered without texture pop-in.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 55 versus all GPUs is misleading when considering its gaming performance. Its Passmark G3D score of 29,009 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,623 place it in the mid-range of GPUs, but its in-game results show that it outperforms many higher-ranked cards in Undisputed. This suggests that the game's rendering engine is optimized for RDNA 3.0's architectural strengths, particularly its dual-issue FP32 units and large memory pool. The 20 GB VRAM is particularly beneficial for high-resolution textures, as the game can load more detailed assets without hitting memory limits, resulting in smoother performance at 4K compared to GPUs with smaller memory buffers.