Valorant

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers remarkably high frame rates in Valorant, with the data showing this pairing positioned at rank 1237 out of 3708 tested combos. The Core i3-12100F, a 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake processor with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost of 4.30 GHz, pairs with a 12 GB GDDR6X memory buffer to produce results that are consistently far above the 100 FPS threshold. The measured average frame rates across resolutions and settings range from 379 FPS at 4K Ultra to 522 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays. The following analysis details how the CPU and GPU roles affect these results, with a focus on resolution scaling, ranking, and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 58W TDP and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In CPU benchmarks, it scores 893 in 3DMark single-thread, and 4051 in 3DMark 16-thread, while Cinebench R23 scores 11860 multi-core and 1674 single-core. Its PassMark single-thread score is 3444, and the average benchmark score is 13494, placing it at the 68th percentile of all CPUs.

In Valorant, the CPU's role is defined by its ability to maintain high frame rates, which depends on single-thread performance and the frame time consistency. The 4-core, 8-thread configuration with a boost to 4.30 GHz provides strong single-thread capabilities for a game that typically scales with a few threads. The data shows that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, but the scores are still high.

The 3DMark 8-thread and max-thread scores are 4026 and 4023, respectively, which are close to the 16-thread score of 4051, indicating that the CPU's multi-threaded scaling is consistent. The 3DMark single-thread score of 893, and the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 168, are modest, but the game's performance is not determined by these absolute scores alone. The combo's rank in the game is 1237 out of 3707, which is in the top third of tested combinations.

The CPU's percentiles and average scores are not the best, but the game's frame rates are high because Valorant is not a demanding title. The 4-core, 8-thread CPU is sufficient for the game's engine, and the CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz ensures that the game's logic and physics are processed quickly.

The 3DMark single-thread score of 893 is the lowest of the benchmarks, but it still allows for high frame rates. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 168 and R20 single-core of 703 are also notable, but again, the game's performance is not bottlenecked by these. The CPU's performance in the game is likely tied to its 4 cores and 8 threads, which are fully utilized in modern games, but the game's low CPU demand means that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The CPU's L3 cache of 12 MB is small, but the game's map is small, so it does not hurt performance. The CPU's 10 nm process and 163 mm² die size may not be the most efficient, but it is not a heat issue for this game. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking across all CPUs indicates that it is a mid-range performer, but in this game, it is enough for high frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 522 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all settings and resolutions.

Q: How does the frame rate change from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 438 FPS at 1920x1080 to 416 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 386 FPS at 3860x2160, showing a consistent decline.

Q: What is the highest average FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the highest average FPS is 495 FPS, achieved with Low settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The minimum FPS recorded is 333 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The 1440p Medium and 1080p Medium have minimums of 359 and 379 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the game's frame rate?

A: The CPU's single-thread score in 3DMark is 893, and the game's frame rates are high because Valorant does not heavily rely on multi-thread performance. The measurement shows that the 4-core, 8-thread CPU is sufficient for the game's engine.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1237 out of 3707 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of the database. This rank is based on the measured average FPS across all settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows how the frame rate scales with resolution and settings. At 1080p (1920x1080), the average FPS ranges from 522 FPS at Low to 431 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p (2560x1440), the average drops to 495 FPS at Low and 409 FPS at Ultra. At 4K (3840x2160), the average is 460 FPS at Low and 379 FPS at Ultra.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p results in a decrease of about 27 FPS at Low, 22 FPS at High, 23 FPS at Medium, and 22 FPS at Ultra. From 1440p to 4K, the decrease is 35 FPS at Low, 30 FPS at High, 31 FPS at Medium, and 30 FPS at Ultra. The percentage drops are roughly 5% from 1080p to 1440p, and 7% from 1440p to 4K, for each setting.

This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU is not fully utilized. At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, but the frame rate is still high. The data shows that the CPU is not a major constraint, as the frame rate drops are consistent with the increase in pixel count.

The fact that the frame rates remain above 370 FPS even at 4K Ultra suggests that the 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures, and the GPU's 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth handles the data without issue. The 192-bit bus width and 12 GB GDDR6X memory are more than enough for a game like Valorant, which has simple textures and geometry.

The scaling pattern also shows that the game is not memory-bandwidth-bound, as the frame rate drops are not steep. The 4K High to 4K Ultra drop is 7 FPS, while the 1080p High to Ultra drop is also 7 FPS, so the preset settings have a consistent impact.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is ranked 1237 out of 3708 tested combinations in Valorant. This is a rank in the 33rd percentile of the top, meaning it performs better than the majority of the combos. The rank is based on the average FPS across all settings and resolutions.

In the database, the CPU has a 68th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13494. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 (average score 13492, delta -0.1%), Intel Core i5-9500 (13452, delta 0.3%), Intel Core 5 120UL (13594, delta -0.7%), and Intel Core i7-1250U (13351, delta 1.1%). The GPU has an 83rd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 43223. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, delta -0.1%), and NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43301, delta -0.2%).

The combo's rank in the game is not tied to the individual rank of the CPU or GPU, but rather to the combination's performance. The CPU's 68th percentile and GPU's 83rd percentile would suggest a higher rank, but the game's low demands mean that the CPU is not fully utilized, and the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The rank of 1237 out of 3708 shows that the combo is in the top third.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 43223 is higher than the CPU's 13494, and the GPU has a passmark G3D score of 29995, which is also high. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 5040 GB/s bandwidth provide a high performance margin. However, the rank in this game is determined by the measured FPS, and the combo's FPS is always above 379 FPS, which is high.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides FPS at four settings: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra across three resolutions. The best experience, in terms of maximizing frame rate, is at 1080p with Low settings, which achieves 522 FPS average. However, the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 91 FPS (522 vs 431), which is a 17% drop. At 1440p, the difference is 86 FPS (495 vs 409), a 17% drop. At 4K, the difference is 81 FPS (460 vs 379), a 17% drop.

The Medium settings provide a good balance, with average FPS of 446 at 1080p, 423 at 1440p, and 392 at 4K. The minimum FPS at Medium is 379 at 1080p, 359 at 1440p, and 333 at 4K, which are all above the 60 FPS threshold. The High settings are only slightly lower than Medium, with 438, 416, and 386 FPS at the three resolutions, but the minimum FPS is not provided.

For the best experience, the Medium preset is recommended, as it provides a high frame rate with a minimum of 333 FPS at 4K, which is above the 300 FPS target for competitive shooters. The data shows that the Ultra preset is only 7-8 FPS lower than High, but the visual difference might be worth the 4% drop. However, the highest average is at Low, but the visual quality is lower.

The settings scaling is consistent across resolutions, with a 17% performance hit from Low to Ultra at every resolution. This suggests that the game's settings have a uniform impact, and the GPU is not a bottleneck at any setting. The Medium preset is the recommended choice because it offers a good frame rate and better visuals.

The measured FPS at Medium also has the minimum and maximum FPS, with a range of 379-512 at 1080p, 359-486 at 1440p, and 333-451 at 4K, showing the frame time variance is small.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table shows the average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. The data is from the measuredFps array:

• 1080p (1920x1080)
• Low: 522 FPS
• Medium: 446 FPS (min 379, max 512)
• High: 438 FPS
• Ultra: 431 FPS

• 1440p (2560x1440)
• Low: 495 FPS
• Medium: 423 FPS (min 359, max 486)
• High: 416 FPS
• Ultra: 409 FPS

• 4K (3840x2160)
• Low: 460 FPS
• Medium: 392 FPS (min 333, max 451)
• High: 386 FPS
• Ultra: 379 FPS

The data shows that the frame rate decreases by about 5% from 1080p to 1440p and 7% from 1440p to 4K. The Low setting is always the fastest, with a 522 FPS at 1080p, 495 at 1440p, and 460 at 4K. The Ultra setting is the slowest, with 431, 409, and 379 FPS, respectively. The Medium and High are close, with Medium slightly faster than High at all resolutions (446 vs 438, 423 vs 416, 392 vs 386).

The minimum FPS is only available for Medium settings, with values of 379, 359, and 333 FPS, which are all above the 300 FPS. The maximum FPS values are 512, 486, and 451, showing a range of about 133 FPS at 1080p, 127 at 1440p, and 118 at 4K, indicating stable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-end GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with a 5 nm process and 35,800 million transistors. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Base clock is 1980 MHz, boost 2475 MHz, and the memory clock is 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The GPU has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores.

In PassMark, the GPU scores 29995 in G3D, 17108 in compute, and 43223 in the average benchmark. It ranks in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (score 43262, delta -0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268, delta -0.1%), and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43301, delta -0.2%).

In Valorant, the GPU's role is to render the game at high resolutions, but the game is not demanding. The 12 GB of VRAM ensures that textures are stored, and the 5040 GB/s bandwidth prevents a bottleneck. The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than enough for the game, and the 1980 MHz base clock is high, but the game's frame rates are not limited by the GPU at 1080p.

The GPU's the 5040 GTexel/s texture rate and 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are not fully utilized. The data shows that the frame rate scales with resolution, but the GPU still maintains high FPS at 4K. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor, as the game's memory usage is low.

The GPU's benchmark scores are high, but its role in the combo is to provide a high frame rate at all settings. The GPU's the 83rd percentile of all GPUs means it is a capable performer, and the 12 GB of memory is future-proof for more demanding games. The 4070 SUPER is a mid-to-high-end card, but it pairs well with the i3-12100F, as the CPU is not a bottleneck for the game.

The GPU's performance is such that the combo's rank is 1237, not higher, because the game is not GPU-intensive. The data indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, but the GPU still delivers 522 FPS. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiter, but the FPS is still high.