SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i3-12100E + NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation

Get a comprehensive performance analysis of your gaming rig with detailed benchmarks, bottleneck detection, and upgrade recommendations

91 / 100
ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 9% of systems. Capable of 4K Ultra gaming and advanced rendering.

4K 60+ FPSVR ReadyRay Tracing

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
Well Balanced
CPU
82%
VS
GPU
99%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core i3-12100E

16,853 Benchmark Score
Top 18% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation

135,218 Benchmark Score
Top 1% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →

Market Position

How your build compares to others
Budget
0-30
Mid-Range
30-60
High-End
60-85
Enthusiast
85-100
Your Build

Game Performance Benchmarks

Real-world 4K FPS in popular titles
View All Games →

Performance Insights

Tips to maximize your system

Optimal Performance

Your system is in the top tier. You can run any modern game at maximum settings.

4K Gaming Ready

Consider a 4K 144Hz monitor to fully utilize your hardware capabilities.

Compatible Games See what you can play Compare CPUs Find upgrades Compare GPUs Find upgrades

Performance Tiers Explained

90-100

Ultimate

4K Ultra gaming, VR ready, ray tracing enabled, professional workloads

4K 60+ FPS VR Ready
70-89

High-End

1440p Ultra or 4K High settings, excellent for modern AAA titles

1440p Ultra 4K High
50-69

Mid-Range

1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, great value for most gamers

1080p Ultra 1440p Med
30-49

Entry Level

1080p Medium settings, suitable for eSports and older titles

1080p Med eSports
0-29

Legacy

Basic gaming, older titles, consider upgrading for modern games

720p-1080p Low Older Games

The Intel Core i3-12100E paired with the NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation is a desktop build that combines a value-oriented 4-core processor with a high-end workstation GPU. The data indicates a significant performance imbalance, with the CPU sitting at the 70th percentile and the GPU at the 95th percentile among all parts. This analysis examines the benchmark scores to determine the practical strengths and limitations of this pairing for various workloads.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: The RTX 4000 Ada Generation is clearly the dominant component here, with its 95th percentile ranking and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 146593 suggesting it can push very high frame rates. However, the Core i3-12100E’s Passmark single-thread score of 3438 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1631 indicate it is capable of feeding the GPU in most titles, though the 4-core/8-thread configuration may limit performance in the most CPU-intensive games. The data suggests this build is suitable for high-refresh 1080p or 1440p gaming where the GPU can stretch its legs, but not for chasing maximum frame rates in esports titles at the absolute highest settings.

Streaming: The combination of the CPU’s Passmark multi-thread score of 14271 and the GPU’s 192 tensor cores (from the fact pack) suggests a workable streaming setup. The GPU can handle the encoding workload via NVENC, which is a common practice, while the CPU handles the game logic. The data does not show any specific streaming benchmarks, but the CPU’s 8 threads should be sufficient for a single-stream setup with a game running simultaneously, provided the game is not heavily multithreaded.

Video editing: The RTX 4000 Ada Generation’s 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 360.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a strong foundation for video editing workloads, particularly with effects and color grading. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11559 is modest, which means export times and timeline scrubbing with heavy effects will be accelerated by the GPU, but pure CPU-based encoding tasks will not be class-leading. The data indicates this is a capable editing machine for 4K footage, but not for massive multicam projects requiring heavy CPU rendering.

3D rendering: This is where the pairing shines most. The GPU’s 95th percentile ranking and FP32 performance of 26.73 TFLOPS make it a formidable renderer for GPU-accelerated engines like Blender Cycles or OctaneRender. The CPU’s Passmark physics score of 1185 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11559 are below average for rendering tasks, but most modern renderers offload the heavy lifting to the GPU. The data suggests this build is excellent for GPU rendering, with the CPU acting as a supporting actor rather than the main performer.

Software development: The CPU’s Passmark data encryption score of 8069 and data compression score of 160112 are indicative of decent performance for compilation and code processing. The 4-core/8-thread design with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz provides responsive single-threaded performance for code editing and debugging, as reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1631. The data shows this build is adequate for development work, though large codebases with parallel builds will take longer than with higher-core-count CPUs.

Student and office work: This pairing is overkill for typical office tasks. The CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 3438 is more than sufficient for web browsing, document editing, and spreadsheets. The GPU’s massive compute power is entirely unnecessary for these workloads, making this build a poor choice for a purely productivity-focused machine due to the performance overhead that will never be utilized. The data suggests that for basic tasks, the GPU will sit idle most of the time.

Benchmark Performance

The CPU’s average benchmark score is 16853, placing it at the 70th percentile of all CPUs. This is a solid mid-range result. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 3 7335U with an average score of 16827, which is only 0.2% slower. The Intel Core i5-1235U is 0.5% slower with a score of 16770, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS is 0.3% faster with a score of 16902. The AMD EPYC 7702 is 0.5% faster, scoring 16932. These tiny deltas mean the i3-12100E is essentially performance-equivalent to a set of mobile and server parts, which is interesting for a desktop chip.

Specific CPU benchmark scores show a clear pattern. In Cinebench R23, the multi-core score is 11559 and single-core is 1631, which is a ratio of about 7.1:1, indicating strong scaling across the 4 cores. Geekbench scores are 7661 multi-core and 2202 single-core, with a ratio of 3.5:1. Passmark multi-thread is 14271, and single-thread is 3438. The Passmark integer math score of 40885 and floating-point math of 31919 show the CPU’s computational strengths, while the find prime numbers score of 63 is low, indicating weak performance in certain specific workloads.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 135218, placing it at the 95th percentile of all GPUs. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 146593 and Vulkan score is 123842. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA A10M with a score of 135230, a 0% difference, making them performance twins. The AMD Radeon PRO W6800 is 0.1% slower with a score of 135396, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo is 0.4% slower with a score of 135774, and the AMD Radeon PRO V620 is 0.9% slower with a score of 136472. This places the RTX 4000 Ada Generation in a strong position, slightly above several workstation-class rivals.

The combined picture is clear: the GPU is a top-tier performer while the CPU is a competent but not exceptional entry-level processor. The combined percentile for this build is 83, which reflects the GPU’s high standing pulling up the average. This is not a balanced system, but rather a workstation-class GPU paired with an entry-level desktop CPU.

Balance and Bottleneck

The data strongly indicates the CPU is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. The CPU’s 70th percentile versus the GPU’s 95th percentile shows a 25-point gap, meaning the CPU is significantly less capable relative to its peers than the GPU is relative to its own peers. In gaming, this means the CPU will likely limit the frame rate in CPU-bound scenarios, such as large multiplayer battles or physics-heavy games, while the GPU will be the limiter in graphically intense scenes.

The Passmark physics score of 1185 is particularly telling, as physics calculations are often single-threaded or lightly threaded. This low score, combined with the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1631, suggests the CPU can struggle with the game logic and simulation tasks that run alongside the rendering. The GPU’s high compute throughput, as evidenced by its FP32 of 26.73 TFLOPS, will often be waiting for the CPU to deliver draw calls and game state updates.

For rendering and compute workloads, the bottleneck shifts. The GPU’s 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are designed for parallel workloads, and the CPU’s 4 cores will not be the limiting factor in GPU-accelerated renders. The data shows that the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11559 is sufficient to feed the GPU with data, though not at the absolute maximum rate a higher-end CPU could achieve.

The FPS scaling picture is estimated, as no measured FPS data exists for this combination. Based on the benchmark scores, the GPU’s 95th percentile ranking suggests it can deliver high frame rates at 1440p and 4K in most titles, but the CPU’s 70th percentile ranking means it will be the constraint at 1080p with high frame rate targets. The balance is therefore resolution-dependent: at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck and the CPU’s limitations are masked; at lower resolutions, the CPU’s weaknesses are exposed.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The CPU uses the Intel Socket 1700, which supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The memory bus is dual-channel, and the CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes. This means the platform is modern, but the 4-core i3-12100E is at the bottom of the Core 12th Gen lineup. The socket supports higher-end 12th Gen parts, but the fact pack does not list specific compatible models, so the upgrade path is qualitative: a user could move to a higher-core-count CPU on the same socket.

The GPU uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, which is backward compatible with the CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 slots. The GPU’s TDP is 130 W, and the suggested PSU is 300 W, while the CPU’s TDP is 60 W. This leaves substantial headroom for a more powerful CPU, as the total system draw is well under 300 W. A sensible next upgrade would be a higher-core-count CPU on the same socket, which would better match the GPU’s performance tier without requiring a motherboard change.

The GPU has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is generous for workstation tasks. The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 means a user can choose between cost-effective DDR4 or higher-bandwidth DDR5, depending on motherboard choice. The PCIe Gen 5 support from the CPU is not fully utilized by the GPU’s PCIe 4.0 interface, but this is not a performance concern in most workloads.

The PSU headroom is significant. With a suggested PSU of 300 W and a combined TDP of 190 W (130 W GPU + 60 W CPU), there is ample room for drives, fans, and other components. This makes the build easy to power with a standard mid-range PSU, and it also allows for a CPU upgrade without needing a new PSU.

Who Should Build It

This build is best suited for users who need professional-grade GPU compute power but do not have workloads that require a high-end CPU. The target audience includes 3D artists and animators using GPU-accelerated renderers, video editors working with 4K or 8K footage who rely on GPU effects, and researchers running CUDA-based simulations or machine learning inference. The GPU’s 95th percentile ranking and 20 GB of memory make it a strong choice for these tasks.

Gamers at 1440p or 4K resolution will also find this build appealing, as the GPU can handle high settings at those resolutions while the CPU’s limitations are less apparent. However, gamers targeting 1080p with 240Hz or higher refresh rates should look elsewhere, as the CPU will likely bottleneck. Content creators who prioritize GPU-accelerated workflows over CPU rendering will find the balance acceptable.

Students and small business workstations are not ideal targets for this build. The performance is overkill for document editing, web browsing, or spreadsheet work, and the cost of the GPU is not justified for those tasks. Developers working on code that compiles on the GPU, such as CUDA development, would benefit, but general software development would be better served by a more balanced system.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100E a good match for the RTX 4000 Ada Generation?

A: No, the data shows a significant imbalance. The CPU is at the 70th percentile while the GPU is at the 95th percentile, indicating the CPU will bottleneck the GPU in many CPU-bound workloads.

Q: What is the combined performance percentile of this build?

A: The combined percentile is 83, which reflects the GPU’s high standing pulling up the average of the two components.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 3 7335U?

A: The Ryzen 3 7335U has an average benchmark score of 16827, which is 0.2% slower than the i3-12100E’s score of 16853. They are effectively performance equivalents.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the NVIDIA A10M?

A: The NVIDIA A10M has an average score of 135230, which is a 0% difference from the RTX 4000 Ada Generation’s score of 135218. They are performance twins.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory capacity and bus width?

A: The GPU has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 360.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the CPU’s socket and does it support DDR5?

A: The CPU uses Intel Socket 1700 and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory.

Q: What is the suggested PSU wattage for this GPU?

A: The suggested PSU for the GPU is 300 W, while the GPU’s TDP is 130 W and the CPU’s TDP is 60 W.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core i3-12100E is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, built on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a TDP of 60 W. The process node is 10 nm from Intel, and the die size is 163 mm². The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache.

The benchmark scores reveal a processor that excels in single-threaded tasks. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1631 and Passmark single-thread score of 3438 are solid for a 4-core part, indicating good IPC. The Geekbench single-core score of 2202 confirms this. However, the multi-core scores are more modest. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11559 is respectable but not class-leading, and the Passmark multi-thread score of 14271 is similarly mid-range.

The data shows the CPU’s strengths and weaknesses. The Passmark integer math score of 40885 and floating-point math of 31919 are good, but the find prime numbers score of 63 is very low, suggesting poor performance in certain integer-heavy workloads. The data encryption score of 8069 is moderate. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 16853 places it at the 70th percentile, which is a solid mid-range result, but its nearest rivals are all mobile or server parts, indicating that this desktop chip is not particularly fast compared to other desktop offerings.

The CPU’s launch MSRP is $125, and it is not multiplier unlocked, meaning overclocking is not supported. The integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 730, which can handle basic display output but is not suitable for gaming. The CPU supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, which is a forward-looking feature, but the GPU in this build uses PCIe 4.0.

Build Overview

This is a desktop build that pairs an entry-level Intel Core i3-12100E with a top-tier NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation workstation GPU. The build class is desktop, and the combined percentile is 83, which places it in the upper tier of all possible builds. The GPU is the clear star of the show, with its 95th percentile ranking and robust compute specifications, while the CPU is a competent but unremarkable supporting component.

The overall tier of this build is high, driven almost entirely by the GPU. The CPU’s 70th percentile ranking is respectable, but it is the GPU that makes this system special. The pairing is unusual, as it combines a low-cost CPU with a professional-grade GPU, creating a system that is ideal for GPU-accelerated workloads but less balanced for general-purpose computing. The data suggests this is a specialized tool rather than a general-purpose machine.

Gaming Performance

No measured FPS rows exist for this exact CPU+GPU combination. The FACT PACK contains no measuredFps data, so all FPS figures discussed here are estimates derived from the benchmark scores. The data is not measured, and these numbers are qualitative expectations based on the relative performance of the two components.

Based on the GPU’s 95th percentile ranking and its Geekbench OpenCL score of 146593, it is reasonable to estimate that this build can achieve high frame rates at 1440p and 4K resolution in most modern games with ultra settings. The GPU’s 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 360.0 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for high-resolution textures and effects. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as indicated by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1631, should be sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks at these resolutions.

At 1080p, the picture changes. The CPU’s 70th percentile ranking and 4-core/8-thread configuration may limit frame rates in esports titles or games with heavy CPU simulation. The estimated FPS at 1080p could be lower than what the GPU is capable of delivering, as the CPU becomes the limiting factor. For gamers targeting 1080p high-refresh, this build may underperform expectations, while at 1440p and above, the GPU can stretch its legs and deliver a smoother experience.