SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

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

89 / 100
HIGH-END

Power Build

Top 11% of systems. Excellent for 1440p Ultra or 4K High gaming.

1440p Ultra4K High

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
Well Balanced
CPU
81%
VS
GPU
97%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core i3-12100F

13,494 Benchmark Score
Top 19% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

56,083 Benchmark Score
Top 3% 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

Strong Performance

Excellent for 1440p gaming. Most games will run at high/ultra settings smoothly.

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 i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a profoundly lopsided desktop combination, where a 4-core entry-level processor meets a flagship-tier graphics card, resulting in a system whose gaming performance is dictated almost entirely by resolution and the CPU's ability to feed the GPU. The data confirms that this pairing ranks in the 78th percentile overall among all tested builds, but the benchmark results reveal a clear ceiling: at 1080p, the CPU frequently limits performance, while at 4K, the GPU takes over and delivers consistently high frame rates. This analysis will dissect the balance, benchmark scores, and specific use cases to determine exactly who should consider this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the combined performance percentile of this CPU and GPU pairing?

A: The build sits in the 78th percentile when compared against all other CPU and GPU combinations in the database, indicating it outperforms the majority of systems tested.

Q: How does the Core i3-12100F compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 13,494, placing it essentially level with the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452, 0.3% delta). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13,351, 1.1% delta) and slightly behind the Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594, -0.7% delta).

Q: What is the RTX 5080's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5080 is in the 87th percentile for all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56,083. This places it well above the median, but its closest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, 0.6% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, 0.7% delta).

Q: Is the FPS data for this build measured or estimated?

A: The frame rate data is measured. The database flags `dataIsMeasured` as true, meaning the figures for games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Counter-Strike 2 are from actual benchmark runs, not projections.

Q: What is the RTX 5080's VRAM capacity and memory type?

A: The GPU comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the TDP of the Intel Core i3-12100F?

A: The processor has a thermal design power (TDP) of 58 watts, making it a low-power chip that is easy to cool.

Q: At what resolution does this build achieve its highest average FPS?

A: The build's average FPS across all tested games is 201.3, but the highest frame rates are consistently seen at 1920x1080. For example, it hits 337 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 and 429.6 FPS in Valorant at 1080p, while those numbers drop to 125 FPS and 380.3 FPS respectively at 4K.

Balance and Bottleneck

The benchmark data paints a clear picture of a system where the CPU is the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the dominant component at higher resolutions. The Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, has a single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 4,023 in 3DMark max threads. These scores are modest, especially when compared to the raw power of the RTX 5080, which boasts an FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS. In less demanding, CPU-bound titles, this imbalance is stark. For instance, in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at 1080p, the system reaches 744 FPS, but this is likely a reflection of the game's low requirements rather than evidence of the CPU's strength, as the RTX 5080 is far more capable than this.

The bottleneck shifts decisively as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the CPU's 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,659 and 4-thread score of 2,859 become the gatekeeper for high-refresh-rate gaming. Games like Valorant show 429.6 FPS at 1080p but only drop to 380.3 FPS at 4K, suggesting that even at 4K, the CPU is still managing to provide enough frames to keep the GPU busy. However, in a title like Cyberpunk 2077, the frame rate falls from 90.1 FPS at 1080p to 52.3 FPS at 4K, a 42% drop that indicates the GPU is now the limiting factor, as the resolution increase demands more from the graphics card's 16 GB of VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 5080's 87th percentile ranking is fully utilized, while at 1080p, the CPU's 68th percentile ranking prevents the system from reaching its full potential.

Benchmark Performance

The Intel Core i3-12100F delivers benchmark scores that are solid for its class but far below the capabilities of its GPU partner. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 11,860 in multi-core and 1,674 in single-core, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its Passmark multi-thread score is 14,015, and its single-thread score is 3,444. These numbers show a processor that is competent for everyday tasks and light productivity, but it struggles to keep pace with the RTX 5080's immense processing power. The GPU, by contrast, scores 36,565 in Passmark G3D and 23,590 in Geekbench OpenCL, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637. These figures place the RTX 5080 in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, demonstrating that it is a top-tier performer in its own right.

The combined picture is one of extreme imbalance. The CPU's average benchmark score of 13,494 is only 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-9500, indicating that it performs at the level of a mid-range processor from several generations ago. Meanwhile, the GPU's average score of 56,083 is 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, showing it is a high-end part. When paired, the system's combined percentile is 78, but this is pulled down by the CPU. In practical terms, the data suggests that the RTX 5080 is often waiting for the CPU to supply data, especially in titles that rely on single-thread performance, where the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 is a limiting factor.

Who Should Build It

This pairing is not for the average user; it is a specialized configuration that suits specific needs. The primary target is a gamer who plays at 4K resolution on a high-refresh-rate monitor. Given that the RTX 5080 maintains over 100 FPS in many titles at 3840x2160, such as Call of Duty: Warzone (102.9 FPS) and Overpower (102 FPS), this build is ideal for those who prioritize visual fidelity over raw competitive frame rates. Content creators who work with GPU-accelerated rendering and are less reliant on CPU multi-threading may also find value, as the RTX 5080's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores can significantly speed up 3D rendering and video encoding tasks.

Software developers and students who need a system for compiling code and running virtual machines might benefit from the CPU's 8 threads, but they would be better served by a more balanced build. However, for a small business workstation that needs to handle GPU-intensive tasks like AI inference or data visualization, this combination could be a cost-effective solution, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the operating system and I/O while the GPU performs the heavy lifting. It is not recommended for competitive esports players at 1080p, as the CPU will bottleneck the GPU, but for those who game at 1440p or 4K, the GPU's power will be fully realized.

Usage Scenarios

High-Refresh Gaming: At 1440p, this build is exceptional for high-refresh gaming. In competitive shooters like Counter-Strike 2, it achieves 223 FPS, and in Valorant, it hits 408.1 FPS. Even at 4K, it maintains 125 FPS in Counter-Strike 2, making it a viable option for those with 120Hz+ 4K displays, though CPU limits become apparent at lower resolutions.

Streaming: The RTX 5080's tensor cores can handle video encoding, but the CPU's 4 cores may struggle with the additional overhead of streaming software. While the GPU can produce a high-quality stream, the system might experience frame drops in CPU-intensive games at 1080p, as the CPU is already near its limit.

Video Editing: For video editing, the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and high FP32 performance will accelerate effects and rendering. The CPU's Passmark data compression score of 160,452 and integer math score of 40,978 suggest it can handle basic editing tasks, but timelines with many layers or complex effects may see the CPU become a bottleneck, especially during export where multi-threaded performance is key.

3D Rendering: This is a strong scenario for the GPU. The RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 84 RT cores will dramatically speed up ray tracing and rendering in applications like Blender or Maya. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,860 is adequate for scene setup, but the final render will be GPU-bound and exceptionally fast.

Software Development: Developers will find the CPU sufficient for compiling code, with its 8 threads and 3.30 GHz base clock. The Passmark find prime numbers score of 60 is low, indicating weak integer performance for complex algorithms, but for general development tasks, the system will be responsive. The GPU is overkill for this scenario, making it a poor value for pure development.

Student and Office Work: For students and office workers, this is vastly overpowered. The CPU's single-thread performance in Geekbench (1,932) is more than enough for web browsing and document editing, and the GPU is completely unused. The 58W TDP of the CPU makes it energy-efficient, but the 360W TDP of the GPU will be a drain on electricity bills, making this a poor choice for basic office tasks.

GPU Analysis

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a powerhouse built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is crucial for high-resolution textures and data-intensive workloads. The GPU is equipped with 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output processors, allowing it to achieve a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. The core clocks are listed at 2,295 MHz base and 2,617 MHz boost, with memory running at 1,875 MHz (30 Gbps effective).

The GPU also includes 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, which are essential for ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. Its FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS is identical to its FP16 performance (1:1), indicating a design that can handle both gaming and compute tasks with equal efficiency. Benchmark scores reflect this power: the GPU scores 8,637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 36,565 in Passmark G3D, and 23,589 in Geekbench OpenCL. These scores place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 56,083 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S. For rendering, this means the card can handle complex scenes with high polygon counts and heavy ray tracing loads, as evidenced by its strong performance in GPU compute tests (21,789 in Passmark GPU Compute).

Gaming Performance

The measured FPS data shows this build is a 4K-capable gaming machine, though performance varies significantly by title. At 3840x2160, the system delivers playable frame rates in most games, with Call of Duty: Warzone hitting 102.9 FPS, Overpower at 102 FPS, and Counter-Strike 2 at 125 FPS. However, it struggles with the most demanding titles, such as Ark: Survival Ascended (15.1 FPS) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (42.3 FPS), which are likely GPU-bound at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the picture improves dramatically, with Cyberpunk 2077 hitting 74.4 FPS, and esports titles like Valorant reaching 408.1 FPS. The 1080p results are often CPU-limited, as seen in the slight FPS increase from 4K to 1080p in Valorant (380.3 to 429.6 FPS), but the system still delivers over 300 FPS in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (744 FPS) and 337 FPS in Counter-Strike 2.

In less demanding or older games, the build excels. Grand Theft Auto V runs at 156.9 FPS at 1080p and 59 FPS at 4K, while Minecraft hits 332 FPS at 1080p and 109 FPS at 4K. The data shows a clear trend: for games with high CPU overhead, the 4-core i3-12100F becomes a bottleneck at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the GPU's raw power takes precedence, making the system a viable choice for high-resolution gaming.

Build Overview

This is a desktop-class build that pairs the Intel Core i3-12100F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The CPU is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory and features a 12 MB shared L3 cache. The GPU is a dual-slot card based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and a 256-bit memory bus. The combined system ranks in the 78th percentile, with an average FPS across all games of 201.3. This places the build at a high tier for overall performance, but the CPU's 68th percentile and the GPU's 87th percentile highlight the disparity between the two components. The system is designed for users who prioritize GPU performance, as the CPU is clearly the weaker link in this pairing.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a TDP of 58W. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and its PCIe Gen 5 interface with 16 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 5080. Benchmark scores show that the CPU is competitive with other mid-range processors: it scores 1,932 in Geekbench single-core and 7,252 in Geekbench multi-core. In Cinebench R23, it achieves 1,674 in single-core and 11,860 in multi-core, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs.

Real-world performance is where the limits become apparent. While the single-thread score of 3,444 in Passmark is respectable for gaming, the multi-thread score of 14,015 is modest, and the find prime numbers score of 60 is particularly low, indicating weak performance in heavily threaded integer workloads. The CPU's 3DMark scores—1,659 for 2 threads and 4,023 for max threads—suggest that it can handle basic multi-threading, but it will struggle with applications that use more than 8 threads. For gaming, the CPU is adequate for most titles, but in CPU-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077, the frame rate at 1080p (90.1 FPS) is lower than at 4K (52.3 FPS) relative to the GPU's capabilities, indicating the CPU is holding back performance. For productivity, the CPU can handle light video editing and coding, but for heavy multi-threaded tasks like 3D rendering, it will be a significant bottleneck, as its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is nearly a third of what a high-end processor would achieve.