SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i5-12600KF + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

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

88 / 100
HIGH-END

Power Build

Top 12% of systems. Excellent for 1440p Ultra or 4K High gaming.

1440p Ultra4K High

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio
Well Balanced
CPU
88%
VS
GPU
88%
PROCESSOR

Intel Core i5-12600KF

27,799 Benchmark Score
Top 12% Market Ranking
View Full Specs →
GRAPHICS CARD

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

13,745 Benchmark Score
Top 12% 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 i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a desktop build that combines a 12th-generation Alder Lake processor with a high-end RDNA 3.0 graphics card. The CPU, a 10-core, 16-thread part with a 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost, sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU, with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 320-bit bus, lands in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Together, this pairing reaches a combined percentile of 67, placing it firmly in the upper-midrange tier of desktop systems, with measured 4K ultra settings frame rates ranging from 34 FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2 to over 100 FPS in several titles.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The Intel Core i5-12600KF uses the Intel Socket 1700, a platform that supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel memory bus. This memory flexibility is a key platform advantage, allowing builders to choose between two memory generations. However, the CPU does not support ECC memory, which limits its use in workstations that require error-correcting memory. The CPU provides 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes, a solid amount for a primary GPU and a couple of NVMe drives. The GPU uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, which is fully compatible with the CPU's Gen 4 support.

The CPU has a TDP of 125 W, while the GPU has a TDP of 300 W. The suggested power supply for the GPU is 700 W, so the total system draw fits within a standard mid-range PSU. The GPU requires two 8-pin power connectors, which is typical for a card of this class. For a sensible next upgrade, the Socket 1700 platform offers a clear path: moving to a higher-core-count 12th or 13th generation processor. The 12th-generation series includes parts with more cores and higher clocks, while the 13th generation adds more of both. A user could also consider a faster GPU, as the RX 7900 XT's 55th percentile ranking shows it has room for a more powerful pairing. The CPU's 79th percentile suggests it is less of a bottleneck, so a GPU upgrade would be a more sensible next step for higher frame rates. This pairing is a balanced mid-to-high-end system, and its upgrade path is well-defined.

FAQ

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The CPU's launch MSRP is $264, and the GPU's launch MSRP is 899 USD.

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

A: The combined percentile is 67, indicating a system that performs above the median of all pairings.

Q: Which component ranks higher in its respective benchmark percentile?

A: The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, so the CPU is the stronger component.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GPU?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s, supported by a 320-bit bus and 20 GB of GDDR6 memory.

Q: Does the CPU support DDR5 memory?

A: Yes, the CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, via a dual-channel bus.

Q: What is the GPU's transistor count?

A: The GPU has 57,700 million transistors, and it uses a 5 nm process from TSMC.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock?

A: The CPU's boost clock is 4.90 GHz, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz.

GPU Analysis

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, with the Navi 31 chip on a 5 nm process. It contains 57,700 million transistors and a die size of 529 mm². The GPU has a base clock of 1387 MHz and a boost clock of 2394 MHz. It has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory is rated for 2500 MHz, with 20 Gbps effective speed.

The GPU features 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. For ray tracing, it has 84 RT cores, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The pixel rate is 459.6 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 804.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 51.48 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 103.0 TFLOPS (2:1).

The GPU's benchmark scores show a mixed picture. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 5623, which is a modern DirectX 12 test. Geekbench OpenCL scores 12756, and Vulkan scores 71068. Passmark G3D scores 29009, while G2D scores 1232. The GPU's compute performance is shown by a Passmark GPU compute score of 16828. The GPU's percentile of 55 is low for its class, and its average benchmark score is 13745. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 660M (average score 13812, -0.5%), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821, -0.5%), AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871, -0.9%), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543, +1.5%). The RX 9070 XT is 1.5% faster, while the 660M and RTX A2000 Mobile are neck-and-neck. This data indicates that the RX 7900 XT is in a tight group, but its actual performance is what the FPS measurements show.

For rendering and content creation, the GPU's FP32 of 51.48 TFLOPS and high texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s indicate strong compute and shader throughput. The 20 GB VRAM is ample for high-resolution textures and large scenes. The 800.0 GB/s bandwidth helps with high-resolution assets. Its ray tracing hardware, 84 RT cores, allows for a moderate level of ray tracing performance, though its 55th percentile suggests it is not a top-tier ray tracing part. The mixed benchmark scores, with a high Vulkan score and a modest DirectX 12 score, suggest that performance varies by API.

Gaming Performance

The data for gaming performance is measured, with FPS figures for various games at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K ultra settings. The pair's rank is 645 out of 3732 pairs, with an average FPS of 176 across all games.

1080p ultra performance is strong: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive hits 603.1 FPS, Valorant 494.5, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 325. CS2 hits 274. For esports, these frame rates are exceptional. Mainstream games also perform well: Minecraft (Java) 270, Doom 200.7, and Allods Online 118, which is a very high score for an MMO. The 1080p ultra performance is often enough for 144Hz or 240Hz displays in many titles.

1440p ultra sees a drop, but still high numbers: CS:GO 417.6, CS2 181, Warzone 135, and Valorous 464.8. More demanding titles: Cyberpunk 2077 59.9, Red Dead Redemption 2 55.9, and Control 86. These are playable at high settings, but not into the 100 FPS range. The Medium is 47.4 FPS at 1440p, which is a demanding title.

4K ultra pushes the GPU to its limits. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive still hits 245.8, CS2 101, Valorant 426.3, and Call of Duty: Warzone 115. However, AAA titles drop below 60: Cyberpunk 2077 37.5, Red Dead Redemption 2 34, and Ark: Survival Ascended 13. The Medium is 36.3, and Control 58. This indicates that 4K ultra is not a smooth 60 FPS experience for the most demanding games, but it is for less demanding genres. The measured data shows 4K ultra is not ideal for the hardest titles, with 34 FPS in RDR2 and 37.5 in Cyberpunk.

The average FPS of 176 across games is boosted by esports titles, but the 4K numbers show the GPU's limits. The 1080p and 1440p numbers are the sweet spot for this build.

Balance and Bottleneck

The CPU's 79th percentile and the GPU's 55th percentile indicate an imbalance: the CPU is a stronger relative performer. In CPU-bound workloads, the CPU will not be a factor, so it will not bottleneck the GPU. However, the GPU's lower percentile means it will limit the system's ceiling in GPU-bound tasks.

The benchmark FPS scaling supports this. At 1080p, some games are CPU-bound (e.g., CS:GO 603 FPS, which is beyond the GPU's limits, but the CPU is still strong). At 4K, the GPU's limitations are clear. For instance, in Red Dead Redemption 2, the FPS drops from 71.8 at 1080p to 55.9 at 1440p to 34 at 4K, a clear GPU-bound scaling. Similarly, Cyberpunk 2077 drops from 80.3 to 59.9 to 37.5. These drops are consistent with the GPU being the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

In CPU-bound scenarios, the 10-core, 16-thread CPU with a boost of 4.90 GHz handles high-thread-count games (e.g., Minecraft Java at 269 FPS) without issue. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1995 and single-thread 1016 indicate strong single-thread performance for esports. The CPU's max-threads score of 7952 shows it can handle multi-threaded workloads, but the GPU's 55th percentile means that in GPU-heavy workloads, the GPU will be the bottleneck. The balance is that the CPU is a strong partner, and the GPU is the limiting factor in resolution-heavy scenarios. The build is balanced for 1440p, where the GPU's relative weakness is less impactful.

Who Should Build It

This build is best for gamers who play at 1440p ultra with high refresh rates. The GPU's measured 1440p performance is strong for esports (e.g., CS2 at 181 FPS, Valorant 464.8) and capable for AAA (e.g., Cyberpunk 59.9, RDR2 55.9). It is not ideal for 4K ultra gaming, as the data shows 34-37 FPS in the most demanding titles. For content creators, the CPU's 10 cores, 16 threads, and 79th percentile make it a solid choice for video editing and 3D rendering, while the GPU's 20 GB VRAM and 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 provide compute power. The GPU's 55th percentile is lower, but for a single-GPU build, it is an option. Software developers and students will benefit from the CPU's multi-threaded performance and the platform's DDR4/DDR5 memory flexibility. Small business workstations can use this for general productivity and moderate compute tasks, but the GPU is overkill for simple office work. The build is a desktop, and the combined percentile of 67 places it in the mid-range. For those who want a high-refresh 1080p/1440p gaming system and have productivity needs, this is a suitable choice. It is not a top-tier 4K gaming rig, but it is a well-rounded system.

Benchmark Performance

The CPU's average benchmark score is 27799, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i9-10900K (average 27872, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712, +0.3%), AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27887, -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896, -0.3%). The 12600KF is essentially tied with these parts, within 0.3% of each other. Its best scores include Cinebench R23 multi-core 23391, single-core 3302, Geekbench multi-core 12137, single-core 2157, PassMark multi-thread 27575, single-thread 3925, and 3DMark max-threads 7952.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 13745, with a 55th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon 660M (13812, -0.5%), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821, -0.5%), AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871, -0.9%), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543, +1.5%). The RX 9070 XT is 1.5% ahead, while the others are within 0.9%. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5623, Geekbench OpenCL 12756, Vulkan 71068, and PassMark G3D 29009. The GPU's performance is a mixed bag: its high Vulkan score contrasts with its low DirectX 12 score in 3DMark. Its 55th percentile is lower than its raw specs would suggest. The combined percentile of 67 reflects a system where the CPU carries more of the load. The GPU's 55th percentile is the weak point, but the CPU's 79th percentile balances it out. For a desktop, this is a mid-range pairing, and the benchmark results show that the CPU is a high performer while the GPU is an average-to-mid performer.

Build Overview

This is a desktop build that pairs the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT. The CPU is a 12th-generation Alder Lake part with 10 cores, 16 threads, and a 79th percentile, while the GPU is a 5 nm RDNA 3.0 part with 20 GB of VRAM and a 55th percentile. The combined percentile is 67, putting it above the median of all desktop pairings. The pair ranks 645 out of 3732 pairs by FPS, with an average FPS of 176 across a wide range of games. The CPU's launch MSRP was $264, and the GPU's was 899 USD. The system's class is desktop, and its tier is solidly mid-range. The GPU is end-of-life, meaning it is no longer in production, which is a factor for new builds. The CPU is still active. The GPU is a 276 mm long, dual-slot card that requires two 8-pin power connectors. The CPU's performance is strong in its percentile, while the GPU's performance is average. This pairing is not a top-of-the-line system, but it is a capable one for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and its high CPU core count makes it useful for multi-threaded workloads.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread desktop processor based on the Alder Lake architecture and the Alder Lake-S codename. It uses the Intel Socket 1700 and has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost of 4.90 GHz. The 10 nm process and 215 mm² die size. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, dual-channel, and has 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes. It has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance: 3DMark single-thread 1016, Cinebench R23 single-core 3302, and PassMark single-thread 3925. Multi-thread scores are competitive: Cinebench R23 multi-core 23391, Geekbench multi-core 12137, and PassMark multi-thread 27575. The CPU's multi-thread scores are close to its nearest rivals: 0.3% than the i9-10900K and 0.3% behind the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The single-thread performance is strong, with a PassMark single-thread of 3925. The CPU's 79th percentile is a strong result. For real workloads, the 10 cores and 16 threads handle multi-threaded tasks like video rendering, compiling, and streaming. The single-thread speed is good for gaming, and the boost clock of 4.9 GHz is high. The CPU's scores in data compression (PassMark 343231) and encryption (18445) show it is capable for office-style workloads. Extended instructions score 22003. The CPU is a solid performer for its class, and its 79th percentile is a high rank.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: At 1080p, the system delivers over 300 FPS in CS:GO (603) and Valorant (462.5), and 274 in CS2. These numbers are ideal for 240Hz or 360Hz displays. The CPU's strong single-thread and the GPU's 1080p performance will not bottleneck. For 1440p, it still holds high FPS in esports (CS2 181, Valorant 464.8), but the GPU becomes the limit in AAA.

Streaming: The CPU's 16 threads and multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 23391) can handle the encoding overhead while gaming. The 79th percentile means it can encode without a huge FPS hit. The GPU's 51.48 TFLOPS can handle compute for encoding, but the GPU's 55th percentile means it is not the strongest encoder. Still, for a 1080p/1440p stream, this is adequate.

Video editing: The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-score of 23391, are good for editing 4K video. The GPU's 20 GB of VRAM and 51.48 TFLOPS accelerate effects processing. The 800 GB/s bandwidth is useful for large files. The 55th percentile is not top-tier, but for a mid-range editor, it is sufficient.

3D rendering: The CPU's multi-thread score of 23391 in Cinebench R23 is strong for CPU rendering. The GPU's FP32 51.48 TFLOPS and 20 GB VRAM support GPU rendering. The GPU's 84 RT cores help with ray tracing. However, the GPU's 55th percentile suggests it will not be a top-tier renderer, but it is a capable one.

Software development: The CPU's 16 threads and high single-thread score (Geekbench 2157) are good for compilation and IDE. The 20 GB VRAM is overkill for this, but the system handles it. The multi-thread score helps with parallel builds. The CPU's 79th percentile is a strong point.

Student and office work: The CPU's PassMark multi-thread of 27575 and single-thread 3925 handle everyday tasks. The GPU is overkill for office work, but it does not hurt. The 20 GB VRAM is unused, but the system is quiet. For a student who also games, this is a good fit. The CPU's single-thread and multi-thread are both strong. The system is a good all-rounder, but the GPU is the weak point in more demanding 4K tasks.