SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900E + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

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

Build Configuration

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PROCESSOR (CPU)

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GRAPHICS CARD (GPU)

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87 Score

Top 13% Ranking

87 / 100

HIGH-END

Power Build

Top 13% of systems. Excellent for 1440p Ultra or 4K High gaming.

1440p Ultra4K High

System Balance Analysis

CPU vs GPU performance ratio

Well Balanced

CPU

78%

GPU

97%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core i9-12900E

6,611 Benchmark Score

Top 22% Market Ranking

View Full Specs →

GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

54,247 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 i9-12900E paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a desktop configuration that pairs a 65-watt 16-core Alder Lake processor with an end-of-life flagship-tier GPU. The combined system sits at the 74th percentile across all benchmarked builds, indicating it delivers high-end performance but leaves room above for extreme enthusiast platforms. The CPU and GPU occupy different performance strata—the RTX 4080 ranks at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the i9-12900E ranks at the 62nd percentile among all CPUs—which creates a distinct balance profile that favors graphics-heavy workloads. This analysis draws exclusively on the provided benchmark data to interpret what this pairing means for rendering, gaming, productivity, and platform longevity.

GPU Analysis — VRAM, bandwidth, clocks, RT/tensor hardware, what the benchmark scores mean for rendering

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 379 mm² housing 45,900 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with memory clocked at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory runs across a 256-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s—a figure that supports high-resolution texture streaming and large scene data without stalling the rendering pipeline.

The chip features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs. The pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s indicate strong fill-rate capabilities for 4K rasterization. More critically for modern workloads, the RTX 4080 includes 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-driven features like DLSS. The FP32 throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS (with FP16 at a 1:1 ratio) provides substantial compute headroom for both gaming and non-gaming GPU workloads.

Benchmark results reinforce the GPU's positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 places the card in the upper echelon of DirectX 12 performance. Geekbench scores of 214739 in OpenCL and 263779 in Vulkan show strong cross-API compute capabilities. The Passmark G3D score of 34457 is notably high, while the GPU compute score of 20671 indicates solid general-purpose processing. The DirectX 10, 11, and 12 scores (204, 314, and 132 respectively) are lower than the G3D aggregate, suggesting the card's strength lies in modern API workloads rather than legacy DirectX paths.

The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 places it at the 86th percentile, with nearest rivals including the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% lower), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% lower), and AMD Radeon 8060S (2.7% lower). The delta against the SUPER is negligible, meaning the 4080 essentially matches its successor in synthetic aggregate performance. For rendering, the combination of 16 GB VRAM, 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, and 76 RT cores means the card can handle complex scenes with ray-traced lighting and high-resolution textures, though the 86th percentile shows it is not the absolute top-tier option—cards in the 90th+ percentile would offer more headroom for extreme 8K or multi-GPU render farms.

Benchmark Performance — exact CPU and GPU scores, percentile positions, and what the combined picture is

The CPU delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23529 and a single-core score of 3321. In Cinebench R20, the multi-core score is 9882 with a single-core score of 1394. Cinebench R15 results show 2371 multi-core and 334 single-core. Geekbench scores are 10280 multi-core and 1775 single-core. The average benchmark score for the CPU is 6611, placing it at the 62nd percentile among all CPUs.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 54247 places it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. This creates a notable disparity: the GPU outperforms 86% of its peers, while the CPU outperforms only 62% of its peers. The combined system percentile is 74, which reflects a configuration where the graphics card is the dominant component.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Pentium Gold G6405 and Intel Core i9-10940X, both with an average score of 6605 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i5-13500E at 6586 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i5-13400E at 6638 (0.4% higher). These deltas are all within 0.4%, meaning the i9-12900E is statistically indistinguishable from mid-range and older high-end CPUs in aggregate synthetic performance. This is a critical finding: despite being a Core i9 part, its average benchmark score places it alongside significantly cheaper mainstream processors.

The combined picture is that of a system with asymmetric performance. The GPU can drive high frame rates and complex graphics effects, but the CPU's 62nd percentile standing means it may not keep pace in CPU-bound scenarios. In workloads that scale with multi-threading, the CPU's 23529 Cinebench R23 score is respectable, but the 62nd percentile shows that many CPUs—including newer generations and higher-TDP parts—score higher. The single-core score of 3321 in R23 similarly places it in the mid-range of modern desktop processors.

CPU Analysis — cores, clocks, architecture, what the benchmark scores mean for real workloads

The Intel Core i9-12900E is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm². The base clock is 2.30 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it features a PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes from the CPU.

The 65 W TDP is notably low for a 16-core processor, which explains the 62nd percentile standing. The chip is unlocked, allowing for overclocking, but the 65 W base power envelope suggests thermal and power constraints that likely limit sustained multi-core performance compared to higher-TDP rivals. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides strong single-threaded responsiveness, evidenced by the R23 single-core score of 3321.

Benchmark results indicate a processor that excels in lightly-threaded tasks but falls behind in heavily-threaded workloads relative to its Core i9 branding. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23529 is solid for a 65 W part, but the nearest rivals—including the Core i5-13500E and Core i5-13400E—show that mid-range 13th-gen parts achieve similar or better aggregate scores. The Geekbench multi-core score of 10280 and single-core score of 1775 reinforce this pattern: the single-core performance is competitive, but multi-core scaling is limited by the power budget.

The integrated UHD Graphics 770 provides a basic display output, though it is not intended for gaming or compute tasks. The dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 gives builders flexibility in platform cost, though the lack of ECC memory support may be a consideration for workstation use. The 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU allow for a high-bandwidth GPU connection and one fast NVMe drive, though the GPU in this configuration uses PCIe 4.0.

For real workloads, the 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps with gaming and productivity tasks that benefit from larger cache footprints. The 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures snappy application launching and responsive single-threaded performance. However, content creators running long multi-threaded renders will see the CPU's 62nd percentile standing limit throughput, and overclocking may be necessary to extract more performance—but that would push the 65 W TDP higher and require adequate cooling.

Upgrade Path and Platform — socket, memory support, PCIe, PSU headroom from suggestedPsu/tdp, what a sensible next upgrade looks like

The platform is built around Intel Socket 1700, which is the LGA 1700 socket used by 12th and 13th generation Core processors. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, giving builders the choice of cheaper DDR4 modules or faster DDR5 kits. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 CPU lanes provides a forward-looking connection for next-generation storage and expansion cards, though the RTX 4080 itself uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface.

The GPU's suggested PSU is 700 W, while the CPU has a 65 W TDP. This leaves substantial headroom for additional components, as the combined power draw of the CPU and GPU (65 W + 320 W) is well within a 700 W power supply's capacity. A sensible next upgrade would be to a higher-tier CPU on the same LGA 1700 socket, such as a 13th-generation Core i9 or Core i7 with a higher TDP, which would better match the GPU's 86th percentile performance. The motherboard's PCIe Gen 5 support also future-proofs for faster SSDs, and the dual-channel memory slots allow for capacity expansion.

The RTX 4080 is marked as end-of-life, with the successor being the GeForce 50 series. This means the GPU is no longer in production, but its performance remains competitive—its average score is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER. For a future upgrade path, the user could keep the RTX 4080 and pair it with a faster CPU, or wait for a newer GPU generation. The 16-pin power connector and triple-slot cooler mean case compatibility is a consideration, but the 700 W PSU recommendation ensures stability even with a more power-hungry CPU.

The socket's longevity is a question—Intel Socket 1700 supports both 12th and 13th gen, so a CPU upgrade within the same platform is possible without a motherboard change. However, the 10 nm process node and 2022 release date suggest that a full platform upgrade (new socket, new memory) may be more cost-effective in the long run than chasing incremental CPU gains. The 65 W TDP of the CPU also means a modest cooler is sufficient, freeing budget for other components.

Balance and Bottleneck — which component limits which workload, using percentiles and FPS scaling as evidence

The performance asymmetry is clear: the GPU sits at the 86th percentile while the CPU sits at the 62nd percentile. In GPU-bound scenarios—such as 4K gaming with ultra settings or GPU-based rendering—the RTX 4080 will be the primary driver, and the CPU's lower percentile will have minimal impact. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth can feed high-resolution textures without CPU intervention, so frame rates in these scenarios will scale with GPU capability.

In CPU-bound scenarios—such as 1080p gaming at high frame rates, or simulation and physics-heavy workloads—the i9-12900E's 62nd percentile will become the limiting factor. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23529 is adequate, but the nearest rivals show that a Core i5-13500E (0.4% lower avg score) or Core i5-13400E (0.4% higher avg score) performs equivalently, meaning the i9-12900E offers no advantage over mid-range parts in these workloads. This suggests that in games that rely heavily on single-threaded performance, the 5.00 GHz boost clock helps, but in multi-threaded game logic, the 65 W TDP may cause the CPU to throttle below its potential.

The combined percentile of 74 reflects this imbalance: the system is better than 74% of builds, but a more balanced configuration might pair the RTX 4080 with a CPU in the 80th+ percentile to avoid leaving GPU performance on the table. In mixed workloads—such as gaming while streaming—the CPU must handle both game logic and video encoding. The 24 threads provide enough parallelism, but the 62nd percentile means the CPU may struggle to maintain high frame rates while encoding, especially at 1080p where CPU load is higher.

FPS scaling evidence is not available from measured data, as the FACT PACK contains no measured FPS values for this combination. However, the percentile gap suggests that at 4K resolution, the GPU will dominate and FPS will be high; at 1080p, the CPU may limit FPS to below what the GPU could theoretically deliver. This is a classic imbalance where the GPU's 86th percentile is underutilized by the CPU's 62nd percentile in low-resolution, high-refresh-rate scenarios.

Gaming Performance — measured FPS by game and resolution from measuredFpsUltraByGame (or, if dataIsMeasured is false, frame expectations qualitatively from the benchmark scores and say the figures are estimates)

No measured FPS rows exist for this exact combination—the FACT PACK contains no measuredFps data. Therefore, all frame rate discussions are estimates derived from the benchmark scores, and the figures should be treated as approximations rather than verified results.

Based on the GPU's 86th percentile and the CPU's 62nd percentile, the gaming performance profile is highly resolution-dependent. At 4K ultra settings, the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth will provide ample headroom for texture-heavy games, and the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6567 indicates strong DirectX 12 performance. Estimated frame rates at 4K ultra would likely exceed 60 FPS in most titles, with the GPU being the primary limiter.

At 1440p ultra, the CPU's single-core performance becomes more relevant. The R23 single-core score of 3321 and boost clock of 5.00 GHz suggest that the CPU can keep up with the GPU in most games, though the 62nd percentile means some CPU-heavy titles might see frame rates capped below the GPU's maximum. Estimated frame rates at 1440p would likely range from 80-144 FPS depending on the title, with the CPU occasionally bottlenecking in scenes with many dynamic objects.

At 1080p ultra, the CPU is likely the bottleneck. The GPU's 86th percentile is far higher than the CPU's 62nd percentile, so in CPU-bound scenarios, the i9-12900E's performance will determine frame rates. The R23 multi-core score of 23529 is respectable, but the nearest rivals' scores show that mid-range CPUs perform similarly, meaning the i9-12900E will not provide a competitive advantage in esports titles or high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p. Estimated frame rates at 1080p would range from 144-200+ FPS in less demanding titles, but may drop below 144 FPS in CPU-intensive games.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 34457 and DirectX 12 score of 132 (relative to other tests) suggest that modern API games will perform well, while older DirectX 9/10/11 titles may not fully utilize the card's strengths. The 76 RT cores enable ray tracing at playable frame rates, though enabling RT will lower frame rates across all resolutions.

Usage Scenarios — grounded in the scores: high-refresh gaming, streaming, video editing, 3D rendering, software development, student and office work. One short paragraph per scenario, citing the numbers that support the verdict

High-refresh gaming: At 1080p, the CPU's 62nd percentile will likely cap frame rates below 200 FPS in many titles, making this a poor choice for 240Hz+ monitors. At 1440p, the GPU's 86th percentile and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth can drive 144Hz displays in most games, though the CPU may cause occasional dips. At 4K, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM supports ultra settings at 60-100 FPS, making this the best scenario for high-refresh gaming.

Streaming: The 24 threads of the CPU provide enough parallelism for game capture and encoding, but the 62nd percentile means the CPU may struggle to maintain high frame rates while encoding at 1080p. The GPU's tensor cores (304) can offload encoding via NVENC, which would reduce CPU load, but the overall system percentile of 74 suggests a capable but not ideal streaming setup.

Video editing: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23529 supports 4K video timeline editing and export, though the 65 W TDP may limit sustained multi-core performance. The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 and 20671 Passmark GPU compute score accelerate effects and color grading. The 16 GB VRAM allows large preview buffers, making this a solid choice for 4K editing, though 8K workflows may strain the CPU.

3D rendering: The GPU's 76 RT cores and 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 provide strong ray-traced rendering performance, with the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6567 showing high DirectX 12 capability. The CPU's 23529 R23 multi-core score handles CPU-based rendering, but the 62nd percentile means it is not a top-tier render farm CPU. For GPU-accelerated renderers (e.g., Blender Cycles), the RTX 4080 will dominate, making this a good choice for individual artists.

Software development: The 5.00 GHz boost clock and single-core R23 score of 3321 provide fast compile times for single-threaded build steps, while the 24 threads handle parallel compilation. The 30 MB L3 cache reduces memory latency for large codebases. The support for DDR5 memory (via the CPU's memory controller) enables fast memory access, making this a capable development workstation, though the 62nd percentile means it is not exceptional.

Student and office work: The 65 W TDP and integrated UHD Graphics 770 allow for a quiet, energy-efficient system for everyday tasks. The single-core performance is more than sufficient for office applications, and the 24 threads handle multitasking. The GPU is overkill for this scenario, but the system's 74th combined percentile ensures smooth performance in all office workloads.

FAQ — 5-7 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data (format: Q: ... A: ...)

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

A: The combined system sits at the 74th percentile across all benchmarked desktop builds.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, which is 0.1% higher—a statistically negligible difference.

Q: What is the CPU's TDP and how does it affect performance?

A: The i9-12900E has a 65 W TDP, which is low for a 16-core processor and contributes to its 62nd percentile standing among all CPUs.

Q: Does the CPU support both DDR4 and DDR5 memory?

A: Yes, the i9-12900E supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, as listed in the FACT PACK.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity?

A: The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 still in production?

A: No, the RTX 4080 is marked as end-of-life, with the GeForce 50 series as its successor.

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

A: The RTX 4080 has a suggested PSU of 700 W, which provides headroom for the CPU's 65 W TDP.

Who Should Build It — target users and industries (gamers at specific resolutions, content creators, developers, students, small business workstations) tied strictly to the measured performance

This configuration is best suited for gamers targeting 4K resolution, where the GPU's 86th percentile and 16 GB VRAM provide the dominant performance. At 4K ultra settings, the CPU's 62nd percentile is less likely to bottleneck, making this a strong choice for high-fidelity single-player titles and ray-traced games. 1440p gamers will also benefit, but should be aware of potential CPU bottlenecks in fast-paced esports titles where high frame rates are critical.

Content creators working with GPU-accelerated renderers—such as 3D artists using ray tracing or video editors using effects-heavy timelines—will find the RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance compelling. The CPU's 23529 Cinebench R23 multi-core score handles CPU-based tasks adequately, but creators who rely heavily on CPU rendering may want a higher-percentile processor.

Software developers compiling large codebases will appreciate the 24 threads and 5.00 GHz boost clock, though the 62nd percentile means this is not a top-tier build machine. Students and office workers seeking a quiet, low-power system (65 W TDP) will find the system more than capable, though the GPU is excessive for this use case. Small business workstations requiring GPU compute for tasks like data visualization or CAD will benefit from the 20671 Passmark GPU compute score, but the end-of-life status of the GPU may be a concern for long-term deployment.

The system's 74th combined percentile indicates it is a high-performance build, but the CPU-GPU imbalance means it is not ideal for users who prioritize CPU-heavy workloads. The most sensible buyer is a 4K gamer or GPU-centric content creator who wants strong graphics performance without the power draw or cost of a higher-tier CPU.

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900E + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

Power Build

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core i9-12900E

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

Market Position

Game Performance Benchmarks

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

Performance Insights

Strong Performance

Performance Tiers Explained

Ultimate

High-End

Mid-Range

Entry Level

Legacy

GPU Analysis — VRAM, bandwidth, clocks, RT/tensor hardware, what the benchmark scores mean for rendering

Benchmark Performance — exact CPU and GPU scores, percentile positions, and what the combined picture is

CPU Analysis — cores, clocks, architecture, what the benchmark scores mean for real workloads

Upgrade Path and Platform — socket, memory support, PCIe, PSU headroom from suggestedPsu/tdp, what a sensible next upgrade looks like

Balance and Bottleneck — which component limits which workload, using percentiles and FPS scaling as evidence

Gaming Performance — measured FPS by game and resolution from measuredFpsUltraByGame (or, if dataIsMeasured is false, frame expectations qualitatively from the benchmark scores and say the figures are estimates)

Usage Scenarios — grounded in the scores: high-refresh gaming, streaming, video editing, 3D rendering, software development, student and office work. One short paragraph per scenario, citing the numbers that support the verdict

FAQ — 5-7 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data (format: Q: ... A: ...)

Who Should Build It — target users and industries (gamers at specific resolutions, content creators, developers, students, small business workstations) tied strictly to the measured performance

4K Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1440p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

1080p Gaming Performance

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

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