SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900KS + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

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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92 Score

Top 8% Ranking

92 / 100

ULTIMATE READY

Apex Performer

Top 8% 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

93%

GPU

90%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core i9-12900KS

45,094 Benchmark Score

Top 7% Market Ranking

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GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

17,639 Benchmark Score

Top 10% 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

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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

# Intel Core i9-12900KS + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 — Build Analysis

This desktop pairing combines Intel's flagship Alder Lake-S CPU with NVIDIA's entry-level Ada Lovelace GPU, creating an unusual balance where processor performance dramatically outweighs graphics throughput. The FACT PACK contains no measured FPS rows for this exact combination, so all frame-rate discussion below is estimated from benchmark scores rather than direct game testing.

Gaming Performance

No measured FPS data exists for this CPU+GPU combination, so gaming expectations must be derived from the benchmark scores of both components. The RTX 4060 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 19,545 and sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, placing it firmly in mid-range territory. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3) and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5), indicating performance closely aligned with integrated graphics solutions in the upper tier.

For 1080p gaming, the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth should handle most titles at high settings, though the 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 24 RT cores suggest ray tracing will require aggressive upscaling or reduced quality presets. The CPU's single-thread performance — 3DMark single-thread score of 1,121 and Cinebench R23 single-core of 5,203 — ensures frame pacing won't be CPU-limited in most scenarios.

At 1440p, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,302 indicates the RTX 4060 can produce playable frame rates, but the 61st GPU percentile means users should expect medium-to-high settings rather than ultra. The Passmark DirectX 12 score of 76 further suggests that the card's DX12 path is adequate but not exceptional.

At 4K resolution, the combination would struggle. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become limiting factors, while the pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are modest for high-resolution rendering. Users targeting 4K gaming should look elsewhere, as the CPU's power cannot compensate for the GPU's bandwidth constraints.

GPU Analysis

The RTX 4060 uses the AD107 chip built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. Its 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs deliver a FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS, with FP16 running at the same 15.11 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and DLSS workloads, though the modest core counts reflect the card's entry-level positioning.

Memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 running at 2,125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, yielding 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. This is adequate for 1080p gaming and lightweight creative work, but the narrow bus width creates bottlenecks in memory-intensive applications. The dual-slot cooler with a 240 mm length and 111 mm height fits most cases, while the 115 W TDP and single 12-pin power connector keep installation simple.

Benchmark results paint a mixed picture. The Passmark G3D score of 19,545 places the card at the 61st percentile, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 95,057 and Vulkan score of 48,643 show reasonable compute capability. The Passmark GPU compute score of 9,213 indicates solid general-purpose compute, but the DirectX scores — 103 for DX10, 175 for DX11, 76 for DX12, and 236 for DX9 — reveal inconsistent API performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,302 is the most modern indicator, suggesting contemporary DX12 titles will perform adequately but not impressively.

Usage Scenarios

High-refresh gaming: At 1080p, the i9-12900KS's 3DMark 8-thread score of 7,872 and single-thread score of 1,121 should drive frame rates high enough to exploit 144 Hz monitors in esports titles, but the RTX 4060's 61st percentile GPU standing means AAA games may struggle to maintain triple-digit frame rates with max settings.

Streaming: The CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads with a Passmark multithread score of 43,698 provide ample headroom for software encoding while gaming. The GPU's 96 tensor cores also support NVIDIA's hardware encoder, though the card's modest compute performance limits simultaneous gaming and encoding at high bitrates.

Video editing: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 36,859 and Geekbench multicore score of 18,538 show strong CPU performance for timeline rendering and export tasks. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth handle 1080p and some 1440p proxy workflows, but 4K editing with heavy effects would strain the graphics card.

3D rendering: The CPU's 16 cores/24 threads excel in CPU-based renderers, with Passmark floating-point math score of 111,429 and integer math of 147,575 indicating strong compute throughput. GPU-accelerated renderers would leverage the RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS and 24 RT cores, but the 8 GB VRAM limits scene complexity.

Software development: Compilation and testing benefit from the CPU's high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 5,203) and multithread capability (3DMark max threads 11,897). The Passmark data compression score of 563,709 and encryption score of 31,403 further support rapid build and test cycles.

Student and office work: This build is massively overqualified for typical productivity tasks. The i9-12900KS's Passmark single-thread score of 4,330 handles office suites and web browsing with ease, while the 30 MB shared L3 cache accelerates repetitive workloads. The GPU's capabilities are largely wasted in this scenario, making it an expensive choice for basic productivity.

Balance and Bottleneck

This pairing exhibits extreme imbalance. The CPU sits at the 89th percentile among all processors with an average benchmark score of 45,094, while the GPU ranks at the 61st percentile with an average score of 17,639. The combined percentile is 75, reflecting the GPU dragging down the overall system performance.

In gaming workloads, the RTX 4060 is almost certainly the bottleneck. The CPU's performance headroom — 3DMark 16-thread score of 10,316 versus max threads of 11,897 — means it can feed frames far faster than the GPU can render them. This is confirmed by the lack of FPS scaling data; with such a powerful CPU and mid-range GPU, frame rates will track GPU performance almost exclusively.

For productivity tasks, the CPU dominates. The i9-12900KS's Cinebench R20 multicore score of 15,480 and R15 multicore of 3,715 indicate strong parallel processing, while the GPU's compute capabilities (Passmark GPU compute 9,213) are secondary in CPU-bound workloads. The Passmark physics score of 2,437 further demonstrates the CPU's workload handling.

The memory subsystem creates another potential bottleneck. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 with 76.8 GB/s bandwidth, which is adequate for the CPU's needs but the GPU's 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is only accessible through the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface — half the lanes available for wider GPUs. This could constrain performance in VRAM-heavy scenarios.

CPU Analysis

The Intel Core i9-12900KS is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 150 W TDP. The 215 mm² die includes an 80 KB L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 30 MB shared L3 cache. Memory support spans both DDR4 and DDR5 in dual-channel configuration with 76.8 GB/s bandwidth, plus ECC memory support. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 provides basic display output, and PCIe Gen 5 with 16 CPU lanes enables fast storage and GPU connectivity.

Benchmark scores reveal a processor that excels in both single-thread and multithread workloads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,121 and Cinebench R23 single-core of 5,203 are strong indicators of responsiveness in lightly threaded applications. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 36,859 and Geekbench multicore of 18,538 demonstrate exceptional parallel throughput. The Passmark suite shows balanced performance: multithread 43,698, single-thread 4,330, integer math 147,575, floating-point math 111,429, and extended instructions 35,089.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4344P with an average score of 45,122 (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-14600 at 44,889 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D at 44,573 (deltaPct 1.2). The i9-12900KS's average benchmark score of 45,094 places it essentially tied with these competitors, despite being from an earlier generation — evidence of its strong design.

Who Should Build It

Gamers at 1080p with high refresh rate monitors who prioritize CPU headroom for competitive titles would benefit from this combination, though the GPU will limit maximum quality settings. Content creators working primarily in CPU-bound applications like video encoding, 3D modeling, or software compilation would appreciate the i9-12900KS's 16 cores and 24 threads, with the RTX 4060 providing adequate GPU acceleration for preview and light rendering tasks.

Software developers building large codebases benefit from the CPU's single-thread speed (Cinebench R23 single-core 5,203) and multithread compile times (Passmark multithread 43,698). Students in engineering or computer science programs might find the processing power useful for simulations and development, though the GPU's capabilities exceed typical academic needs.

Small business workstations requiring heavy spreadsheet analysis, database operations (Passmark data compression 563,709, random string sorting 60,539), or virtualization would find the CPU's performance valuable. The ECC memory support adds reliability for long-running workloads, though the consumer platform implementation may limit ECC adoption.

The build is less suitable for 1440p or 4K gamers, AI researchers needing large GPU memory, or users whose primary workload is GPU rendering — the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus would bottleneck these tasks.

FAQ

Q: Does this build have measured FPS data for games?

A: No. The FACT PACK contains no measured FPS rows for this exact combination, so all gaming performance estimates are derived from CPU and GPU benchmark scores rather than direct testing.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth with a memory clock of 2,125 MHz (17 Gbps effective).

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i9-12900KS has an average benchmark score of 45,094, nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 4344P at 45,122 (deltaPct -0.1) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600 at 44,889 (deltaPct 0.5) and AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D at 44,573 (deltaPct 1.2).

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

A: The combined percentile is 75, with the CPU at the 89th percentile among all processors and the GPU at the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What power supply is recommended for this build?

A: The GPU's suggested PSU is 300 W, while the CPU has a 150 W TDP. The RTX 4060 has a 115 W TDP and uses a single 12-pin power connector.

Q: What memory types does the CPU support?

A: The i9-12900KS supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration with 76.8 GB/s bandwidth, plus ECC memory support.

Q: What APIs does the GPU support?

A: The RTX 4060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with display outputs of 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a.

Build Overview

This is a desktop-class build pairing Intel's Core i9-12900KS (Alder Lake-S, 10 nm, 16 cores/24 threads) with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4060 (Ada Lovelace, 5 nm, 8 GB GDDR6). The CPU represents the top of Intel's 12th-generation desktop lineup with a 5.50 GHz boost clock and 30 MB L3 cache, while the GPU is an entry-level offering in the GeForce 40-series with 3,072 shading units and 24 RT cores.

The combined percentile of 75 places this system in the upper-midrange tier overall, but the massive gap between CPU (89th percentile) and GPU (61st percentile) creates a system that excels in CPU-bound tasks while being merely adequate in GPU-intensive workloads. The build class is desktop, indicating a stationary workstation or gaming tower rather than a portable system.

Benchmark Performance

The i9-12900KS achieves an average benchmark score of 45,094, ranking at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. Key results include Cinebench R23 multicore 36,859 and single-core 5,203, Geekbench multicore 18,538 and single-core 2,408, and 3DMark scores ranging from 1,121 (single-thread) to 11,897 (max threads). The Passmark suite shows a multithread score of 43,698 and single-thread of 4,330, with specialized tests like data compression at 563,709 and find prime numbers at 158.

The RTX 4060 achieves an average benchmark score of 17,639, ranking at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Notable results include 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 2,302, Geekbench OpenCL 95,057 and Vulkan 48,643, and Passmark G3D 19,545 with GPU compute 9,213. The card's nearest rivals — AMD Radeon HD 7790 (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon 780M (deltaPct 0.3), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (deltaPct 0.7) — show it clustering with older mid-range and modern integrated solutions.

The combined picture reveals a system where the CPU outperforms its GPU counterpart by a substantial margin, suggesting that CPU-bound workloads will see excellent performance while GPU-bound tasks will be limited by the graphics card's mid-range positioning.

Upgrade Path and Platform

The i9-12900KS uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform with PCIe Gen 5 providing 16 CPU lanes. Memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5 in dual-channel configuration, allowing users to choose between established DDR4 economics or newer DDR5 performance, with a theoretical memory bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s. The CPU's L3 cache of 30 MB shared and per-core L1 of 80 KB and L2 of 1.25 MB provide substantial cache capacity for workloads that benefit from repeated data access.

The RTX 4060 connects via PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, which provides half the lanes of a full x16 connection. While sufficient for this card's bandwidth requirements, users planning future GPU upgrades should ensure their motherboard supports PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 x16 for optimal performance with higher-tier cards. The GPU's suggested PSU of 300 W and 115 W TDP leave significant headroom for a more powerful graphics card in the same system, given the CPU's 150 W TDP.

A sensible next upgrade would focus on the GPU. The CPU's 89th percentile performance and 16 cores/24 threads remain competitive, so replacing the RTX 4060 with a higher-tier GPU would immediately improve gaming and GPU compute performance without requiring a platform change. The 300 W PSU suggestion provides room for cards with higher TDPs, though users should verify their specific PSU's capacity. The Socket 1700 platform supports 13th-generation Intel processors as potential CPU upgrades, though the i9-12900KS's strong benchmark results suggest diminishing returns from such a change.

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900KS + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

Apex Performer

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core i9-12900KS

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

Market Position

Game Performance Benchmarks

Cyberpunk 2077

Red Dead Redemption 2

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Control

Call of Duty: Warzone

Fortnite

Performance Insights

Optimal Performance

4K Gaming Ready

Performance Tiers Explained

Ultimate

High-End

Mid-Range

Entry Level

Legacy

Gaming Performance

GPU Analysis

Usage Scenarios

Balance and Bottleneck

CPU Analysis

Who Should Build It

FAQ

Build Overview

Benchmark Performance

Upgrade Path and Platform

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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