SYSTEM ANALYZER

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900T + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

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

Build Configuration

Select your components

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

91%

GPU

93%

PROCESSOR

Intel Core i9-12900T

37,112 Benchmark Score

Top 9% Market Ranking

View Full Specs →

GRAPHICS CARD

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

27,565 Benchmark Score

Top 7% 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 i9-12900T and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 pairing represents a desktop configuration where a severely power-limited CPU meets a flagship-class GPU. This combination yields a complex dynamic where the 35W processor, despite its massive 16-core count, may struggle to feed the 24GB graphics card in certain scenarios. The following analysis interprets the benchmark data to provide a comprehensive picture of this build's capabilities, limitations, and ideal use cases. There are no measured FPS rows for this exact combination in the data, so all game performance figures are estimates derived from the CPU and GPU benchmark scores.

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)

The FACT PACK contains no measured FPS data for this CPU+GPU combination, so all gaming performance discussions here are estimates based on the individual benchmark scores. The GeForce RTX 3090's PassMark G3D score of 26645 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, which historically indicates strong 1440p and 4K rasterization capability. The GPU’s 24GB of GDDR6X memory and 936.2 GB/s bandwidth suggest that at high resolutions, texture loading and memory bandwidth will not be bottlenecks.

However, the CPU side of this pairing creates a critical constraint. The i9-12900T’s PassMark single-thread score of 3810 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3462 are respectable but not exceptional for a desktop processor. In CPU-bound gaming scenarios at lower resolutions like 1080p, the processor’s 1400 MHz base clock, even with a 4.90 GHz boost, may limit frame rates. The data suggests that at 1080p with ultra settings, frame rates in esports titles could be lower than what the RTX 3090 alone might suggest, because the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor.

At 1440p and 4K, the balance shifts. The GPU’s massive compute resources (35.58 TFLOPS FP32) and pixel rate of 189.8 GPixel/s mean that as resolution increases, the rendering load moves to the GPU, and the CPU’s relatively modest per-core performance becomes less of a constraint. Estimates for 4K ultra settings in AAA titles would likely show the RTX 3090 performing close to its full potential, as the GPU is typically the bottleneck at that resolution. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5118 corroborates that the GPU has substantial headroom for modern API workloads.

For ray tracing, the RTX 3090’s 82 RT cores and 328 Tensor cores provide dedicated hardware, but the CPU’s ability to manage the increased draw calls and game logic in RT-enabled titles remains a question mark. Overall, the estimated FPS picture is one of a GPU that can deliver high frame rates at high resolutions, but a CPU that may hold back performance in lower-resolution, high-refresh-rate scenarios.

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

This pairing exhibits a pronounced imbalance that shifts depending on the workload. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 85 is higher than the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus of 73, yet the GPU’s raw compute power in gaming is far ahead of what the CPU’s single-thread scores can support. The data indicates that in lightly-threaded gaming workloads, the CPU is the bottleneck, as its PassMark single-thread score of 3810 is modest relative to its multi-thread capabilities.

Evidence for this comes from the CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3462 versus its multi-core score of 24528. The ratio shows a CPU designed for throughput, not necessarily for rapid single-thread responses. In contrast, the GPU’s Geekbench OpenCL score of 172758 reveals a compute monster. When scaling FPS from 1080p to 4K, the GPU’s workload increases linearly with pixel count, while the CPU’s workload for game logic remains relatively constant. This means that at 1080p, CPU limitations will cap achievable FPS, but at 4K, the GPU’s 936.2 GB/s bandwidth and 10496 shading units will likely be the limiting factor.

The combinedPercentile of 79 for this pairing suggests that, on average, this system outperforms 79% of all desktop configurations. However, the deltaPct in the nearestRivals for the GPU shows it is nearly tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (0.5% delta), which is a laptop part, indicating that the RTX 3090’s desktop advantage in this specific pairing is not fully realized due to the CPU constraint. For content creation workloads, the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads with a PassMark multithread score of 29601 will be the primary driver, and the GPU’s compute score of 15356 in PassMark GPU Compute suggests it can accelerate rendering tasks, creating a more balanced profile outside of gaming.

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

The Intel Core i9-12900T delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24528 and a single-core score of 3462. In Geekbench, it achieves 11615 multi-core and 2259 single-core. Its PassMark multithread score is 29601, with a single-thread score of 3810. These figures place the CPU in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37112. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 160, has an average score of 37117, a delta of 0%, indicating that the i9-12900T’s multi-threaded performance is effectively identical to that rival. The Intel Core i7-13700 trails by just 0.1% with a score of 37135, showing that despite the T-series’ low power draw, it competes in multi-threaded throughput with higher-TDP desktop parts.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5118, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 172758, and a Vulkan score of 53927. Its PassMark G3D score is 26645, with a GPU Compute score of 15356. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 27565, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, scores 27435, which is 0.5% lower, meaning the RTX 3090 edges out that mobile part. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is also 0.5% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 1% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 7800M is 1.1% ahead. This tight clustering suggests that the RTX 3090’s raw benchmark performance is on par with mid-range current-gen parts, despite its 24GB VRAM.

Combining these, the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s mid-tier percentile create a system that is exceptionally strong for multi-threaded productivity, but only average-to-good for pure gaming. The combinedPercentile of 79 reflects a build that is better than most, but the gap between the CPU’s 85th percentile and the GPU’s 73rd percentile indicates a potential mismatch where the CPU is the stronger component in synthetic benchmarks.

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

The data suggests this build is not ideal for competitive gamers seeking maximum frame rates at 1080p, as the CPU’s single-thread scores are not leading-edge. However, gamers targeting 4K resolution with ultra settings will find the GPU’s 24GB VRAM and 936.2 GB/s bandwidth sufficient for high-fidelity visuals, even if the CPU cannot push extreme frame rates. The RTX 3090’s 82 RT cores make it suitable for ray-traced gaming at 4K, where the GPU’s compute takes precedence over CPU speed.

Content creators working with video editing or 3D rendering will benefit most from this pairing. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24528 and PassMark data compression score of 345021 indicate strong performance in encoding and compression tasks. The GPU’s 35.58 TFLOPS FP32 and 328 Tensor cores accelerate AI-based effects and render workloads. Software developers compiling large codebases will appreciate the 16 cores and 24 threads, with a PassMark integer math score of 108211, though the 35W TDP may limit sustained all-core boost clocks.

Students and small business users doing general office work will find this overkill, but the system’s efficiency (CPU TDP of 35W) means it could run quietly in a shared space. The GPU’s triple-slot size and 336mm length, however, require a large case, which may not suit all environments. The build is best suited for a professional workstation where the priority is rendering, simulation, or AI workloads, rather than esports gaming.

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

The Intel Core i9-12900T is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10nm process. It has a base clock of 1400 MHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 30MB shared L3 cache and 1.25MB L2 per core. The 35W TDP is the defining characteristic, as it forces the CPU to operate at a low base frequency to stay within power limits, only boosting to 4.90 GHz when thermal and power headroom allow.

The benchmark scores reveal a processor that punches above its power class in multi-threaded tasks. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24528 is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700, a desktop part with a much higher TDP. This indicates that for sustained multi-threaded workloads like video rendering or batch processing, the i9-12900T offers performance close to mainstream desktop CPUs. The PassMark multithread score of 29601 and floating point math score of 75741 confirm strong throughput.

However, single-thread performance tells a different story. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3462 and PassMark single-thread score of 3810 are good but not class-leading. The 1400 MHz base clock means that when the CPU is not boosting, it is significantly slower than typical desktop processors. For real workloads, this means the i9-12900T excels in parallel tasks where all cores are active, but can feel sluggish in lightly-threaded applications like older games or certain office software that rely on high clock speeds. The PassMark find prime numbers score of 116 is notably low, further indicating weak integer single-thread performance.

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 is hampered by the CPU’s 3810 PassMark single-thread score, which may not sustain frame rates above 144Hz in CPU-intensive titles, despite the RTX 3090’s raw power. The GPU’s G3D score of 26645 is more than sufficient, but the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

Streaming while gaming is viable due to the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads, which can handle game logic and encoding simultaneously. The PassMark multithread score of 29601 ensures that background encoding tasks will not starve the game of CPU resources, though the low base clock could introduce latency spikes.

Video editing in applications like Premiere Pro will benefit from the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24528 for timeline processing, while the GPU’s 172758 Geekbench OpenCL score accelerates effects rendering and export. The 24GB VRAM prevents memory overflow when working with long 4K timelines.

3D rendering in Blender or similar software leverages both components. The CPU’s PassMark floating point math score of 75741 handles physics simulations, while the GPU’s 35.58 TFLOPS FP32 and 328 Tensor cores provide massive parallel compute for final frame rendering, with the 15356 PassMark GPU Compute score indicating strong performance.

Software development benefits from the CPU’s 16 cores, allowing parallel compilation. The PassMark integer math score of 108211 is decent for code compilation, and the data encryption score of 20750 supports secure builds, though the 35W TDP may lead to slower sustained all-core boost clocks during long builds.

Student and office work is over-served by this hardware, but the CPU’s 35W TDP means low power consumption during light use, and the integrated UHD Graphics 770 can handle basic display output if the RTX 3090 is not needed, providing flexibility for power savings.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip on Samsung’s 8nm process, containing 28,300 million transistors. It has 24GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 936.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, with memory clocked at 1219 MHz, effective to 19.5 Gbps.

The benchmark scores show a GPU that is strong but not top-tier in the current landscape. Its PassMark G3D score of 26645 places it in the 73rd percentile, with the nearest rival being the RTX 4070 Mobile at 0.5% behind. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5118 indicates good performance in modern APIs, while the Geekbench Vulkan score of 53927 shows solid compute capability.

For rendering, the GPU’s 10496 shading units, 328 TMUs, and 112 ROPs provide exceptional fill rates, with a pixel rate of 189.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 556.0 GTexel/s. The 82 RT cores and 328 Tensor cores are dedicated to ray tracing and AI tasks, respectively. The FP32 performance of 35.58 TFLOPS is identical to FP16 (1:1), which is unusual and means the GPU does not gain a throughput advantage in half-precision workloads. The PassMark GPU Compute score of 15356 suggests that for compute-heavy rendering tasks, the GPU is capable, but the 1:1 FP16 ratio means it may not accelerate FP16-based AI workloads as well as other architectures.

Build Overview — what this CPU+GPU pairing is, its class (desktop/laptop from buildClass), and overall tier from the percentiles

This is a desktop-class build pairing a 35W low-power Intel Core i9-12900T with a 350W flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. The buildClass field confirms it is a desktop configuration. The combinedPercentile of 79 means this system outperforms 79% of all desktop builds in the database, placing it in the upper tier overall.

However, the individual percentiles reveal a mismatch: the CPU is in the 85th percentile, while the GPU is in the 73rd percentile. This suggests that, in synthetic benchmarks, the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RTX 4070 Mobile, is a laptop part, indicating that the RTX 3090’s desktop performance is not significantly ahead of a high-end mobile GPU in raw benchmark scores. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 160, is a low-power part, showing that the i9-12900T competes in its power class. Overall, this build is a high-performance workstation with a gaming-capable GPU, but the CPU’s power limit prevents it from being a top-tier gaming machine.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core i9-12900T bottleneck the RTX 3090 in gaming?

A: In CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions, yes. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 3810 is modest, and its 1400 MHz base clock can limit frame rates, while the GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 26645 is capable of much higher output.

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

A: The combinedPercentile is 79, indicating that this desktop configuration outperforms 79% of all builds in the database.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3090 have, and what is its memory bandwidth?

A: The GPU has 24GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 936.2 GB/s.

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

A: The CPU has a TDP of 35W. This low power limit forces a 1400 MHz base clock, but the 4.90 GHz boost clock allows for bursts of high performance when thermal and power headroom permit.

Q: Is the RTX 3090’s performance closer to a desktop or mobile GPU?

A: The benchmark data shows its average score of 27565 is only 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, indicating that its performance is very close to that mobile part.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compared to a mainstream desktop CPU?

A: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24528 is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700, showing nearly identical multi-threaded throughput despite the much lower TDP.

Q: Does the CPU support DDR5 memory?

A: Yes, the memory support field lists both DDR4 and DDR5, and it uses a dual-channel memory bus.

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

The Intel Core i9-12900T uses the Intel Socket 1700 and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. This provides flexibility for the platform, but the CPU’s PCIe support includes Gen 5 with 20 lanes (CPU only), which means the RTX 3090’s PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is fully supported. The motherboard must be compatible with the 1700 socket and provide appropriate power delivery for the GPU.

The system’s power requirements are skewed heavily toward the GPU. The RTX 3090 has a TDP of 350W and a suggested PSU of 750W, while the CPU has a TDP of 35W. This means the PSU headroom is substantial for the CPU, but the GPU’s 350W draw and potential transient spikes make the 750W PSU a minimum, not a comfort margin. The GPU requires a 1x 12-pin power connector, which may necessitate an adapter.

For a sensible next upgrade, the data suggests the CPU is the stronger component relative to its peers, so replacing the RTX 3090 with a newer, higher-percentile GPU would be the most impactful. However, given that the RTX 3090’s performance is already close to mobile parts like the RTX 4070 Mobile, an upgrade would need to target a GPU with a significantly higher avgBenchmarkScore. Alternatively, if the system is used for multi-threaded tasks, the CPU could be swapped for a higher-TDP 12th Gen part on the same socket, but the low TDP design of the i9-12900T means the motherboard’s VRM might not be designed for sustained high power draw. The memory upgrade path is clear: moving from DDR4 to DDR5 would improve bandwidth, though the CPU’s memory controller supports both.

Rate My PC: Intel Core i9-12900T + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

Apex Performer

System Balance Analysis

Intel Core i9-12900T

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090

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 — 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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Build Overview — what this CPU+GPU pairing is, its class (desktop/laptop from buildClass), and overall tier from the percentiles

FAQ

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

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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