Sarfraz
In The List
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1650 SC Ultra Gaming,... | $255.00 | Order On Amazon | |
| ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1660 6GB GDDR5 192-bit Gaming... | $269.99 $250.65 | Order On Amazon | |
| PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 6600 Graphics... | $239.99 | Order On Amazon | |
| ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC 12GB... | $399.99 $289.99 | Order On Amazon | |
| PowerColor Hellhound AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT... | $329.99 $274.99 | Order On Amazon |
The Intel Core i3 12100F replaces the previous-gen Core i3 processors by taking the best budget gaming processor crown for under $150. This chip comes with 4 cores and 8 threads that are capable of running all the games without bottlenecking them at the least unless you combine it with a crappy GPU.
Graphics card performance matters the most when a budget CPU like i3 12100F comes into action as you want to squeeze out as much juice as you can to play games with high fps at 1080 resolution.
Currently, there are not as many good graphics cards for a decent price as used to exist 3-4 years ago but the availability and pricing are definitely showing some signs which should get you a decent GPU to finally build your own gaming PC.
Here are the top 5 graphics cards you can use with the i3 12100F and play games on resolutions like 1080p up to 1440p.
5 Best Graphics Cards For Core i3 12100F
Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650
- Boost Clock: 1860 MHz
- All-new NVIDIA Turing architecture TO give you...
- Dual fans offer higher performance cooling and low...
- Built for EVGA Precision x1 - EVGA all-new tuning...
Despite being more than 2 years old, the GTX 1650 is the most popular budget graphics card right now. This is the only $150 card that is one of the most bought GPUs on the market due to a few reasons. GTX 1650 is based on Turing and thus brings better efficiency with higher performance than the previous generation.
The card features 896 Cuda Cores and 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM which is faster than the GTX 1050 Ti that was very dominant 3 years back. It is significantly faster in gaming and can play almost every game at 1080p resolution with up to high settings easily. Some older games can be played with ultra settings with some settings compromised that shouldn’t be any problem if you love eye candy.
For a processor like i3 12100F, this is the least I recommend if you want to build a budget gaming system in 2023.
Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660
- New turing architecture
- Classic and modern games at 1080p at 60 fps....
- Super compACt 8.5-inch card, fits 99% of systems
- Dual slot, 4k/ HDR/ VR ready. Supported os -...
GTX 1660 is the next Turing GPU you can opt for. The GTX 1660 provides around 5-10% improvement in fps and features better specs that make 1080p gaming more enjoyable. It comes with 1408 Cuda Cores and 6GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 8Gbps. This GPU is at least 40% faster on average than the 1650 and brings more powerful specs.
It comes with 6GB GDDR5 memory that helps you bump up the graphical settings even more at 1080p without having to compromise on performance. It is also power-efficient with 120W of TDP and requires a reliable 450 watts power supply that also goes easier on your pocket if you are on a tight budget.
AMD Radeon RX 6600
- Country Of Origin : China
- Stream Processor: 1792
- Game Clock: 2044Mhz
- Boost Clock: 2491Mhz.Avoid using unofficial...
For somewhat the same or a little more price, instead of getting the 1660 Super, the RTX 3050, or the more expensive RTX 3060, it’s better to get the RX 6600 which is a close competitor to the 3060 but costs significantly less.
The RX 6600 comes with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM which is faster and better than the memory on 1660. It is also 10-15% faster than 1660 on average in most games which makes it the best-value card under $250.
Radeon RX 6600 is also ray tracing compatible, however, it is not as good as the Ampere series from Nvidia. So, I totally don’t encourage turning on RT in supported games. Except for this CON, I don’t think there is any better match for the 6600 right now if you are not willing to go over $250.
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060
- NVIDIA Ampere architecture, 2nd Gen Ray Tracing...
- 12GB 192-bit GDDR6, 15 Gbps, PCIE 4.0; Boost Clock...
- IceStorm 2.0 Cooling, Active Fan Control, Freeze...
- 8K Ready, 4 Display Ready, HDCP 2.3, VR...
The Geforce RTX 3060 is one of the great ideal choices for the i3 12100F and the maximum I recommend from Nvidia. RTX 3060 is equivalent to the RX 6600 XT in most games but surpasses it in a few. The best advantage of the RTX 3060 over the RX 6600 XT is its Ray Tracing performance and DLSS.
Yes, the RX 6600 XT has the FSR and RSR features, but DLSS is old now and is very much developed compared to FSR and RSR. Ray Tracing combined with DLSS will provide playable framerates at 1080p resolution.
RTX 3060 comes with 3584 Cuda Cores and a good-sized memory of 12GB GDDR6. This should be sufficient for any game at 1080p and 1440p resolution and will enhance textures, anti-aliasing, foliage, etc. which requires more VRAM.
AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT
- Video Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- Stream Processor: 2048
- Game Clock: 2486 MHz (OC) / 2410 MHz (Silent)
- Boost Clock: 2689 MHz (OC) / 2635 MHz (Silent)
The RX 6650 XT comes in the second batch of RDNA-2 based GPUs and fills the gaps between the RX 6600 XT and 6700 XT. This GPU is a little faster than the RX 6600 XT and also 10% faster than the 6600.
Currently, the RX 6650 XT is the best 1440p GPU under $350 that outperforms even the RTX 3060. It can max out most games even at 1440p resolution and still provide 60+ fps.
Its specs include 2048 Stream Processors, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM clocked at 17.5Gbps on a 128-bit memory bus giving a total of 280GB/s memory bandwidth which is an appreciable uplift from the RX 6600.
It also comes with the capability of Ray Tracing but I don’t recommend turning that feature ON as AMD is still far behind Nvidia in this technology.
Final Words
The above-listed five graphics cards are the best choices in 2023 for i3 12100F and will be ideal even for other budget processors under $200. Though there are some other choices in the same price range as the above GPUs, they are either overpriced or are too old for today’s games, and that’s why I simply excluded them from the list.
Let me know which graphics card you are going to buy for your gaming build in the comments below.
Maximum graphics card for 12100F @4K60fps Ultra RT-DLSS-Balance?
I wouldn’t recommend super high-end GPUs with i3 12100F as it will bottleneck those GPUs at 4K resolution, especially with everything put to max. 12100F is fine up to 1440p but with my max recommendation of RTX 3070.