Evolve

Can Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 9070 run Evolve? The measured data indicates this combination delivers a wide range of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset, with 1080p and 1440p offering substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 4K, the system requires a preset adjustment to maintain smooth gameplay, as the highest quality settings drop below the target.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results for Evolve show a clear progression of performance across the three tested resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 248.4 FPS on Low settings, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium settings at this resolution, the average drops to 189.7 FPS, still far above the playable threshold. High settings at 1080p yield 151.5 FPS on average, while the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a strong 104.3 FPS average. None of the 1080p presets come close to falling below 60 FPS, indicating the CPU-GPU pairing has considerable performance reserves at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain consistently high, though the scaling from 1080p shows a predictable decline. Low settings produce 165.5 FPS on average, which is a reduction of approximately 33% compared to the same preset at 1080p. Medium settings at 1440p average 126 FPS, while High settings deliver 102.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution records 69.1 FPS on average, which still clears the 60 FPS threshold but with less margin than lower presets. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is substantial, with the Ultra preset delivering roughly 58% of the Low preset's frame rate.

The 3840x2160 results demonstrate where the hardware begins to feel the pressure of higher pixel counts. Low settings at 4K average 95.5 FPS, which remains comfortably playable. Medium settings drop to 70.7 FPS on average, still above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings fall to 58 FPS on average, just below the playable mark. The Ultra preset at 4K records 41.1 FPS on average, indicating a significant performance penalty of nearly 43% compared to the Low preset at the same resolution. Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra follows a consistent pattern, with each step up in quality costing roughly 25-30% of the previous preset's frame rate.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the balance between the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 shifts as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets, reaching 248.4 FPS on Low. This suggests the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly, and the CPU's four cores and eight threads are sufficient to feed the graphics card without becoming a limiting factor at this resolution. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 4.30 GHz boost clock provide enough single-thread performance to keep up with the GPU's output.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rate drop from 1080p is proportionally larger than the increase in pixel count would suggest, indicating the GPU is becoming more heavily utilized. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 69.1 FPS, which is roughly 66% of the 104.3 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra. This scaling points to the RX 9070's rendering workload growing faster than the CPU's ability to prepare frames, though the CPU still manages to keep frame times consistent enough to maintain playable performance.

At 3840x2160, the roles become clearer. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are tasked with pushing four times the pixels of 1080p, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The High preset at 4K falls to 58 FPS, just under the threshold, while Ultra reaches only 41.1 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 4K, the Radeon RX 9070's rendering capabilities are the primary constraint, and the Core i3-12100F's performance is sufficient to avoid introducing additional bottlenecks. The CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and cinebench r23 single-core score of 1674 suggest it can maintain adequate draw-call processing even when the GPU is under heavy load.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that remains playable, delivering an average of 104.3 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, so users can maximize visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. The frame rate headroom at this preset also allows for potential background tasks or streaming without dropping below playable levels.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again qualifies as the best playable setting, with an average of 69.1 FPS. While this is closer to the 60 FPS threshold than the 1080p result, it still maintains a comfortable margin. The High preset at this resolution offers 102.7 FPS for those who prefer additional headroom, but Ultra provides the full visual experience while staying above the minimum requirement.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, averaging 70.7 FPS. The High preset falls to 58 FPS on average, which is below the playable threshold. Users targeting 4K should select Medium settings to ensure consistent performance, as the gap between Medium and High represents a 21% frame rate reduction that pushes the system out of the playable range.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K with High settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 58, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Medium preset at this resolution averages 70.7 FPS and is the highest playable setting.

Q: What frame rate does the Ultra preset achieve at 2560x1440?

A: The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 69.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a modest margin. This is the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same preset?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 248.4 at 1920x1080 to 95.5 at 3840x2160, representing a reduction of roughly 62%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 104.3 to 41.1, a decrease of approximately 61%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1920x1080?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint even at 1080p, as frame rates scale down consistently when moving to higher resolutions. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a passmark single-thread score of 3444, indicate it can handle the game's processing demands at this resolution.

Q: Which preset at 3840x2160 offers the best balance of quality and performance?

A: The Medium preset at 4K averages 70.7 FPS, providing a 17.7% margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset achieves 95.5 FPS but sacrifices visual quality, while High falls short of the playable mark.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 4K?

A: The 1440p Ultra preset averages 69.1 FPS, while 4K High averages 58 FPS. The 1440p Ultra is playable, whereas the 4K High is not, despite the 1440p preset being more visually demanding in terms of effects quality.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the AMD Radeon RX 9070, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z has an average benchmark score of 23736, which is 0.6% lower than the RX 9070's 23877. This suggests the TITAN Z would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, though it lacks the modern feature set of RDNA 4.0. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063, putting it 0.8% higher than the RX 9070, so it would likely deliver marginally better performance in this game. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628, which is 1.1% lower, and the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, which is 1.2% higher. These four GPUs represent a tight performance band, with the RTX 2080 SUPER being the closest match in terms of raw benchmark output.

For the Intel Core i3-12100F, the nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492, essentially matching the i3's 13494. The Intel Core i5-9500 scores 13452, which is 0.3% lower, while the Intel Core 5 120UL scores 13594, which is 0.7% higher. The Intel Core i7-1250U scores 13351, putting it 1.1% lower. These processors would all provide similar CPU-side performance in Evolve, meaning the frame rates measured for the i3-12100F would be closely replicated with any of these alternatives when paired with the same GPU.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution confirms that this system can run Evolve effectively across most settings. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with the Ultra preset averaging 104.3 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 69.1 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low and Medium presets are playable, with Medium averaging 70.7 FPS as the best option. The High preset at 4K falls short at 58 FPS, and Ultra drops to 41.1 FPS. Overall, the system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at maximum quality, while 4K users will need to compromise with Medium settings to maintain smooth performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks at position 1109 out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve. This places the pairing in the upper third of all configurations tested, indicating it outperforms the majority of systems in the database. The rank reflects the strong GPU performance offset by the modest CPU specifications; the RX 9070's 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs contributes significantly to the overall position, while the i3-12100F's 68th percentile among CPUs ensures the pairing does not suffer from severe component imbalance. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and presets support this ranking, as the system maintains playable performance in most scenarios and excels at lower resolutions.