Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a starkly asymmetric combination: a quad-core, entry-level desktop processor from the Alder Lake generation is matched with NVIDIA’s flagship Ada Lovelace GPU. Benchmark data for Evolve shows this pairing delivers playable frame rates at every tested resolution, but the analysis must separate the GPU’s raw output from the CPU’s ability to feed it.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core 3 N355 with a delta of 0%, the Intel Core i5-9500 at 0.3% ahead, the Intel Core 5 120UL at 0.7% behind, and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 1.1% ahead. In practical terms, a system using any of these processors would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Evolve, since the Core i3-12100F’s average benchmark score of 13494 is statistically indistinguishable from these alternatives. The Core i5-9500, being a six-core part from an older generation, would behave similarly in this game, suggesting Evolve’s workload does not heavily tax more than a few threads.

For the GPU, the RTX 4090’s nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% behind), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (2.5% ahead), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (2.9% behind). These are professional or workstation-class cards, but their average benchmark scores cluster tightly around the RTX 4090’s 60347. In Evolve, a system with any of these GPUs would deliver frame rates within a few percent of the RTX 4090’s output, assuming the same CPU and settings. The data indicates that the RTX 4090 is not uniquely positioned; several alternatives would offer nearly identical gameplay performance, though none match its 24 GB memory capacity or 1.01 TB/s bandwidth.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in Evolve?

A: The measured FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings reaches 301 average, but the CPU’s single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and multicore score of 4051 in 3dmark_16_threads suggest the processor can sustain high frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to exactly 60 FPS, which aligns more with GPU load than CPU limitation, as the RTX 4090’s 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 output is the primary driver.

Q: What is the playable settings threshold at each resolution?

A: All four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution, since the playableThresholdFps is 60 and even the lowest average (60 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra) meets it. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 105 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra averages 156 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4090’s performance compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, has a delta of 0%, meaning its average benchmark score is identical. In Evolve, the RTX 4090’s measured FPS would be effectively matched by the Arc Pro A60, assuming the same CPU and settings, though the RTX 4090’s 24 GB memory and higher bandwidth are not reflected in the FPS data.

Q: Does the CPU’s 4-core configuration limit performance at lower resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 301, and at 2560x1440 Low it is 248. These high frame rates indicate the CPU can keep up, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K (301 to 141 at Low) shows a 53% drop, which is consistent with GPU load increasing. The CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz appear sufficient for Evolve’s FPS workload.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 152 out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.1% of all systems tested for Evolve. This rank reflects the overall performance balance, though the CPU is in the 68th percentile among all CPUs and the GPU in the 88th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Are the FPS numbers measured or estimated?

A: The dataIsMeasured field is true, meaning the FPS values are from actual testing, not extrapolation. The Medium settings at each resolution include min and max FPS values (e.g., 233 to 315 at 1080p), while other settings only list average FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates scale from 141 FPS at Low to 110 at Medium, then 86 at High, and finally 60 at Ultra. The Medium setting at 4K shows a min of 93 and max of 126, indicating a variance of 33 FPS. This progression shows a steep drop from Low to Ultra: 141 to 60 represents a 57% reduction in average FPS. The Ultra setting is the only one that exactly hits the playable threshold, with no min or max data provided.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 248 FPS at Low, 193 at Medium, 151 at High, and 105 at Ultra. The Medium setting’s min is 164 and max is 221, a range of 57 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 248 to 105, a 57.7% decline. Notably, even the Ultra preset at 1440p delivers nearly double the 4K Ultra average, showing resolution is a dominant factor.

At 1920x1080, the averages are 301 FPS at Low, 274 at Medium, 225 at High, and 156 at Ultra. The Medium setting min is 233 and max is 315, a spread of 82 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 301 to 156, a 48.2% reduction. The 1080p Low average of 301 FPS is the highest measured across all resolutions and settings, while 4K Ultra at 60 FPS is the lowest.

Comparing resolutions at the same setting, the Low preset goes from 301 FPS at 1080p to 248 at 1440p (a 17.6% drop) and then 141 at 4K (a 43.1% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset goes from 156 at 1080p to 105 at 1440p (a 32.7% drop) and 60 at 4K (a 42.9% drop from 1440p). The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling: 274, 193, and 110 across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 152 out of 3700 tested systems, which places it in the 96th percentile of all tested combinations for Evolve. This rank is surprisingly high given the modest CPU, but the RTX 4090’s dominance compensates. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus is 68, meaning it outperforms 68% of all CPUs, while the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is 88, outperforming 88% of all GPUs. The gap between these percentiles suggests the GPU is carrying the system’s ranking. In practical terms, the combo rank of 152 indicates that only 151 other combinations produce higher average frame rates in Evolve, and those likely use faster processors. However, the data does not provide individual scores for the other combos, so the specific margin over the next-ranked system is unknown. The rank also implies that roughly 3548 tested combos perform worse, which aligns with the RTX 4090’s high benchmark scores.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Evolve, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and preset. At 3840x2160, the Ultra setting averages exactly 60 FPS, which meets the playable threshold, while High averages 86, Medium 110, and Low 141. At 2560x1440, all settings are well above 60: Ultra averages 105, High 151, Medium 193, and Low 248. At 1920x1080, the averages are 156 for Ultra, 225 for High, 274 for Medium, and 301 for Low. The verdictByResolution data confirms that all settings are playable at all three resolutions, with the best settings being Ultra at each resolution. The 4K Ultra average of exactly 60 FPS is the limiting case, but it still meets the threshold. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, the 4K High preset at 86 FPS offers a comfortable margin, while 4K Medium at 110 FPS provides headroom for demanding scenes. The 1440p and 1080p results are so far above the threshold that any settings combination will be playable, with the only concern being whether the monitor’s refresh rate can display the high frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages exactly 60 FPS. This is the maximum visual quality available, and it meets the threshold by the smallest possible margin. The next step down, High, averages 86 FPS, which would be a safer choice for consistent performance. For 2560x1440, the best setting is Ultra with an average of 105 FPS, which clears the threshold by 75%. This is the highest preset, so no compromise is needed. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 156 FPS, which is the best setting and exceeds the threshold by 96 FPS. In all three cases, the Ultra preset is the most demanding option that remains playable, meaning users can enable maximum visual settings without dropping below 60 FPS. The data shows no need to reduce settings for playability; the only reason to lower settings would be to achieve higher frame rates for high-refresh monitors, such as the 301 FPS at 1080p Low.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component dominates. At 1920x1080 Low, the average is 301 FPS, which is likely CPU-bound given the RTX 4090’s capability; the GPU could render far more frames, but the CPU’s 4 cores and 8 threads limit the output. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 248 FPS, a 17.6% reduction, which is modest and suggests the CPU is still the limiting factor. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 141 FPS, a 43.1% drop from 1440p, indicating the GPU is now the primary constraint. This pattern shows that at 1080p and 1440p with Low settings, the CPU is the bottleneck, while at 4K, the GPU takes over.

The Medium preset shows a different trend: 274 FPS at 1080p, 193 at 1440p, and 110 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 29.6%, while from 1440p to 4K is 43.0%. The larger drop at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is increasingly dominant as resolution increases. The High preset follows a similar pattern: 225 FPS at 1080p, 151 at 1440p (a 32.9% drop), and 86 at 4K (a 43.0% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the most even scaling: 156, 105, and 60, with drops of 32.7% and 42.9%, respectively. Across all presets, the relative performance decline from 1440p to 4K is consistently around 43%, while the decline from 1080p to 1440p varies between 17.6% and 32.9%. This consistency suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting factor, while at lower resolutions, the CPU’s limitations become more apparent.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support this interpretation. The 3dmark_single_thread score of 893 and passmark_single_thread score of 3444 indicate moderate single-thread performance, while the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 11860 shows the 4-core processor can handle multithreaded loads. However, the RTX 4090’s 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 output and 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth far exceed what Evolve’s engine can utilize at lower resolutions, so the CPU becomes the limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases enough to become the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra average of exactly 60 FPS, which aligns more with GPU rendering limits than CPU throughput. In summary, for Evolve, the CPU matters most at 1080p and 1440p with Low settings, while the GPU dominates at 4K and at higher presets across all resolutions.