Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 lands at rank 3411 out of 3700 tested combinations for Evolve. That places this combo in the lower 8th percentile of all systems measured in the database, meaning roughly 92% of tested hardware configurations deliver higher average frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects a fundamental mismatch: Evolve is a 2015 FPS title with modest engine demands, but the RX 580, while competent for its era, sits near the middle of the GPU performance distribution.

The CPU itself is not the limiting factor here. The i5-12400 holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance include the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, within 0.1%), the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, 0.3% faster), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, 0.7% faster). The Intel Core i3-14100F trails by 0.9% with a score of 18519. In practical terms, the processor is delivering performance comparable to much more expensive server and mobile parts, so CPU headroom is ample.

The GPU tells a different story. The RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, 0.4% faster), the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% slower), and the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847, 0.6% slower). The RX 580 is effectively in a tight cluster with these parts, none of which are modern high-end solutions. This explains why the combo ranks so low: the GPU is holding the system back far more than the CPU.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no tested preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest average frame rate recorded at 4K is 31.8 FPS on Low settings, which is roughly half of the target. Medium delivers 25.4 FPS, High drops to 18.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 11.5 FPS. None of these are playable by the database standard of 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves but still falls short. Low settings produce 57.8 FPS, just 2.2 FPS below the playable threshold. Medium yields 45.5 FPS, High drops to 37.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22.6 FPS. The closest option, Low at 57.8 FPS, is tantalizingly near 60 but does not clear it.

At 1920x1080, the combo finally finds playable territory. Low settings deliver 86.2 FPS, which comfortably exceeds the threshold. Medium settings produce 65.6 FPS, also above 60. High settings fall to 50.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium at 65.6 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for smooth gameplay at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate recorded is 31.8 FPS on Low settings. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 25.4, 18.3, and 11.5 FPS respectively. No preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best 1080p setting for this combo?

A: Medium settings at 1920x1080 deliver 65.6 FPS average, which is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Low settings are also playable at 86.2 FPS, but Medium offers the best visual quality while remaining smooth.

Q: Is 1440p playable with the i5-12400 and RX 580?

A: No. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 57.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets (Medium 45.5 FPS, High 37.2 FPS, Ultra 22.6 FPS) are further below the target.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to similar GPUs in the database?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928. It sits within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986), the AMD Radeon 740M (12870), and the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847). Performance differences among these are negligible.

Q: How much CPU headroom does this build have?

A: The i5-12400 ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs with an average score of 18683. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, is only 0.7% faster. In Evolve, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the CPU's benchmark performance is far above what this game requires.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 34 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS playable threshold and represents a significant drop from Medium, which delivers 65.6 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU side, the i5-12400's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score are the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% slower), the Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% faster), the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (0.7% faster), and the Intel Core i3-14100F (0.9% slower). Any of these processors would behave nearly identically in Evolve, as the game's demands are well below what all of them can supply. The choice between them would not meaningfully change frame rates in this title.

For the GPU side, the RX 580's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (0.4% faster), the AMD Radeon 740M (0.5% slower), and the AMD FirePro W5100 (0.6% slower). Swapping the RX 580 for any of these would produce essentially the same measured performance in Evolve. The GTX 1660 SUPER is marginally ahead and would be the most direct upgrade in terms of behavior, while the Radeon 740M is a slight downgrade. None of these alternatives would push the combo over the 60 FPS line at 1440p, and all would remain playable at 1080p Medium.

Combining the CPU alternatives with the GPU alternatives yields similar overall system behavior. A build with an i3-14100F and a GTX 1660 SUPER would track within roughly 1% of the i5-12400 and RX 580 combination across the board. The database shows these components cluster tightly, so users should not expect meaningful differences in Evolve from any of these substitutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded averages are as follows: Low 31.8 FPS, Medium 25.4 FPS, High 18.3 FPS, Ultra 11.5 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 6.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 7.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 6.8 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear, with each preset tier costing about 20-25% of the previous frame rate. At 4K, the RX 580's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are insufficient to maintain fluid motion at any quality level.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 57.8 FPS, Medium 45.5 FPS, High 37.2 FPS, Ultra 22.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 12.3 FPS, which is the largest single-tier drop at this resolution. High to Ultra costs 14.6 FPS, the steepest decline. Low is only 2.2 FPS away from the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that minor tweaks to a Low preset could potentially squeeze it over the line, but the database records it as unplayable.

At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 86.2 FPS, Medium 65.6 FPS, High 50.5 FPS, Ultra 34 FPS. Low to Medium costs 20.6 FPS, Medium to High costs 15.1 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 16.5 FPS. The data shows a clear cliff between Medium and High: the combo can handle the lighter presets comfortably, but crossing into High or Ultra immediately drops below 60 FPS. The 34 FPS at Ultra is less than half of the Low setting's output, indicating that Evolve's Ultra preset imposes rendering costs that this GPU cannot absorb.

The Verdict

This system can run Evolve, but only at 1920x1080 with Low or Medium settings. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, no settings are playable; at 2560x1440, no settings are playable; at 1920x1080, Low and Medium clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Medium being the best playable preset at 65.6 FPS average.

The 1080p results are the only viable path for this hardware. Low at 86.2 FPS gives substantial headroom above 60, which is useful for minimizing frame time spikes. Medium at 65.6 FPS is the sweet spot, offering better visual quality while still staying above the threshold. High at 50.5 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are not recommended, as both fall below the playable line.

At 1440p, the system is tantalizingly close with Low at 57.8 FPS, but close does not count in the database. The 2.2 FPS shortfall means users at this resolution would need to accept sub-60 gameplay or drop to a lower resolution. At 4K, the best result (31.8 FPS on Low) is roughly half the target, making this resolution effectively unplayable for this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at every resolution. The RX 580 ranks at the 53rd percentile among GPUs, while the i5-12400 ranks at the 72nd percentile among CPUs. In Evolve, a game from 2015, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.40 GHz boost clock provide far more processing power than the title requires. The GPU's limits are what define the measured frame rates.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU-bound nature. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 30-35% at each preset (for example, Low drops from 86.2 to 57.8 FPS, a 33% reduction). Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces frame rates by another 45-50% (Low drops from 57.8 to 31.8 FPS, a 45% reduction). This steep resolution scaling is characteristic of a GPU-limited system: the CPU would show far less variation across resolutions if it were the constraint.

The scaling between presets further isolates the GPU as the limiting factor. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 52.2 FPS (86.2 down to 34). At 1440p, the same gap is 35.2 FPS (57.8 down to 22.6). At 4K, the gap is 20.3 FPS (31.8 down to 11.5). The shrinking absolute differences at higher resolutions occur because the GPU is already saturated, and preset changes have diminishing returns when the rendering pipeline is fully stressed.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and lighter presets. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 86.2 FPS, which is a moderately high frame rate that does begin to exercise the CPU's single-thread performance. The i5-12400's single-thread benchmark scores (910 in 3dmark single thread, 3456 in PassMark single thread) are strong enough to sustain this level. However, even at 1080p Low, the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the RX 580's 8813 PassMark G3D score is the more limiting figure.

For users seeking higher frame rates, upgrading the GPU would yield the largest gains. The CPU can comfortably support a much faster graphics card, as its 72nd percentile ranking indicates substantial headroom. Conversely, upgrading the CPU alone would produce negligible improvements in Evolve, as the recorded frame rates are governed by the GPU's rendering throughput at all tested resolutions and presets.