Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a highly capable Evolve experience, but the data reveals a clear ceiling at 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, this combo is overwhelmingly strong, clearing 60 FPS at every preset. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold, while Medium settings provide a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. This is a system that excels at high-refresh 1440p gaming and handles 4K with adjusted expectations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data shows a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combo produces exceptional frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 246.1, which is more than double the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 193.4 FPS, still a massive margin. High settings yield 150.1 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 103.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 142.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains robust, though the scaling is more pronounced. Low settings produce an average of 164 FPS, which drops to 126.4 FPS on Medium. High settings average 99.9 FPS, and Ultra settings still deliver 72.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 91.3 FPS, showing that the resolution increase tightens the gap between presets compared to 1080p. Notably, every preset at 1440p stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra having a 12.7 FPS cushion.

The most demanding scenario is 3840x2160. At this resolution, Low settings average 96 FPS, which is a solid result. Medium settings average 73 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. However, High settings drop to 55.9 FPS, falling below the playable threshold by 4.1 FPS. Ultra settings average 40.3 FPS, which is a substantial 19.7 FPS below the playable mark. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a dramatic 55.7 FPS drop, emphasizing the strain that 4K resolution places on the GPU.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution. At 1920x1080, this is the Ultra preset, which achieves an average of 103.6 FPS. This means users can max out every visual option and still have a 43.6 FPS buffer above the playable threshold. The data shows that the CPU and GPU combination has more than enough power at 1080p to handle the game's maximum fidelity without compromise.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 72.7 FPS. This is a tighter margin than at 1080p, with a 12.7 FPS buffer over 60 FPS, but it still qualifies as a fully playable experience at the highest preset. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 30.9 FPS at Ultra settings, but the result remains above the playable line.

At 3840x2160, the best settings shift to Medium, which averages 73 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset is not playable. The data shows a 32.7 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 4K, and only Low and Medium settings are listed as playable. For 4K users, Medium settings provide the best visual fidelity while maintaining a 13 FPS margin above the playable threshold. High settings at 4K, at 55.9 FPS, are tantalizingly close but miss the mark.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant factor in Evolve's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The scaling between resolutions and presets shows a pattern consistent with GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p, the gap between Low (246.1 FPS) and Ultra (103.6 FPS) is 142.5 FPS, which is a 57.9% reduction. At 1440p, the same preset comparison yields a 91.3 FPS gap, a 55.7% reduction. At 4K, the gap narrows to 55.7 FPS, a 58.0% reduction. This consistent proportional drop across resolutions suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's workload does not scale as dramatically with resolution.

The Intel Core i5-12400, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to be sufficient to feed the Radeon RX 9070 at all tested resolutions. The CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 910 and its passmark single-thread score of 3456 indicate solid per-core performance. The fact that 1080p Low settings reach 246.1 FPS strongly suggests that the CPU is not limiting the system at lower resolutions, as such high frame rates would typically expose CPU bottlenecks. The i5-12400's percentileVsAllCpus score of 72 places it in the upper tier of processors, and its average benchmark score of 18683 is within 0.7% of its nearest rivals, indicating balanced performance.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The Radeon RX 9070's passmark g3d score of 25381 is a strong indicator of its rasterization capability. At 4K, the frame rates drop more steeply from preset to preset, with Ultra at 40.3 FPS versus Medium at 73 FPS. This 32.7 FPS gap at 4K, compared to a 30.9 FPS gap at 1440p between the same presets, shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are substantial, but the data shows that the RX 9070 cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in this title. The component roles are clear: the CPU provides ample headroom, while the GPU's performance ceiling defines the playable settings at each resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how this combo compares to other hardware. For the Intel Core i5-12400, the nearest rival is the AMD EPYC 7643, which has an average score of 18697, a delta of -0.1% from the i5-12400. This means the two processors perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks. Other close competitors include the Intel Core i7-1355U with a score of 18730 (delta -0.3%), the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 with a score of 18811 (delta -0.7%), and the Intel Core i3-14100F with a score of 18519 (delta 0.9%). The i3-14100F is the only rival with a positive delta, meaning the i5-12400 is slightly behind it, but all four rivals are within 0.9% of the i5-12400's performance. Users of any of these CPUs would see effectively identical frame rates in Evolve, assuming the same GPU.

For the AMD Radeon RX 9070, the nearest rivals show a wider spread. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z has an average score of 23736, with a delta of 0.6% meaning it is slightly ahead of the RX 9070. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063, a delta of -0.8%, meaning the RX 9070 is slightly ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628, a delta of 1.1%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, a delta of -1.2%. These deltas indicate that the RX 9070 sits in a narrow band of GPU performance. In practical terms, any of these GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Evolve, with the RTX 2080 SUPER potentially being slightly faster and the RTX 3080 Mobile slightly slower. The performance differences are minimal, so users with these alternative GPUs should expect comparable results at the same settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific CPU-GPU pair in Evolve is 1113 out of 3700 tested combinations. This places the combo in the top 30.1% of all tested systems. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for the combined CPU and GPU performance across the game's various settings and resolutions. Given that the combo easily clears 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p at all settings, and at 4K with Medium settings, the rank of 1113 reflects a system that is above average but not at the very top. The ranking suggests that there are many other combinations with more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 4K Ultra where this combo falls short. However, the rank also indicates that this combo outperforms the majority of systems tested, making it a solid mid-to-high-tier choice for Evolve.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve, and it does so with distinction across most settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS at every preset, with the Ultra settings achieving 103.6 FPS. This is a definitive yes for 1080p gaming, offering a high-refresh experience without needing to compromise on visual quality. At 2560x1440, the verdict is equally positive. All presets, including Ultra at 72.7 FPS, stay above the playable threshold. Users can enjoy the game at 1440p with maximum settings and a comfortable margin.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is conditional. The data shows that Low and Medium settings are playable, with Medium being the best playable preset at 73 FPS. High settings at 55.9 FPS and Ultra at 40.3 FPS are not playable according to the 60 FPS threshold. For 4K users, the recommendation is to use Medium settings for the best balance of visual quality and performance. The system is fully capable of running Evolve, but 4K Ultra is beyond its reach. Overall, this combo is a strong performer for Evolve, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, and it can manage 4K with settings adjusted to Medium. The data supports a confident verdict: this PC handles Evolve well, with the caveat that 4K enthusiasts must lower their expectations from the highest preset.