Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a legacy combination from two distinct hardware generations, yet the recorded data shows it remains a viable option for playing Evolve, a 2015 title. The benchmark results indicate a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and presets, with the system hitting a comfortable 60 FPS threshold at the two most common gaming resolutions. At 4K, however, the data reveals a firm wall where even the lowest settings fail to deliver playable performance. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, component roles, and optimal settings based strictly on the recorded database entries.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination in Evolve is structured across three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). The database only records average FPS values, with no min or max frame data available for any configuration.

At 1920x1080, the performance curve is steep and mostly favorable. The Low preset delivers an average of 131.5 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. Moving up, Medium produces 104.2 FPS, and High drops to 81.1 FPS. All three of these presets clear the 60 FPS playable threshold with substantial headroom. The Ultra preset is the outlier, falling to 56 FPS average, which is just below the 60 FPS line. This represents a drop of 25.1 FPS from High to Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset introduces rendering demands that the GTX 1070 cannot fully sustain at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts downward. Low settings still manage a strong 89.8 FPS average, and Medium stays above the threshold at 66.6 FPS. High drops to 53.6 FPS, which is below playable. Ultra falls further to 39.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at this resolution is 23.2 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 13 FPS. The margin between High and Ultra narrows to 13.7 FPS, but the latter is clearly unplayable. The data shows that 1440p requires a compromise: only the two lowest presets remain in the playable range.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly below the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings average 48.4 FPS, which is the best 4K figure. Medium drops to 39.3 FPS, High to 32.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19.6 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 9.1 FPS loss, Medium to High is 7.1 FPS, and High to Ultra is a 12.6 FPS loss. No setting at 4K comes close to playable performance, with the best case (Low) sitting 11.6 FPS below the 60 FPS mark. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable target for this hardware combination in Evolve.

The overall dataset reveals a consistent pattern: the GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus, combined with the i5-12400's six cores and twelve threads, scale predictably with resolution and preset. The 1080p and 1440p results show that the hardware is capable, while 4K results demonstrate a clear architectural limit.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS for the High preset at 1920x1080 is 81.1, which is 21.1 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 66.6 FPS, which is the highest FPS among the playable presets (Low and Medium) at this resolution. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS with averages of 53.6 and 39.9, respectively.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combination?

A: No. All recorded 4K presets, from Low at 48.4 FPS to Ultra at 19.6 FPS, fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The best 4K result (Low) is 11.6 FPS short of playable performance.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The gap is 75.5 FPS. Low settings average 131.5 FPS, while Ultra averages 56 FPS. This indicates a significant scaling cost for the Ultra preset, which also drops the frame rate below the 60 FPS line.

Q: Which component is more critical for 1440p performance?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1440p, the framerate drops from 66.6 FPS at Medium to 53.6 FPS at High, a 13 FPS loss despite the CPU maintaining its clocks (the i5-12400 boosts to 4.40 GHz). The GTX 1070's pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are insufficient for the higher preset's demands.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever reach 60 FPS at any resolution?

A: No. The Ultra preset only records 56 FPS at 1920x1080, 39.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and 19.6 FPS at 3840x2160. All are below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data for Evolve reveals a distinct division of labor between the Intel Core i5-12400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The CPU, with its six cores and twelve threads, provides ample processing headroom for this title. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and Geekbench multicore score of 8564 indicate strong thread utilization, yet the game's framerate scaling across resolutions points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

At 1920x1080, the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor. The Low preset reaches 131.5 FPS, which is well above what the GTX 1070 can typically sustain in more demanding titles. The drop from Low to Medium (27.3 FPS) and Medium to High (23.1 FPS) is consistent with GPU-side rendering cost. The i5-12400's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and Passmark single-thread score of 3456, is sufficient to feed the GPU at these rates. The Ultra preset's drop to 56 FPS further confirms that the GPU's shading units (1920) and ROPS (64) are the limiting factor, not the CPU.

At 2560x1440, the CPU's role diminishes further. The framerate drops by roughly 30-35% across all presets compared to 1080p (e.g., Low from 131.5 to 89.8, a 41.7 FPS loss). This scaling is typical of GPU-bound workloads, where the pixel fill rate (107.7 GPixel/s) and memory bandwidth (256.3 GB/s) become the constraints. The CPU's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and L3 cache of 18 MB are unchanged, yet the framerate falls, confirming that the GPU is responsible for the loss.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the sole bottleneck. The best result, 48.4 FPS at Low, is 83.1 FPS below the 1080p Low result. This massive drop is due to the fourfold increase in pixel count, which saturates the GTX 1070's 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. The CPU's performance is irrelevant at this resolution, as the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize the i5-12400's full capabilities.

The data indicates that for Evolve, the GTX 1070 is the decisive component at all resolutions. The i5-12400 provides sufficient headroom, but the GPU's architecture, based on Pascal and manufactured on a 16 nm process, determines the playability boundaries. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 72, while the GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 47, reinforcing that the GPU sits lower in the performance distribution and thus dictates the framerate limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this specific CPU and GPU combination for Evolve at 3042 out of 3700 tested combos. This places it in the 17.7th percentile of all configurations tested for this game, meaning roughly 82% of the recorded combos achieve better performance. The rank reflects the age of the GTX 1070 (released in 2016) and the mid-range positioning of the i5-12400 (released in 2022).

For context, the CPU alone sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, scores 18697, a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, a delta of -0.3%. This indicates the i5-12400 is a solid mid-pack processor. The GPU, however, sits at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 9780. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W5000, scores 9803, a delta of -0.2%, and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M scores 9832, a delta of -0.5%. The GTX 1070 is near the median of all GPUs, but for Evolve, the GPU's relative weakness drags the combo ranking down.

The rank of 3042 out of 3700 suggests that while this combo is playable at 1080p and 1440p (with lower presets), it is not competitive with more modern hardware. The data shows that the GPU's 47th percentile ranking is the primary contributor to the low combo rank, as the CPU's 72nd percentile would otherwise support a higher ranking. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-tier older GPU creates a system that is adequate for Evolve at mainstream resolutions but far from optimal.

The Verdict

The recorded verdict data is unambiguous. For 3840x2160, the database lists no playable settings, meaning no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best 4K result, Low at 48.4 FPS, is 11.6 FPS short of playable, so this resolution is not viable.

For 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium, with Medium being the best at 66.6 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS line by 6.6 FPS, providing a playable experience, though with a moderate preset. High and Ultra are not playable.

For 1920x1080, the playable settings are Low, Medium, and High, with High being the best at 81.1 FPS. This is 21.1 FPS above the threshold, offering a smooth experience. Ultra is not playable at 56 FPS.

In summary, this PC can run Evolve at 1080p and 1440p, provided the user selects appropriate presets. At 1080p, High settings deliver strong performance. At 1440p, Medium is the ceiling. At 4K, the system fails to deliver playable framerates at any setting. The GTX 1070's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at these resolutions, but the GPU's raw compute power (6.463 TFLOPS) is the limiting factor for higher presets and resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the recorded FPS data and the verdict by resolution, the optimal settings for each resolution are as follows:

3840x2160: No playable settings exist. The database records no best settings and no average FPS at best for this resolution. The user should avoid 4K with this hardware.

2560x1440: The best playable setting is Medium, which delivers an average of 66.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Low is also playable at 89.8 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual balance while still clearing the threshold by 6.6 FPS.

1920x1080: The best playable setting is High, which delivers an average of 81.1 FPS. This is 21.1 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable margin. Low and Medium are also playable, but High is the recommended choice for better visual quality without sacrificing framerate stability. Ultra is not recommended, as it falls to 56 FPS, below the playable line.

These settings represent the maximum visual quality that maintains playable performance for this specific hardware combination in Evolve. The data shows a clear trade-off: at 1080p, the user can enjoy High settings; at 1440p, Medium is the limit; and at 4K, no setting is viable.