Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a strong performance profile for Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. Measured data shows this combination ranks 1038th out of 3700 tested combos for this game, placing it in the upper third of all configurations. The CPU holds a 79th percentile ranking against all processors, while the GPU sits at the 68th percentile against all graphics cards, indicating a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically outperforms the other in synthetic benchmarks. Across the three tested resolutions, the system consistently exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold at most settings, with the only exception being Ultra settings at 4K resolution, where the average frame rate drops to 41.8 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the measured average frame rate is 103.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 3840x2160 resolution?

A: Medium settings are the best playable option at 4K, delivering an average of 76.9 FPS. High settings average 57.1 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra settings average only 41.8 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172, while the RX 6600M scores 23273, a difference of -0.4% — meaning the two GPUs are effectively identical in average benchmark performance.

Q: Does the CPU limit the GPU at lower resolutions?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system averages 248.5 FPS, which is significantly higher than any other setting at that resolution, suggesting the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates even at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance relative to its multi-threaded performance?

A: In Cinebench R23, the i5-12600KF scores 3302 in single-core and 23391 in multi-core, showing a roughly 7:1 ratio between multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 1016, while the max-thread score is 7952.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's performance closer to its rivals or is there a wide gap?

A: The RTX 3080's nearest rivals — the NVIDIA P106-100, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16, AMD Radeon RX 6600M, and AMD Radeon R9 M290X — all have average scores within -0.4% of the RTX 3080's 23172, indicating a tight cluster of comparable GPUs.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearestRivals data, the Intel Core i5-12600KF pairs most closely with several CPUs that have nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872, just -0.3% behind the i5-12600KF's 27799. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also -0.3% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 at -0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 at +0.3%. In practical terms, swapping the i5-12600KF for any of these processors would yield negligible performance differences in Evolve, since their average benchmark scores fall within a 0.6% total range.

For the GPU, the situation is similar. The RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 23172 places it within a tight cluster of rivals: the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (-0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250 (-0.3%), the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273 (-0.4%), and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23276 (-0.4%). All four rivals are within 0.4% of the RTX 3080's score, meaning any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve. A user with a system built around any of these CPU-GPU combinations would experience essentially the same gameplay performance, with differences of less than one frame per second in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 1038th out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all configurations tested. This rank reflects a system that is decidedly above average but not at the absolute top tier. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking against all processors suggests it is a relatively strong component, while the GPU's 68th percentile ranking is slightly lower, indicating that the graphics card is the more modest performer of the two relative to its peers. In practice, this means the system can handle Evolve comfortably at most settings, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at the highest resolution and quality combinations, particularly at 4K Ultra where the average frame rate falls to 41.8 FPS.

The Verdict

The measured data shows that this PC can run Evolve at 60 FPS or above across all tested resolutions, but not at every settings preset. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 103.5 FPS and Low reaching 248.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true: all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 73.8 FPS and High averaging 100.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium presets achieve 60 FPS or higher, with Medium averaging 76.9 FPS and Low averaging 98.3 FPS. High settings at 4K fall short at 57.1 FPS, and Ultra settings at 4K average just 41.8 FPS. The verdictByResolution data confirms that Medium is the best playable setting at 4K, while Ultra is playable at both 1440p and 1080p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates scale dramatically with settings: from 248.5 FPS at Low to 194.2 FPS at Medium, 154.1 FPS at High, and 103.5 FPS at Ultra. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor, since lowering graphics quality yields substantial frame rate gains. The CPU, with its high single-thread score of 3302 in Cinebench R23, is capable of feeding the GPU at these high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the same scaling pattern persists but with lower absolute numbers: 166.5 FPS at Low, 129.2 FPS at Medium, 100.9 FPS at High, and 73.8 FPS at Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 30% across all settings, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the additional pixel count increases rendering load.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become more apparent. Low settings average 98.3 FPS, Medium drops to 76.9 FPS, High falls to 57.1 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 41.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K (21.4 FPS) is similar to the gap at 1440p (37.3 FPS), but the absolute numbers are much lower. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint, and the CPU's role diminishes further. The RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's demands, but the 320-bit bus and 8704 shading units are taxed heavily at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops below 45 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is as follows:

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Medium, which achieves an average of 76.9 FPS. This is the highest quality preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. High settings at this resolution average 57.1 FPS, which is below the playable threshold, and Ultra averages 41.8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Ultra, with an average of 73.8 FPS. This is the most demanding preset and still maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The next highest preset, High, averages 100.9 FPS, showing that there is headroom for even higher quality if desired.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is also Ultra, averaging 103.5 FPS. This provides a significant cushion above the 60 FPS threshold, and the system could likely handle additional visual enhancements without dropping below playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured average frame rates for each resolution and settings combination are as follows:

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 98.3 FPS at Low settings, 76.9 FPS at Medium, 57.1 FPS at High, and 41.8 FPS at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline of roughly 20-25 FPS per settings tier, with the largest drop occurring between High and Ultra (15.3 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 166.5 FPS at Low, 129.2 FPS at Medium, 100.9 FPS at High, and 73.8 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 92.7 FPS, representing a 55.7% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to highest quality settings.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves 248.5 FPS at Low, 194.2 FPS at Medium, 154.1 FPS at High, and 103.5 FPS at Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 145 FPS, a 58.4% drop, which is proportionally similar to the drop seen at 1440p. Notably, the 1080p Low setting exceeds 240 FPS, which is more than four times the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating that the system has substantial headroom at this resolution for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

Across all resolutions, the frame rate scaling between settings is consistent: Low is roughly 1.3x faster than Medium, Medium is roughly 1.25x faster than High, and High is roughly 1.4x faster than Ultra. This consistent scaling pattern suggests that the game's graphics settings have a predictable impact on GPU load, and the RTX 3080 responds uniformly to these changes regardless of resolution.