Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 221st out of 3,700 tested combinations for Evolve, placing it in the top 6% of all systems. This is a strong result for a game released in 2015, but the ranking reveals that the combo is not at the absolute top tier, which is expected given that the CPU sits at the 79th percentile against all processors and the GPU at the 86th percentile. The data indicates this combination delivers excellent performance, but the headroom between this setup and the very best hardware is measurable, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU’s percentile ranking becomes the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 221 out of 3,700 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon, outperforming roughly 94% of all tested pairings. This is a decisive result for Evolve, a title that benefits from both strong single-threaded CPU performance and high-end GPU throughput. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27,799 places it just 0.3% behind the Intel Core i9-10900K and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE, showing that the i5-12600KF is competitive with older flagship processors. On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s average score of 54,209 is within 0.1% of the standard RTX 4080, indicating that the SUPER variant offers negligible performance uplift in synthetic benchmarks.

The ranking data suggests that while this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, it begins to show strain at 4K Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops to 56.5, below the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is not a CPU limitation—the i5-12600KF’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom—but rather a GPU constraint at extreme settings. The percentile rankings corroborate this: the GPU is at the 86th percentile while the CPU is at the 79th, meaning the graphics card is relatively stronger in the overall market, but both components are well above average. The combo’s rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is dramatically underpowered for the other, but the GPU’s performance ceiling is reached before the CPU’s in this specific title.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results across resolutions and presets show that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in Evolve, with the CPU playing a supporting role that becomes more relevant at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is stark: average FPS drops from 331 to 142.9, a 56.8% reduction, indicating that the GPU’s workload scales dramatically with visual fidelity. The CPU’s role at 1080p is to feed the GPU enough frames, and the i5-12600KF’s single-thread score of 3,302 in Cinebench R23 ensures it does so without bottlenecking, even at the Low preset where the GPU is less stressed.

At 2560x1440, the scaling between presets is more compressed but still GPU-dominated: Low produces 224.9 FPS, Medium 175.9, High 138.6, and Ultra 95.5. The CPU’s influence is minimal here, as the GPU’s rendering load increases with resolution, but the i5-12600KF’s multi-threaded performance (23,391 in Cinebench R23) prevents any frame pacing issues. At 3840x2160, the GPU’s dominance becomes absolute: Low delivers 127.1 FPS, Medium 96.1, High 79.7, and Ultra drops to 56.5. The CPU’s contribution at 4K is negligible, with the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance being the sole determinant of frame rates.

The data shows that resolution scaling is consistent: dropping from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS by roughly 32-35% across presets, while 4K further reduces it by 40-45% compared to 1440p. This pattern confirms that Evolve is GPU-bound at all resolutions, with the CPU only becoming relevant at 1080p Low where the GPU is underutilized. The i5-12600KF’s 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock provide sufficient headroom for high refresh rates, but the GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are the critical resources for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 331 FPS, Medium reaches 258.1, High achieves 204.2, and Ultra still manages 142.9. These numbers indicate that the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p without compromise, with even the most demanding preset exceeding 140 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 188.1 FPS, showing that the GPU’s shading units (10,240) and texture mapping units (320) scale predictably with workload.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected reduction. Low settings deliver 224.9 FPS, Medium 175.9, High 138.6, and Ultra 95.5. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 32% at Low, 32% at Medium, 32% at High, and 33% at Ultra, indicating consistent scaling across presets. The 95.5 FPS at Ultra is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p Ultra a viable option for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens. Low settings produce 127.1 FPS, Medium 96.1, High 79.7, and Ultra falls to 56.5. The gap between Low and Ultra is 70.6 FPS, and the 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the playable threshold. The GPU’s 112 ROPs and 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient for 4K at lower presets, but the 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is insufficient to maintain 60 FPS at Ultra. The data shows no min or max FPS values, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS, which favors consistent frame delivery. The 4K High preset’s 79.7 FPS is particularly notable, as it offers a 41% improvement over Ultra while still delivering high visual quality.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve with high confidence, but the verdict varies by resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear 60 FPS, with the worst-case Ultra setting delivering 142.9 FPS—more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra hitting 95.5 FPS, providing 59% headroom above the threshold. At 3840x2160, the system clears 60 FPS at Low (127.1), Medium (96.1), and High (79.7), but Ultra falls short at 56.5 FPS, which is 5.8% below the threshold.

The verdict data shows that the best playable setting at 4K is High, with an average FPS of 79.7. This means users targeting 4K must accept High settings to maintain smooth gameplay, while 1440p and 1080p users can enable Ultra without concerns. The system’s performance is consistent with its component percentile rankings: the GPU at the 86th percentile and CPU at the 79th percentile combine to deliver a top-6% result for this game. The 4K Ultra shortfall is predictable given the GPU’s position relative to the top cards, but the overall experience is excellent for a 2015 title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide insight into what other processors would behave similarly in this combo. The Intel Core i9-10900K has an average score of 27,872, which is 0.3% higher than the i5-12600KF’s 27,799, indicating near-identical multi-thread performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27,896) and AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27,887) are also within 0.3% of the i5-12600KF, meaning any of these CPUs would produce virtually indistinguishable frame rates in Evolve. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27,712) is 0.3% slower, but the difference is negligible in real-world gaming scenarios.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has an average score of 54,247, just 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 54,209. This means swapping to a standard RTX 4080 would yield no measurable FPS difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828) is 1.1% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698) is 2.7% faster, while the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757) is 2.8% faster. These deltas are small enough that gameplay differences would be within the margin of error, suggesting that any of these GPUs would deliver comparable performance in Evolve.

For users considering alternatives, the data implies that the CPU can be swapped to any of its nearest rivals without affecting the verdict, and the GPU can be replaced with an RTX 4080 or a slightly faster AMD card with minimal impact. The bottleneck analysis shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, so upgrading to a faster GPU would be the only way to achieve 60 FPS at that setting. However, the nearest rivals are all within 3% of the RTX 4080 SUPER, so no meaningful improvement is available without moving to a significantly higher tier.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 142.9. This provides 138% headroom above the threshold, making it the optimal choice for users prioritizing visual quality. At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the best setting, delivering 95.5 FPS with 59% headroom. The performance at 1440p Ultra is sufficient for 60 Hz and 120 Hz displays, though 144 Hz monitors would require dropping to High (138.6 FPS) for full utilization.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS is High, with an average of 79.7 FPS. This provides 33% headroom above the threshold, making it the recommended setting for 4K displays. Ultra falls below the threshold at 56.5 FPS, so users must choose between High settings at 60+ FPS or Ultra with a 5.8% deficit. The data shows that Medium (96.1 FPS) and Low (127.1 FPS) are also viable at 4K, but High offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. For users with adaptive sync displays, the 4K Ultra result of 56.5 FPS may still be playable, but the verdict data explicitly lists High as the best playable setting at this resolution.