Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT delivers a 1080p experience in Evolve that is firmly in high-refresh territory, yet the data reveals that the CPU becomes a limiting factor before the GPU is fully stretched. This combination ranks 849th out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the 50th percentile of all systems—a solidly mid-pack result that reflects a balanced, if not spectacular, pairing for this 2015 FPS title. The measured frame rates show that the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at low settings, but the scaling curve demonstrates that the graphics card is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, while the processor’s modest core count begins to show its age in the most demanding ultra preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the Radeon RX 6750 XT is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 121.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 84.7 FPS at 2560x1440—a 30% reduction—and then to 47.2 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a further 44% decline. This pattern is nearly identical across all settings presets, with Low settings showing the largest absolute drop from 203.6 FPS at 1080p to 134.6 FPS at 1440p and 76.8 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the GPU’s compute resources, with its 13.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, are being saturated as pixel count increases.

However, the scaling is not perfectly linear. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 30-34% of performance across all presets, while the 1440p to 4K jump costs an additional 44-49%. This non-linear degradation points to the GPU’s memory subsystem—12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus—becoming a limiting factor at 4K, particularly with the heavier Ultra preset. At 1080p, the system appears partially CPU-bound, as the frame rates at Low (203.6 FPS) and Medium (155.1 FPS) are high enough that the i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads cannot fully feed the GPU. The 82.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra versus 121.6 FPS at High suggests that the CPU’s single-thread performance, which scores 893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core, is adequate for most presets but struggles to maintain the highest frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread capability—893 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2224 in Geekbench single-core—which is critical for Evolve, a game that relies heavily on per-core performance. The processor’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 80 KB L1 cache per core provide adequate data locality for the game’s physics and AI routines. The data indicates that at 1080p Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU is capable of far more than 203.6 FPS but the processor cannot push beyond that threshold.

In multi-threaded workloads, the i3-12100F scores 4023 in 3dmark_max_threads and 11912 in Cinebench R23 multicore. These numbers place it 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX in average benchmark score, though that rival has vastly more cores. The 4-core design shows its limitation in Evolve’s Ultra preset, where the 1080p frame rate drops to 82.6 FPS—a 32% reduction from High settings. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces CPU-intensive effects that strain the processor’s thread scheduling. The 58 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery, but the lack of a multiplier unlock means no overclocking headroom to offset this bottleneck. The processor’s percentile rank of 72 against all CPUs confirms it is a competent mid-tier chip, but its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% ahead in average score), show that it is not a top-tier performer for heavily threaded games.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the star of this pairing, with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs running at a boost clock of 2600 MHz. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Evolve’s texture-heavy environments at all tested resolutions. The GPU’s compute power, measured at 13.31 TFLOPS FP32, drives the frame rates at 1440p and 4K, where the processor is less of a constraint. At 4K High, the card produces 47.2 FPS, which is playable but not smooth, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 31.7 FPS—a figure that indicates the GPU is fully saturated.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600M and 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in average score, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. This performance tier explains the frame rates: at 1440p, the card delivers 84.7 FPS on High and 107.5 FPS on Medium, which are excellent for competitive play. The 4K results, however, reveal the card’s limitations—the 47.2 FPS at High is borderline, and the 31.7 FPS at Ultra is below the threshold for a fluid experience. The GPU’s 40 ray tracing cores are not utilized in this game, as Evolve predates widespread RT adoption, but the RDNA 2.0 architecture’s raw rasterization power is what matters here. The 250 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, and the 600 W suggested PSU indicates the system has adequate power headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the i3-12100F and RX 6750 XT ranks 849th out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, which places it almost exactly in the middle of the database. This rank is somewhat lower than the individual component percentiles would suggest—the CPU is in the 72nd percentile and the GPU is in the 79th percentile—indicating that the pairing is less efficient than the sum of its parts. The bottleneck analysis supports this: at 1080p, the CPU limits performance, while at 4K, the GPU is the constraint. The result is a system that never fully utilizes both components simultaneously, leading to a rank that is below what either component achieves in isolation.

Compared to other combos, the 849th rank out of 1695 means there are 846 systems that perform better, but also 846 that perform worse. This places the combo in a crowded middle ground where small changes in either component could shift the rank significantly. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10105 (0.6% ahead in average score), would likely produce nearly identical results, while the GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (0.2% behind), suggests that minor GPU variations have little impact. The data implies that upgrading the CPU to a 6-core part would yield the most significant rank improvement, as the GPU has more headroom than the processor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, High settings produce 121.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh monitors. The Medium preset provides 155.1 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is not justified given that High already delivers smooth gameplay. At 1440p, High settings yield 84.7 FPS, which is excellent for most displays, while Medium at 107.5 FPS is only marginally better. The Ultra preset should be avoided, as it drops below 60 FPS at both 1440p (54.7 FPS) and 1080p (82.6 FPS), with the latter being a significant performance cliff that indicates the preset is too demanding for this CPU-GPU pairing.

At 4K, the recommendation changes. High settings produce 47.2 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while Medium at 58.3 FPS is the best option for a smoother experience. Low settings at 4K (76.8 FPS) are viable for competitive play, but the visual compromise is severe. For the best overall experience, the data supports using High settings at 1080p or 1440p, and Medium at 4K. The Low preset is only recommended for players prioritizing frame rate above all else, as it delivers 203.6 FPS at 1080p but sacrifices too much visual detail for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 203.6 FPS on Low, 155.1 FPS on Medium, 121.6 FPS on High, and 82.6 FPS on Ultra. These figures demonstrate a clear tiering: Low is for esports-level responsiveness, Medium is smooth, High is excellent, and Ultra is playable but not ideal. At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 134.6 FPS on Low, 107.5 FPS on Medium, 84.7 FPS on High, and 54.7 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results show that High remains the sweet spot, with Low offering a 59% boost over High for those who need it. At 3840x2160, the system produces 76.8 FPS on Low, 58.3 FPS on Medium, 47.2 FPS on High, and 31.7 FPS on Ultra. The 4K numbers are consistently below 60 FPS except for Low, making 4K gaming viable only with significant settings compromises.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: Low settings are always playable, Medium is playable at all resolutions except 4K, High is playable at 1080p and 1440p, and Ultra is only playable at 1080p. The performance gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution—at 1080p, Low is 2.5x faster than Ultra, while at 4K, Low is 2.4x faster. This consistency indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources scale predictably with settings, but the CPU’s influence is most pronounced at 1080p Low, where the 203.6 FPS figure represents the system’s absolute ceiling.

FAQ

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

A: At 4K, the system achieves 58.3 FPS on Medium settings and 47.2 FPS on High. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, Medium settings are required, as Ultra drops to 31.7 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 deliver 84.7 FPS, which is ideal for most monitors. Medium provides 107.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS, making High the best balance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 203.6 FPS, but the GPU is capable of more, indicating the CPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Ultra (82.6 FPS), the GPU becomes more involved, but the CPU’s 4-core design still constrains performance.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 849th out of 1695 combos, placing it in the 50th percentile. The CPU is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX in average score, while the GPU is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600M.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 121.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh displays.

Q: Should I use the Low preset for competitive play?

A: Low settings at 1080p provide 203.6 FPS, which maximizes responsiveness. However, Medium at 155.1 FPS and High at 121.6 FPS also offer high frame rates with better visual quality, so Low is only necessary for the most demanding competitive scenarios.