Evolve

Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 deliver a mid-range pairing for Evolve, a 2015 FPS whose engine scales predictably with resolution. The data shows a combo that is firmly capable at 1080p, solid at 1440p, but clearly strained at 4K, where frame rates dip below playable thresholds on higher presets. The CPU’s four performance cores with eight threads provide a strong baseline for a title of this era, while the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and RDNA 4.0 architecture become the decisive factor as pixel count rises. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four settings presets, contextualizes the component roles, and ranks the pairing against 2,872 other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, revealing a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 176 FPS at 1920x1080 to 118 FPS at 2560x1440, then plummets to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a scaling curve typical of a graphics card that is the primary limiter once pixel throughput quadruples. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 137 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure dropping to 44 FPS in the minimum frame rate reading. High settings follow the trend, going from 107 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p and 41 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most punishing, with 74 FPS at 1080p falling to 50 FPS at 1440p and just 28 FPS at 4K.

The scaling data indicates that the RX 9060’s 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become bottlenecks as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU has ample headroom, and the frame rates suggest that the Core i3-12100F’s single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the graphics card. At 1440p, the workload shifts more toward the GPU, but the combo still maintains playable averages above 50 FPS on every preset except Ultra. At 4K, only the Low preset stays above 60 FPS, while Medium and High hover in the 41-52 FPS range, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The consistent delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution—roughly 2.5x at 1080p (176 vs. 74 FPS) and 2.4x at 4K (67 vs. 28 FPS)—shows that the settings presets scale uniformly, reinforcing that the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark results place it in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13,494. That score is statistically tied with the Intel Core 3 N355 (13,492, 0% delta) and just 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-9500 (13,452). The chip’s single-thread performance is particularly strong for a budget-oriented part, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,674. These figures matter for Evolve, a 2015 FPS that was designed for the quad-core era and does not scale heavily beyond eight threads.

In the measured results, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 176 FPS. That frame rate is high enough that the CPU could become a limiting factor in less GPU-intensive scenes, but the data shows no min FPS readings at Low settings, suggesting the processor keeps up. At 4K, the CPU’s influence diminishes entirely, as the GPU’s pixel throughput drops from 191.4 GPixel/s to effectively lower utilization rates. The Core i3-12100F’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are adequate for this game’s engine, which predates the multi-threaded scaling seen in modern titles. The processor’s 58 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate an efficient part that will not throttle, but the data suggests that even a weaker CPU would not change the 4K results, given the massive GPU bottleneck.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Core i3-12100F sits within 1.1% of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13,351, 1.1% delta) and 0.7% of the Intel Core 5 120UL (13,594, -0.7% delta). This tight cluster means that any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Evolve at the same GPU. The CPU’s 4,023 3DMark max-thread score and 4,026 8-thread score suggest that it saturates its available threads efficiently, but the game’s age means that most work is done on a few cores. In practice, the i3-12100F provides enough headroom to avoid being the primary bottleneck at any resolution tested, as evidenced by the FPS scaling pattern that closely tracks the GPU’s capabilities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the definitive performance driver in this combo, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock of 2990 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz, combined with 1,792 shading units and 64 ROPs, give it a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. Its FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS places it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,014. That score is 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16,129, -0.7% delta) and 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15,862, 1% delta), making it a mid-range card that trades blows with last-generation mainstream parts.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity is the most critical factor at 4K. With 8 GB, it has just enough memory for Evolve’s textures at Medium and High settings, but Ultra settings likely exceed comfortable allocation, causing the average FPS to drop to 28 at 3840x2160. The 128-bit bus width limits memory bandwidth, which is why the 4K Medium preset shows a min FPS of 44 despite an average of 52—a sign that memory bandwidth saturation causes occasional stutter. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely constrained, as shown by the 176 FPS Low result and 137 FPS Medium result, both of which indicate that the card can push far beyond the CPU’s limits. The 4 nm process node and RDNA 4.0 architecture provide efficiency gains, but the data shows that Evolve’s engine does not fully utilize the GPU’s newer features, such as DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

The GPU’s nearest rival comparison reinforces its positioning. The RX 9060’s 17,631 Passmark G3D score and 9,919 GPU compute score are competitive with the RTX 3060 Ti, but the 1% delta to the R9 370X suggests that raw compute does not always translate to game performance. In Evolve, the GPU’s role is clear: it delivers 107 FPS at 1080p High, 72 FPS at 1440p High, and 41 FPS at 4K High. These numbers show that the card is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being viable only on Low settings. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this 2015 title, but the memory bus width limits 4K performance, making the GPU the clear bottleneck at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a full picture of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are uniformly strong: Low averages 176 FPS, Medium averages 137 FPS with a min of 116 and max of 157, High averages 107 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. All presets exceed 60 FPS, with even the most demanding Ultra setting maintaining a playable average. The gap between Low and Ultra is 102 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 116 suggests that the frame pacing is consistent, with no major drops below the average.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid but begins to show strain. Low averages 118 FPS, Medium averages 92 FPS with a min of 78 and max of 105, High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The 1440p results show a 68 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, with Ultra falling below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset’s min FPS of 78 indicates that even the lower presets maintain playable frame rates, but the Ultra preset’s 50 FPS average is borderline for fast-paced FPS gameplay. This resolution is the sweet spot for the combo, as High settings deliver 72 FPS, which is smooth enough for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low averages 67 FPS, Medium averages 52 FPS with a min of 44 and max of 60, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. Only the Low preset stays above 60 FPS, and the Medium preset’s min FPS of 44 shows that the GPU is heavily taxed. The Ultra preset’s 28 FPS average is unplayable for a fast-paced shooter, and even High at 41 FPS will feel sluggish. The data suggests that 4K is only viable for this combo if the user is willing to sacrifice visual quality by dropping to Low settings. The Medium preset’s max FPS of 60 indicates that the GPU can occasionally reach playable levels, but the average and min readings tell a different story.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F + AMD Radeon RX 9060 combo ranks 1,664 out of 2,872 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the 58th percentile of all pairings. This rank reflects a mid-tier setup that is capable but not exceptional. The ranking is driven by the GPU’s 59th percentile performance and the CPU’s 68th percentile score, with the combo rank being slightly lower than the individual components’ percentiles due to the pairing’s overall balance. The rank suggests that many other combos outperform this one, particularly those with higher-end GPUs or more powerful CPUs, but it also means that this setup beats roughly 58% of all tested configurations.

In the context of Evolve, the combo’s rank is reasonable for a 2015 title. The game’s engine is not particularly demanding by modern standards, so even mid-range hardware can achieve playable frame rates. The rank of 1,664 indicates that the combo is above average, with the data showing that it can handle 1080p and 1440p well. The 4K results drag the rank down, as only a fraction of combos are capable of smooth 4K gameplay in this title. Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RX 9060’s performance is competitive, but the combo’s rank is pulled down by the CPU’s limited core count, which may cause occasional bottlenecks in CPU-intensive scenes, even if the data does not show this explicitly.

The combo’s position in the rankings is also influenced by the fact that many other tested combos likely pair the RX 9060 with stronger CPUs, such as higher-core-count Intel or AMD processors. The i3-12100F, while strong for its price, is a budget part, and the FPS data shows that it does not hold back the GPU at higher resolutions. However, at 1080p Low, the CPU could become a limiting factor if the GPU were more powerful, but the RX 9060 is not fast enough to expose this. The rank of 1,664 out of 2,872 is a solid result for a mid-range pairing, indicating that users of this combo will get a good experience in Evolve without needing to upgrade either component.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset for this combo depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, delivering 107 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is also playable, but the 33 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual upgrade, especially if the user prioritizes frame rate consistency. The Medium preset at 137 FPS is ideal for competitive play, but High offers a better balance of quality and performance, as the 107 FPS average is more than sufficient for this title.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is again the recommended choice, with an average of 72 FPS. This provides a smooth experience while maintaining good visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 92 FPS is also viable for users who prefer higher frame rates, but the drop to Ultra at 50 FPS is too steep for comfortable gameplay. The data shows that the combo can handle 1440p High without issues, making this the target resolution for the best balance of quality and performance. The Low preset at 118 FPS is an option for esports-style play, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 67 FPS. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is borderline, with a min FPS of 44 that could cause noticeable stutter in fast-paced action. The High and Ultra presets at 41 FPS and 28 FPS, respectively, are not recommended for gameplay, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold and the 30 FPS playability floor. For users who insist on 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, but the visual quality will be noticeably reduced. A better recommendation is to play at 1440p High, which provides a significantly better experience than 4K Low, as the 72 FPS average at 1440p is smoother and visually superior to the 67 FPS at 4K Low.