Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the Intel Arc B370 sits at rank 2639 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This is a deeply constrained setup for a 2015 FPS title, with the data showing that the integrated-class Arc B370 GPU is the dominant bottleneck across every resolution and settings combination. The combo's percentile rank of 5 for the GPU and 68 for the CPU tells the story: a relatively capable processor is being held back by a graphics solution that ranks in the lowest tier of tested hardware. Benchmark results indicate that while the i3-12100F has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the Arc B370's performance ceiling is reached quickly, resulting in frame rates that are playable only at 1080p with reduced settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2639 out of 2872 places this configuration in the 8th percentile of all tested combinations for Evolve. This is a stark indicator of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU alone would rank much higher—the i3-12100F sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, which is a solid mid-pack position. The delta between the CPU's respectable standing and the combo's bottom-tier placement underscores that the Arc B370 is the primary constraint. In practical terms, this means the system will struggle to maintain smooth frame rates in Evolve at higher settings, and even at 1080p Low, the 80 FPS average is achievable only because the game is older and relatively lightweight by modern standards.

The data shows a clear hierarchy in the measured results: at 1080p, the combo delivers 80 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium, 49 FPS on High, and 34 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, those numbers drop to 54, 42, 33, and 23 respectively. At 4K, the situation becomes dire, with only the Low preset breaking 30 FPS at 31 FPS, while Ultra falls to 13 FPS. The rank reflects this reality—the combo is among the weakest tested, and users should expect to make significant sacrifices in visual quality to achieve playable frame rates.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, which is a substantial thermal and power headroom given its 25 W TDP. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, the most critical limitation is its memory configuration: "System Shared" memory with "System Dependent" bandwidth. This means the GPU relies on the system's main memory, which for the i3-12100F is dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5, but the effective bandwidth available to the GPU is not specified and is likely a significant bottleneck for a game like Evolve.

The GPU's benchmark results are telling: it scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, -0.2% delta), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, -0.5% delta), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, -0.7% delta), and the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% delta). These are all legacy or low-end parts, and the Arc B370's scores are within 1.4% of them, confirming that it performs at the level of a decade-old entry-level discrete GPU. In Evolve, this translates to the measured FPS numbers, where even at 1080p Low, the GPU is working near its maximum capability.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 80 at 1080p to 54 at 1440p and then to 31 at 4K—a reduction of 32.5% from 1080p to 1440p and another 42.6% from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the numbers are 62, 42, and 24, showing a similar percentage decline. High settings yield 49, 33, and 19, while Ultra drops from 34 to 23 to 13. The pattern is consistent: each step up in resolution imposes a roughly 30-40% penalty, which is significantly steeper than what a CPU-bound system would show.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor would be maxed out regardless of pixel count. Instead, the data shows that increasing the resolution from 1080p to 4K reduces the frame rate by more than half at every settings level, which is exactly what happens when the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads boosting to 4.30 GHz, has ample single-thread performance to handle Evolve's CPU demands at these frame rates, so the GPU is the sole constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 80 FPS, which is the only row in the entire dataset that approaches a high-refresh experience. Medium settings drop to 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but generally smooth gameplay. High settings yield 49 FPS, which is borderline playable but may feel stuttery in fast-paced FPS action. Ultra settings fall to 34 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play and likely to feel sluggish.

At 2560x1440, all settings take a significant hit. Low averages 54 FPS, Medium 42 FPS (with min/max of 35/48), High 33 FPS, and Ultra 23 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is the only row that maintains a playable minimum, though the 35 FPS floor is still on the edge. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as the averages are below 35 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unusable. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 24 FPS (with min/max of 20/27), High 19 FPS, and Ultra 13 FPS. Only the Low preset breaks 30 FPS, and even that is marginal. The data shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Evolve, regardless of settings, as the GPU's shared memory bandwidth and limited ROP count cannot handle the pixel load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this combo in Evolve?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers the highest average FPS at 80, which is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 1080p is also viable at 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which averages 31 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K produce averages of 24, 19, and 13 FPS respectively, all of which are below playable thresholds.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Intel Arc B370 ranks at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, while the i3-12100F ranks at the 68th percentile among CPUs. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K also confirms GPU limitation, as frame rates halve with each resolution increase.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is within 1.4% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). This places it at the performance level of early-2010s entry-level discrete GPUs.

Q: What is the highest FPS achieved at 1440p?

A: The highest average at 1440p is 54 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 42 FPS, High 33 FPS, and Ultra 23 FPS.

Q: Is the i3-12100F a capable CPU for this game?

A: Yes, the CPU is more than sufficient. Its 4 cores and 8 threads, boosting to 4.30 GHz, place it at the 68th percentile overall. The 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and multi-thread score of 4051 indicate it can handle Evolve's CPU load, but the GPU prevents it from showing its full potential.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a TDP of 58 W. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, and it interfaces via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 893 in 3DMark single-thread and 4051 in 3DMark 16-thread, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1932 and multi-core of 7252. Cinebench R23 results show 1674 single-core and 11860 multi-core.

For Evolve, a game released in 2015, this CPU is more than adequate. The game's engine is not heavily multi-threaded, and the i3-12100F's strong single-thread performance—reflected in its 3DMark single-thread score of 893, which is higher than many older chips—ensures that the CPU can feed frames to the GPU without becoming a limiting factor. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 80 FPS, and if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS at 4K Low. Instead, 4K Low drops to 31 FPS, proving the GPU is the constraint. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs also indicates it is a mid-pack performer, capable of handling modern workloads, but it is paired with a GPU that ranks in the 5th percentile, creating a severe imbalance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers an average of 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS. This is the sweet spot: it provides a playable frame rate with a reasonable visual quality uplift over Low, and the minimum FPS is high enough to avoid significant stuttering. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 80 FPS, which is smoother, but the visual quality is noticeably reduced. High at 1080p drops to 49 FPS, which is borderline, and Ultra at 34 FPS is not recommended for an FPS title where responsiveness matters.

At 2560x1440, the only viable option is Low, which averages 54 FPS. Medium at 1440p averages 42 FPS, but the minimum of 35 FPS may cause noticeable hitches in busy scenes. High and Ultra at 1440p are below 35 FPS and should be avoided. At 3840x2160, none of the settings are truly playable, with Low being the only one above 30 FPS at 31 FPS. For a game like Evolve, which involves fast-paced monster hunting and traversal, a stable 60 FPS is ideal, but the data shows this is only achievable at 1080p Low. Users who prioritize smoothness should select 1080p Low, while those who want better visuals and can tolerate a 50-60 FPS range should choose 1080p Medium. Any configuration above 1080p or beyond Medium settings will result in a suboptimal experience, and the data strongly suggests staying within the 1080p resolution for this combo.