Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a playable 1080p experience in Evolve, but the data reveals a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 124.1 FPS average, which drops to 93.7 FPS at Medium and 72.7 FPS at High. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 49.4 FPS, showing a consistent scaling pattern where each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% performance. Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS at High falls to 48, representing a 34% reduction from the 1080p High result. At 4K (3840x2160), the High preset manages only 26.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K reaches 45.7 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 37.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 19.3 FPS. This scaling curve indicates the GTX 1660 SUPER becomes the limiting factor beyond 1080p, as the frame rate drops are disproportionately large relative to the pixel count increase. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, appears sufficient for this 2015 FPS title at lower resolutions, but the GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle to feed the higher pixel counts.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Evolve at 1080p with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 72.7 FPS average at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the GPU handles the load well at this resolution.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the optimal choice. At Low settings the combo achieves 124.1 FPS, and even at Ultra it maintains 49.4 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset drops to 48 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 26.7 FPS, so 1080p is clearly the sweet spot.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 14286, placing it 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314) and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352). It sits 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389), showing it is closely matched with these competing cards.

Q: Does the i3-12100F bottleneck the GTX 1660 SUPER in Evolve?

A: The 4K results suggest the GPU is the primary limiter. From 1080p Low (124.1 FPS) to 4K Low (45.7 FPS), the frame rate drops by 63%, which aligns with the pixel count increase. The CPU's single-thread score of 893 in 3dmark indicates it can keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions.

Q: What settings preset delivers the most balanced experience?

A: The Medium preset at 1080p provides 93.7 FPS, which is 29% higher than High (72.7 FPS) while still offering improved visuals over Low. At 1440p, Medium yields 61.8 FPS, making it the only preset besides Low that exceeds 60 FPS at that resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1517 out of 1695 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 10% of all pairings. This low ranking reflects the age of the components, particularly the GPU, which is end-of-life and falls in the 55th percentile of all GPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the dominant factor in this combo's Evolve performance. Its Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, provides 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1530 MHz and boosts to 1785 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a card of this class. In Evolve, the memory configuration proves adequate at 1080p but becomes stressed at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K High (26.7 FPS) versus 1080p High (72.7 FPS) shows a 63% performance drop, which is steeper than the 4x pixel count increase between these resolutions. This suggests that beyond raw pixel throughput, the GPU's texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s are being overwhelmed by the game's rendering demands at 4K. The GPU's FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS places it in the mid-range of its generation, and its PassMark G3D score of 12699 reflects a card that was competitive at launch in 2019 but is now showing its age. The 1660 SUPER's percentile rank of 55 among all GPUs means it sits in the upper half of the current market, but Evolve's 2015 release date means the game was designed for older hardware, making this card more than capable at 1080p. The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure it can handle modern API paths, though Evolve was released before these became standard. The power delivery via a single 8-pin connector and 125 W TDP is modest, allowing this card to fit into a wide range of systems.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the Evolve experience with this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 124.1 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play where frame rate matters most. The Medium preset at 93.7 FPS offers a balanced compromise, maintaining high frame rates while improving visual fidelity. The High preset at 72.7 FPS is the best choice for players prioritizing image quality, as it still exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 49.4 FPS dips below 60 FPS, making it less desirable for smooth gameplay. For users with 2560x1440 monitors, the Low preset at 85.6 FPS is the only option that provides a high refresh rate experience. The Medium preset at 61.8 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High at 48 FPS and Ultra at 36.3 FPS are not recommended due to noticeable stuttering. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS; the best option is Low at 45.7 FPS, which is marginal for single-player but unsuitable for fast-paced FPS action. The Medium preset at 37.6 FPS and High at 26.7 FPS are only viable for screenshots or turn-based gameplay. Given the data, the optimal configuration is 1080p with High settings, offering 72.7 FPS with good visual quality. Players with 1440p displays should accept Low settings to maintain performance, while 4K gaming is not viable with this hardware. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p textures, but the bandwidth limitations become apparent at higher resolutions, making the Low preset the safest choice for consistent frame times.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1517 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 10th percentile of all pairings. This low rank is primarily attributable to the GPU, which is end-of-life and falls in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, performs better in its class: the i3-12100F lands in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534, 0.1% faster), Intel Core i7-1250U (13462, 0.4% slower), Intel Core i3-10105 (13430, 0.6% slower), and Intel Core i7-7700K (13280, 1.8% slower). This indicates the CPU is competitive with much more expensive processors in synthetic benchmarks, though Evolve's engine may not fully utilize its 4 cores and 8 threads. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14314, just 0.2% higher than the 1660 SUPER's 14286. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315) and AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352) are similarly close, showing the 1660 SUPER is tightly packed with these integrated and entry-level discrete options. The combo's rank of 1517 suggests that while the CPU is capable, the GPU drags the overall performance down in Evolve's specific workload. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 124.1 FPS, which is respectable, but the rank reflects performance across all tested combinations, many of which feature newer GPUs with higher memory bandwidth and compute capabilities. The data indicates that users with this combo should focus on 1080p gaming, as the 4K results (19.3 FPS at Ultra) are among the lowest in the database. The 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are insufficient for Evolve's higher resolution textures, contributing to the poor ranking. However, for its intended market segment, the combo provides a functional 1080p experience that many budget systems can rely on.