Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 produces a wide performance envelope in Evolve, with average frame rates ranging from 43.2 FPS at 4K Ultra to 250.2 FPS at 1080p Low. Across the measured settings, the data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, delivering a 73 FPS average at 4K and a 194.7 FPS average at 1080p. This preset sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold at 4K while maintaining a substantial margin over the High preset, which drops to 55.5 FPS at the same resolution. At 1440p, Medium yields a 129.5 FPS average, which is nearly double the frame rate of the Ultra preset at that resolution. The Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates, sacrifices visual fidelity for performance gains that are largely unnecessary given the hardware's capability. The Ultra preset, conversely, imposes a significant performance penalty—at 1080p it produces a 105.3 FPS average, which is roughly half of the Medium preset's output—without a correspondingly proportional improvement in visual quality that would justify the drop. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, the Medium preset is the optimal choice, as it provides a 194.7 FPS average that fully utilizes such panels. At 1440p, the Medium preset's 129.5 FPS average is ideal for 120 Hz displays, while at 4K, the 73 FPS average is suitable for standard 60 Hz panels. The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual detail, but it falls below 60 FPS at 4K, making it a less consistent option for that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 achieves a rank of 532 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the upper third of all configurations. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial rendering capabilities. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, shows a percentile ranking of 72 against all CPUs, indicating it outperforms a majority of processors in general benchmark suites. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, has an average score of 13534, which is only 0.1% higher than the i3-12100F's 13516 average benchmark score. This proximity suggests that the i3-12100F's performance is competitive even against high-end workstation processors in synthetic tests, though the real-world gaming results in Evolve are more dependent on the GPU. The RTX 3080, with a percentile ranking of 80 against all GPUs, has an average benchmark score of 35787, placing it just 0.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro Duo's score of 35860. The RTX 3080's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 36101 and is 0.9% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile, which scores 35435 and is 1% lower. These small percentage differences indicate that the RTX 3080 remains a highly capable GPU, and its performance in Evolve is consistent with its overall benchmark standing. The combo's rank of 532 suggests that while the RTX 3080 provides strong frame rates, the i3-12100F's limited core count may prevent the system from reaching the very top tier of performance, particularly in scenarios that are more CPU-intensive. The data shows that the combo's performance is robust, but it is not exceptional enough to break into the top quartile of tested configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly influence the measured frame rates in Evolve. The GPU features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game's demands at all tested resolutions, as the data does not indicate any memory-related bottlenecks that would cause frame rate drops. The GPU's base clock is 1440 MHz, with a boost clock of 1710 MHz, and its memory operates at 1188 MHz with a 19 Gbps effective data rate. These clock speeds, combined with the GA102 chip's 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units, allow the RTX 3080 to process the graphical load of Evolve efficiently. The GPU's 96 render output units and pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s contribute to its ability to maintain high fill rates, which is critical for the game's fast-paced FPS action. The RTX 3080's FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS provides ample compute power for the game's shader complexity, and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern rendering features. The GPU's texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s indicates that it can handle high-resolution textures without stuttering, which is evident in the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p, the RTX 3080 is not fully utilized, as the average frame rates at High settings reach 152.5 FPS, but the GPU's capabilities become more apparent at higher resolutions where the rendering load increases. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a frame rate reduction of approximately 34% at High settings, from 152.5 FPS to 100.2 FPS, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The GPU's 10 GB of VRAM is ample for Evolve at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate drops to 43.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this extreme setting rather than memory capacity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 Hz 4K display?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice, as it produces an average frame rate of 73 FPS at 3840x2160, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset falls short at 55.5 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 43.2 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p for competitive play?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers a 194.7 FPS average, and the Low preset reaches 250.2 FPS, both of which are suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset provides a 152.5 FPS average, which is also competitive.

*Q: Is the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Evolve at high settings?*

A: Yes, the data shows no signs of VRAM limitations. The GPU achieves playable frame rates at all resolutions and settings, with the lowest average being 43.2 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is not a result of memory constraints.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves a 129.5 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to 69.1 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 47% when moving from Medium to Ultra.

Q: How does the i3-12100F's benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX's score of 13534. This indicates nearly identical performance in general benchmarks.

Q: Does the combo's ranking change significantly between resolutions?

A: The combo's rank of 532 out of 1695 is a single measurement for the game overall. The frame rate data shows that the system maintains a consistent performance hierarchy across resolutions, with the GPU becoming more of a bottleneck at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates in Evolve demonstrate a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, which reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the average frame rate is 250.2 FPS, which drops to 168.5 FPS at 1440p and further to 93.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 44% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The same pattern is evident at High settings, where the frame rate goes from 152.5 FPS at 1080p to 100.2 FPS at 1440p and then to 55.5 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 34% and 45% respectively. This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, as the rendering load grows with pixel count. The i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, is capable of feeding the RTX 3080 at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. However, the CPU's single-thread performance, which has a 3DMark single-thread score of 893, becomes less of a constraint at higher resolutions where the GPU's workload dominates. The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound at lower settings, as the frame rates exceed what the GPU can fully utilize in some scenarios, but at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component. The frame rate drop from 1080p Medium (194.7 FPS) to 4K Medium (73 FPS) is a 63% reduction, which aligns closely with the theoretical increase in pixel count from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels. This proportional scaling confirms that the RTX 3080's performance is scaling as expected with resolution, and the CPU's impact is minimal at 4K. The data shows that for users seeking the highest frame rates, 1080p is the optimal resolution, while 1440p offers a balanced compromise between visual fidelity and performance, and 4K requires a reduction in settings to maintain playable frame rates.