Evolve

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 presents a stark contrast in class and capability within the game Evolve. The data shows a configuration where a top-tier, end-of-life flagship GPU is paired with a budget-conscious, quad-core desktop processor. The measured frame rates reveal a complex interaction between resolution, settings, and the inherent bottleneck placed by the CPU on this otherwise massive GPU. This analysis will interpret the measured FPS data to characterize the system's performance, focusing on how the CPU and GPU roles shift across different workloads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Evolve shows a significant and expected decline in performance as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline reveals the system's bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 301 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings drops this to 248 FPS, a reduction of roughly 17.6%. Further scaling to 2160p at Low settings results in 141 FPS, a 43.1% drop from the 1440p figure. This progressive decline indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on more work, though the initial 1080p to 1440p step is relatively small.

The scaling pattern becomes more telling when examining higher settings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 274 FPS, which drops to 193 FPS at 1440p (a 29.6% decrease) and then to 110 FPS at 2160p (a 43.0% decrease from 1440p). This steeper drop at higher resolutions and settings suggests the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor. However, the absolute performance at 1080p and 1440p remains exceptionally high, indicating that the CPU is holding the system back from hitting even higher frame rates. The delta between 1080p Low (301 FPS) and 1440p Low (248 FPS) is only 53 FPS, whereas the delta between 1440p Low and 2160p Low is 107 FPS, showing that the performance hit accelerates as pixel count increases, which is a classic sign of the GPU workload scaling up.

The data suggests that at 1080p and even 1440p, the Intel Core i3-12100F is the limiting component. The RTX 4090 has the raw throughput to render frames much faster than the CPU can issue draw calls. This is evidenced by the relatively small FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, where the GPU is not yet saturated. The significant drop to 2160p, particularly at higher settings, shows the GPU finally becoming the bottleneck, as the fill-rate and shading demands exceed what the CPU-bound engine can hide. The system is only truly GPU-limited at 4K, especially with higher presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, equipped with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The GPU's architecture is Ada Lovelace, built on a 5 nm process, and it has a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These specifications contribute to its high benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223. In Evolve, the GPU's role is to handle the rendering workload, and its performance is only fully utilized at higher resolutions and graphics settings.

The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is severely underutilized. At Low settings, the average FPS is 301, but this is likely a CPU-imposed limit rather than a GPU limit. The RTX 4090 could likely render more frames, but it is waiting on the CPU. The GPU's massive memory bandwidth and 16,384 shading units are not being fully exercised at this resolution. As the resolution increases to 1440p and 2160p, the GPU's workload increases, and we see the frame rates drop to more reasonable levels for the hardware, such as 248 FPS at 1440p Low and 141 FPS at 2160p Low.

The GPU's capabilities become more apparent in the scaling of higher presets. At 2160p Ultra, the combo manages 60 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it achieves 156 FPS. This shows that the RTX 4090 is capable of handling the most demanding settings at 4K, but the quad-core CPU prevents it from reaching the high frame rates it would otherwise achieve. The 24 GB VRAM buffer is more than sufficient for Evolve, even at 4K Ultra, so the GPU is not constrained by memory capacity. The performance is instead dictated by the compute and rendering limits of the GPU once the CPU bottleneck is removed at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks at position 152 out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve. This places it in the top 4.1% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing, but it is important to consider the context. The ranking is high because the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU, which can compensate for the weaker CPU in many scenarios. However, the rank of 152 suggests that there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game.

The high rank is primarily driven by the GPU. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 60347, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, have almost identical average scores, with a delta percentage of 0% and 0.3%, respectively. This indicates that in a purely GPU-bound scenario, this card is at the pinnacle of performance. However, the CPU's average benchmark score is 13494, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, has a delta of 0%, showing that the i3-12100F is a mid-range performer.

The discrepancy between the CPU and GPU tiers is what defines this combo's performance. In a game like Evolve where CPU performance can be critical for frame pacing, the rank of 152 indicates that the CPU is holding back the system from achieving a top-10 or top-50 position. The data suggests that this combo is powerful, but its ranking is not as high as it would be if it were paired with a more capable processor. The 3700 combos in the database are varied, and this specific pairing reflects how a high-end GPU can boost a mid-range CPU configuration in the rankings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 151 FPS for the 2560x1440 resolution with High settings.

Q: Does the system maintain high performance at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, it is playable. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 60 on Ultra to 141 on Low, with High settings producing 86 FPS and Medium producing 110 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 fully utilized at 1080p in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rates are very high (e.g., 301 FPS on Low), but the scaling to 1440p shows a smaller drop than expected, suggesting the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: Which settings preset offers the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset provides the highest average frame rate at all tested resolutions, achieving 301 FPS at 1920x1080, 248 FPS at 2560x1440, and 141 FPS at 3840x2160.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, which is nearly identical to its closest rivals. For instance, the Intel Core 3 N355 has a score of 13492 with a 0% delta, and the Intel Core i5-9500 has a score of 13452 with a 0.3% delta.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium settings?

A: The data provides minimum FPS values only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 233 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 164 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 93 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 11860 points in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1674 points in single-core, which are respectable numbers for its class. However, its Passmark multithread score is 14015, and its percentile ranking is 68th, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer but not a top-tier CPU.

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck. This is evident when comparing the FPS at 1080p Low (301 FPS) to 1440p Low (248 FPS). The 53 FPS drop is relatively small, suggesting the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU with enough frames at 1080p. The CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads are likely limiting the frame rate in scenes with high object counts or complex physics calculations. The game was released in 2015, and while it can use multiple threads, a quad-core processor may not be sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4090's potential at lower resolutions.

The CPU's performance ceiling is further highlighted by the fact that its 3DMark 16-thread score is 4051, which is only slightly higher than its 8-thread score of 4026. This indicates that the processor does not scale well beyond 8 threads, which is expected for a 4-core/8-thread chip. In Evolve, this means that when the CPU is the limiting factor, the frame rate will plateau, and no amount of GPU headroom will improve it. The CPU's role is to provide a baseline performance level, and in this pairing, that baseline is significantly lower than what the GPU is capable of delivering, making the CPU the primary constraint for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and target frame rate. For players aiming for the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset is the clear choice, delivering 301 FPS at 1080p. However, the performance gain from Low to Medium at 1080p is relatively small, with a drop of only 27 FPS (from 301 to 274), while the visual quality improvement is likely significant. Therefore, for 1080p users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset at 274 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides an average of 193 FPS, which is still exceptionally high and well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1440p drops to 151 FPS, which is still very playable. For a more visually rich experience without sacrificing competitive frame rates, High settings at 1440p are recommended, as the 42 FPS difference between Medium and High may be worth the visual upgrade for many users. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 105 FPS, is also viable for those prioritizing image quality over raw speed.

For 4K gaming, the data shows that the Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 60 FPS, which is the minimum for a console-like experience. The High preset at 2160p provides 86 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Given the diminishing returns of Ultra settings over High, the High preset at 4K is the recommended choice for a smoother experience, as it offers a 43.3% performance increase over Ultra (from 60 to 86 FPS) with a likely minor visual compromise. The Medium preset at 2160p offers 110 FPS, which is optimal for players with 120Hz+ 4K displays, but High is a solid middle ground for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following breakdown details the exact average FPS values from the measured data for the Evolve combo.

1920x1080

• Low: The average frame rate is 301 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 274 FPS, with a minimum of 233 FPS and a maximum of 315 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 225 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 156 FPS.

2560x1440

• Low: The average frame rate is 248 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 193 FPS, with a minimum of 164 FPS and a maximum of 221 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 151 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 105 FPS.

3840x2160

• Low: The average frame rate is 141 FPS.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 110 FPS, with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS.
• High: The average frame rate is 86 FPS.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 60 FPS.

These figures show a clear progression of performance cost as both resolution and settings increase. The system is capable of delivering high frame rates in all but the most extreme 4K Ultra scenario, and even then, it maintains a playable 60 FPS average.