Evolve

The benchmark data for Evolve, pairing the Intel Core i3-12100F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, reveals a configuration defined by a significant performance disparity. The RTX 5080 demonstrates immense graphical capability, while the Core i3-12100F, a 4-core/8-thread part, shows signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where the system's limits reside.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting balance between CPU and GPU load. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 301 FPS. This is the highest frame rate recorded in the dataset, but it is also where the CPU constraint is most evident. When the resolution increases to 1440p, the Low preset average drops to 237.1 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 136.9 FPS. The progression from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a 54.5% reduction in frame rate, indicating that while the GPU is being tasked more heavily at higher resolutions, the CPU is still hampering the absolute ceiling at 1080p.

The pattern shifts with the High preset. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 215.2. This drops to 148.1 FPS at 1440p and further to 82.2 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K here is a 61.8% reduction. This steeper decline suggests that the game is becoming more GPU-bound as the quality settings increase. The GPU is now the primary limiter, as the higher fidelity assets and effects at High settings demand more from the RTX 5080's 10752 shading units and 336 texture mapping units.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 151.3 FPS. This falls to 100.2 FPS at 1440p and 54.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra frame rate is the lowest in the entire dataset, representing a 63.8% drop from the 1080p figure. This data indicates that Evolve's Ultra preset is exceptionally demanding on the GPU, and the RTX 5080, despite its 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability, is fully saturated at 4K Ultra. The delta between 1440p and 4K at Ultra (45.4 FPS difference) is larger than the delta between 1080p and 1440p (51.1 FPS difference), showing that the 4K resolution is an exponential leap in pixel workload.

The medium preset provides a mid-point observation. The 1080p Medium average is 276.5 FPS, which is only 24.5 FPS lower than Low. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still a limiting factor, as the GPU can absorb the increased load of Medium settings without a significant FPS penalty. However, at 4K Medium, the average is 105.6 FPS, which is 31.3 FPS lower than the 4K Low result. This confirms that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution increases, even with moderate quality settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the central component in this configuration, and its specifications explain its dominant role in Evolve's performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Evolve, a game released in 2015, and it is unlikely to be a bottleneck at any tested setting. The high bandwidth ensures that textures and geometry data are fed to the processing units without delay.

The clock speeds of the RTX 5080 are substantial, with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. These frequencies, combined with the 10752 shading units, yield the 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput. In Evolve, this raw compute power translates directly to higher polygon counts, more complex shaders, and better particle effects, all of which are stressed by the Ultra preset. The data showing 54.8 FPS at 4K Ultra confirms that the GPU is working at its limit, as this is the most demanding scenario in the dataset.

The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are not directly relevant to Evolve, as the game does not use ray tracing or DLSS. However, the presence of these units does not detract from the rasterization performance. The 112 ROPs are crucial for pixel output, and the 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate helps maintain high fill rates at 4K resolution. The benchmark results show that the GPU's strength is best utilized at higher resolutions and quality settings, where its massive parallel processing capabilities are fully engaged.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 59188, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, has an average score of 58239, a delta of 1.6%, meaning the RTX 5080 leads that particular comparison. This context shows that the RTX 5080 is a top-tier performer, and its role in this combo is to provide the raw graphical horsepower that allows for high frame rates, even when paired with a modest CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The CPU has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of Evolve, this processor's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The data suggests that at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the 301 FPS average is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capability.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 11912, and its single-core score is 1681. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for gaming, as many game engines, including those from 2015, rely heavily on a few threads. The CPU's 3DMark scores show a significant jump from 2 threads (1659) to 4 threads (2859), but a minimal increase from 4 threads to 8 threads (4026 vs 4023). This indicates that the processor has limited headroom beyond its 4 physical cores, which is typical for an i3 model.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 13516, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which has an average score of 13534, a delta of -0.1%. This means the i3-12100F is virtually tied with that high-end workstation chip in average synthetic benchmarks, highlighting the efficiency of the Alder Lake architecture. However, in gaming, the 4-core limit becomes apparent.

The evidence for the CPU bottleneck is clear when comparing 1080p Low and Medium results. The difference between Low (301 FPS) and Medium (276.5 FPS) is only 24.5 FPS. If the GPU were the sole limiter, we would expect a larger gap, as Medium settings increase the GPU workload. The fact that the FPS does not drop significantly suggests that the CPU is unable to process frames much faster than 300 FPS, regardless of the GPU's capability. At 4K Ultra, the CPU is likely no longer the bottleneck, as the GPU is fully saturated at 54.8 FPS, giving the CPU ample time to process each frame.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achieved with this combo in Evolve?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 301 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 54.8 FPS, which is the lowest result in the dataset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rate difference between Low and Medium settings is relatively small, suggesting the processor cannot generate frames faster than the observed rates.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1681, while its multicore score is 11912. The 3DMark 2-thread score is 1659, and the 4-thread score is 2859, showing a significant scaling from 2 to 4 threads but a plateau beyond that.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo is ranked 82 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 82 out of 1695 tested configurations places it in the top 5% of all tested setups for Evolve. This high ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's exceptional performance. The RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 59188 is in the 89th percentile, and its measured performance in Evolve at 4K Ultra, while demanding, still achieves a playable 54.8 FPS average.

The ranking is also a signal of the CPU's adequacy. While the i3-12100F is not a top-tier processor, its 72nd percentile ranking and strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681) ensure it does not severely cripple the GPU's potential. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the CPU limits the system to around 300 FPS, but this is a scenario where the GPU is underutilized. The more relevant gaming scenarios, such as 1440p High or 4K Medium, are where the combo shines, with the RTX 5080 providing the necessary power to maintain high frame rates.

The rank of 82 suggests that this configuration outperforms the vast majority of systems in the database for Evolve. The data indicates that while the CPU is a weaker link, the GPU's dominance compensates for it, resulting in a high overall ranking. The combo's position in the 82nd spot out of 1695 is a strong indicator that this pairing is well-suited for Evolve, particularly for users prioritizing high-resolution gaming with detailed settings. The system's performance is robust, and the data confirms that the RTX 5080 is the driving force behind this high rank.