Evolve

The pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Evolve produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the dynamics of a high-end GPU paired with a more modest processor. The measured results show a system that is highly capable at standard and high resolutions, but one where the CPU’s limitations become increasingly apparent as the graphics load decreases. This analysis breaks down how the combination behaves across different settings, where it stands among other tested configurations, and what the numbers reveal about the role each component plays.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions is the most telling aspect of this combination. At 4K with Ultra settings, the system delivers an average of 60.8 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Ultra raises the average to 105.6 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, the system hits 159.6 FPS. This scaling pattern—a 74% increase from 4K to 1440p, followed by a 51% increase from 1440p to 1080p—indicates that the GPU is still the primary driver at the highest settings, even at lower resolutions.

However, the scaling behavior changes dramatically when settings are reduced. At 4K Low, the average is 147.7 FPS. At 1440p Low, it jumps to 256 FPS, but at 1080p Low, the improvement stalls significantly, reaching only 301.1 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 1080p on Low is just 17.6%, compared to the 73% jump seen when moving from 4K Low to 1440p Low. This plateau is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck: the RTX 5090 can render frames faster than the Core i3-12100F can feed it with draw calls and game logic updates.

The data suggests that at 1080p with lower settings, the system is no longer GPU-limited. The RTX 5090’s immense compute power is being held back by the processor’s four cores and eight threads. This is particularly evident when comparing the 1080p Medium result of 272.1 FPS to the 1080p High result of 233.1 FPS; the difference between Medium and High is larger than the difference between Low and Medium, but all three are well below what the GPU alone could theoretically produce. Overall, the scaling shows that the combo is best utilized at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU remains the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Core i3-12100F and RTX 5090 ranks 44th out of 1695 combos for Evolve. This places it in the top 2.6% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s relatively modest standing in the broader processor landscape.

To contextualize this, the Core i3-12100F holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, scores 13534, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the i3-12100F is essentially tied with a high-end workstation chip in aggregate CPU performance. Another close rival is the Intel Core i7-7700K, which scores 13280, putting the i3-12100F 1.8% ahead. This indicates that the i3-12100F is not a weak processor in absolute terms, but its four-core design limits its ability to sustain feeding a GPU as powerful as the RTX 5090 in every scenario.

The GPU itself is a top-tier part, ranking in the 94th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84306. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, scores 84241, a negligible 0.1% difference. The fact that this combo still reaches 44th place out of 1695 suggests that while the CPU does hold the system back in CPU-bound scenarios, the sheer power of the RTX 5090 compensates enough to keep the overall ranking very high. The data implies that with a stronger CPU, this same GPU could likely push this combo into the top 10 or even higher.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to use with this combo in Evolve?*

A: Based on the data, 1440p offers the best balance. At High settings, it achieves 154.4 FPS, which is a substantial jump from the 4K High result of 91.6 FPS, while still being high enough to avoid the severe CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p.

Q: Why does the frame rate not scale as much from 1440p to 1080p?

A: The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is much smaller than from 4K to 1440p. For example, on Low settings, the jump from 4K to 1440p is 108.3 FPS, but from 1440p to 1080p, it is only 45.1 FPS. This indicates the system becomes limited by the CPU at 1080p.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 44th out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the top 2.6% of all configurations in the database.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 being fully utilized at 1080p?

A: No. The data suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p. The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, but the frame rates at 1080p (301.1 FPS on Low) are likely capped by the Core i3-12100F’s processing speed.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Ultra and High settings at 4K?

A: The difference is significant. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 60.8 FPS, while at 4K High, it is 91.6 FPS. This represents a 50.7% performance increase when moving from Ultra to High.

Q: Does the Core i3-12100F hold the system back in any way?

A: Yes, particularly at lower resolutions. The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile with an average score of 13516, and its four cores limit performance in CPU-bound scenarios, as seen in the reduced scaling between 1440p and 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s capabilities. At 4K, the system starts at 60.8 FPS on Ultra and scales up to 91.6 FPS on High, 112.7 FPS on Medium, and 147.7 FPS on Low. This shows a clear progression where each settings tier down yields a substantial performance boost, confirming the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Moving to 1440p, the numbers increase substantially. Ultra settings deliver 105.6 FPS, High jumps to 154.4 FPS, Medium reaches 201.5 FPS, and Low hits 256 FPS. The scaling here is still strong, particularly between Medium and Low, which shows a 27% improvement. This suggests the GPU is still doing the heavy lifting, though the CPU is starting to become more relevant.

At 1080p, the frame rates are high but the scaling pattern changes. Ultra produces 159.6 FPS, High achieves 233.1 FPS, Medium gives 272.1 FPS, and Low tops out at 301.1 FPS. Notably, the gap between Medium and Low is only 29 FPS, while the gap between High and Medium is 39 FPS. This compression at the top end indicates that the CPU’s ability to process frames is becoming the limiting factor, as the GPU has excess capacity to render frames faster but cannot receive instructions quickly enough from the processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a massive piece of silicon, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its architecture is Blackwell 2.0, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 750 mm² and 92,200 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

These specifications directly relate to the results seen in Evolve. The 32 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this 2015 title, ensuring no memory capacity issues at any resolution or setting. The high bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s allows the GPU to quickly access textures and geometry, which is why the 4K results are as strong as they are, even with a slower CPU feeding it.

The GPU’s compute power, measured at 104.8 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16, is far beyond what Evolve requires. This is why the system still achieves 60.8 FPS at 4K Ultra, a setting that would tax most other GPUs. However, the data shows that this power is underutilized at 1080p Low, where the frame rate of 301.1 FPS is likely not a reflection of the GPU’s limits but of the CPU’s. The RTX 5090’s role is to provide massive headroom for future games or higher settings, but in this specific pairing, the Core i3-12100F prevents the GPU from reaching its full potential in CPU-bound scenarios. The GPU’s 94th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 84306 confirm its top-tier status, but the bottleneck analysis shows that raw GPU power is not the sole determinant of final frame rates in this combination.