Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a severely underpowered combination for Evolve, ranking near the bottom of all tested system configurations. The benchmark data shows this combo at rank 1631 out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 4% of systems. This is a legacy pairing where the GPU is the dominant limiting factor across every resolution, and the results confirm that this configuration is only suitable for low-resolution, low-detail play.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 74.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 52.6 FPS at 2560x1440, then plummets to 27.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 27% decline from 1080p to 1440p and a further 48% decline from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1650’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are simply overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K.

At Ultra settings, the situation is even more severe. The system manages 33.3 FPS at 1080p, drops to 22.9 FPS at 1440p, and collapses to 13.7 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K gap at Ultra is a 59% reduction in performance, which is steeper than the 64% reduction seen at Low settings. This disproportionate scaling at higher detail levels suggests that texture memory pressure and fill rate limitations compound as resolution increases.

The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo achieves playable frame rates, and even then only at Low or Medium settings. At 1440p, the system falls below 60 FPS on all settings, and at 4K, every preset produces results that are effectively unplayable for an FPS title. The GTX 1650’s pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in Evolve.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1631 out of 1695 places this system in the bottom 3.8% of all tested configurations for Evolve. This ranking is consistent with the GPU’s overall standing, as the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs. The pairing cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations through CPU performance, as the i5-12400 is far more capable than the graphics card.

The CPU itself ranks at the 77th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700, which scores 19831 (a 0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i7-8700 at 19894 (a -0.2% delta). This means the CPU side of the equation is competitive with much older high-end processors, yet the overall combo ranking is dragged down entirely by the GPU.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 8713 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4% delta). This indicates that the GTX 1650 performs at the level of entry-level mobile and workstation cards, which explains why the combo ranks so poorly in a demanding FPS title like Evolve. The system’s position in the rankings is a direct reflection of the GPU’s inability to maintain adequate frame rates at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU117 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The card operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and its memory runs at 2001 MHz with an 8 Gbps effective data rate.

The GPU is equipped with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is the primary bottleneck in Evolve at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system produces just 13.7 FPS, and the difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 13.5 FPS (27.2 vs 13.7). This 50% performance gap between settings at 4K is larger than the 55% gap at 1080p (74.8 vs 33.3), indicating that memory bandwidth constraints become more pronounced as resolution increases.

The GPU’s compute capabilities include 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 5.967 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. These figures are modest by modern standards, and the card’s PassMark G3D score of 7880 reflects its position in the lower-middle tier of graphics hardware. The card’s 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors suggest it is designed for basic systems, not high-performance gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 74.8 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to exceed 60 FPS. Medium settings yield 58.5 FPS, High settings drop to 49.9 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 33.3 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each step up in quality costs approximately 15-16 FPS, with the Low-to-Medium transition being the smallest drop at 16.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance declines significantly across all settings. Low settings average 52.6 FPS, Medium drops to 39.5 FPS, High manages 33.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22.9 FPS. The 1440p results are roughly 30-35% lower than their 1080p counterparts. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 29.7 FPS, which is slightly smaller in absolute terms than the 41.5 FPS gap seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings average 27.2 FPS, Medium drops to 20.4 FPS, High yields 18.7 FPS, and Ultra produces just 13.7 FPS. Every 4K configuration falls below 30 FPS, making the game essentially unplayable at this resolution. The 4K results are 60-65% lower than the corresponding 1080p results, confirming that this combo is not designed for high-resolution gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S generation, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core.

The CPU’s benchmark results show strong single-threaded performance, scoring 3456 in PassMark single-thread tests and 2249 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Its multithreaded scores are equally respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a PassMark multithread score of 18747. These figures indicate that the i5-12400 is more than capable of feeding the GTX 1650 in Evolve.

Despite the CPU’s capability, the measured frame rates are limited by the GPU. The fact that the system achieves 74.8 FPS at 1080p Low but only 13.7 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration. The i5-12400’s 3DMark scores, including 910 for single-thread and 5890 for max threads, suggest it has ample headroom for this game. The data clearly shows that upgrading the GPU would yield far greater performance gains than upgrading the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience, delivering 74.8 FPS. This is the recommended preset for players who prioritize frame rate and responsiveness in this FPS title. The Medium preset at 1080p, which averages 58.5 FPS, is a viable alternative for those who want better visual quality while remaining close to the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 52.6 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, but it still falls below 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution, producing 33.5 and 22.9 FPS respectively, are not recommended for competitive play. At 4K, all settings produce frame rates below 30 FPS, and the system should not be used at this resolution for Evolve under any circumstances.

The data shows that the performance difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 16.3 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 8.6 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for players who find Low too sparse. However, for players who value consistent frame rates above all else, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice based on the measured results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in Evolve?

A: The best combination is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 74.8 FPS. This is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS in the measured data.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: No. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 27.2 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 13.7 FPS. All 4K configurations fall below 30 FPS.

Q: How does this system rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1631 out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 4% of all systems tested for Evolve.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The i5-12400 ranks at the 77th percentile among CPUs, while the GTX 1650 ranks at the 43rd percentile among GPUs, and the frame rates scale predictably with resolution changes.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 74.8 FPS while Ultra settings average 33.3 FPS, a difference of 41.5 FPS. This represents a 55% performance drop from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the GTX 1650’s 4 GB VRAM sufficient for Evolve?

A: The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory is insufficient at higher resolutions. The memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s is a major factor in the severe performance drops seen at 1440p and 4K, where frame rates fall below 53 FPS even at Low settings.