Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a fascinating performance profile in Evolve, one that is heavily dictated by resolution. The data clearly shows a system that is GPU-bound at 4K but transitions to a more balanced state as resolution drops, with the CPU’s capabilities becoming increasingly relevant at 1080p. This combination ranks in the top 2% of all tested configurations, delivering exceptional frame rates across the board, yet the scaling pattern reveals where the true bottleneck lies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline tells a compelling story about component utilization. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 303 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 265 FPS, a 12.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 154 FPS, which is 49% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is nearing its limit, preventing the RTX 5090 D from fully stretching its legs, whereas at 4K, the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the dominant constraint.

The High settings data reinforces this interpretation. From 1080p High (246 FPS) to 1440p High (165 FPS), there is a 33% drop, and then from 1440p to 4K High (94 FPS), another 43% drop. The larger relative drop between 1440p and 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p suggests that the GPU is being taxed far more heavily at higher resolutions, which is expected given the RTX 5090 D’s immense compute resources. At 1080p, the 246 FPS figure is likely constrained by the i5-12400's single-thread performance rather than the GPU.

Ultra settings paint an even clearer picture of GPU dominance at high resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 65 FPS is drastically lower than the 4K Medium result of 120 FPS, a 46% reduction that highlights the massive pixel and shading overhead of Ultra settings. Meanwhile, the 1080p Ultra result of 170 FPS is only 38% lower than the 1080p Medium result of 276 FPS. This asymmetry suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is providing a relatively stable baseline, but the GPU’s workload scaling with settings is what drives the final frame rate.

The pattern indicates that for competitive play at 1080p, this combo can push well beyond 240 FPS on Medium settings, but the CPU becomes a limiting factor beyond that point. At 4K, the RTX 5090 D is clearly the primary bottleneck, with even Low settings yielding only 154 FPS. The data does not show any min or max FPS values for most resolutions, but the available Medium settings data shows a consistent 15-17% variance between min and max at each resolution, suggesting stable frame pacing without major stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 2,872 tested combos in Evolve, this configuration ranks 54th, placing it in the top 1.9% of all systems evaluated. This is an exceptional result, but the ranking also reveals that there are 53 other combinations that outperform it, likely featuring more powerful CPUs that can better feed the RTX 5090 D at lower resolutions. The rank is primarily evidence of the GPU’s raw power, as the CPU’s own performance percentile (72nd among all CPUs) is far less impressive than the GPU’s (92nd among all GPUs).

The combo’s high rank is driven by its ability to maintain very high frame rates across all tested settings. Even at the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration, the 65 FPS result is playable, and at 1080p Medium, the 276 FPS average is in the top tier of performance. The ranking suggests that in Evolve, this pairing delivers a level of performance that exceeds what the vast majority of users would ever need, but the CPU’s relative weakness compared to the GPU means the combo is not optimal for maximizing FPS at low resolutions.

The i5-12400’s nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 7643 (0.1% lower average score), Intel Core i7-1355U (0.3% lower), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (0.7% lower), while the Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% higher. These are all within a tight performance band, indicating that the i5-12400 is a mid-pack performer in synthetic tests. The RTX 5090 D’s nearest GPU rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% higher average score), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% lower), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants (2.1-2.4% lower), showing that the GPU sits at the very top of the performance hierarchy despite being 92nd percentile.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the undisputed performance driver in this combo. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample resources for Evolve, a game from 2015 that is unlikely to stress its memory capacity. The 32 GB VRAM is far beyond what this title requires, meaning memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any resolution or setting. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective data rate, providing the bandwidth needed to feed 21,760 shading units.

The GPU’s clock speeds are notably high, with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. These clocks, combined with 176 ROPs and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s, drive the 4K performance observed in the data. The boost clock is particularly relevant, as it allows the GPU to sustain high frequencies under load, which is evident in the 154 FPS 4K Low result. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is staggering, and while Evolve does not use ray tracing, the presence of 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores means the GPU has headroom for future titles or higher settings in this game.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its elite status. A PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 are extremely high, with the Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 showing strong API efficiency. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 77,712 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within a 2.4% delta, indicating a tight cluster at the top. The RTX 5090 D is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 92,200 million transistors, a die size of 750 mm², and a TDP of 575 W, which explains its need for a dual-slot cooler and a 16-pin power connector.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Evolve?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 303, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 65 FPS, which is the lowest result across all tested configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the Intel Core i5-12400 becomes a limiting factor, as the frame rates at Low (303 FPS) and Medium (276 FPS) are closer than the GPU’s raw power would suggest, indicating CPU constraints.

*Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations in Evolve?*

A: The combo ranks 54th out of 2,872 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.9% of all systems.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D have enough VRAM for this game?

A: Yes, the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than Evolve requires, and memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any resolution or settings level.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 235 and the maximum is 317, with an average of 276.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates: 303 FPS on Low, 276 FPS on Medium (with min 235 and max 317), 246 FPS on High, and 170 FPS on Ultra. These results show that even at the most demanding 1080p settings, the system maintains well over 144 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very strong but show the expected drop from GPU workload. Low settings yield 265 FPS, Medium produces 210 FPS (with min 179 and max 242), High delivers 165 FPS, and Ultra drops to 114 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that the RTX 5090 D can handle this resolution with ease, maintaining over 100 FPS even at Ultra settings, which is impressive for a game that is not heavily optimized for modern hardware.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become apparent. Low settings produce 154 FPS, Medium yields 120 FPS (with min 102 and max 138), High drops to 94 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65 FPS. The 4K results show a clear GPU bottleneck, with frame rates scaling almost linearly with settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 89 FPS, a 58% reduction, which is much larger than the 133 FPS gap at 1080p (a 44% reduction). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is working at its maximum capacity, while at 1080p, the CPU is preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 plays a crucial but secondary role in this combo. With 6 cores and 12 threads, base clock of 2.50 GHz, and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this Alder Lake-S processor provides solid multi-threaded performance. The CPU’s L3 cache of 18 MB shared across all cores helps with game-level data, and its support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory gives flexibility, though the dual-channel memory bus is standard. The 10 nm process node and 163 mm² die size are modest by modern standards, and the CPU’s TDP of 65 W is low, especially when paired with the 575 W GPU.

Synthetic benchmarks show the i5-12400 is a competent mid-range CPU. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15,989 and single-core score of 2,257 indicate strong performance for gaming, while the 3DMark scores (5,873 for 16 threads, 910 for single thread) show balanced scaling. The Geekbench multicore score of 8,564 and single-core score of 1,848 are respectable. The PassMark scores are diverse: multithread at 18,747, single-thread at 3,456, and floating-point math at 45,494, but the integer math score of 58,366 is particularly high, which can benefit game physics.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the 303 FPS Low result is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame rate capability, as the single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 910) becomes the limiting factor. The CPU’s percentile of 72nd among all CPUs shows it is above average but not elite, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 and Intel Core i7-1355U, all within a 0.7% delta. This places the i5-12400 in a competitive but not top-tier position, which is consistent with its role as a bottleneck at 1080p while allowing the GPU to dominate at 4K.