Evolve

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 in Evolve produces a dataset that clearly separates the capabilities of the CPU and GPU across different workloads. The measured frame rates show a system where the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s six performance cores prove sufficient to drive very high frame rates at 1080p. The data indicates a balanced combination that scales predictably with graphical load, though the gap between the lowest and highest presets reveals the substantial overhead required by the game’s Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is the most telling indicator of where the performance bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 249.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 167 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 33.1%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 93.8 FPS, which represents a 62.4% decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep decline as resolution increases is a classic sign that the Radeon RX 9070 is being pushed to its limits, while the Core i5-12400F has ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra, the transition from 1080p (104.9 FPS) to 1440p (72.6 FPS) results in a 30.8% performance loss, and the jump to 4K (39.2 FPS) cuts the frame rate by an additional 46.0% compared to 1440p. This quadratic-like degradation suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated at 4K Ultra, making the CPU largely irrelevant at that configuration. Conversely, the relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (147.8 FPS to 100.7 FPS, a 31.9% reduction) indicates that the RX 9070 still has some reserve capacity at the lower resolution, but the trend confirms that resolution is the primary variable limiting performance.

Notably, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p at every preset. For Medium settings, the 1440p to 4K drop is 42.2% (130.4 to 75.3 FPS), while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 31.0% (188.9 to 130.4 FPS). This non-linear scaling indicates that the Radeon RX 9070’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, while generous, is not the limiting factor; instead, the 256-bit bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth begin to throttle performance as pixel count increases. The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, where the CPU can still push above 100 FPS on High settings without the GPU becoming the sole constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the High preset at 1440p offers the most balanced experience, delivering 100.7 FPS average. This configuration provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual fidelity that is substantially better than Medium or Low. At 1080p, High settings yield 147.8 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the jump to Ultra only costs 29.0% of that performance (104.9 FPS), making Ultra a viable option for users who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate.

For those targeting 4K, the data strongly advises against Ultra, which averages just 39.2 FPS—a figure that falls below the playable threshold for most FPS titles. High settings at 4K produce 58.8 FPS, which is borderline but usable if the player is willing to accept occasional dips. However, the Medium preset at 4K (75.3 FPS) presents a more sensible choice, as it provides a 28.1% improvement over High while still looking significantly better than Low. The Low preset at 4K (93.8 FPS) is only recommended for competitive play where frame rate is paramount, as it sacrifices nearly all graphical detail.

The analysis of the preset ladder reveals that the gap between Medium and High is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra. At 1440p, moving from Medium (130.4 FPS) to High (100.7 FPS) costs 22.8% performance, while moving from High to Ultra (72.6 FPS) costs a further 27.9%. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU, likely related to advanced lighting or shadow rendering. Consequently, the High preset represents the best performance-per-visual-quality trade-off, as it captures most of the visual uplift over Medium without the steep penalty of Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 543rd out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 68th percentile of all configurations. This is a solid mid-to-upper tier result, indicating that the pairing is more capable than the majority of systems tested. However, the ranking also shows that there is significant room for improvement; roughly one-third of all combos outperform this setup, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or more powerful GPUs.

The CPU’s individual standing helps contextualize the combo rank. The Core i5-12400F sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, a negligible 0.1% difference, meaning the two processors are functionally equivalent in synthetic tests. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS trails by a similar margin (0.7%), while the AMD EPYC 7773X leads by 1.3%. This puts the i5-12400F in a crowded field of mid-range processors, which explains why the combo does not crack the top 500 despite the GPU’s strength.

The GPU’s relative performance is more impressive. The Radeon RX 9070 achieves the 79th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA A2, scores 34866, a 0.2% difference, while the Quadro GV100 is 0.3% behind. This places the RX 9070 as a high-end graphics card, and the fact that the combo still lands in the 68th percentile suggests that the CPU is holding back the full potential of the GPU in Evolve’s specific workload. The discrepancy between the GPU’s percentile (79) and the combo’s percentile (68) indicates that a stronger processor could unlock additional frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the frame rates are consistently high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 249.5 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 188.9 FPS, a 24.3% reduction from Low. High settings deliver 147.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 104.9 FPS, which is still above the 100 FPS mark. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 58.0%, showing that the RX 9070 has enough headroom at this resolution to accommodate even the most demanding preset.

Moving to 1440p, the averages are 167 FPS (Low), 130.4 FPS (Medium), 100.7 FPS (High), and 72.6 FPS (Ultra). The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 56.5%, which is slightly less than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor. The High setting remains comfortably above 60 FPS, while Ultra falls below the 75 FPS threshold that many players consider optimal for fast-paced shooters.

At 4K, the performance hierarchy shifts dramatically. Low settings produce 93.8 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that exceeds 90 FPS. Medium yields 75.3 FPS, High drops to 58.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 39.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 58.2%, nearly identical to the spread at 1080p, but the absolute values are much lower, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K. The data shows that no preset at 4K can achieve the 100+ FPS that is readily available at 1080p, making 4K gaming with this combo a compromise between visual fidelity and smoothness.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Evolve?*

A: The data suggests 1440p is optimal, as High settings deliver 100.7 FPS and even Ultra achieves 72.6 FPS, both of which are playable. At 1080p, performance is higher but the GPU is underutilized, while at 4K, High settings fall to 58.8 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra, the average frame rate drops from 104.9 FPS at 1080p to 39.2 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 62.6%. This indicates that the Radeon RX 9070 is heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical settings.

Q: Is the Core i5-12400F a bottleneck for the Radeon RX 9070?

A: The CPU ranks at the 77th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 79th percentile. The combo ranks in the 68th percentile, suggesting the CPU limits performance slightly, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary constraint.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best balance of quality and frame rate at 1440p?

A: High settings offer 100.7 FPS, which is 29.3% faster than Ultra (72.6 FPS) and only 22.8% slower than Medium (130.4 FPS). This makes High the most balanced choice, as it maintains a high frame rate while delivering significantly better visuals than Medium.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which produce 75.3 FPS. High settings fall slightly below 60 FPS at 58.8 FPS, while Ultra is unplayable at 39.2 FPS. Low settings are the only preset that exceeds 90 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K?

A: The Core i5-12400F scores 19221 in average benchmarks, which is 0.1% higher than the Core i7-8700K’s 19210. The two processors are effectively tied, with the i5-12400F showing a negligible advantage in synthetic tests.