Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a fascinating case study in Evolve, a 2015 FPS that is clearly sensitive to both resolution and graphical presets. The measured data reveals a system that can deliver exceptional frame rates at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K, particularly when settings are maxed out. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all tested configurations, interprets what the scaling patterns indicate about system bottlenecks, and contextualizes the combo's performance against other tested hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 152.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 102.7 FPS at 2560x1440, then plummets to 58.3 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61.7% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at the lowest graphical load, the system is being pushed hard by the pixel count increase.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher presets. Moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings drops the average from 92.2 FPS to 38.2 FPS, a 58.6% decrease. At Ultra settings, the decline is even steeper: 63.0 FPS at 1080p falls to 26.6 FPS at 4K, a 57.8% reduction. These consistent percentage drops across all settings suggest that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the rendering workload scales nearly linearly with pixel count.

However, the data also reveals that the CPU is not entirely free of influence. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 152.1 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that could potentially stress the i5-12400F's capabilities. The fact that the 4K Low result (58.3 FPS) is still playable suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output at lower resolutions, but the gap between 1080p Low and 1080p Ultra (152.1 vs 63.0 FPS) shows that the GPU is heavily taxed by the Ultra preset's additional effects.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate solid multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 16518 and a Geekbench multicore score of 9138. The single-thread performance is also respectable, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332.

In Evolve, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at most settings, but it becomes more relevant at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 152.1 FPS demonstrates that the i5-12400F can feed the Arc B580 with enough data to reach high frame rates. The single-thread performance is likely more important for this game than the multi-threaded capabilities, as Evolve is from 2015 and may not utilize all 12 threads effectively.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 6 physical cores provide a solid foundation for gaming. Data from the 3DMark 16-thread test (5895) versus the max-thread test (5912) shows that adding threads beyond the physical core count provides minimal benefit, suggesting the CPU is well-matched for games that primarily use 6-8 threads. The PassMark multithread score of 19433 places this CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a capable mid-range processor that should not bottleneck most gaming scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 119.5 FPS, which is a 27.3 FPS improvement over High (92.2 FPS) and a 56.5 FPS improvement over Ultra (63.0 FPS). The Low preset achieves 152.1 FPS, but the visual quality sacrifice may not be worth the additional 32.6 FPS over Medium.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 81.7 FPS provides a good balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. The High preset at 64.8 FPS is still playable, but the drop from 81.7 to 64.8 FPS represents a 20.7% performance penalty. Ultra at 43.0 FPS is borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS, making Medium the clear recommendation for most users.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more challenging. Low settings at 58.3 FPS is the only preset that maintains playable frame rates. Medium at 44.5 FPS is marginal, while High at 38.2 FPS and Ultra at 26.6 FPS are not suitable for competitive play. For 4K gaming, users should prioritize Low settings to stay above the 60 FPS threshold, or consider reducing the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1330 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the lower 21.5% of all configurations, which is surprising given the strong individual component scores. The GPU's percentile rank of 66 places it above average among all GPUs, while the CPU's 77th percentile ranking is also respectable.

The combo's rank suggests that Evolve is particularly demanding on this specific hardware pairing. The nearest GPU rivals include the AMD Radeon 760M (0.1% faster average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (-0.7% difference in average score), indicating that the Arc B580 performs similarly to these competing products in synthetic benchmarks. However, the in-game results at 4K Ultra (26.6 FPS) reveal that synthetic scores do not always translate to playable frame rates in every title.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance, with the Intel Core i7-8700K just 0.1% slower and the AMD EPYC 7773X 1.3% faster in average benchmark score. This clustering suggests that the CPU is not the differentiating factor in this combo's ranking; instead, the GPU's performance in Evolve at high settings appears to be the limiting constraint.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It operates at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs provide substantial raw compute power, with FP32 performance rated at 13.67 TFLOPS.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 26.6 FPS contrasts sharply with the 1080p Low result of 152.1 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput are heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical effects. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor in this game, as Evolve's 2015 release date predates the high-VRAM demands of modern titles.

The GPU's 2670 MHz clock speed is consistent across both base and boost, which is unusual and suggests stable thermal performance. The 190 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector indicate a moderately power-hungry card, but the data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings changes. The 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the in-game results, suggests that the Arc B580 is a competent mid-range GPU that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K with high presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 119.5 FPS offers the best balance, providing a 27.3 FPS improvement over High (92.2 FPS) while maintaining better visual quality than Low (152.1 FPS). Ultra at 63.0 FPS is also playable but significantly slower.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which achieves 58.3 FPS. Medium at 44.5 FPS is playable but not ideal for a competitive FPS, while High (38.2 FPS) and Ultra (26.6 FPS) are not recommended.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to the RTX 4060 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score is 23021, which is 0.7% lower than the RTX 4060's 23181. This indicates very similar overall performance in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the i5-12400F a bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The 152.1 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. The CPU's single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark indicates strong per-core performance for this workload.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1440p High and 4K High?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 64.8, while at 4K High it drops to 38.2. This represents a 41.0% reduction in performance when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1330 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the lower 21.5% of all tested hardware pairings for this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Evolve is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 152.1 FPS, Medium achieves 119.5 FPS, High reaches 92.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 63.0 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 58.6% reduction in frame rate at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 102.7 FPS, Medium reaches 81.7 FPS, High achieves 64.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43.0 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p to 1440p averages approximately 32.5% across all settings.

At 3840x2160, Low settings yield 58.3 FPS, Medium produces 44.5 FPS, High reaches 38.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26.6 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in an additional 43.2% average FPS reduction across all presets.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each resolution step (1080p to 1440p to 4K) incurs a roughly 30-45% performance penalty, with the penalty being slightly more pronounced at higher settings. This indicates that the Arc B580's rendering pipeline is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU can maintain adequate frame delivery despite the increasing GPU workload.