Evolve

Evolve pairs the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, a combination that lands near the bottom of the database for this title. The measured results place this combo at rank 1602 out of 1695 tested configurations, meaning roughly 94.5% of all recorded setups deliver higher average frame rates. The data shows a system that is fundamentally constrained by its graphics card, with the CPU's substantial processing headroom going largely unused in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate collapse from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals a GPU-bound configuration. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 76 FPS, which drops to 53.7 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 27.1 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 64.3% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The scaling is even more punishing at High settings, where 48.5 FPS at 1080p falls to 32.6 FPS at 1440p and finally to 19.1 FPS at 4K — a 60.6% total loss.

This pattern indicates the GTX 1650 is the limiting component at every resolution tested. The i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, is capable of feeding far more frames than this GPU can render. The evidence appears in the diminishing returns as resolution increases: the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows at higher resolutions, which is typical of a card that runs out of pixel-pushing capacity before the CPU becomes relevant. At 1080p, the spread between Low (76 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) is 41 FPS, but at 4K that spread compresses to just 17.4 FPS (27.1 vs 9.7). This compression confirms that the GPU is saturated regardless of quality preset.

GPU Role

The GeForce GTX 1650 is built on the TU117 chip using a 12 nm process from TSMC, with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1485 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the card's 896 shading units must handle all the rasterization work in Evolve. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, particularly when Ultra settings demand more memory than the card can comfortably allocate.

The GPU's benchmark profile reinforces its position. Its PassMark G3D score of 7880 places it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713. The nearest rivals in the database — the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4%), AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4%), NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8671, +0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8761, -0.5%) — all sit within a 0.9% band of each other. This tight clustering indicates the GTX 1650 is performing exactly where its hardware specifications suggest, with no unexpected headroom.

The card's FP32 throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits that manifest in the measured FPS. At 1440p Medium, the combo manages 41.3 FPS, which drops to 25 FPS at Ultra — a 39.5% penalty for maxing out settings. The 75 W TDP and lack of external power connectors mean this card runs within a narrow power envelope, but that efficiency does not translate into extra performance headroom for Evolve's demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing sits at rank 1602 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 5.5% of all configurations. The data is measured, not estimated, so these numbers reflect actual gameplay rather than theoretical projections. For context, the i5-12400F alone holds the 77th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 19221, while the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among GPUs. The CPU is far more capable than the GPU, and the combo rank reflects that imbalance.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, +0.1%), Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, +0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364, -0.7%), and AMD EPYC 7773X (18979, +1.3%). These deltas are all within 2% of the i5-12400F's average score, showing that the processor is competitive with a wide range of hardware. Yet none of that CPU headroom helps in Evolve because the GTX 1650 cannot translate it into higher frame rates. The bottleneck is unambiguous.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of its average benchmark score, which means swapping to any of those alternatives would yield nearly identical results in Evolve. The GTX 1650's percentile rank of 43 among all GPUs is the more telling statistic — it positions this card below the median of tested graphics hardware, and the measured FPS in this game reflect that standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates on lower presets. Low settings average 76 FPS, which is smooth for a fast-paced FPS. Medium settings drop to 61.1 FPS, still acceptable for most players. High settings fall to 48.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear gradient: every preset step costs roughly 12-15 FPS, with the largest single drop between Medium and High (12.6 FPS) and between High and Ultra (13.5 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the card struggles to maintain 60 FPS on any preset. Low settings average 53.7 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play. Medium drops to 41.3 FPS, High to 32.6 FPS, and Ultra to 25 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 12.4 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 8.7 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 7.6 FPS. The diminishing penalties at higher settings suggest the card is running out of compute resources rather than memory bandwidth.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 27.1 FPS, Medium drops to 22.5 FPS, High to 19.1 FPS, and Ultra to 9.7 FPS. None of these approach the 30 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for a playable experience. The 4K Ultra result of 9.7 FPS is particularly poor, representing a 87.2% drop from the 1080p Low result. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are simply insufficient for Evolve at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at lower settings. The measured data shows 76 FPS at Low and 61.1 FPS at Medium, both of which are above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings at 48.5 FPS are playable but not smooth, and Ultra at 35 FPS is on the edge of acceptable.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves 60 FPS or higher, and only on Low or Medium settings. At 2560x1440, the best result is 53.7 FPS on Low, which falls below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It is 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364) and 1.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 7773X (18979).

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: Yes. The GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs with a PassMark G3D score of 7880, while the CPU holds the 77th percentile. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent GPU limitation, as performance drops by roughly 60-64% regardless of settings preset.

Q: What GPU rivals are closest in performance to the GTX 1650?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (8746, -0.4%), AMD Radeon 550X (8749, -0.4%), NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (8671, +0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (8761, -0.5%) are all within 0.5% of its average benchmark score of 8713.

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

A: It ranks 1602 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 5.5% of all recorded systems.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to 1920x1080 with Medium settings as the best balance for this combo in Evolve. Medium delivers 61.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS bar for smooth gameplay while providing better visual quality than Low's 76 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs only 14.9 FPS, but the visual improvement is substantial. High settings at 48.5 FPS sacrifice too much smoothness for marginal visual gains, and Ultra at 35 FPS is not recommended for any player prioritizing responsiveness.

For players who absolutely need maximum frame rates, 1080p Low at 76 FPS is the only configuration that provides significant headroom above 60 FPS. This setting is appropriate for competitive play where reaction time matters more than visual fidelity. At 1440p, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so users with 1440p monitors should either drop to 1080p or accept frame rates in the 25-54 FPS range depending on quality. The 4K resolution is not viable for this game on this hardware — every preset falls below 30 FPS, with Ultra producing a slideshow-like 9.7 FPS.

The combination of the i5-12400F's 6 cores and GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM means the card will run out of memory before the CPU runs out of processing power. Players should prioritize lowering resolution over lowering settings when optimizing for frame rate, as the data shows resolution has a larger impact on performance than quality presets. For the best experience, set the resolution to 1920x1080, choose Medium settings, and accept that this hardware is not designed for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution play in Evolve.