Evolve

This combo of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations for Evolve. That places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, indicating a pairing that is heavily constrained by its graphics component. The CPU is a strong performer, but the GPU’s benchmark scores place it near the very bottom of the database, and the measured frame rates reflect this imbalance. The data shows a system capable of playable frame rates only at lower resolutions and settings, with a steep drop-off as graphical demands increase.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower quartile of systems tested for Evolve. This is a direct consequence of the Intel Arc B390’s performance tier. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which it beats by only 1.3%, and the GeForce GT 710, which it outperforms by 2.7%. This indicates the graphics solution is operating at a level comparable to entry-level hardware from over a decade ago, despite its modern architecture.

In contrast, the Intel Core i5-12600KF is a much stronger component. Its average benchmark score of 27799 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. It sits within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-10900K and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, both of which are significantly more powerful parts in most gaming scenarios. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is robust, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391, which is over seven times its single-core score of 3302. This contrast in component capability is the defining characteristic of this pairing: a top-tier CPU is bottlenecked by a GPU that struggles to keep up even with basic rendering tasks.

The practical result is that the system’s performance ceiling is determined almost entirely by the Arc B390. While the CPU can easily feed the GPU with data, the GPU cannot process it fast enough to produce high frame rates. This is why the combo ranks so low; the GPU’s percentile ranking of 9th dominates the overall result. The CPU’s strong showing in synthetic benchmarks does little to boost the in-game experience when the graphics processor is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 89 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a high-refresh experience. The Medium preset drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 22% performance hit for a modest visual upgrade. High settings at 1080p yield 54 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 60 FPS, which is the bare minimum for acceptable playability. Medium drops to 46 FPS, and High to 36 FPS, both of which are marginal for a competitive shooter. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages only 25 FPS, making it effectively unplayable. At 3840x2160, all presets are below 34 FPS, with Low being the only option that even approaches a playable state; Medium drops to 26 FPS, High to 21 FPS, and Ultra to 14 FPS.

The data suggests that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with the Low preset, which provides a 60% performance headroom over the Medium preset at the same resolution. This is the only configuration that consistently delivers frame rates above 60 FPS. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a balanced compromise, with an average FPS of 69 and minimum frame times that stay above 59 FPS. However, the data clearly indicates that pushing to 1440p or 4K with this GPU requires dropping to Low settings to maintain any semblance of smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Evolve with this combo?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 89, and at Medium it is 69. At 1440p, only the Low preset reaches 60 FPS, and at 4K, all presets fall below 34 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390’s average benchmark score is 1482. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the GeForce GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the GeForce GT 710 by 2.7%. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27799 places it in the 79th percentile, and it performs within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The GPU is the limiting factor; the CPU has far more performance headroom than the GPU can utilize.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS, while the Low preset averages 89 FPS. This represents a 52 FPS difference, or a 140% performance increase when using the Low preset.

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

A: The data indicates no. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 34 on the Low preset. The Medium preset drops to 26 FPS, and Ultra is at 14 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a playable experience in an FPS.

Q: How does the combo’s rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested for Evolve, which is consistent with the GPU’s low percentile ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a performance profile that scales predictably with resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 89 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. The Medium preset delivers 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79, showing a stable frame delivery within a narrow band. High settings drop to 54 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The gradient from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 52 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU has a limited performance envelope that is quickly saturated by higher graphical loads.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 60 FPS, which is a 33% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53, showing a wider variance than at 1080p. High settings at 1440p drop to 36 FPS, and Ultra to 25 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 35 FPS, a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but a larger relative drop, with Ultra delivering only 42% of the Low preset’s performance.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly low. The Low preset averages 34 FPS, which is a 62% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 26 FPS, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30, indicating the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent frame pacing. High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is only 20 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is so heavily overloaded that even the lowest settings cannot provide a playable frame rate. The data shows a clear pattern: the combo is only viable at 1080p, and even then, only on lower presets.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary limiting factor in this combo. Its benchmark results are exceptionally low, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts with scores in the 1440-1460 range. The GPU’s architecture is Xe3-LPG, built on a 3 nm process, but its performance characteristics are more akin to an entry-level integrated solution than a discrete gaming card.

The GPU’s memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the system’s main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical detail, as it means the GPU’s bandwidth is "System Dependent" and cannot be quantified independently. The lack of dedicated memory likely contributes to the poor performance at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands increase significantly. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, which are low counts for a modern architecture, and its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s.

The clock speeds are listed as 300 MHz base and 2500 MHz boost, but the memory clock is also "System Shared." The GPU’s FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, which is modest for a gaming card. The data shows that the GPU’s performance ceiling is reached at 1080p Low, where it averages 89 FPS. Beyond that, every increase in resolution or settings results in a significant drop in frame rate, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck. The fact that it outperforms the GeForce GT 710 by only 2.7% in synthetic benchmarks underscores its position at the very bottom of the performance spectrum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a high-performance processor that is severely underutilized in this pairing. It features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302, a Geekbench multi-core score of 12137, and a 3DMark max threads score of 7952. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27799 places it in the 79th percentile, and it is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i9-10900K and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

The CPU’s architecture is Alder Lake, built on a 10 nm process, with a 20 MB shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, and its PCIe interface is Gen 4 with 20 lanes. The CPU’s single-threaded performance is particularly strong, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3925, which is essential for gaming workloads. However, in this combo, the CPU’s capabilities are largely irrelevant to the final frame rates because the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s output.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings. For example, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 89 FPS, but the CPU is capable of far more. The CPU’s performance is so far ahead of the GPU that even at 4K Ultra, where the combo averages 14 FPS, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish rendering. This is a classic case of a CPU being held back by a GPU, and the combo’s low rank in the database is a direct result of this imbalance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 89. At 1440p Low, it drops to 60, a 33% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops to 34, a further 43% reduction from 1440p and a 62% reduction from 1080p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU’s rendering throughput is being saturated as the pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar. The 1080p Medium average is 69 FPS, which drops to 46 FPS at 1440p (a 33% reduction) and then to 26 FPS at 4K (a 43% reduction from 1440p and a 62% reduction from 1080p). This consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the GPU is purely pixel-bound, with no other bottleneck such as memory bandwidth or CPU limitation coming into play.

The High settings show a slightly different pattern. At 1080p High, the average is 54 FPS. At 1440p High, it is 36 FPS (a 33% reduction), and at 4K High, it is 21 FPS (a 42% reduction from 1440p). The Ultra settings show the most dramatic drop: 37 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p (a 32% reduction), and 14 FPS at 4K (a 44% reduction from 1440p). The data shows that the GPU’s performance degrades at a consistent rate as resolution increases, regardless of the settings preset.

This uniform scaling pattern confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. A CPU-bound system would show a smaller FPS drop at higher resolutions, because the GPU would have more time to render each frame. Instead, the Arc B390’s performance drops in direct proportion to the increase in pixel count, which is the hallmark of a GPU that is running at its absolute maximum capacity at all times. The CPU, with its 79th percentile ranking, is never the bottleneck, and the combo’s performance is entirely dictated by the graphics card’s limited capabilities.