Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti presents a stark contrast in capability. The processor is a modern 10-core, 16-thread Alder Lake part with a 4.90 GHz boost clock, while the graphics card is a Pascal-era entry-level solution with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. In Evolve, this mismatch is immediately visible in the measured frame rates, which are consistently constrained by the GPU at every resolution and settings level. The data shows a system where the CPU’s potential is largely untapped, leaving the GTX 1050 Ti as the definitive bottleneck in this 2015 FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates the classic behavior of a GPU-limited configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 61.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops performance to 41.9 FPS, a reduction of approximately 31.5%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 26.6 FPS, which is about 56.5% lower than the 1080p result. This pattern indicates that the rendering load is scaling almost entirely with pixel count, which is the signature of a graphics card that has reached its fill-rate and memory bandwidth ceiling.

The scaling becomes more severe when quality settings are raised. At High settings, the average frame rate at 1080p is 37 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 28.2 FPS, and at 4K it collapses to 13.7 FPS. The gap between Low and High at 4K is substantial: 26.6 FPS versus 13.7 FPS, a difference of 12.9 FPS. This suggests that the GTX 1050 Ti’s 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2.138 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are simply insufficient for the higher-detail shaders and textures at 4K. The pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s are overwhelmed, resulting in the sub-20 FPS averages seen at High and Ultra settings at that resolution.

Notably, the scaling between 1440p and 4K is not linear across all settings. At Low, the drop is from 41.9 to 26.6 FPS (about 36.5% reduction). At Medium, the drop is from 32.6 to 15.8 FPS (about 51.5% reduction). This steeper falloff at higher quality presets indicates that the GPU’s shading units (768) and texture mapping units (48) are being pushed harder, causing a more dramatic performance collapse when the resolution increases. The data clearly shows that this processor-GPU combination is never CPU-bound in this game; every frame rate change correlates directly with the GPU’s workload.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve, this specific pairing of the i5-12600KF and GTX 1050 Ti ranks 1680th. This places it in the bottom 1% of all configurations tested, a result that is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The processor alone sits in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27827, placing it near the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851, -0.1% delta). This indicates the CPU is a high-performing part relative to the broader market.

In contrast, the GTX 1050 Ti sits in the 30th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 5316. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (5317, 0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (5297, 0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 240 (5280, 0.7% delta). These are all entry-level or mobile-oriented parts, which underscores how far behind the modern GPU curve this card is. The combo’s rank of 1680 out of 1695 suggests that the overwhelming majority of other tested systems, even those with less capable processors, outperform this setup in Evolve because they have a more balanced GPU.

The data indicates that the i5-12600KF’s performance class is wasted in this pairing. While the CPU could easily feed a much stronger graphics card, the GTX 1050 Ti’s performance ceiling is so low that the processor’s advantages in single-thread and multi-thread workloads never translate into higher frame rates. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309, are irrelevant to the gameplay experience when the GPU cannot exceed its 61.2 FPS peak at 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo can achieve in Evolve?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 61.2, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF the limiting factor in this system for Evolve?

A: No. The data shows the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 30th percentile. The frame rates drop significantly at higher resolutions and settings, which is a GPU-bound behavior.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its closest rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 5316. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce 930A, scores 5317 (0% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce 940M scores 5297 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 240 scores 5280 (0.7% delta). These are all statistically equivalent performance levels.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 46.8. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average FPS drops to 15.8. This represents a 66.2% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at any resolution?

A: No. The Ultra preset results in an average of 26.6 FPS at 1080p, 15.5 FPS at 1440p, and 8 FPS at 4K. None of these averages are considered playable for a smooth experience.

Q: What are the specifications of the CPU's cache and memory support?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an L1 cache of 80 KB per core, an L2 cache of 1.25 MB per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of the combo’s limitations across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 61.2 FPS for Low, 46.8 FPS for Medium, 37 FPS for High, and 26.6 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 34.6 FPS, indicating that the graphics card’s compute units are heavily taxed by the higher-quality rendering features.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 41.9 FPS for Low, 32.6 FPS for Medium, 28.2 FPS for High, and 15.5 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 19.3 FPS, while at Ultra settings the drop is 11.1 FPS. This narrowing of the gap at higher settings suggests that the Ultra preset’s additional load is already causing significant frame loss even at the lower resolution, so the incremental cost of more pixels is relatively smaller.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 26.6 FPS for Low, 15.8 FPS for Medium, 13.7 FPS for High, and 8 FPS for Ultra. The 4K Low result is identical to the 1080p Ultra result (26.6 FPS), which demonstrates how resolution and settings can trade off against each other. The 4K Ultra result of 8 FPS is the lowest recorded value and is effectively unplayable. The data shows a consistent pattern: the GTX 1050 Ti cannot maintain a 30 FPS average at 4K on any preset, and even at 1440p, only the Low preset achieves an average above 40 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the only setting combination that provides a smooth, standard 60 FPS experience is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which yields 61.2 FPS. This should be the target for any user seeking fluid gameplay. For those who prefer higher visual fidelity, the Medium preset at 1080p offers an average of 46.8 FPS, which is a reasonable compromise for a game that is not a fast-paced competitive shooter.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 41.9 FPS. The High preset at 1440p yields 28.2 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered a minimum for playability. At 4K, no preset is recommended. The Low preset’s 26.6 FPS is marginally playable but will feel sluggish, while the Medium, High, and Ultra presets at 15.8, 13.7, and 8 FPS respectively are not acceptable for interactive use.

The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over settings. Dropping from High to Medium at 1080p improves the average from 37 to 46.8 FPS, a gain of 9.8 FPS. Dropping from Medium to Low at 1080p improves the average from 46.8 to 61.2 FPS, a gain of 14.4 FPS. This indicates that the Low preset is significantly less demanding on the GPU’s limited resources, likely reducing shader complexity and texture filtering loads that the GP107 chip struggles to handle.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The CPU’s benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a single-core score of 3309. It also achieves a Geekbench multi-core score of 12373 and a single-core score of 2529. These figures place it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs.

However, in the context of Evolve with this GPU, the CPU’s role is almost entirely passive. The game’s frame rates are dictated by the GPU’s rendering throughput, not the CPU’s ability to process game logic or draw calls. The processor’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory are irrelevant when the GPU is the bottleneck. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-10900K (27829 avg score, 0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (27851 avg score, -0.1% delta), show that the i5-12600KF is competitive with previous-generation flagship parts in synthetic workloads.

Yet, the measured FPS in Evolve shows no benefit from this CPU power. The 3DMark scores for the CPU, such as 7956 for 16 threads and 1016 for single thread, do not translate into higher frame rates because the GTX 1050 Ti is the limiting component. The GPU’s 768 shading units and 48 TMUs are the only hardware that matters for the game’s rendering pipeline. This pairing highlights a fundamental imbalance: the CPU is capable of supporting a much more powerful GPU, but the GTX 1050 Ti’s 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 112.1 GB/s bandwidth cap the system’s performance at levels seen in the data.