Evolve

Evolve pairs the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, and the measured frame rates show a pairing that is heavily influenced by the graphics card’s age. The 10-core processor provides ample headroom, but the Pascal-based GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution and settings scale upward. This analysis breaks down the measured data to show where the system excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance cliff that is entirely consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High, the system delivers 109.5 FPS, which is a very playable figure. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 72.5 FPS, a 33.8% reduction, and then to 4K High the average falls to 44.6 FPS, which is a 59.3% drop from the 1080p baseline. The scaling is not linear, indicating that pixel throughput demands are overwhelming the GTX 1080 Ti’s 484.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 76.9 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 50.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 31.2 FPS. This 59.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K shows that the GPU is running out of raw shading power. The data suggests that for smooth 4K gameplay, the user must rely on the Low preset, which yields 67.4 FPS, but that is a significant visual compromise.

The difference between Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution is telling. At 4K, Low produces 67.4 FPS while Ultra produces 31.2 FPS, a 116% swing. This indicates that the game’s Ultra settings introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive on the 16nm Pascal architecture, likely related to pixel fill rate demands. The 88 ROPs on the GTX 1080 Ti are being saturated, and the CPU’s high single-thread score of 1016 in 3dmark_single_thread cannot compensate for that.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark results show it is not the limiting factor in Evolve. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23444 and single-core score of 3309 place it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. In Evolve, the measured frame rates show that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU load is highest relative to GPU load, the system reaches 181.1 FPS. This is a strong indicator that the processor can feed frames far faster than the GTX 1080 Ti can render them.

The processor’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help with game logic and draw calls. The 3dmark test results show a healthy scaling from 2 threads (1995) to 16 threads (7956), meaning the game can utilize multiple cores effectively. However, the data shows that in Evolve, the CPU rarely becomes the bottleneck because the GPU is saturated first. At 1440p Low, the system hits 120.5 FPS, and at 4K Low, it hits 67.4 FPS. If the CPU were struggling, we would see inconsistent scaling between those two resolutions, but the drop is consistent with GPU load.

The i5-12600KF’s performance is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, with a deltaPct of 0. It is also only 0.1% slower than the i5-12600K and 0.2% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H. This means the CPU is not a weak link, and any frame rate limitations in Evolve are almost exclusively due to the graphics card. For a game from 2015, this processor provides far more compute headroom than necessary.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 67.4 FPS. At Medium, it drops to 52.8 FPS, and at High and Ultra it falls to 44.6 FPS and 31.2 FPS respectively, which are not smooth experiences.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate monitors?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers 181.1 FPS on Low and 139.1 FPS on Medium, which are suitable for 144Hz displays. At 1440p, the Low preset hits 120.5 FPS, which is also viable for 120Hz panels.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in this context?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 19402, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (19405) and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (19426). It is 1.1% faster than the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19184).

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i5-12600KF has a passmark multithread score of 27575 and a single-thread score of 3925. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium and High at 1080p?

A: Medium averages 139.1 FPS, while High averages 109.5 FPS. That is a 27% performance hit for moving from Medium to High, which suggests High enables more demanding effects.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p Ultra?

A: It averages 50.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The 4K Ultra preset is worse, at 31.2 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows strong performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 181.1 FPS, Medium averages 139.1 FPS, High averages 109.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 76.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 57.5% reduction in frame rate, which demonstrates the heavy cost of the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low averages 120.5 FPS, Medium averages 91.7 FPS, High averages 72.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 50.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 57.8%, and the absolute numbers start to fall below the 60 FPS threshold for High and Ultra presets.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly GPU-limited. Low averages 67.4 FPS, Medium averages 52.8 FPS, High averages 44.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 31.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 115.2%, which is the largest relative spread across all resolutions. This indicates that the Ultra preset at 4K places an enormous load on the GPU’s 3584 shading units and 224 TMUs.

The data shows that the 1080p Medium setting provides a solid balance, with 139.1 FPS, while 1440p Medium is also acceptable at 91.7 FPS. The 4K resolution is only viable on Low settings, as the higher presets fall below playable thresholds.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the defining component in this configuration. With 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, it has a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s. The base clock is 1481 MHz with a boost of 1582 MHz. In Evolve, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s environments and effects, and its performance is the primary determinant of the measured FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reveal its position. The passmark_g3d score is 18600, and the 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score is 2231. These place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, has a deltaPct of 0, meaning they perform nearly identically on average. This is surprising given the architecture differences, but it highlights that the 1080 Ti’s age is showing in modern workloads.

In Evolve, the GPU’s limits are clear. The Ultra preset at 4K produces 31.2 FPS, which is unplayable. The High preset at 4K produces 44.6 FPS, which is borderline. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 11.34 TFLOPS is not sufficient to handle the pixel shading demands at higher resolutions. The 88 ROPs also limit the fill rate, which becomes a bottleneck at 4K.

The memory capacity is not an issue, as 11 GB is more than enough for this game, but the bandwidth is. At 4K Ultra, the game likely requires more than 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth for textures and effects, leading to performance degradation. The data shows that the GPU is the sole reason for the frame rate drops between settings, as the CPU’s performance remains constant.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience based on the measured data, the 1080p Medium preset is the clear choice. It delivers 139.1 FPS, which is high enough for a responsive experience and is 27% faster than High. The visual improvement from Medium to High is not worth the frame rate loss, especially since the game is an FPS where smoothness matters.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with 91.7 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset at 72.5 FPS is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 120.5 FPS is viable for competitive play, but the visual hit is significant.

At 4K, the only playable option is the Low preset, which averages 67.4 FPS. Medium drops to 52.8 FPS, which is below ideal. Users with 4K displays should accept the Low preset or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for better visuals.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p. At 1080p Ultra, the 76.9 FPS is acceptable, but the 50.9 FPS at 1440p and 31.2 FPS at 4K are not. The data indicates that Ultra settings are designed for newer, more powerful GPUs. For this combination, sticking to Medium settings provides the most consistent and enjoyable experience across all resolutions.