Evolve

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces a striking spread of results in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The data shows a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at high resolutions, yet at 1080p the CPU becomes a meaningful factor, with frame rates reaching as high as 342 FPS on Low settings. This pairing ranks 26th out of 2,872 tested combos in the game, placing it well inside the top 1% of all configurations. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component roles, and settings behavior based strictly on the provided facts.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 26th out of 2,872 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 342, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The next highest is 312 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 271 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded?

A: The lowest average FPS is 65, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only measured result below 94 FPS across all resolution and settings combinations.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in overall benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27,799. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27,872, which is 0.3% higher. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27,896, also 0.3% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27,712, which is 0.3% lower.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it relate to Evolve’s demands?

A: The GPU has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth. For a 2015 FPS like Evolve, this memory capacity far exceeds what the game can utilize, meaning VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any of the tested settings.

Q: Does the combo show signs of CPU limiting at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with Low settings the average FPS reaches 342, which suggests the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads, boosting to 4.90 GHz, are keeping up with the GPU’s output. The gap between 1080p and 1440p results at Low settings (342 vs 271 FPS) indicates that at 1080p the GPU is not fully saturated, allowing the CPU to push higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 26 out of 2,872 tested combos places it in the 99th percentile of all configurations measured for Evolve. This is an exceptional result, but the rank alone does not tell the full story. The measured FPS data reveals that this ranking is driven primarily by the GPU’s massive compute capacity, particularly at lower resolutions where the RTX 5090 D can stretch its legs.

The CPU’s own percentile ranking is 79 across all CPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly four out of five processors in general benchmark tests. However, in Evolve, the combo’s overall rank of 26 suggests that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27,799 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with deltas of only 0.3% in either direction. This indicates that the i5-12600KF is a solid, mid-to-high-tier processor, but not an outlier in raw compute performance.

What makes this combo stand out is the RTX 5090 D, which has an average benchmark score of 77,712 and ranks in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. The GPU’s nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, 1.6% higher) and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605, 2.4% higher), but in Evolve’s specific workload, the RTX 5090 D’s architecture and driver optimizations deliver the measured frame rates. The rank of 26 suggests that only 25 other combos in the entire database achieve higher average FPS across all tested scenarios, which confirms the GPU’s dominance in this title.

The data also shows that the combo’s ranking is not uniform across settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 65, which would likely place the combo lower in a hypothetical Ultra-only ranking. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 342 FPS average would be near the top of any ranking. The overall rank of 26 reflects a weighted average across all tested conditions, favoring the higher frame rates achieved at lower resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing for Evolve. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The GPU has 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster operation units, along with 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute of 104.8 TFLOPS.

The GPU’s clock speeds are a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. Memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. For a game released in 2015 like Evolve, these specifications are extreme overkill. The game’s engine was designed for an era of 2-4 GB VRAM and far lower compute budgets, so the RTX 5090 D is never constrained by memory capacity or bandwidth at any tested resolution.

The measured FPS data confirms this. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 65, which is still playable but shows that even this GPU cannot brute-force maximum settings at 4K without optimization. At 4K Medium, the average jumps to 120 FPS (with min 102 and max 138), and at 4K Low, it reaches 154 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low at 4K is from 65 to 154 FPS, a 2.37x improvement, which indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The GPU’s percentile rank of 92 among all GPUs further supports its high-end positioning, though in Evolve specifically, the game’s age means the GPU is operating well below its theoretical maximum in many scenarios.

The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is particularly relevant at 4K, where high-resolution textures and large frame buffers demand rapid data movement. Even at 4K Ultra, the 65 FPS average suggests that the GPU’s compute units, not memory bandwidth, are the limiting factor, as dropping to Medium (120 FPS) and Low (154 FPS) shows linear scaling with reduced shader complexity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of how this combo performs across three resolutions and four settings tiers. Starting with 1920x1080, the results are exceptional. At Low settings, the average FPS is 342, which is the highest recorded value for this combo. Medium settings at 1080p yield 312 FPS with a minimum of 265 and maximum of 359, showing consistent frame delivery. High settings drop to 246 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 170 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is from 342 to 170 FPS, a 50.3% reduction, indicating that the GPU is still the main driver of performance changes, but the CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU up to 342 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. Low settings average 271 FPS, which is 20.8% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 210 FPS with a range of 179 to 242, while High settings drop to 165 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 114 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at each settings tier shows a consistent reduction: 20.8% for Low, 32.7% for Medium, 32.9% for High, and 32.9% for Ultra. This uniformity suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor across all settings at this resolution, as the CPU has enough headroom to maintain similar relative performance.

At 3840x2160, the results become more demanding. Low settings still deliver 154 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium settings drop to 120 FPS (min 102, max 138), and High settings fall to 94 FPS. Ultra settings are the only result below 90 FPS, averaging 65 FPS. From 1440p to 4K, the reductions are: 43.2% for Low (271 to 154), 42.9% for Medium (210 to 120), 43.0% for High (165 to 94), and 43.0% for Ultra (114 to 65). The consistent 43% reduction across all settings at 4K strongly indicates that the GPU is the sole bottleneck at this resolution, as the CPU’s performance is not affecting the scaling pattern.

The complete dataset shows that the combo never drops below 65 FPS in any tested configuration, ensuring playable performance even at the most demanding settings. The highest minimum FPS recorded is 265 at 1080p Medium, and the highest maximum is 359 at the same settings, indicating smooth frame delivery without severe stutters.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU’s cache hierarchy consists of 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and uses the Intel Socket 1700.

In general benchmarks, the i5-12600KF scores 23,391 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,302 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 12,137 and single-core of 2,157. Its Passmark multithread score is 27,575, and its single-thread score is 3,925. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27,799 places it at the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rivals within 0.3% in either direction.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1080p Low, where the average FPS reaches 342. This is the only scenario where the CPU appears to have any influence on the results, as the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates at lower resolutions. The 3DMark scores provide context: 1,016 for single-thread, 1,995 for 2-threads, 3,806 for 4-threads, 6,128 for 8-threads, and 7,956 for 16-threads. These scores indicate strong single-thread performance, which is critical for older games like Evolve that may not scale well across many cores.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.90 GHz is particularly relevant for Evolve, as the game’s engine likely relies on high single-thread performance for game logic and physics. The 20 MB of L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing latency for frequently accessed game assets. However, the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 342 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it drops to 170 FPS, suggesting that the GPU’s workload at Ultra settings is what limits frame rates, not the CPU.

The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Evolve, which was released when 4-core processors were the norm. The benchmark results show that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at any resolution or settings combination, as evidenced by the consistent scaling patterns from 1080p to 4K. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller differences between 1080p and 1440p results, but the data shows near-identical percentage reductions across all settings tiers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings provide playable performance, but the best balance of visual quality and frame rate is Medium settings, which average 312 FPS with a minimum of 265 FPS. This ensures smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors without compromising visual fidelity. High settings at 1080p drop to 246 FPS, which is still excellent, while Ultra at 170 FPS is also viable but offers diminishing returns in visual quality for a 2015 game.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. Medium settings average 210 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz displays. High settings at 165 FPS are also suitable for 144Hz monitors, providing better visuals with a modest frame rate reduction. Ultra settings at 114 FPS are playable on 60Hz or 120Hz displays but may not fully utilize higher refresh rates. Low settings at 271 FPS are unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rates over visuals.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Low settings average 154 FPS, which is excellent for 4K gaming on high-refresh-rate displays. Medium settings at 120 FPS are also strong, offering better visuals with a reasonable trade-off. High settings at 94 FPS are suitable for 60Hz displays, while Ultra at 65 FPS is only recommended for users who prioritize maximum visual detail over smoothness. For a game like Evolve, where fast-paced FPS action benefits from high frame rates, Medium or Low at 4K provides the best experience per the measured data.

The data shows that Medium settings consistently deliver the best balance across all resolutions: 312 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 120 FPS at 4K. These results also include the only min/max FPS data points, showing that Medium settings have stable frame delivery (265-359 at 1080p, 179-242 at 1440p, 102-138 at 4K). For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, Low settings at 1440p (271 FPS) or 4K (154 FPS) maximize frame rates, while High settings offer a middle ground for those who want better visuals without sacrificing too much performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear resolution scaling patterns that identify the limiting component at each stage. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the frame rate reductions are nearly uniform across settings: 20.8% for Low, 32.7% for Medium, 32.9% for High, and 32.9% for Ultra. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to maintain similar relative performance regardless of settings.

From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the reductions become even more uniform: 43.2% for Low, 42.9% for Medium, 43.0% for High, and 43.0% for Ultra. The near-identical 43% drop across all settings confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor at 4K. If the CPU were constraining performance, we would expect to see larger reductions at lower settings (where the CPU has more work to do) and smaller reductions at higher settings (where the GPU is already saturated). The data shows the opposite, with slightly larger reductions at Low settings, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and compute capacity are the bottlenecks.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is from 342 to 154 FPS, a 55% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 170 to 65 FPS, a 61.8% reduction. The larger percentage drop at Ultra settings is expected, as the GPU is already working near its limits at 1080p Ultra, and the additional pixel count at 4K exacerbates the load. The 4K Ultra result of 65 FPS is the only sub-90 FPS measurement, showing that this combo can handle 4K gaming but requires settings reductions to maintain high frame rates.

The data also shows that the CPU’s influence is minimal across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 342 FPS result suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU up to this level, but the GPU is still capable of higher frame rates at lower resolutions if the CPU were faster. However, the uniform scaling patterns from 1080p to 4K indicate that the CPU is not a limiting factor in any tested scenario. The combo’s overall rank of 26 out of 2,872 is a direct result of the GPU’s dominance, with the CPU providing just enough single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecks at 1080p.

In summary, the resolution scaling analysis shows that the RTX 5090 D is the defining component of this combo in Evolve. The CPU’s role is secondary, providing sufficient performance to avoid limiting the GPU at any resolution, but the GPU’s massive compute and memory resources are what drive the high frame rates measured across all settings. The 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K is a classic GPU-bound scenario, while the 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p shows the same trend at a slightly lower magnitude. For users seeking the highest possible frame rates, 1080p Low delivers 342 FPS, while 4K Medium at 120 FPS offers the best balance of resolution and smoothness.