Evolve

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This CPU sits in the 89th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35,684. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.3% slower), the Intel Core i7-13700T (0.6% faster), the Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.7% slower), and the Intel Core i7-13800H (0.8% faster). The performance deltas here are minimal, meaning the i7-12700K is positioned in a tightly competitive band where no single rival holds a decisive edge.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where frame rates climb high enough to expose potential bottlenecks. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 158.6 FPS, and at Medium settings it reaches 124.8 FPS. These numbers indicate that the processor can feed the GPU with enough data to sustain very high frame rates, even in a game released in 2015. The single-thread performance, reflected in a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,128, is strong enough to handle the game's primary game logic thread without causing frame pacing issues.

Multi-threaded performance is also substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29,241 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 9,979. While Evolve is not a heavily threaded title by modern standards, the 20 threads available ensure that background tasks and any opportunistic parallelism in the engine do not create stutter. The L3 cache of 25 MB shared across the chip helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the benchmark data does not specify which was used in this measurement.

At 4K resolution, the CPU's influence wanes because the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The transition from 1080p Low (158.6 FPS) to 4K Low (60.1 FPS) shows a massive drop, but this is expected as pixel throughput dominates. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for Evolve's demands, and the data suggests the processor is not the constraint in any of the measured configurations. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus the GPU's 71 further supports the interpretation that this system is GPU-bound in this title.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K strong enough for Evolve at 1080p?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 158.6 FPS at Low settings and 99.9 FPS at High settings at 1920x1080, indicating the CPU can comfortably sustain high frame rates. The processor's single-thread score of 1,043 in 3DMark and its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The average benchmark score of 35,684 places it within 0.8% of all four nearest rivals. The Intel Core i7-13800H is 0.8% faster, the Intel Core i7-13700T is 0.6% faster, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core i5-14500HX is 0.7% slower. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 64.2 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and indicates a playable experience, though not as fluid as the 1080p results.

Q: Does the CPU matter more at 1080p or 4K in Evolve?

A: The CPU matters more at 1080p. At 1920x1080 Low, the frame rate reaches 158.6 FPS, which requires strong per-core performance. At 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 60.1 FPS, showing the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the i7-12700K's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 29,241 versus 4,128 for single-core, a ratio of roughly 7:1. The 3DMark max-threads score of 9,979 versus single-thread of 1,043 shows similar scaling. This indicates the processor can leverage its 12 cores and 20 threads effectively when needed.

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

A: The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1,270 out of 1,695 total combos tested for this game. This places it in the lower portion of the ranking, though the measured frame rates at 1080p are still quite playable.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data reveals a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 158.6. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 108.7 FPS, a reduction of 31.4%. At 3840x2160 Low, the frame rate falls to 60.1 FPS, which is 62.1% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as resolution scaling directly impacts the pixel fill rate required.

For High settings, the progression is from 99.9 FPS at 1080p, to 64.2 FPS at 1440p (a 35.7% drop), and finally to 35.7 FPS at 4K (a 64.3% drop from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across different settings presets suggest that the limiting factor does not change with quality level; it remains the GPU throughout. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between 1440p and 4K, because the CPU workload would stay roughly constant while the GPU workload increases.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (158.6 FPS) and Ultra (64.4 FPS) is 94.2 FPS. At 4K, the difference between Low (60.1 FPS) and Ultra (23.5 FPS) is 36.6 FPS. This narrowing absolute gap at 4K further confirms the GPU is saturated, as even lowering settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel throughput demands. The Radeon RX 6600 XT, with a 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, is being pushed to its limits at 4K, particularly with the 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 compute capacity.

The implication is clear: for this combo, resolution scaling behaves as expected for a GPU-bound scenario. Users targeting 4K will need to accept Low settings to reach near 60 FPS, while 1080p offers headroom for higher quality presets. The CPU's performance across all resolutions is consistent, as evidenced by the fact that the ratio of FPS between Low and Ultra remains similar at each resolution, indicating the processor is not introducing variable constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 158.6 FPS average
• Medium: 124.8 FPS average
• High: 99.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 64.4 FPS average

The progression from Low to Medium yields a 33.8 FPS drop, while Medium to High drops another 24.9 FPS. The largest single step is from High to Ultra, which falls by 35.5 FPS. This suggests Ultra settings introduce a significant graphical overhead that heavily taxes the GPU.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 108.7 FPS average
• Medium: 82.3 FPS average
• High: 64.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 46.5 FPS average

At 1440p, the drop from Low to Medium is 26.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 18.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 17.7 FPS. The steps are more uniform here compared to 1080p, indicating a more balanced scaling of GPU load across settings.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 60.1 FPS average
• Medium: 47.0 FPS average
• High: 35.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 23.5 FPS average

At 4K, the Low setting is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS, barely clearing the threshold. Medium drops to 47.0 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for fast-paced FPS action. High falls to 35.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23.5 FPS, which is below acceptable playability for most users.

Comparing across resolutions, the 1080p Low result of 158.6 FPS is 2.6 times higher than the 4K Low result of 60.1 FPS. The 1080p Ultra result of 64.4 FPS is nearly identical to the 4K Low result of 60.1 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU can handle roughly the same workload regardless of whether it is applied to lower resolution with higher settings or higher resolution with lower settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip manufactured on a 7 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1968 MHz, a boost clock of 2589 MHz, and a game clock of 2359 MHz. With 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the card offers 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It sits in the 71st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 27,985.

The nearest rivals for this GPU show very tight competition. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti scores 27,956 (0.1% slower), the AMD Radeon R9 M395X scores 27,883 (0.4% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 scores 28,238 (0.9% faster), and the AMD FirePro S7150 scores 28,409 (1.5% faster). The RX 6600 XT is effectively in a dead heat with the GTX 980 Ti, while the RTX 3070 holds a slight edge.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant across all measured configurations. The frame rate data shows that at 1080p, the GPU can deliver 158.6 FPS on Low settings, which suggests that the 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game's textures and geometry at that resolution. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 23.5 FPS, which is likely a combination of insufficient compute throughput and memory bandwidth for the higher pixel count and more demanding effects.

The 128-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but become limiting at 4K. The fact that the 4K Medium setting yields 47.0 FPS indicates that the GPU is working hard but cannot maintain high frame rates at that resolution. The 32 RT cores on this GPU are unlikely to be utilized in Evolve, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption, so the rasterization performance is what matters here.

The GPU's 71st percentile ranking versus the CPU's 89th percentile confirms that the graphics card is the weaker component in this pairing. The measured frame rates align with this assessment, as the FPS drops consistently with increased resolution and settings, pointing to the GPU as the primary constraint in every scenario tested.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p users, the High preset at 99.9 FPS offers an excellent balance between visual quality and smoothness. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides headroom for dips in intense combat scenarios. The Medium preset at 124.8 FPS is also a strong choice for competitive play, where higher frame rates can provide a responsiveness advantage. The Ultra preset at 64.4 FPS is playable but sacrifices significant smoothness for marginal visual gains, making it a less favorable option for a fast-paced FPS.

At 1440p, the High preset yields 64.2 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target. This is the recommended choice for users with 1440p monitors who want a good balance of fidelity and performance. The Medium preset at 82.3 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS and may be preferable for those sensitive to frame rate fluctuations. The Low preset at 108.7 FPS provides the smoothest experience but at a noticeable visual cost. Ultra at 46.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended for this resolution.

For 4K, the Low preset at 60.1 FPS is the only configuration that hits the 60 FPS target, and even then it barely does so. This makes 4K gaming with this combo feasible only at the lowest quality settings. The Medium preset at 47.0 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive, while High at 35.7 FPS and Ultra at 23.5 FPS are not recommended for an FPS title due to frame pacing and input latency concerns.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the 1080p High preset at 99.9 FPS, which provides a high-quality visual presentation with sufficient frame rate headroom. For users prioritizing competitive performance, the 1080p Medium preset at 124.8 FPS or the 1440p Medium preset at 82.3 FPS are strong alternatives. The data clearly indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for users who prioritize resolution over frame rate and are willing to accept Low settings.