Evolve

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a broad range of performance in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title that scales cleanly from ultra-fast low-preset frame rates to demanding ultra settings. The measured data covers three resolutions and four quality presets, and the overall combo ranks 404th out of 1695 tested combinations, placing it in the top quarter of systems for this game. This setup is capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K remaining viable only at lower presets, as detailed below.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth competitive experience, Low settings at 1080p deliver an average of 263.5 FPS, which is more than enough for any 240Hz display and leaves massive headroom for background tasks or streaming. Medium at 1080p still hits 201.6 FPS, so it is the better choice for those who want a visual upgrade without sacrificing responsiveness. High at 1080p drops to 161.7 FPS, still excellent for 144Hz monitors, but Ultra at 112.3 FPS is the point where frame rates start to approach the lower boundary of high-refresh territory.

At 1440p, the picture shifts. Low runs at 177.6 FPS, Medium at 134.3 FPS, and High at 109 FPS — all three are playable on 120Hz or 144Hz panels, but Ultra falls to 72.5 FPS, which is better suited to 60Hz displays. For 4K, the data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra entirely: it averages just 44.8 FPS, which will feel stutter-prone in fast action. High at 4K manages 63.6 FPS, making it the highest preset that stays near the 60 FPS line. Medium at 4K runs 75.3 FPS, and Low reaches 100.7 FPS. The best balance across all resolutions is Medium: it keeps 1080p above 200 FPS, 1440p above 130 FPS, and 4K above 75 FPS, while Low only adds a modest gain over Medium at each step.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070’s specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Evolve’s textures and geometry at 4K, but the real constraint appears at Ultra settings where average FPS drops to 44.8 at 4K and 72.5 at 1440p. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 5888 shading units produce 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, and the data shows that this compute is the limiting factor when settings are maxed — the drop from High to Ultra at 1080p is 49.4 FPS (from 161.7 to 112.3), a 30% reduction that points to the shader and ROP load from Ultra effects.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 0.6% lower on average, and the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A, which is 1.9% lower. The RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 37283 is within 2.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M. In Evolve specifically, the RTX 4070’s 46 RT cores are irrelevant since this game has no ray tracing, but the 184 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs handle the raster workload efficiently. The GPU’s 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are consistent with the sustained load of pushing 4K Medium at 75.3 FPS, where the card is clearly the dominant component — the CPU has plenty of headroom, as the next section shows.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the system hits 263.5 FPS, which is far beyond what the RTX 4070 would typically deliver if it were fully utilized — this indicates the Intel Core i7-12700K is the limiting factor at this low preset, holding the GPU back from even higher numbers. Moving to 1440p Low drops to 177.6 FPS, a 32.6% reduction, and 4K Low falls to 100.7 FPS, another 43.3% cut. These steep drops across resolutions are classic signs of a GPU-bound scenario emerging as pixel count rises.

At High settings, the scaling is smoother: 1080p runs 161.7 FPS, 1440p runs 109 FPS (a 32.6% drop), and 4K runs 63.6 FPS (a 41.7% drop from 1440p). Ultra shows the most severe scaling: 112.3 FPS at 1080p, 72.5 FPS at 1440p (35.4% down), and 44.8 FPS at 4K (38.2% further down). The pattern is consistent — every resolution increase costs roughly a third to two-fifths of the frame rate, which is expected for a GPU-bound title. The exception is 1080p Low where the CPU caps performance, but once settings rise above Low, the RTX 4070 becomes the clear bottleneck. For 4K play, the data suggests Medium or High presets; the gap between 4K High (63.6 FPS) and 4K Medium (75.3 FPS) is substantial enough that Medium is the safer choice for maintaining a stable 60+ FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: Medium at 1440p delivers 134.3 FPS, which is the only preset above 120 FPS at that resolution. High runs 109 FPS, which is still playable but will not fully saturate a 144Hz panel. Low runs 177.6 FPS if you prefer maximum frame rate over visuals.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. Low averages 100.7 FPS, Medium 75.3 FPS, and High 63.6 FPS at 3840x2160. Ultra is not viable at 4K, averaging just 44.8 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, which is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M. It sits at the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for this game?

A: Only at 1080p Low, where the system reaches 263.5 FPS — a rate that likely exceeds the GPU’s ability to keep up at higher settings. The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide ample single-thread performance for Evolve’s FPS workload.

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

A: High averages 161.7 FPS while Ultra drops to 112.3 FPS, a difference of 49.4 FPS (about 30% lower). The visual upgrade from High to Ultra is typically subtle in fast-paced shooters, so High is the recommended choice for competitive play.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Evolve?

A: It ranks 404th out of 1695 combinations, placing it in the top 24% of systems tested for this game. This reflects a strong but not top-tier setup, consistent with the RTX 4070’s 81st percentile GPU ranking.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded capability: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and a Geekbench multicore score of 13892, while single-thread scores of 4128 in Cinebench R23 and 2561 in Geekbench demonstrate the high-frequency performance that Evolve’s game logic requires. The CPU’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support help feed the RTX 4070 efficiently, and its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it above the average for gaming builds.

In the context of Evolve’s measured frames, the CPU’s role is most visible at 1080p Low, where the system hits 263.5 FPS. That figure is so high that the GPU is likely not the limiter — the CPU’s 5.00 GHz boost clock and strong single-core performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4013) are what allow such extreme frame rates. The nearest CPU rivals show how close this chip is to its peers: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 0.3% higher on average, while the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 0.6% lower. The Intel Core i5-14500HX is 0.7% lower, and the Intel Core i7-13800H is 0.8% higher. This tight grouping means the 12700K is effectively tied with these alternatives, but its 12 cores and 20 threads provide more headroom for streaming or background tasks than the 6-core options.

For Evolve specifically, the CPU’s high single-thread performance is more relevant than its 20 threads, since this 2015 FPS title does not scale well across many cores. The data supports this: at 1440p Low, the system still hits 177.6 FPS, and even at 4K Low it manages 100.7 FPS — both figures indicate the CPU can feed the GPU at high rates, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck as resolution rises. The CPU’s 10 nm process and 125 W TDP are typical for desktop Alder Lake parts, and its launch MSRP of $409 positions it as a mid-range enthusiast chip.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its fastest results. Low averages 263.5 FPS, Medium 201.6 FPS, High 161.7 FPS, and Ultra 112.3 FPS. The gap from Low to Medium is 61.9 FPS, while Medium to High costs 39.9 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 49.4 FPS. Every preset at 1080p exceeds 100 FPS, making this resolution the clear choice for maximum frame rates, with Low and Medium both suitable for high-refresh displays.

At 2560x1440, the numbers remain strong but the Ultra preset becomes less viable. Low runs 177.6 FPS, Medium 134.3 FPS, High 109 FPS, and Ultra 72.5 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 43.3 FPS, Medium to High is 25.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 36.5 FPS. For 144Hz monitors, Medium is the highest preset that stays above 130 FPS; High is acceptable for 100Hz panels, but Ultra’s 72.5 FPS is better matched to 60Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, performance drops sharply as expected. Low averages 100.7 FPS, Medium 75.3 FPS, High 63.6 FPS, and Ultra 44.8 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 25.4 FPS, Medium to High costs 11.7 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 18.8 FPS. Ultra at 4K falls below 45 FPS, which is not recommended for an FPS title. High remains the only preset that holds near 60 FPS, while Medium provides a comfortable margin above that threshold. The data shows that 4K play is feasible but requires accepting either Medium or High settings, with Low being the only option for frame rates above 100 FPS at this resolution.