Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, shows remarkably scalable performance on the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination. The measured data indicates this pairing delivers exceptional frame rates across all resolutions, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher settings while the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures high minimums. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of VRAM and high bandwidth prove sufficient for even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset, though the substantial frame rate drop at that setting suggests a deliberate shift in rendering load.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Evolve with this combo for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 54, which is below the 60 FPS target. To achieve a stable 60 FPS at 4K, users should select the High preset, which yields an average of 77 FPS. At 1440p, even the Ultra preset maintains an average of 94 FPS, while at 1080p, all settings including Ultra (140 FPS) far exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: According to the benchmark database, the RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, scores 54247, placing the SUPER variant 0.1% behind. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (1.1% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (2.7% ahead).

Q: What is the performance difference between the i7-12700K and its nearest rival processors?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% higher). The differences are negligible.

Q: What kind of frame rate improvement does dropping from Ultra to Low settings provide at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average FPS of 224, while the Ultra preset achieves 94 FPS. This represents a 138% increase in average frame rate when switching from Ultra to Low, indicating the settings have a massive impact on rendering load.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM on the RTX 4080 SUPER sufficient for Evolve at maximum settings?

A: The data indicates that the 16 GB GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for Evolve. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 54, which is limited by the GPU's compute capability rather than memory capacity, as no VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops are indicated in the measured results.

Q: What is the combined ranking of this CPU and GPU pairing for Evolve?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 268th out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the top 7.2% of all systems tested for this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Evolve reveals a clear hierarchy among the four presets. The Low preset at 1080p produces an average of 333 FPS, which is excessive for most displays and indicates significant headroom. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 258 FPS, still far beyond any standard refresh rate. The High preset at 1080p averages 203 FPS, which comfortably supports 144Hz and even 165Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 140 FPS, which remains playable on high-refresh monitors but shows a substantial cost.

The optimal experience balancing visual quality and frame rate is the High preset at 1440p, delivering 136 FPS average. This setting provides a substantial upgrade over Medium in visual fidelity while maintaining frame rates well above 120 FPS. For users with 4K displays, the High preset at 77 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers the best visual quality while staying above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K (54 FPS) should be avoided unless the user has a 60Hz display and prioritizes maximum graphical detail over smoothness.

The data shows a consistent pattern where the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and quality at each resolution. At 4K, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh 4K panels. At 1440p, Medium averages 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 FPS, ensuring no frame drops below 144Hz. At 1080p, Medium averages 258 FPS, which is overkill for any current display but demonstrates the headroom available.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how Evolve scales across resolutions. At 1080p High, the average is 203 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 136 FPS, a 33% decrease. At 4K High, the average drops to 77 FPS, a 43% decrease from 1440p and a 62% decrease from 1080p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises.

For the Low preset, the scaling is more dramatic. At 1080p Low, the average is 333 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 224 FPS (a 33% decrease), and at 4K Low, it falls to 127 FPS (a 43% decrease from 1440p and 62% from 1080p). The proportional scaling across all presets suggests that the rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count.

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at each preset reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the 4K average of 127 FPS is still very high, suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently even at lower resolutions. The fact that the 4K Low result is 62% lower than 1080p Low indicates a strong GPU dependency at all settings. The similar percentage drops across presets indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows the following average FPS: Low preset averages 333 FPS, Medium averages 258 FPS with a minimum of 220 FPS and maximum of 297 FPS, High averages 203 FPS, and Ultra averages 140 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 193 FPS, demonstrating the full range of settings impact.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 224 FPS, Medium at 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 199 FPS, High at 136 FPS, and Ultra at 94 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a tight minimum-to-maximum spread of 52 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 94 FPS, which is the first preset/resolution combination to fall below 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 127 FPS, Medium at 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 113 FPS, High at 77 FPS, and Ultra at 54 FPS. The 4K Medium preset maintains a minimum of 84 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset at 54 FPS is the only measured configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent relationship between presets across resolutions. The High preset averages 61% of the Low preset's FPS at 1080p, 61% at 1440p, and 61% at 4K. This consistency indicates that the settings scale uniformly regardless of resolution, with the Ultra preset averaging 42% of Low FPS at all resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2550 MHz. The memory clock runs at 1438 MHz, effective 23 Gbps. These specifications position the card in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54209.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is clearly demonstrated by the frame rate scaling with resolution. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 54, which aligns with the GPU's compute capabilities being maxed out. The 16 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not exhibit memory-related performance issues. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs handle the game's rendering efficiently, with the pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s contributing to the high fill rates needed at 4K.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's performance in Evolve shows that the card is well-suited for this title at all settings except 4K Ultra. The 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 compute power enables high frame rates at 1440p and below. The GPU's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are not particularly relevant for this 2015 FPS title, as the game does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS technologies. The GPU's raw rasterization performance is the primary driver of the measured results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K features 12 cores (8 performance and 4 efficiency) with 20 threads, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The processor has 25 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 333 indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls to achieve extremely high frame rates. The processor's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz contributes to this performance, as Evolve's game engine benefits from high single-thread performance. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample multi-threading capability, though the game's age suggests it may not utilize all cores effectively.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals shows that it is competitive but not dominant. The i7-12700K scores 35287 on average, which is 0.1% behind the Core i5-13600T, 0.2% behind the Core i7-12700KF, and 0.3% behind the Core i7-13700T. The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates solid performance, but the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in Evolve at any resolution or setting.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 268th out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 92.7th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking reflects the strong performance of both components, with the GPU's high percentile ranking (86th) and the CPU's solid ranking (84th) contributing to the overall position.

The combo's rank of 268 out of 3700 means that only 267 other combinations perform better in Evolve. Given that the RTX 4080 SUPER is an end-of-life product with a successor in the GeForce 50 series, this ranking is likely influenced by newer GPUs that offer higher performance. However, within the context of the tested database, this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems.

The ranking suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for Evolve. The GPU's 86th percentile ranking and the CPU's 84th percentile ranking indicate that neither component is significantly weaker than the other. The measured FPS data confirms this balance, with the system achieving high frame rates at all resolutions except 4K Ultra. The combo's position in the top 7.2% of all tested systems demonstrates that it is a high-end configuration capable of delivering an excellent Evolve experience for most users.