Evolve

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT paired with the Intel Core i7-12700KF delivers a performance profile in Evolve that is heavily dictated by the graphics settings selected, with the data revealing a clear hierarchy where the CPU's strength is only fully utilized at lower presets. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions show that this combination is capable of high refresh rate gameplay, but the margin between settings narrows considerably as resolution increases, pointing to a shift in bottleneck from the processor to the graphics card. This analysis interprets the provided benchmark data to explain how the core architecture, memory subsystem, and rendering load interact for this specific 2015 FPS title.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 25 MB L3 cache. For a game released in 2015, the thread count is substantial, and the benchmark results indicate that this CPU is not a limiting factor at lower graphical presets. The processor's synthetic scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a single-core score of 4071, suggest it has ample headroom for handling game logic and draw calls that Evolve might throw at it.

The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 282 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate in the entire dataset. This high figure suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding frames to the GPU at an exceptionally fast rate when the rendering load is light. The 3DMark scores reinforce this, with a single-thread score of 1043 and a max-thread score of 9983, indicating strong performance across both lightly and heavily threaded workloads. However, the role of the CPU becomes less prominent as the resolution increases, where the GPU's pixel-pushing capabilities take precedence. The processor's 20 threads are likely overkill for a game from this era, but the high boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that the primary game thread is handled efficiently, preventing a CPU-bound scenario at higher settings.

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

Examining the measured FPS rows, the "Medium" preset appears to be the sweet spot for balancing visual quality and performance, as it is the only setting where minimum FPS values are provided for all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 219 FPS with a minimum of 186 FPS, ensuring a consistent experience well above the standard 60 FPS threshold. Moving up to 2560x1440, Medium still provides a strong average of 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate monitors. At 4K, the Medium preset drops to an average of 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, which remains playable but shows a significant reduction.

In contrast, the "High" preset offers a noticeable dip in performance, with averages of 172 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. While these numbers are still respectable, the step up from Medium to High does not seem to justify the ~20-25% performance loss, particularly at 4K where the average approaches the edge of smoothness. The "Ultra" preset is the most demanding, yielding averages of 119 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p, and only 45 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 60 FPS target, making it unsuitable for a consistently smooth experience. The data suggests that for a fluid experience, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides the highest performance ceiling while maintaining frame time stability, evidenced by the recorded minimum FPS values.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies within this system. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 282 at 1920x1080 to 189 at 2560x1440, a 33% reduction, and then to 108 at 3840x2160, a further 43% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline suggests that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated as the pixel count rises. The RX 7900 XT has 5376 shading units and a 320-bit memory bus with 20 GB of GDDR6, but the raw fillrate requirements at 4K are immense.

The pattern is similar but slightly less steep at Medium settings, where the FPS goes from 219 at 1080p to 147 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 84 at 4K (a 43% drop from 1440p). This consistent scaling pattern, where the relative performance loss from 1080p to 4K is roughly 60-62% for both Low and Medium, indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's role is to keep up with the GPU's demands, and given that the 1080p Low result is exceptionally high, it is clear that the i7-12700KF is not holding back the system until the GPU is fully taxed. The data implies that if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see diminishing returns at 1440p or 4K, but the consistent decline in FPS points to the GPU's rendering capabilities as the key constraint.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is ranked 713 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the top 19% of all configurations. This rank is a composite measure that considers the overall FPS performance across all settings and resolutions. Given the age of the game, this is a strong result, indicating that the hardware is well-matched for the title's engine. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 85, which is high, but the GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is only 55, which is surprising given its specifications.

This discrepancy suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer in synthetic benchmarks, the GPU's ranking is dragged down by factors unrelated to gaming performance, as its average benchmark score is 13745. The nearest rivals for the GPU include the AMD Radeon 660M with a deltaPct of -0.5 and the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile with a deltaPct of -0.5, which are far less powerful cards, indicating that the average score is skewed by non-gaming workloads. The combo's rank of 713 out of 3700 is more indicative of its actual gaming capability, as it reflects the measured FPS data specifically for Evolve. The data shows that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, which is expected for a high-end CPU and a former flagship GPU.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is equipped with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) on a 320-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. For a game from 2015, this amount of VRAM is excessive, but the high bandwidth is crucial for maintaining high FPS at 4K. The GPU's boost clock is 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz, and its 84 ray accelerators and 192 ROPs contribute to its pixel throughput of 459.6 GPixel/s. The texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s is also substantial, allowing it to handle complex scenes without stuttering.

The GPU's role is directly evidenced by the FPS scaling data. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 45, which is the lowest recorded value, indicating that the GPU is struggling to keep up with the combined load of high resolution and maximum settings. The fact that the GPU has a 300 W TDP and requires a 700 W PSU suggests it is a power-hungry component, but its performance in this game is limited by the pixel fill rate and shader complexity rather than memory capacity. The 20 GB VRAM is underutilized in Evolve, as the game's textures are not likely to exceed even 4 GB, but the bandwidth and compute units are the primary drivers of the 108 FPS at 4K Low and 66 FPS at 4K High. The data indicates that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck at 4K, as no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the rendering load.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 282 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates that the CPU and GPU can work together to deliver extremely high frame rates when graphical load is minimal.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 45, which is the lowest in the dataset. This suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's high single-thread performance cannot overcome the GPU's rendering limits at this resolution and preset.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo is ranked 713 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the top 19% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, indicating that the hardware is well-suited for the game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 125, with an average of 147. This shows that the Medium preset offers a stable experience with no significant frame drops.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The GPU has 20 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is far more than required for Evolve, a 2015 title. The memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s is more relevant to the performance, especially at 4K.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 282 on Low to 119 on Ultra, a decrease of 163 FPS. This highlights the significant impact of graphical settings on performance.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 282 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 219 FPS, with a minimum of 186 FPS and a maximum of 252 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 172 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 119 FPS. These numbers show a clear degradation as settings increase, but all presets at 1080p exceed the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 189 FPS. The Medium preset averages 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. The High preset averages 115 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 80 FPS. The performance is still strong, but the gap between Low and Ultra narrows from 163 FPS at 1080p to 109 FPS at 1440p. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 108 FPS. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. The High preset averages 66 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 45 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS, and the High preset is also borderline, indicating that 4K gaming requires careful settings management to maintain a smooth experience.