Evolve

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a performance profile in Evolve that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset selection. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor from 1080p to 1440p, but the engine's demands at 4K expose the age of the Pascal architecture. This combination ranks in the 59th percentile of all tested configurations for this title, suggesting a balanced yet dated pairing that still offers playable experiences at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, indicating that the GTX 1080 Ti becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 112.6 at 1920x1080 to 75.0 at 2560x1440, a 33% reduction, before plummeting to 44.6 at 3840x2160 — a 60% loss from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is consistent across all presets, with the most dramatic scaling seen at Ultra settings, where performance collapses from 76.1 FPS at 1080p to 28.6 FPS at 4K, a 62% drop.

The scaling behavior suggests that Evolve's rendering load at 4K overwhelms the GTX 1080 Ti's 11 GB of GDDR5X memory and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth, despite the CPU's ample headroom. At 1440p, the 75.0 FPS average at High is still respectable, but the jump to 4K exposes the GPU's inability to maintain fluid motion. Interestingly, the gap between Low and Medium settings narrows at higher resolutions — at 1080p the difference is 43.5 FPS (181.7 vs 138.2), but at 4K it shrinks to 17.6 FPS (71.0 vs 53.4), implying that resolution scaling taxes the GPU more than incremental preset changes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1007 out of 1695 tested combinations for Evolve, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GTX 1080 Ti's age — it sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs — while the Core i7-12700KF is far stronger, ranking in the 89th percentile among all CPUs. The disparity suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios, and the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the GTX 1080 Ti is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (deltaPct 0.0), which is surprising given the generational gap. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X is 0.1% behind, while the NVIDIA TITAN Xp is 1.1% ahead. For the CPU, the Core i7-12700KF is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i5-14400, Intel Core i7-13800H, and Intel Core i9-12900HX, showing that this processor is competitive with much newer silicon in synthetic benchmarks.

GPU Role

The GTX 1080 Ti's specifications reveal why it struggles at 4K in Evolve. With 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, the card offers 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not sufficient for the highest presets at 3840x2160. The boost clock of 1582 MHz and 3584 shading units provide a raw compute capability of 11.34 TFLOPS, yet the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (28.6) indicates that the engine's effects at that setting exceed what the GPU can handle.

The GPU's percentile rank of 61st among all GPUs aligns with its 4K performance — it is a capable 1080p and 1440p card, but not a 4K contender. The average benchmark score of 19402 places it just above the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (deltaPct 1.1), but the TITAN Xp's additional memory bandwidth likely helps in texture-heavy scenes. The GTX 1080 Ti's DirectX 12 score of 66 in Passmark is notably low, suggesting that its older Pascal architecture does not fully exploit modern API features, which could explain the steep performance cliff at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the sweet spot, with 181.7 FPS at Low and 112.6 FPS at High, both well above playable thresholds. At 2560x1440, High settings still deliver a solid 75.0 FPS, but 4K drops below 45 FPS even at High.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra preset perform so poorly?

A: The 28.6 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra suggests the GTX 1080 Ti's 11 GB of GDDR5X memory and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the combined load of high resolution and maximum effects, despite the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads providing ample processing power.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1007 out of 1695 combos, placing it in the 59th percentile for Evolve. The GPU is the weaker link, sitting at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks much higher at the 89th percentile.

Q: Is the GTX 1080 Ti a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, at 1920x1080 the GPU delivers 112.6 FPS at High and 76.1 FPS at Ultra, indicating it is not the limiting factor. The CPU's strong single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark further confirms it can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial: 124.1 FPS at Low versus 48.6 FPS at Ultra, a 75.5 FPS difference. This shows that the GPU's performance scales dramatically with preset changes at this resolution.

Q: Does the combo's rank improve at lower settings?

A: The measured data shows the combo's rank of 1007 is fixed for the game, but the FPS at 1080p Low (181.7) is far above the 4K Ultra value (28.6), implying that lower settings would yield a better experience relative to other combos.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 181.7 FPS, Medium drops to 138.2, High yields 112.6, and Ultra bottoms out at 76.1. All four presets are playable, with even the heaviest setting maintaining a smooth frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. Low settings still achieve 124.1 FPS, Medium provides 94.3, High holds at 75.0, and Ultra falls to 48.6. The 1440p High result is borderline for competitive play but acceptable for casual sessions.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low settings produce 71.0 FPS, Medium drops to 53.4, High sinks to 44.6, and Ultra becomes nearly unplayable at 28.6. The 4K data confirms that this resolution is only viable with Low or Medium presets, and even then, the frame rates are below the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF 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. Its benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, placing it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. In Evolve, this processing power ensures that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is fully utilized.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (both DDR4 and DDR5) provide sufficient data throughput for the game's physics and AI calculations. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, is only 0.1% ahead in average benchmark score, confirming that the 12700KF is still a top-tier gaming processor. However, the combo's overall rank of 1007 suggests that the CPU's strength is constrained by the GPU, as the 4K results show the processor waiting on the graphics card.

The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and 16-thread score of 9282 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for Evolve's frame pacing. At 1080p Low, the 181.7 FPS result demonstrates that the CPU can drive high frame rates when the GPU is not saturated, but at 4K Ultra, the 28.6 FPS figure shows the CPU is idle while the GPU struggles.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the 1920x1080 resolution with High settings is the optimal balance, delivering 112.6 FPS with good visual fidelity. Players seeking maximum smoothness can drop to Low for 181.7 FPS, while those prioritizing visuals should use Ultra at 76.1 FPS, which remains smooth. At 2560x1440, High settings at 75.0 FPS are recommended for a solid experience, with Medium at 94.3 FPS as a compromise for higher frame rates. The 4K resolution is only viable with Low settings (71.0 FPS), as Medium drops to 53.4 and High to 44.6, both below ideal playability thresholds. Ultra at any resolution above 1080p should be avoided, as the 48.6 FPS at 1440p and 28.6 FPS at 4K indicate the GTX 1080 Ti cannot handle the combined load. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p High as a secondary option for those with adaptive sync displays.