Evolve

The Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers a performance profile in Evolve defined by massive headroom at lower resolutions and a sharp, GPU-bound falloff as pixel count climbs. The measured data shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable of high-refresh-rate play at 1080p and 1440p, but which encounters a significant workload shift at 4K that caps frame rates well below the CPU's potential. This pairing ranks in the top 3% of all tested combos for this title, yet the scaling curve reveals that the RTX 4090 becomes the definitive limiting factor long before the resolution reaches its maximum.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating a transition from a CPU-limited state to a GPU-limited one. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 350.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 248 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 102.3 FPS, and then to 139.8 FPS at 3840x2160, another drop of 108.2 FPS. This pattern shows that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The scaling at High settings is even more pronounced. The average drops from 224.5 FPS at 1080p to 151.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 89.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage loss from 1080p to 4K at High settings is roughly 60%, confirming that the RTX 4090 is being pushed to its limits by the increased pixel count. At Ultra settings, the 4K average of 62.2 FPS is less than half the 1080p figure of 158.1 FPS, showing that the most demanding preset amplifies the GPU bottleneck.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the Core i7-12700KF is likely the limiting component, as the FPS values approach or exceed what even a top-tier GPU can sustain in a CPU-bound scenario. However, by 1440p and especially 4K, the scaling curve flattens into a pattern typical of GPU saturation. The fact that dropping from High to Low at 4K yields an improvement from 89.2 FPS to 139.8 FPS, while the same settings change at 1080p yields a jump from 224.5 to 350.3 FPS, highlights how resolution dictates where the performance ceiling resides.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090's specifications are central to interpreting these results. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Evolve's textures and assets at any resolution. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps, and the card's shading units number 16,384, with 512 TMUs and 176 ROPs.

The core clocks of 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost, combined with the Ada Lovelace architecture, produce a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. These figures explain why the card can deliver 350.3 FPS at 1080p Low, but they also show why 4K Ultra at 62.2 FPS is a significant challenge. The FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is high, yet the 4K Ultra result indicates that the game's most intensive effects and geometry are still able to saturate this massive compute resource.

The card's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present, though Evolve is a 2015 title that does not rely heavily on ray tracing or DLSS, so these features are less relevant to the measured frames. The GPU's 450 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are consistent with a high-end part designed for sustained load, which is evident in the stable averages recorded across all settings. The RTX 4090's percentile ranking of 91 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473, places it near the top of the hierarchy, but the 4K Ultra result shows that even this hardware has a finite limit.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the Core i7-12700KF and RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 37 out of 1,695 tested combinations in Evolve. This places it in the 97.8th percentile, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested for this game. The high rank is primarily attributable to the GPU, as the CPU's own benchmark percentile of 89 against all processors is slightly lower than the GPU's 91.

The combo's rank is consistent with the measured FPS, which show that at 1080p and 1440p, the system is among the fastest available. However, the 4K Ultra result of 62.2 FPS is a weak point that prevents a higher ranking, as many combos with slightly less powerful GPUs but more optimized CPUs may achieve similar or better frame rates at that specific preset. The delta between the CPU's nearest rivals is negligible, with the Intel Core i5-14400 scoring 35,336 against the i7-12700KF's average of 35,355, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 with a delta of -0.4%, are also close in synthetic benchmarks, but the RTX 4090's real-world advantage in Evolve is clear from the FPS data.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 350.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Medium settings yield 290.5 FPS, High yields 224.5 FPS, and Ultra yields 158.1 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 bottleneck the Core i7-12700KF in this game?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the CPU may be the limiting factor, as FPS values are extremely high. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with FPS dropping significantly across all settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1440p Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra average is 62.2 FPS, which is substantially lower than the 1440p Ultra average of 103.7 FPS. This represents a drop of 41.5 FPS, or approximately 40%.

*Q: Is 24 GB of VRAM necessary for Evolve?*

A: The 24 GB frame buffer is far more than the game requires, even at 4K Ultra. The measured results are limited by the GPU's compute and pixel throughput, not memory capacity, as the bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is ample for this title.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 37th out of 1,695 tested combinations, placing it in the top 3% of all systems evaluated for Evolve.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 248 FPS, while Ultra produces 103.7 FPS. This is a difference of 144.3 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression: Low averages 350.3 FPS, Medium averages 290.5 FPS, High averages 224.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 158.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 59.8 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 66.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset adds significant graphical overhead.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 248 FPS for Low, 192 FPS for Medium, 151.4 FPS for High, and 103.7 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly 100 FPS for Low, 98.5 FPS for Medium, 73.1 FPS for High, and 54.4 FPS for Ultra. This shows that lower settings suffer larger absolute losses when resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 139.8 FPS for Low, 108.2 FPS for Medium, 89.2 FPS for High, and 62.2 FPS for Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured average below 60 FPS, making it the sole setting that fails to provide a consistently smooth experience on standard 60 Hz displays. The 4K Low result of 139.8 FPS is still high, but it is less than half the 1080p Low figure, illustrating the dramatic impact of resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,091. The CPU's multi-threaded capability is also significant, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,979 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 13,596.

For Evolve, a fast-paced FPS, single-thread performance is critical for game logic and draw calls. The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with 25 MB of shared L3 cache, ensures that the processor can feed the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,065 and 4-thread score of 4,011 suggest that the game's primary threads are well-served, and the PassMark single-thread score of 3,984 confirms strong per-core efficiency.

The CPU's TDP of 125 W is moderate, and its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory allows for flexible system configurations. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 350.3 FPS, which is near the practical limit for most displays and indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at that resolution. However, the CPU's percentile of 89 against all processors, while high, is lower than the GPU's 91, suggesting that in some CPU-bound scenarios, a more powerful processor could yield even higher frame rates. Yet, the measured FPS in Evolve show no evidence of CPU bottlenecking at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU is clearly the constraining component.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 151.4 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors while maintaining quality. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 158.1 FPS is viable for competitive play, as the high frame rate ensures minimal input lag.

At 3840x2160, the High preset at 89.2 FPS is the recommended setting for 4K displays, as it offers a playable experience above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 108.2 FPS is a better option for those prioritizing frame rate over detail, while the Ultra preset at 62.2 FPS is only suitable for players with 60 Hz displays who want maximum visual quality. The Low preset at 4K yields 139.8 FPS, which is useful for esports-style play, but the visual downgrade is significant. Overall, the data supports using High at 1440p as the default, with Ultra at 1080p for maximum quality and High at 4K for high-resolution gaming.