Revolution Idle

# Revolution Idle with Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The benchmark data for this combination reveals a significant imbalance between the CPU and GPU in Revolution Idle, a title that appears to scale heavily with resolution and settings. The RTX 5090, a flagship GPU with a 94th percentile standing among all GPUs, is paired with the Core i5-12600KF, which sits at the 84th percentile among CPUs. The measured FPS across three resolutions and four settings presets tells a story of diminishing returns, where the GPU's raw power dominates at lower resolutions but the CPU's capabilities become a limiting factor as workload shifts.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a dramatic FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern is not linear. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 188.1 at 1920x1080 to 123.8 at 2560x1440, then to 66.6 at 3840x2160. That's a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling suggests that at 4K, the GPU is being pushed far harder, with the pixel count quadrupling from 1080p.

Looking at Low settings, the drop is less severe in absolute terms but still pronounced: 212.3 FPS at 1080p, 167.6 at 1440p, and 89.9 at 4K. The percentage decreases are 21% and 46% respectively. The fact that the 4K-to-1080p ratio remains consistent across settings—roughly 2.3x to 2.4x—indicates that resolution is the dominant variable. However, the absolute FPS at 4K Low (89.9) versus 4K Ultra (43.3) shows settings matter just as much at high resolution.

This scaling pattern implies that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound or hitting a frame rate ceiling, since the RTX 5090 is capable of far higher output. The difference between 1080p Low (212.3) and 1080p High (188.1) is only 24.2 FPS, suggesting the CPU is preventing the GPU from stretching its legs. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the larger spread between settings (46.6 FPS difference from Low to Ultra).

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 is a behemoth with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 2017 MHz and boost of 2407 MHz are modest for a GPU of this class, but the sheer scale of the silicon—92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die—makes it formidable. The 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs handle pixel and texture throughput, with a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In Revolution Idle, the GPU's role becomes evident in the 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 43.3, which is playable but not smooth for a fast-paced title. The 32 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a constraint in this game, given the genre, but the memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s could be critical for high-resolution texture streaming. The data shows a clear GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the RTX 5090's FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS is being taxed.

At 1080p, however, the GPU's performance is almost wasted. The 212.3 FPS at Low settings is impressive, but the RTX 5090's nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores within 0.1% in average benchmarks, meaning there's headroom that the CPU cannot exploit. The GPU's percentile rank of 94 suggests it outperforms most GPUs, yet the frame rates at 1080p are not proportionally higher than at 1440p, reinforcing the CPU limitation theory.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 22nd out of 1,774 tested combos in Revolution Idle, placing it in the top 1.2% of all configurations. That's a strong showing, but the rank is somewhat surprising given the flagship GPU. The data implies that many combinations with slightly weaker GPUs but stronger CPUs achieve better results in this game, which is unusual for a GPU-heavy title.

The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84,306 puts it at the 94th percentile, while the i5-12600KF's average score of 27,827 is at the 84th percentile. The combo rank of 22 suggests that the CPU's relative weakness is penalized in Revolution Idle's specific workload. Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i9-10900K scores 27,829 (0% delta), the i5-12600K scores 27,851 (-0.1%), and the Core Ultra 5 125H scores 27,872 (-0.2%). These are negligible differences, so the CPU isn't the sole factor—the game's engine likely favors different CPU architectures.

The GPU's rivals show a similar story: the RTX 5090 D is 0.1% ahead, the RTX 5050 Mobile is 0.2% ahead, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 is 1.3% ahead in average score. Yet the combo rank of 22 means there are 21 other pairings that outperform this one, suggesting that the CPU-GPU balance matters more than raw component scores.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 4K, the High preset at 66.6 FPS is the best balance, as Ultra drops to 43.3 FPS—likely too low for smooth gameplay—while Medium offers 64.6 FPS and Low 89.9 FPS. The High preset appears to be the sweet spot, providing a stable experience without the performance hit of Ultra.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 127.1 FPS, which is marginally better than High's 123.8 FPS. Low hits 167.6 FPS, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it when Medium is already above 120 FPS. Ultra at 78.2 FPS is playable but not ideal for competitive play. For 1080p, the High preset at 188.1 FPS is recommended, as it's close to Medium's 192.7 FPS and far better than Ultra's 126.5 FPS. Low at 212.3 FPS is only 24.2 FPS higher than High, so the visual quality gain is worth it.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is poorly optimized for this game, with a significant FPS penalty across all resolutions—dropping from 66.6 to 43.3 at 4K and from 188.1 to 126.5 at 1080p compared to High. Players should avoid Ultra unless they prioritize visuals over frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 126.5 (Ultra) to 212.3 (Low). The progression is: Low 212.3, Medium 192.7, High 188.1, and Ultra 126.5. The gap between High and Ultra is a massive 61.6 FPS, suggesting Ultra introduces a disproportionately heavy load.

At 2560x1440, the spread narrows somewhat: Low 167.6, Medium 127.1, High 123.8, and Ultra 78.2. The difference between Medium and High is only 3.3 FPS, making them nearly interchangeable. Ultra's 78.2 FPS is a 45 FPS drop from Medium, again highlighting the Ultra penalty.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 89.9, High 66.6, Medium 64.6, and Ultra 43.3. Interestingly, High at 4K is slightly better than Medium (66.6 vs 64.6), which is unusual—this could indicate that the High preset has more efficient settings for this resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K is nearly unplayable at 43.3 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Revolution Idle?

A: Based on the data, 1440p offers the best balance, with High settings at 123.8 FPS and Medium at 127.1 FPS. 1080p is faster (188.1 FPS on High) but the CPU appears to limit gains, while 4K drops to 66.6 FPS on High.

Q: Why does the Ultra preset perform so poorly?

A: The measured FPS shows a consistent large drop to Ultra across all resolutions—from High to Ultra, the drop is 61.6 FPS at 1080p, 45.6 FPS at 1440p, and 23.3 FPS at 4K. This suggests Ultra enables effects that disproportionately tax the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for this game?

A: At 1080p, yes—the 212.3 FPS on Low is likely CPU-limited, given the CPU's 84th percentile rank. At 4K, the GPU is fully utilized, but the 43.3 FPS on Ultra indicates even this flagship struggles with the highest settings.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 22nd out of 1,774 combos, placing it in the top 1.2%. Despite the high rank, the CPU's relative weakness compared to the GPU's 94th percentile suggests room for improvement with a stronger processor.

Q: What's the difference between Low and High settings at 4K?

A: Low averages 89.9 FPS, while High averages 66.6 FPS—a 23.3 FPS difference. Medium sits at 64.6 FPS, making High the better choice over Medium by 2 FPS at this resolution.

Q: Does the 32 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The measured data doesn't show VRAM capacity as a limiting factor, as FPS drops are consistent with resolution scaling. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is likely sufficient, but the game's demands at 4K Ultra are what cause the low 43.3 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF brings 10 cores and 16 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost of 4.90 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache are typical for Alder Lake, but the 10 nm process node and 125W TDP suggest it's not a top-tier part. The CPU's benchmark scores tell a story of strong multi-threading: 23,444 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3,309 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 27,575.

In Revolution Idle, the CPU's role appears to be critical at lower resolutions. The 1080p results show a ceiling of around 212 FPS, regardless of settings, which is likely a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's single-thread performance (3,309 in Cinebench R23) is solid but not exceptional, and the game's idle genre may not fully utilize all 16 threads. The fact that High and Medium settings at 1080p yield similar FPS (188.1 vs 192.7) supports this, as the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

At 4K, the CPU's importance diminishes, as the GPU takes over as the bottleneck. The 66.6 FPS at High settings is consistent with what a flagship GPU would deliver when pixel-bound. The CPU's 84th percentile rank means it's above average, but in a game where the GPU is the star, the i5-12600KF's limitations at 1080p prevent the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential—a trade-off that costs the combo a higher rank than its components suggest.