Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combination delivers a broadly capable Evolve experience, but 4K Ultra is the one clear miss. At 1080p and 1440p, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, while 4K requires dropping to Medium or below to stay playable. The measured data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at high resolutions, yet still offers enough headroom at lower settings to produce very high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average frame rates provided for each configuration. Minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded in the dataset, so the analysis relies on average throughput.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results show a steep drop-off as settings increase. Low settings produce an average of 89.4 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium settings yield 69 FPS, still playable. High settings drop to 55.9 FPS, falling below the threshold. Ultra settings are the worst case, with an average of just 35.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 53.9 FPS, indicating a 60.3% performance penalty for maxing out visuals at 4K. Notably, the jump from Low to Medium costs 20.4 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 13.1 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 20.4 FPS. The scaling is not linear; the largest absolute drop occurs between Low and Medium, but the percentage drop from High to Ultra is steepest at 36.5%.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the picture improves substantially. Low settings average 150.7 FPS, which is nearly double the 4K Low result. Medium settings deliver 121.1 FPS, High settings hit 90.7 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 66.2 FPS. Every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold. The spread between Low and Ultra is 84.5 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium at 29.6 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 30.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 24.5 FPS. This suggests that even at Ultra, the GPU has enough headroom to maintain playability, albeit with a narrower margin than at lower presets.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo becomes a high-refresh-rate powerhouse. Low settings average 224.6 FPS, Medium settings 175.3 FPS, High settings 138.8 FPS, and Ultra settings 96.2 FPS. All presets exceed 60 FPS by a wide margin. The difference between Low and Ultra is 128.4 FPS, a 57.2% reduction. The scaling from Medium to High is a 36.5 FPS drop, while High to Ultra drops 42.6 FPS. Interestingly, the absolute FPS loss from each settings increase grows as resolution decreases, indicating that at 1080p the CPU has more influence on the ceiling, but the GPU still handles the load effectively.

Comparing across resolutions, the data shows a clear pattern. At Low settings, 4K delivers 89.4 FPS, 1440p delivers 150.7 FPS (68.6% higher), and 1080p delivers 224.6 FPS (151.2% higher than 4K). At Ultra settings, 4K drops to 35.5 FPS, 1440p to 66.2 FPS (86.5% higher), and 1080p to 96.2 FPS (171% higher). The relative performance gap between 4K and 1080p widens as settings increase, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capacity become more strained at higher resolutions with more demanding presets.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals that the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 5 8400F becomes more relevant at 1080p. This is evidenced by the scaling between resolutions and presets.

At 4K, the frame rate drops are dramatic when moving from Low to Ultra, with a 60.3% reduction. This is a classic sign of GPU saturation, as the 8 GB GDDR6X memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth are taxed heavily by the pixel count. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads on the Zen 4 architecture, has ample single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 951) to feed the GPU at this resolution. The fact that 4K Low still hits 89.4 FPS indicates the CPU is not holding back the GPU even at lower settings.

At 1440p, the GPU remains the dominant factor, but the margin of playability expands. The drop from Low to Ultra is 56.1%, which is slightly less severe than at 4K. This indicates that while the GPU is still the main constraint, the reduced pixel count allows the GPU to maintain higher utilization per frame. The CPU's role is to ensure that draw calls and game logic are processed quickly enough; with a passmark_single_thread score of 3685, it is more than capable.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The FPS ceiling at Low settings (224.6 FPS) is likely approaching the CPU's ability to issue draw commands, as the GPU could theoretically render even higher frame rates if the CPU were faster. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 6091 and cinebench_r23_multicore score of 20851 suggest strong multi-threaded performance, but the single-thread score of 2943 in cinebench_r23 is the limiting factor for high-FPS scenarios. The scaling from 1440p Low to 1080p Low is a 49% increase, while from 4K Low to 1080p Low it is 151%. This nonlinear scaling confirms that at lower resolutions, the CPU begins to cap the maximum frame rate.

The settings presets also reveal the division of labor. At 4K, lowering settings from Ultra to Low yields a 60.3% FPS increase, which is almost entirely a GPU-side benefit. At 1080p, the same settings change yields a 57.2% increase, but the absolute FPS numbers (224.6 vs 96.2) suggest that the CPU is starting to limit the top end. For this game, the RTX 3070 Ti is the deciding factor for resolution scaling, while the Ryzen 5 8400F only becomes a meaningful consideration for extreme high-refresh 1080p play.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this combo. For the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, the closest matches are the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, Intel Core i7-11850H, Intel Core i7-13620H, and AMD EPYC 9474F. The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average score of 24964, which is 0.2% lower than the 8400F's 25005. This means swapping to a 7500F would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, within the margin of measurement error. The Intel Core i7-11850H and i7-13620H are 0.3% and 0.4% lower, respectively, so they would also deliver virtually the same CPU-bound performance. The AMD EPYC 9474F is 0.4% higher, but that difference is negligible for gaming. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would pair with the RTX 3070 Ti to yield the same measured FPS, assuming the GPU remains the bottleneck.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile, AMD Radeon RX 6800, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and AMD Radeon RX 6700. The RTX 5070 Mobile has an average score of 29928, which is 0.1% lower than the 3070 Ti's 29945. This means a laptop GPU with similar performance would produce nearly identical frame rates. The AMD Radeon RX 6800 scores 30095, which is 0.5% higher, so it would deliver a marginal FPS improvement (roughly 0.5% higher frame rates across all resolutions). The RTX 2080 Ti is 0.5% lower, indicating it would be slightly slower. The RX 6700 is 1.6% lower, meaning the 3070 Ti would outperform it by a noticeable margin, but the difference is still under 2 FPS at most settings.

In a full system context, pairing the 8400F with any of these GPU alternatives would shift the measured FPS by less than 2% in either direction. The frame rate deltas are so small that the verdicts for each resolution and preset would remain unchanged. For example, a 1.6% slower RX 6700 would still keep 4K Medium above 60 FPS (69 FPS 0.984 = 67.9 FPS), and a 0.5% faster RX 6800 would not push 4K High above 60 FPS (55.9 FPS 1.005 = 56.2 FPS). The only scenario where a rival could change the verdict is if it were significantly faster, but none of the listed rivals exceed a 1.6% delta.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combo ranks 1299 out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the 64.9th percentile of all tested systems. This means that roughly 65% of tested combos perform worse, and 35% perform better. Given that the RTX 3070 Ti sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs and the Ryzen 5 8400F at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's ranking is slightly lower than either component's individual percentile. This suggests that the pairing is somewhat imbalanced for this game, likely because the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K while the CPU's extra headroom at 1080p is not fully utilized by the game's engine.

The rank of 1299 indicates that there are many combos with faster GPUs that achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 4K Ultra where the 3070 Ti struggles. However, the rank also reflects that the combo is far from the bottom; it outperforms over 2,400 other combinations. The data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it ranks much higher in relative performance, but the 4K Ultra result pulls the overall rank down. In the context of Evolve, this is a mid-to-upper-tier combo that excels at mainstream resolutions but falls short of enthusiast 4K expectations.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Evolve? Yes, with caveats at 4K. The verdict by resolution is clear:

• 3840x2160: Playable settings are Low and Medium. Medium is the best setting, delivering an average of 69 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by 15%. Low hits 89.4 FPS, providing extra headroom for demanding scenes. High and Ultra are not playable, with 55.9 FPS and 35.5 FPS respectively. For a stable 60 FPS experience, stick to Medium or lower.

• 2560x1440: All settings are playable, including Ultra at 66.2 FPS. High at 90.7 FPS is the sweet spot for visual quality and performance, but Ultra is viable if you prefer maxed-out graphics. Low (150.7 FPS) and Medium (121.1 FPS) are excellent for high-refresh monitors. The margin above 60 FPS at Ultra is only 10.3%, so frame drops could occur in intense combat, but the average is solid.

• 1920x1080: All settings are playable, with Ultra at 96.2 FPS. This is the best resolution for this combo, as even the heaviest preset clears 60 FPS by 60.3%. Low (224.6 FPS) and Medium (175.3 FPS) are ideal for 144Hz or 240Hz displays. High (138.8 FPS) offers a smooth experience with good visuals. There is no scenario at 1080p where this combo fails to run the game smoothly.

In summary, this PC runs Evolve at 1080p and 1440p with full settings freedom, and at 4K with reduced settings. The best overall experience is at 1440p Ultra, balancing visual fidelity and frame rate, while 1080p Ultra is the safest bet for consistent high FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 35.5, which is well below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The best playable settings at 4K are Medium, which delivers 69 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 1440p?

A: Ultra is playable at 2560x1440, with an average of 66.2 FPS. All other settings (Low, Medium, High) also clear 60 FPS, with High at 90.7 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, 1080p is 151.2% faster than 4K (224.6 FPS vs 89.4 FPS). At Ultra settings, 1080p is 171% faster (96.2 FPS vs 35.5 FPS).

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions, but the CPU becomes more significant at 1080p. Evidence shows the FPS increase from 1440p to 1080p is smaller than from 4K to 1440p, indicating CPU headroom is tighter at lower resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Evolve?

A: It ranks 1299 out of 3700 combos, placing it in the 64.9th percentile. This is slightly below the individual percentiles of the CPU (77th) and GPU (75th).

Q: Would a similar CPU like the Ryzen 5 7500F change the results?

A: No. The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average score 0.2% lower than the 8400F, which would result in negligible FPS differences. The measured frame rates would remain effectively identical.