Evolve

FAQ

Q: Can this AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination run Evolve at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, not at a playable level. The recorded data shows an average of 42 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable 4K preset is High, which maintains an average of 61 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 deliver an average of 74 FPS, making it the most demanding playable preset at that resolution. All four tested presets, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, clear the 60 FPS threshold at 1440p.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark performance?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores 76,212 in average benchmark score, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is essentially tied at 76,155, a 0.1% difference, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D sits 0.6% behind at 75,779.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4090 ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its closest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60,326, a negligible 0% delta.

Q: What frame rates does the combo achieve at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the recorded average FPS is 204, with a minimum of 174 and a maximum of 235. This is far above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's launch MSRP reflect a recent release?

A: The launch MSRP is 1,599 USD. The GPU was released in September 2022 and is now marked as end-of-life production, with the GeForce 50 series listed as its successor.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this specific CPU and GPU pairing at rank 833 out of 3,700 tested combinations for Evolve. That places the combo in the top 22.5% of all tested configurations, a strong position for a game released in early 2015. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all resolutions and presets, not just peak frame rates.

Being in the top quarter of all tested combos suggests this system has substantial headroom for Evolve's demands. The game is not particularly new, but the hardware pairing is modern, with the CPU releasing in April 2025 and the GPU in September 2022. The recorded data confirms that the combination handles the game's maximum settings at 1080p and 1440p with ease, while 4K Ultra remains the only tested configuration that dips below the playable threshold.

The rank of 833 out of 3,700 also indicates that while this combo is strong, there are many other configurations that score higher in this specific game. This is likely due to Evolve being a title where raw GPU throughput matters more than multi-core CPU muscle, a point reinforced by the FPS scaling across resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four presets each, with full average, minimum, and maximum frame rates recorded for Medium settings at every resolution.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 101 average FPS
• Medium: 78 average FPS, 66 minimum, 90 maximum
• High: 61 average FPS
• Ultra: 42 average FPS

The 4K results show a steep drop-off as settings increase. Moving from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS, from Medium to High costs 17 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 19 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 59 FPS, a 140% difference. The Medium preset has the only recorded minimum and maximum values at this resolution, with a spread of 24 FPS between the lowest and highest frames.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 177 average FPS
• Medium: 137 average FPS, 116 minimum, 157 maximum
• High: 107 average FPS
• Ultra: 74 average FPS

At 1440p, the scaling is more gradual. Low to Medium costs 40 FPS, Medium to High costs 30 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 33 FPS. The total range from Low to Ultra is 103 FPS. The Medium preset shows a 41 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, which is the largest recorded variance across all tested configurations.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 263 average FPS
• Medium: 204 average FPS, 174 minimum, 235 maximum
• High: 160 average FPS
• Ultra: 111 average FPS

At 1080p, the system delivers very high frame rates across the board. Low to Medium costs 59 FPS, Medium to High costs 44 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 49 FPS. The total drop from Low to Ultra is 152 FPS. The Medium preset records a 61 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, the widest variance in the entire dataset.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: every increase in preset level reduces average FPS by a substantial margin, but even the most demanding settings remain highly playable at 1080p and 1440p.

The Verdict

The recorded verdict data is unambiguous. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are Low, Medium, and High, with High being the best option at 61 average FPS. Ultra at 4K falls to 42 average FPS, well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system can run Evolve at 4K, but only up to High settings.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable. Ultra delivers 74 average FPS, which clears the threshold with 14 FPS of headroom. This makes 1440p Ultra the highest quality playable configuration in the dataset.

At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, with Ultra reaching 111 average FPS. Even the most demanding settings at 1080p leave significant performance on the table, suggesting the system is not stressed at this resolution.

The verdict can be summarized as follows: this PC can run Evolve at 60 FPS or above at 4K High, 1440p Ultra, and 1080p Ultra. The only tested configuration that fails to clear 60 FPS is 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 42 FPS. Players who prioritize 4K resolution will need to compromise on preset quality, while those willing to run at 1440p or 1080p can use the highest settings available.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how each component contributes to performance in Evolve. Comparing the FPS scaling between resolutions and presets shows where the GPU becomes the limiting factor and where the CPU has more influence.

At 1080p, the system produces 263 FPS on Low and 111 FPS on Ultra. The large gap between presets indicates that graphics settings have a strong impact on frame rates even at lower resolutions. The fact that Ultra still exceeds 100 FPS suggests the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution, and the CPU is capable of feeding the graphics card enough data to maintain high frame rates.

Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all presets drops by roughly 30-40%. This scaling is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where increasing pixel count directly reduces frame output. At 1440p Ultra, the system still manages 74 FPS, which indicates the GPU has enough headroom to handle the higher resolution without falling below playable levels.

At 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The 4K Ultra average of 42 FPS is a 43% drop from 1440p Ultra's 74 FPS, and a 62% drop from 1080p Ultra's 111 FPS. This steep decline points to the GPU being the primary constraint at 4K, as the rendering load at that resolution overwhelms even a high-end graphics card.

The CPU's role is more visible at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 263 FPS, which approaches the point where CPU limitations could begin to cap frame output. The Ryzen 9 8945HX, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, so it is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most scenarios. However, the data suggests that at 1080p with low settings, the CPU's ability to process game logic and draw calls becomes more relevant, while at 4K, the GPU's raw rendering throughput dominates performance.

The measured results indicate that Evolve scales primarily with GPU load. The preset-to-preset FPS drops at each resolution are substantial, and the resolution-to-resolution scaling is consistent with pixel-count increases. Players with this combo should focus on GPU settings when optimizing for 4K, while at 1080p, the system has enough CPU and GPU headroom to run any preset comfortably.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution, based on the recorded data:

3840x2160: High preset, 61 average FPS. This is the only 4K setting that clears the playable threshold while offering higher quality than Low or Medium. Ultra at 4K drops to 42 FPS and is not recommended for 60 FPS gameplay.

2560x1440: Ultra preset, 74 average FPS. The system has enough performance headroom at 1440p to run the highest quality settings while maintaining 14 FPS above the playable threshold. This is the best balance of visual quality and performance in the dataset.

1920x1080: Ultra preset, 111 average FPS. At 1080p, the system delivers more than double the playable threshold at maximum settings. The 111 FPS average indicates substantial spare capacity, so players could enable additional rendering features or higher internal resolutions if the game supports them.

The recommended configurations are 4K High, 1440p Ultra, and 1080p Ultra. These represent the highest quality settings that remain playable at each resolution, with the 1440p Ultra configuration offering the best overall experience by combining high resolution with maximum preset quality.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this system.

The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76,212. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX scores 76,155, a 0.1% difference, making it functionally equivalent in aggregate performance. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P scores 76,492 at 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX scores 76,513 at 0.4% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 75,779, 0.6% lower. These four alternatives would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Evolve, with differences well within measurement noise.

The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60,326, a 0% delta, meaning it would perform essentially the same in GPU-bound scenarios. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140 at 0.3% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896 at 2.5% higher. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657 at 2.9% lower. These GPU alternatives would produce very similar frame rates in Evolve, with the W6600M potentially delivering slightly higher performance and the PRO V710 slightly lower.

For this specific game, the GPU matters more than the CPU at higher resolutions, as the 4K Ultra frame rate of 42 FPS demonstrates. Swapping the CPU for any of its nearest rivals would likely change results by less than 1%, while swapping the GPU for the nearest alternatives would shift frame rates by a few percentage points. The measured data shows that this combo's performance is primarily determined by the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities, particularly at 1440p and 4K.