Evolve

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination shows a clear pattern: Evolve is highly playable at 1080p across every preset, acceptable at 1440p with reduced settings, and not viable at 4K under any tested configuration. The measured FPS figures come directly from the database, with averages only, no minimum or maximum frame data was recorded.

At 1920x1080, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers strong performance across all four presets. Low settings produce an average of 145.4 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo at any resolution. Medium settings drop to 111.4 FPS, still far above the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings average 89.1 FPS, and Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, still hold at 60.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, roughly 84.7 FPS, which indicates that the graphics settings have a major impact on frame delivery at this resolution. Notably, even Ultra stays above the playable threshold, making 1080p the only resolution where every preset is viable.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down noticeably. Low settings average 97 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium settings follow at 77.6 FPS, and High settings land at 60.3 FPS, just barely clearing the 60 FPS line. Ultra settings, however, fall to 38.7 FPS, which is below the playable threshold and represents a significant drop from High. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 58.3 FPS, showing that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as the resolution increases. The database marks High as the best playable setting at this resolution, with Medium also viable, but Ultra is not recommended.

At 3840x2160, the results are consistently below the playability threshold. Low settings average 56.7 FPS, which is the highest figure at 4K but still short of the 60 FPS mark. Medium settings average 42.5 FPS, High settings average 33.9 FPS, and Ultra settings average 21.8 FPS. No setting at 4K reaches the playable threshold, and the database confirms that the playable settings list for this resolution is empty. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 34.9 FPS, a smaller absolute difference than at lower resolutions, but the overall performance is simply too low for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that 4K is not a realistic target for this hardware combination in Evolve.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results show a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz and a 64 MB L3 cache, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-based GPU with 1920 shading units and 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. In Evolve, the RTX 2060 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and presets, while the 9900X provides ample headroom at lower settings.

The scaling between resolutions makes this hierarchy evident. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 145.4 FPS, which indicates that the CPU is feeding the GPU efficiently and the GPU is not yet saturated. Moving to 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 97 FPS, a reduction of 48.4 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls to 56.7 FPS, another drop of 40.3 FPS. This progressive decline as resolution increases is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 2060's 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 throughput become the limiting factors once the pixel count rises.

The presets tell a similar story. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra reduces the frame rate from 145.4 to 60.7 FPS, a 58.2% drop. At 1440p, the same preset change drops the average from 97 to 38.7 FPS. At 4K, the drop is from 56.7 to 21.8 FPS. The consistent pattern across resolutions indicates that the GPU's rendering load, not the CPU's processing capability, drives the performance differences. The 9900X, with its high single-thread score of 3010 in Geekbench and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253, is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 2060 in this game. The database's CPU percentile ranking of 92 places it well above most processors, while the GPU's percentile of 58 is more modest, reinforcing that the GPU is the weaker link.

At lower resolutions and presets, the CPU becomes relatively more important, but the data does not show a scenario where the CPU limits performance. Even at 1080p Ultra, the combo holds 60.7 FPS, which suggests the CPU has reserve capacity. The verdict by resolution confirms this: 1080p supports Ultra at 60.7 FPS, 1440p supports High at 60.3 FPS, and 4K supports no settings. The GPU's role grows with each resolution step, while the CPU's contribution remains constant and sufficient.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this combination at 2955 out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve. This places it in the lower third of all tested configurations, which makes sense given the GPU's age and tier. The RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product from 2019, while the CPU is a current-generation flagship from 2024. The mismatch is stark: a top-tier modern CPU paired with a mid-range GPU from several generations ago.

The combo rank of 2955 means that roughly 745 tested combos perform worse, while over 2900 perform better. This is not a flattering position, but it reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's. The CPU alone ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 58th percentile. The combined result is dragged down by the GPU, and the data supports this interpretation: the frame rates at 4K are uniformly below playable, and even at 1080p, the Ultra preset barely clears 60 FPS.

In practical terms, this combo is a case of a very fast processor being held back by a modest graphics card. The 9900X has the computational headroom to drive far more powerful GPUs, but with the RTX 2060, the system's performance ceiling is set by the GPU's 6 GB memory capacity and Turing architecture. For a game like Evolve, which launched in 2015 and is not particularly demanding by modern standards, this combo still manages playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it cannot handle 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 60.7, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Ultra is the most demanding preset, and it remains playable at this resolution.

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

A: High settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 60.3 FPS, which is the highest preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold. Low and Medium are also playable, but Ultra drops to 38.7 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, even Low settings average only 56.7 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 42.5 FPS, High averages 33.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 21.8 FPS. The database lists no playable settings for 4K.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the GPU in terms of raw performance?

A: The CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498. The GPU ranks in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 15290. The CPU is a much stronger component relative to its peers.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low settings average 145.4 FPS, while Ultra settings average 60.7 FPS. The difference is 84.7 FPS, showing that the preset choice has a very large impact on performance at 1080p.

Q: Does the GPU limit performance more at higher resolutions?

A: Yes. The frame rate drops consistently as resolution increases, from 145.4 FPS at 1080p Low to 97 FPS at 1440p Low to 56.7 FPS at 4K Low. This scaling indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck as pixel count rises.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X include the AMD EPYC 9015, which has an average score of 57555 and a delta of -0.1% versus the 9900X, meaning it performs essentially identically. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, which is 1.1% higher, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, 1.4% higher. These CPUs would all produce very similar results in Evolve when paired with the same GPU, as the game is not CPU-bound in most scenarios.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, with an average score of 15283 and a 0% delta, meaning it is statistically identical in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, a 0.6% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, a 0.8% delta. These GPUs would deliver nearly the same frame rates in Evolve at the same settings and resolutions. The RTX 3050 OEM, in particular, would be a close match, with similar memory capacity and bandwidth characteristics.

A system with the 9900X and any of these rival GPUs would behave similarly in this game. The differences in synthetic scores are all within 1.4% for the CPU and 0.8% for the GPU, so the measured FPS values would be within a few frames of each other. Users with any of these combinations should expect the same general performance profile: playable at 1080p across all presets, playable at 1440p up to High, and not playable at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database provides a clear verdict for the best playable settings at each resolution, defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS average.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, with an average of 60.7 FPS. This is the highest preset available, and it clears the playable threshold by a small margin. All four presets are playable at this resolution, but Ultra is the recommended choice for maximum visual quality. The 60.7 FPS average is close to the threshold, so users who prefer a larger safety margin could choose High at 89.1 FPS, but the data supports Ultra as playable.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average of 60.3 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable. Low at 97 FPS and Medium at 77.6 FPS are also viable, but High offers the best visual quality while just staying above the threshold. Ultra at 38.7 FPS is not playable, so it should be avoided at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable setting. The best average FPS is 56.7 at Low, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra are progressively worse, with averages of 42.5, 33.9, and 21.8 FPS respectively. The database confirms an empty playable settings list for 4K, so users targeting this resolution would need to lower the resolution or upgrade the GPU.