Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination sits at rank 177 out of 3,700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the top 4.8% of all configurations evaluated. This is a formidable pairing for a 2015 title, and the percentile data for both components reinforces this: the CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU sits in the 87th percentile among all graphics cards. The combo's high rank suggests that this system is not merely adequate but positioned to dominate the game's requirements, though the exact headroom varies significantly by resolution and preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The 177th position out of 3,700 combos indicates that only 176 other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates in Evolve. Given that the game launched in February 2015, modern hardware like this 2024 CPU and 2025 GPU naturally overpowers its engine. The CPU's average benchmark score of 57,498 places it remarkably close to its nearest rivals: the AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57,555 (a mere 0.1% difference), and the AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57,399 (0.2% higher). The Intel Core i9-14900 leads this group with 58,115, which is 1.1% above the 9900X, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M trails at 58,323, a 1.4% gap.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 56,083 shows a similar clustering. The AMD Radeon 8060S is just 0.6% behind at 55,757, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB comes in 0.7% lower at 55,698. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X sits 2.3% below at 54,828, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE actually leads by 2.2% with a score of 57,367. This tight grouping suggests that for Evolve specifically, the GPU's architecture and driver optimization matter more than raw benchmark scores, as the measured FPS will demonstrate.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, transitioning to a more balanced workload at 1080p. Looking at the scaling between 3840x2160 and 2560x1440 at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 181 to 103, a 43% reduction. This dramatic fall when increasing resolution by 1.78x the pixel count indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, yet even this cannot prevent the frame rate from nearly halving at 4K Ultra.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 347 FPS average, while at 1440p Low it reaches 233 FPS, and at 4K Low it drops to 133 FPS. The 1080p to 1440p scaling (347 to 233, a 33% drop) is notably smaller than the 1440p to 4K scaling (233 to 133, a 43% drop), suggesting that the Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them once resolution increases. The CPU's 3DMark scores—12,552 in the 16-thread test and 13,929 at max threads—show strong multi-threaded capability, which helps maintain high minimums even in busy scenes.

The preset scaling further clarifies the division of labor. At 4K, moving from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS (133 to 103), then another 22 FPS to High (103 to 81), and finally 25 FPS to Ultra (81 to 56). At 1080p, the same progression costs 78 FPS (347 to 269), 58 FPS (269 to 211), and 65 FPS (211 to 146). The larger absolute drops at 1080p indicate that the CPU has more headroom to expose GPU limitations, whereas at 4K the GPU's rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear hierarchy. Low settings produce an average of 133 FPS, which is respectable for 4K. Medium settings reduce this to 103 FPS on average, with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 118 FPS—the only resolution in the dataset with full min/max data for Medium. High settings yield 81 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 56 FPS average, falling below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The 25 FPS gap between High and Ultra at 4K is the largest preset differential at this resolution, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are disproportionately expensive at high pixel counts.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more comfortable. Low settings produce 233 FPS average, Medium delivers 181 FPS with a minimum of 153 and maximum of 208, and High reaches 142 FPS. Ultra maintains 98 FPS average, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is consistent: every preset gains roughly 70-75% more frames, which aligns with the 2.25x pixel reduction from 4K to 1440p.

At 1920x1080, the results are staggering. Low settings hit 347 FPS average, Medium achieves 269 FPS with a minimum of 229 and maximum of 310, High reaches 211 FPS, and Ultra still manages 146 FPS. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium (229) exceeds the maximum FPS at 4K Ultra (118), highlighting how resolution dominates the performance envelope. Even at Ultra 1080p, the 146 FPS average is more than double the 4K Ultra result, and it exceeds the 4K High average by 65 FPS.

The Verdict

The verdict data is unambiguous: this PC can run Evolve exceptionally well at all resolutions, with one notable exception. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best playable option at 81 FPS average. Ultra at 4K falls short at 56 FPS, missing the 60 FPS playable threshold by 4 frames. This is the only configuration across all tested resolutions and presets that fails to clear 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, every preset is playable, with Ultra delivering 98 FPS average. The best settings at this resolution are Ultra, which provides a 38 FPS margin over the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable as well, with Ultra achieving 146 FPS average—86 frames above the threshold. The system's weakest point is 4K Ultra, but even that result is close enough that most users would not perceive a difference from 60 FPS in practice, especially given the game's 2015 engine.

The data indicates that this combo is overkill for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Evolve, while being nearly sufficient for 4K Ultra. The playable settings list for 4K excludes only Ultra, meaning users seeking maximum visual fidelity at 4K would need to compromise, but those prioritizing frame rate can still enjoy High settings with 81 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide useful context for users considering alternative hardware. For the Ryzen 9 9900X, the AMD EPYC 9015 offers nearly identical average benchmark performance at -0.1% delta, making it a practical equivalent in synthetic tests. The AMD EPYC 7313 is 0.2% faster, while the Intel Core i9-14900 leads by 1.1%. For gaming specifically, the 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads with a 5.6 GHz boost clock provide ample single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,253.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 8060S at 0.6% lower average score, followed by the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 0.7% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 2.3% behind, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE actually outperforms by 2.2%. Users with any of these GPUs would likely see similar FPS in Evolve, though the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth provide future-proofing that the older rivals lack. The RTX 5080's PassMark G3D score of 36,565 and DirectX 12 score of 151 indicate strong API support for modern rendering paths.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 56, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which achieves 81 FPS average.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 deliver 98 FPS average, which is 38 FPS above the playable threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination ranks 177th out of 3,700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the top 4.8% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average FPS is 211, while at 3840x2160 High, it drops to 81 FPS. This represents a 130 FPS reduction, or a 61.6% decrease when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Which component is more important for this game at 4K?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The frame rate drops from 133 FPS at Low to 56 FPS at Ultra, a 57.9% reduction, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32,172) ensures it is not the limiting factor.

Q: Are there playable settings at 4K with this combo?

A: Yes, three of the four presets are playable at 4K. Low settings average 133 FPS, Medium averages 103 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, and High averages 81 FPS. Only Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, which achieves an average of 81 FPS. The data shows that Ultra at this resolution drops to 56 FPS, so High is the optimal balance of visual quality and performance.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are fully playable with an average of 98 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over High (which runs at 142 FPS) while still maintaining a 38 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 146 FPS average, making it the clear choice for maximum quality. The 86 FPS margin above the playable threshold means users can enable all visual effects without concern, and the 146 FPS result is more than double the 4K High performance.