Evolve

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU and GPU combo at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows Medium is the best playable preset, delivering an average of 79.5 FPS. Low also clears the 60 FPS threshold at 98.9 FPS average, but High dips to 59.2 FPS average and Ultra falls to 41.1 FPS average.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset runs at an average of 74.2 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 37648, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628 (a 0.1% difference), while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (0.4% behind). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, which is 1.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157, 1.3% lower.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a strong CPU relative to other processors?

A: The CPU sits in the 68th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6756E, scores 14163 (0.2% lower), while the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.5% lower). The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232 (0.3% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (0.6% higher).

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS comfortably. Low averages 222 FPS, Medium averages 204.2 FPS, High averages 161.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 112.5 FPS. The best playable setting is Ultra at 112.5 FPS average.

Q: Which component limits performance more at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K. At 3840x2160, dropping from High to Medium only raises the average from 59.2 FPS to 79.5 FPS, while Ultra falls to 41.1 FPS. This pattern indicates the RTX 4070's rendering load dominates at 4K, whereas at 1080p and 1440p the CPU has enough headroom to keep all presets above 60 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 split responsibilities differently depending on resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU's six cores and twelve threads (with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz) are sufficient to feed the GPU across all presets. The frame rate scaling from Low (222 FPS) to Ultra (112.5 FPS) shows a 49% drop, which is consistent with GPU-side workload increasing as visual quality rises, but the absolute numbers remain high enough that neither component is a hard bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low averages 174.4 FPS, Medium 138.1 FPS, High 105.4 FPS, and Ultra 74.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is roughly 57%, indicating the GPU is taking on more work per frame. The CPU still delivers enough throughput to keep the GPU busy, as evidenced by all presets staying above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU clearly dominates. Low averages 98.9 FPS, Medium 79.5 FPS, High 59.2 FPS, and Ultra 41.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 58% reduction, but the key detail is that High falls just below the 60 FPS threshold while Ultra drops far below it. This is a classic sign of the RTX 4070's 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being taxed heavily at 4K, especially with the memory bus width of 192 bit. The CPU's role diminishes at this resolution because the GPU's pixel throughput (158.4 GPixel/s) and texture rate (455.4 GTexel/s) become the limiting factors.

For presets, the data shows a clear trend: at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU can maintain playable frame rates even at Ultra, so the GPU is the primary driver of performance scaling. At 4K, the CPU has spare capacity, but the GPU cannot keep up with Ultra settings, so the recommendation shifts to Medium as the best playable option.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-10400F's average benchmark score of 14185 places it near several alternatives. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, which is effectively identical (0.2% lower). The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, 0.5% lower, so in gaming workloads these would behave very similarly, though the Xeon and EPYC are server-class parts with different platform requirements. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, 0.6% higher. These four rivals all sit within a 1% band, meaning any of them would deliver comparable CPU-bound performance in Evolve. The Core 7 160UL and Ryzen 3 7320C are more relevant as desktop alternatives, while the Xeon and EPYC are not typical gaming choices.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 is closely matched by several other cards. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 scores 37628 (0.1% lower), making it a near-identical performer in synthetic tests, though it is a professional compute card. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507 (0.4% lower), which is a meaningful alternative for gaming, given that it is a consumer card. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135 (1.3% higher), so a laptop with that GPU would behave slightly better but not dramatically so. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 scores 37157 (1.3% lower), which would be slightly slower but still in the same performance class.

In practice, swapping the RTX 4070 for the RX Vega 56 or the RTX 4080 Mobile would shift frame rates by only a few percent, so the playable settings at each resolution would remain largely the same. The CPU alternatives would also not change the outcome, as the i5-10400F already provides enough headroom for the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, and at 4K the GPU is the bottleneck.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve, but the playable experience depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset is playable, with Ultra averaging 112.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra at 74.2 FPS average being the best visual option. At 3840x2160, the system can handle Low and Medium settings, with Medium at 79.5 FPS average being the best playable choice. High at 4K falls just short at 59.2 FPS average, and Ultra at 41.1 FPS is not smooth enough for a 60 FPS target.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p and 1440p are fully playable at max settings, while 4K requires reducing quality to Medium for a consistent 60+ FPS experience. The data shows no configuration below 60 FPS at 1080p or 1440p, so the CPU and GPU combo is well balanced for those resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded average frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 222 FPS
• Medium: 204.2 FPS
• High: 161.9 FPS
• Ultra: 112.5 FPS

All presets exceed 60 FPS by a wide margin. The gap between Low and Ultra is 109.5 FPS, showing that the GPU scales predictably with settings. No minimum or maximum frame rates were recorded for this resolution, so the averages are the primary reference.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 174.4 FPS
• Medium: 138.1 FPS
• High: 105.4 FPS
• Ultra: 74.2 FPS

The step from High to Ultra is a 31.2 FPS drop, which is the largest single-step reduction at this resolution. Still, Ultra remains comfortably above 60 FPS. The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as it delivers high frame rates while allowing max settings.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 98.9 FPS
• Medium: 79.5 FPS
• High: 59.2 FPS
• Ultra: 41.1 FPS

The drop from Low to Medium is 19.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 20.3 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 18.1 FPS. The pattern is consistent, but the key finding is that High just misses the 60 FPS target, while Ultra is far below it. For a stable 60 FPS experience, Medium is the highest setting that works.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1016 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the top 27% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the system's ability to handle the game across multiple resolutions and presets, with the CPU at the 68th percentile and the GPU at the 81st percentile of their respective categories.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo outperforms the majority of tested systems, but it is not at the very top. The GPU's strong percentile (81) is the main contributor, while the CPU's more moderate percentile (68) means it is not a limiting factor in most scenarios. The data shows that the combo is well suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high settings, and it can manage 4K at reduced settings, which is a solid overall position.

The rank of 1016 out of 3700 also indicates that there are many combos with similar performance, particularly those with GPUs in the same class. The nearest GPU rivals (Tesla P4, RX Vega 56, RTX 4080 Mobile) would likely produce similar ranks, as their benchmark scores are within 1.3% of the RTX 4070. The CPU's rivals also sit within 0.6%, so swapping to any of them would not meaningfully change the combo's standing in the database.