Evolve

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 produces a clear, resolution-dependent performance profile in Evolve. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers excellent frame rates across all presets, with the Ultra setting still clearing the 60 FPS threshold. Moving to 2560x1440, the system remains capable but the Ultra preset drops below playable levels. At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes a limiting factor, and no tested preset reaches the 60 FPS target. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, adequate for 1440p at reduced settings, and unsuitable for 4K in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured average frame rates for this combination show a predictable decline as resolution increases and as graphical settings become more demanding. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 145.8 FPS, which is the highest score recorded across all tests. The Medium preset averages 116.8 FPS, while High averages 87.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to an average of 61 FPS, which is exactly at the playable threshold of 60 FPS. This progression shows a consistent cost for each tier of visual quality, with the gap between Low and Ultra representing a reduction of 84.8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the same presets show a significant but proportional decline. Low averages 99.5 FPS, Medium averages 75.9 FPS, and High averages 61.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 43 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 56.5 FPS. Compared to 1080p, the 1440p Low setting retains about 68% of the frame rate, while the 1440p Ultra setting retains only about 70% of its 1080p counterpart. This indicates that the scaling penalty from increased pixel count is relatively consistent across presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops markedly. Low averages 58.6 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 44.7 FPS, High averages 31.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 22.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 36 FPS. Compared to 1080p, the 4K Low setting retains only about 40% of the frame rate, while the 4K Ultra setting retains about 37%. This suggests that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K, and the resolution increase has a more severe impact than the settings increase at this level.

The data includes only average FPS values; no minimum or maximum frame times were recorded. This means the analysis relies on average throughput rather than frame pacing consistency. Across all twelve tested configurations, the highest average is 145.8 FPS at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 22.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The spread between these extremes is 123.2 FPS, which highlights the wide operating range of this hardware combination depending on workload.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS defines the best playable settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset qualifies as the best settings, with an average of 61 FPS. This is a narrow margin above the 60 FPS threshold, but it confirms that the system can run Evolve at maximum settings at 1080p without dropping below the playable target. The High preset at 1080p averages 87.8 FPS, and Medium averages 116.8 FPS, both of which are also playable but less demanding than Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average of 61.6 FPS. This is a slim 1.6 FPS margin above the threshold. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 75.9 FPS, which provides more headroom, but High offers the highest visual quality while still meeting the playable standard. The Low preset at 1440p averages 99.5 FPS, but it sacrifices too much visual fidelity to be considered a recommended setting when High is viable. The Ultra preset at 1440p, averaging 43 FPS, is not playable and must be avoided.

At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The Low preset averages 58.6 FPS, which is 1.4 FPS below the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 44.7 FPS, High averages 31.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 22.6 FPS. Since no preset reaches the threshold, the verdict for 4K is that the system cannot run Evolve at a playable frame rate at any tested setting. The closest option is Low at 58.6 FPS, but it still falls short of the required 60 FPS.

The verdict data confirms this distribution: the system has no playable settings at 3840x2160, three playable settings at 2560x1440 (Low, Medium, High), and four playable settings at 1920x1080 (all presets). The best settings at 1440p yield 61.6 FPS, and at 1080p they yield 61 FPS, meaning the best playable experience at both resolutions hovers just above the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The relative importance of the CPU and GPU in this combination changes with resolution. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, but the CPU still has enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a reduction from 145.8 FPS to 61 FPS, a drop of 58% from the lowest to highest setting. This large delta indicates that the GPU is fully utilized and responds strongly to changes in graphical load.

At 2560x1440, the GPU becomes more stressed, as evidenced by the lower absolute frame rates across all presets. The Low preset drops from 145.8 FPS to 99.5 FPS, which is a 32% reduction from the same setting at 1080p. This indicates that the increased pixel count is directly taxing the GPU. The CPU, with 14 cores and 20 threads, is unlikely to be the limiting factor at this resolution, as the workload remains dominated by rasterization and shading.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Low preset at 4K averages 58.6 FPS, which is 60% lower than the same setting at 1080p. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 22.6 FPS, which is 63% lower than its 1080p counterpart. The CPU's role diminishes further at 4K because the GPU cannot produce enough frames to saturate even a modest CPU. The data shows that the CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594, is sufficient for this game, but the GPU's 8 GB memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are the constraining factors at high resolutions.

The scaling between resolutions also reveals the CPU's contribution. At 1080p Low, the frame rate is 145.8 FPS, which requires the CPU to feed draw calls and game logic at a high rate. At 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 58.6 FPS, which means the CPU has less work per frame but the GPU takes longer to render each frame. The fact that 1080p Low exceeds 144 FPS suggests the CPU can handle high-throughput scenarios, but the GPU's performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU's limits at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-14600KF, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with a score of 49228 and a delta of 0.3% from the i5's average. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a delta of 0.4%, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, a delta of 0.8%. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796, which is 0.8% higher than the i5. These CPUs would behave nearly identically in Evolve, as the performance difference is within a single percentage point. For this game, any of these processors would deliver the same frame rates when paired with the RX 6600, assuming no other system bottlenecks.

For the AMD Radeon RX 6600, the nearest rivals show a tighter grouping. The NVIDIA Quadro K6000 scores 19030, which is exactly 0% different from the RX 6600's average of 19036. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049, a delta of -0.1%, while the NVIDIA Tesla K20m scores 19089, a delta of -0.3%. The NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation scores 18954, a delta of 0.4%. These GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, with differences of less than half a percent. The RTX 4050 Mobile is particularly notable because it is a mobile part, but its performance in this benchmark aligns closely with the desktop RX 6600.

When considering a system swap, replacing the i5-14600KF with any of its rivals would not materially change the measured FPS, as the CPU is not the limiting factor at most resolutions. Similarly, swapping the RX 6600 for one of its nearest rivals would yield almost the same results. The practical implication is that the observed frame rates are representative of a cluster of similarly performing hardware, and small variations in scores would not push the playable settings at any resolution to a different tier.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2854 out of 3700 tested combos in this game. This places the system in the lower portion of the database, at roughly the 23rd percentile of all combinations. The rank reflects the fact that the RX 6600 is an older, mid-range GPU, while many other combos in the database likely use more powerful graphics cards. The CPU's high percentile ranking of 90 among all CPUs does not compensate for the GPU's percentile ranking of 63, as the game's performance is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The rank of 2854 out of 3700 means that 846 combos perform worse than this system, while 2853 perform better. This is not a flattering position, but it is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the system is competitive with many others, but at 4K, it falls behind. The rank is a single aggregate metric that weighs all tested configurations, and this particular pairing is positioned where it is because of the GPU's mid-range capabilities.

For context, the combo rank does not change with resolution or settings; it is a single value for the entire system. This means that even though the system achieves playable frame rates at 1080p Ultra and 1440p High, its overall rank is dragged down by the 4K results. In a database of 3700 combos, this system sits in the lower half, indicating that most other pairings offer better performance in Evolve.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve at 1920x1080 with all settings, including Ultra, achieving an average of 61 FPS. At 2560x1440, it can run at High settings with 61.6 FPS, and also at Medium and Low settings. The system cannot run the game at 3840x2160 at any preset, as the best case is Low at 58.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

For a 1080p display, the verdict is straightforward: the system is fully capable, with the Ultra preset providing a playable experience at 61 FPS. For a 1440p display, the High preset is the recommended maximum, yielding 61.6 FPS, while the Medium preset offers more headroom at 75.9 FPS. For a 4K display, the system fails to meet the playable standard, and users should consider lowering the resolution or upgrading the GPU.

The margin at both 1080p Ultra and 1440p High is slim, at 1 FPS and 1.6 FPS respectively. This means that any in-game scene with higher-than-average complexity could push the frame rate below 60 FPS, even though the average is above the threshold. The data does not include minimum FPS values, so frame pacing consistency cannot be assessed, but the average scores suggest a borderline playable experience at the highest settings for each resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest setting that runs above 60 FPS at 1920x1080?

A: The Ultra preset averages 61 FPS at 1920x1080, which is the most demanding setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is the Low preset at 58.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. No 4K preset is playable.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 61.6 FPS, making it the highest quality setting that remains playable at that resolution.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest rival GPU?

A: The NVIDIA Quadro K6000 has an average score of 19030, which is exactly 0% different from the RX 6600's average of 19036, indicating nearly identical performance.

Q: What rank does this CPU-GPU combo hold in the database?

A: The combo ranks 2854 out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the lower portion of all tested systems.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the primary driver at 1080p, with frame rates dropping from 145.8 FPS at Low to 61 FPS at Ultra, showing a strong response to graphical load. The CPU's high single-thread score of 4594 in Cinebench R23 indicates it is not the limiting factor.