Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a wide range of performance in Evolve, depending on resolution and graphical preset. The recorded measurements show a clear pattern: at 1920x1080, the combo comfortably handles even the most demanding settings, while at 3840x2160, only the lowest preset approaches playable frame rates. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, compares nearby hardware, and provides guidance on settings for each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. All values are average FPS; minimum and maximum frame times were not recorded in the database.

At 1920x1080, the combo performs strongly across the board. The Low preset averages 155.7 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Medium drops to 121.4 FPS, still leaving substantial headroom. High averages 95.7 FPS, and even Ultra, the most demanding preset, holds at 67.2 FPS. This means every preset at 1080p clears the 60 FPS line, with Ultra being the only one that dips below 70 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 88.5 FPS, showing that the preset scaling has a significant impact, but even the heaviest load remains playable.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down noticeably. Low averages 107.9 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium comes in at 85.1 FPS, and High at 65.4 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra, however, falls to 44.7 FPS, which is below playable. The drop from High to Ultra is 20.7 FPS, a larger step than the drop from Medium to High (19.7 FPS). This suggests that Ultra settings at 1440p introduce a heavy load that this combo cannot sustain. Low remains the only preset with substantial margin, while High is borderline but technically playable.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low averages 59.7 FPS, just under the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 47.2 FPS, High to 36.1 FPS, and Ultra to 24.3 FPS. None of these presets reach 60 FPS, and even Low falls short by a narrow margin. The scaling from Low to Medium is 12.5 FPS, from Medium to High is 11.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 11.8 FPS, showing a fairly consistent penalty per preset tier. At 4K, this combo is not viable for smooth gameplay at any setting, though Low comes closest.

Comparing resolutions at the same preset illustrates the resolution scaling. At High, the FPS goes from 95.7 at 1080p to 65.4 at 1440p to 36.1 at 4K. That is a 30.3 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 29.3 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. At Low, the progression is 155.7 to 107.9 to 59.7, with drops of 47.8 and 48.2 FPS respectively. The resolution penalty is consistent across presets, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the Intel Core i5-9400 at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, delta -0.2%), the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264, delta -0.4%), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, delta 0.4%). These deltas are all within half a percent, meaning that swapping the i5-9400 for any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Evolve. The i7-1068NG7 and i3-10305 are marginally ahead, while the i7-10710U and Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 are marginally behind, but the differences are negligible in practice.

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16361. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16408, delta -0.3%), the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (16415, delta -0.3%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (16504, delta -0.9%). The RX 5700 XT is essentially tied with the Pro 5600M, and within one percent of the other three. In Evolve, a system with any of these GPUs would deliver frame rates within a fraction of what the RX 5700 XT produces. The RTX 5090 D V2 is the fastest of the group, but its 0.9% lead translates to only a couple of FPS in most scenarios.

For this specific game, the CPU and GPU are both mid-range in their respective pools. The combo rank in game is 2723 out of 3700 tested combinations, which places it in the lower-middle portion of all systems. This rank reflects that while the GPU is above average, the CPU is closer to the middle, and together they are not near the top for Evolve.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 67.2, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by 7.2 FPS. This is the most demanding preset at that resolution, and it remains playable.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: High is the best preset at 1440p, with an average FPS of 65.4. Medium (85.1) and Low (107.9) also exceed 60 FPS, but High offers the highest visual quality while staying above the threshold. Ultra falls to 44.7 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with any settings?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 4K is 59.7 on Low, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium (47.2), High (36.1), and Ultra (24.3) are all significantly lower. None of the presets reach playable frame rates at 4K.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 155.7 FPS while Ultra averages 67.2 FPS. That is a 88.5 FPS difference, meaning Low is more than twice as fast as Ultra. The gap narrows at higher resolutions: at 1440p the difference is 63.2 FPS (Low 107.9 vs Ultra 44.7), and at 4K it is 35.4 FPS (Low 59.7 vs Ultra 24.3).

Q: How does this combo compare to similar hardware in the database?

A: The CPU is at the 47th percentile with an average score of 2254, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 (a 0.2% difference). The GPU is at the 59th percentile with an average score of 16361, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, scores 16351 (a 0.1% difference). Systems with these components would perform nearly identically in Evolve.

Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU and GPU in Evolve?

A: The combo is ranked 2723 out of 3700 tested combinations in the database. This places it in the lower-middle tier, meaning many other systems deliver higher frame rates, but it is still capable of running the game at lower resolutions and presets.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve, but the playable range depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold. The best preset is Ultra, with an average of 67.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, three presets are playable: Low (107.9 FPS), Medium (85.1 FPS), and High (65.4 FPS). The best preset is High, which stays just above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the closest is Low at 59.7 FPS, which falls short by 0.3 FPS. Therefore, this combo is suitable for 1080p gaming at any setting and for 1440p gaming up to High settings, but it is not viable for 4K gaming.

The verdict by resolution in the database confirms this: 4K has no playable settings, 1440p lists High, Low, and Medium as playable, and 1080p lists all four presets as playable. The best settings per resolution are Ultra at 1080p (67.2 FPS) and High at 1440p (65.4 FPS). For 4K, there is no best setting because none reach the threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor in Evolve's performance, particularly as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to let the GPU run at high frame rates, as evidenced by the 155.7 FPS on Low and 67.2 FPS on Ultra. The large spread between presets (from 67 to 156 FPS) suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck when settings are increased, while the CPU can keep up even at the highest preset.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds. The FPS drops from 107.9 on Low to 44.7 on Ultra, a 63.2 FPS range. The GPU's workload scales with both resolution and preset, and the RX 5700 XT begins to struggle at Ultra. The CPU, with its six cores and six threads, is not the limiting factor here; the GPU's rendering load is.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The FPS ranges from 59.7 on Low to 24.3 on Ultra, and even the lowest preset cannot maintain 60 FPS. The resolution scaling is consistent: moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at the same preset reduces FPS by roughly 30 to 48 FPS each step. This linear degradation points to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) being insufficient for 4K in this title. The CPU, by contrast, shows no signs of limiting performance, as the frame rates are entirely driven by the GPU's workload.

In terms of preset scaling, the CPU matters more at lower resolutions where the GPU can produce very high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 155.7 FPS average indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough, but even then, the GPU is still the primary driver. At higher resolutions, the GPU's role becomes even more pronounced, and the CPU's performance is effectively irrelevant to the outcome. For this game, users should focus on GPU settings when optimizing, as the CPU has ample headroom across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3700 tested combinations in the database, this CPU and GPU pairing ranks 2723rd for Evolve. This places it in the 73rd percentile from the bottom, meaning roughly 73% of tested systems outperform it. The rank reflects the mid-range nature of both components: the CPU is at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU is at the 59th percentile among all GPUs. The combination does not boost either component's standing; it simply performs as expected for a mid-range pairing.

The nearest rival GPUs, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (0.1% faster) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (0.3% faster), would not meaningfully change the rank. Similarly, the nearest rival CPUs, like the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.4% faster), would produce nearly identical results. The rank of 2723 is therefore stable for this class of hardware. To move significantly higher in the rankings, a user would need a substantially faster GPU, as the game is GPU-bound at most settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

For users targeting 60 FPS, the most demanding preset that stays at or above the threshold is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Ultra, with an average FPS of 67.2. This is the highest preset available, and it clears the threshold by 7.2 FPS. All lower presets also work, but Ultra provides the best visual quality.
• 2560x1440: High, with an average FPS of 65.4. This is the highest playable preset; Ultra falls to 44.7 FPS, which is below the threshold. Medium (85.1) and Low (107.9) are also playable, but High is the best balance.
• 3840x2160: No preset reaches 60 FPS. Low is the closest at 59.7 FPS, but it misses the threshold by 0.3 FPS. Users at 4K would need to lower the resolution or accept sub-60 FPS gameplay.

In summary, this combo is best used at 1080p with Ultra settings, where it delivers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1440p, High is the ceiling, and at 4K, the system falls short even on the lowest preset. The data is clear: the RX 5700 XT is a solid 1080p and light 1440p card for Evolve, but it cannot handle 4K in this title.