Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a wide range of performance in Evolve, depending on the resolution and graphics preset selected. The recorded data shows that this pairing can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably, while 4K requires a significant reduction in settings to maintain a playable frame rate. This analysis breaks down the measured average FPS, the role of each component, and how this specific configuration compares to other tested systems in the database.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The recorded average FPS is 65.1, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 63.8, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the only playable setting at 3840x2160?

A: Low settings is the only preset that reaches the playable threshold, with an average FPS of exactly 60.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i7-10710U?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, while the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, making the i5-9400 0.3% faster in the database records.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs in the database.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER faster than the AMD Radeon RX 460?

A: No, according to the average benchmark scores, the AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 18373 compared to the RTX 2060 SUPER's 18093, making the RX 460 1.5% faster in synthetic tests, though the RX 460 is listed as a nearest rival.

CPU and GPU Roles

Understanding which component limits performance in Evolve requires examining how frame rates scale across resolutions and presets. The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the dominant factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides a stable foundation at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system produces high frame rates across all settings. The jump from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a drop from 162.9 FPS to 65.1 FPS, a reduction of roughly 60%. This wide spread indicates that the graphics card is doing substantial work, but the CPU is capable of feeding it enough data to maintain high output. The i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, has enough processing power for this title at 1080p, as evidenced by the consistently high average FPS even at lower settings where the GPU load is reduced.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop noticeably but remain playable at most presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 162.9 at 1080p to 110.1 at 1440p, a 32% decrease. At High settings, the drop is from 99.8 to 63.8, a 36% decrease. This scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the increased pixel count directly impacts the rendering workload. The CPU's role diminishes at this resolution because the frame rate is lower, giving the processor more time between frames to complete its work.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The average FPS at High settings is 34.9, and at Ultra it drops to 23.5. Even at Medium settings, the system only manages 46.1 FPS. The CPU's influence at this resolution is minimal, as the RTX 2060 SUPER is fully saturated by the 4K rendering load. The i5-9400's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935, are sufficient to avoid holding back the GPU at these lower frame rates.

The pattern across resolutions points to a balanced pairing at 1080p, where both components contribute to the overall performance. At 1440p, the GPU starts to pull ahead as the main constraint, and at 4K, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the frame rates achieved. For players targeting maximum visual quality, the CPU will not be the limiting factor at any resolution, but the GPU will determine whether the selected preset is playable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured average FPS values for this exact CPU and GPU combination at three resolutions and four graphics presets. All values represent the average FPS recorded during testing, with no minimum or maximum frame time data available for this configuration.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 162.9, providing a very smooth experience. Medium settings reduce this to 125.3 FPS, still far above the playable threshold. High settings produce 99.8 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 65.1 FPS. Every preset at this resolution clears the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p the most versatile resolution for this combination.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but with more variation between presets. Low settings achieve 110.1 FPS, Medium settings reach 83.4 FPS, and High settings stay above the threshold at 63.8 FPS. Ultra settings, however, drop to 44.8 FPS, falling below the playable threshold. This means that players at 1440p can use High settings for the best visual quality while maintaining 60 FPS, but Ultra is not viable.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at most settings. Low settings reach exactly 60 FPS, which is right at the threshold. Medium settings drop to 46.1 FPS, High settings fall to 34.9 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 23.5 FPS. Only the Low preset is playable at this resolution, and even that is borderline at exactly 60 FPS average.

The progression across presets is consistent at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 97.8 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 65.3 FPS. At 4K, the difference narrows to 36.5 FPS. This tightening spread at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the absolute performance ceiling is constrained by the rendering resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 2631 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places the configuration in the lower third of all systems tested in the database for this game, placing it below the majority of other tested hardware pairings.

This ranking reflects the fact that Evolve is an older title with lower hardware requirements, so many modern systems with newer CPUs and GPUs may achieve higher frame rates. The i5-9400's CPU percentile of 47 means it outperforms 47% of all CPUs in the database, but the RTX 2060 SUPER's percentile of 62 indicates it outperforms 62% of all GPUs. The GPU's higher percentile does not fully compensate for the CPU's lower standing relative to all tested processors.

For a game released in 2015, this combination provides solid performance relative to mid-range hardware from its era, and the recorded frame rates at 1080p confirm that it can handle the game at high visual quality. The combo ranking of 2631 out of 3700 shows that most other tested systems achieve better results, likely due to newer GPUs and CPUs with higher core counts or more modern architectures.

The ranking also indicates that players looking for higher FPS in competitive play may need to consider a more powerful GPU than the RTX 2060 SUPER, as the current configuration sits in the lower third of tested combos. For those satisfied with 60 FPS at 1080p or 1440p, the system meets the playable threshold at those resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database lists nearest rivals for both components based on average benchmark scores, providing context for what similar hardware would behave comparably in this game.

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with a score of 2259, a 0.2% difference, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 with a score of 2246, a 0.4% difference, the Intel Core i3-10710U with a score of 2248, a 0.3% difference, and the Intel Core i3-10305 with a score of 2248, 0.4% faster. These processors are all within 0.4% of the i5-9400's performance, meaning players swapping between them would see almost identical frame rates in Evolve. The i5-9400's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 provide additional context for its processing capabilities relative to these rivals.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile with a score of 18159, a 0.4% difference, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with a score of 18189, a 0.5% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 18373, which is 1.5% faster, and the Intel Arc A770M scores 18383, which is 1.6% faster. These GPUs are all within 1.6% of the RTX 2060 SUPER's average score, so in Evolve, they would deliver similar frame rates at the same settings. The RTX 2060 SUPER's PassMark G3D score of 16462 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 77402 provide additional reference points for its direct performance.

Players with any of these CPU or GPU alternatives would experience broadly similar performance in Evolve, with differences of no more than 1.6% on the GPU side and 0.4% on the CPU side. This narrow range means that the playable settings and verdicts for the i5-9400 and RTX 2060 SUPER combination would apply to these nearby components as well.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 460, is actually slightly faster in synthetic tests, which means players with an RX 460 GPU paired with any of these CPUs would see marginally higher frame rates in Evolve, though the difference is negligible in practice. The Intel Arc A770M is 1.6% faster as well. These small deltas confirm that the RTX 2060 SUPER is placed in a performance band where several other GPUs cluster closely together.

For players looking to upgrade or substitute their hardware, any of these alternatives would provide similar results, and users would not need to adjust expectations when moving between these components.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution from the database is clear: this combination can run Evolve at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 with playable frame rates at most settings, while 3840x2160 is limited to Low settings only.

At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS at every preset tested, with High, Low, Medium, and Ultra all playable. The best settings are Ultra, with an average FPS of 1080p at 65. This is the only resolution where Ultra is playable at Ultra, as the threshold is met at 1080p with 65 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with the best setting being High at an average FPS of 1440p, specifically 63.8 FPS. Ultra at 2560x1440 is not playable, as it only reaches 44.8 FPS average at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the only playable setting is Low, with an average FPS at 2160p of 60. Low is the only preset that is playable, and it only reaches exactly 60 FPS average. Medium at 2160p is not playable, as it only reaches 46.1 FPS average, and High and Ultra at 4K are also not playable.

The verdict is that the system is playable at 1920x1080 and 1440p, but not at 4K, where only Low settings are playable. The best settings are 1920x1080 at Ultra, 1440p at High, and 4K at Low, with the average FPS at these best settings being 65.1, 63.8, and 60 respectively.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold is Ultra, with a measured average FPS of 65.1. This is the only preset at this resolution that offers Ultra visual quality, and it clears the threshold by a margin of 5.1 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS is High setting, with an average FPS of 63. At this resolution, High settings at 1440p, the average FPS is 63.8, which is the highest playable preset at 2560x1440. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by a margin of 3.8 FPS, making High settings the best choice for players who want maximum visual quality at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at the 60 FPS is Low settings, with an average FPS of exactly 60. This is the only preset at 2160p that reaches 60 FPS, and it is exactly at 60 FPS average, which is the playable threshold at 4K. Low settings at 2160p are the only playable preset at 2560x1440, and they reach 60 FPS exactly at 1920x2160.

The best settings per resolution are 1920x1080 at Ultra settings with 65.1 FPS, 2560x1440 at High settings with 63.8 FPS, and 3840x2160 at Low settings with 60 FPS. These settings represent the highest visual quality at each resolution that can sustain at least 60 FPS, and they provide the best balance of visual quality and playability for this combination in Evolve.