Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a combination built on two end-of-life platforms, but the recorded data shows it remains highly capable for Evolve. The measured performance across all three primary resolutions and four quality presets reveals a system that scales predictably: it demolishes 1080p, handles 1440p with ease, and only struggles at 4K when pushed to higher settings. The CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all tested processors, while the GPU ranks at the 65th percentile, making this a balanced pairing where the graphics card carries most of the load at higher resolutions. The game, a 2015 FPS, is not particularly demanding by modern standards, and this hardware combination exploits that fact effectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Low preset produces an average of 177 FPS, which is a massive headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. Stepping up to Medium, the average drops to 137 FPS, with recorded minimums of 116 FPS and maximums of 157 FPS. The High preset maintains a strong average of 107 FPS. Even the most demanding Ultra preset stays comfortably above the threshold, delivering an average of 74 FPS. The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is never bottlenecked by either component, and even the heaviest visual settings leave substantial performance in reserve.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains robust but the scaling shows the expected impact of additional pixels. The Low preset averages 118 FPS, which is still an excellent result for 1440p gaming. Medium delivers an average of 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, showing consistent frame pacing. High drops to an average of 72 FPS, which is still above the playable threshold. The Ultra preset, however, falls below the 60 FPS line with an average of 50 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at this resolution represents a significant jump in GPU load that the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot fully absorb.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. The Low preset is the only one that clears the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 67 FPS. Medium falls to an average of 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS, which puts it right on the edge of playability but below the target. High averages just 41 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS. The 4K results show a steep curve: the gap between Low and Ultra is 39 FPS, and the GPU clearly becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database, this specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 2151 out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve. That places it in the upper portion of the field, roughly in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations. The rank reflects a system that is capable of running the game at high settings in most scenarios, but it is far from the top of the leaderboard. The ranking is consistent with the component-level percentiles: the CPU at 47th percentile and the GPU at 65th percentile combine to produce a result that is better than the CPU alone would suggest, but not as strong as the GPU alone might indicate.

The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's ability to handle the game at 1440p and 1080p, while the CPU provides enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The i5-9400 has six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 indicate a solid mid-range processor. The RTX 2070 SUPER, with its TU104 chip and 2560 shading units, delivers a Passmark G3D score of 18169, which is the dominant factor in the combo's overall ranking.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which delivers an average of 67 FPS. This is the only playable option at 4K, and it requires significant visual compromises to achieve the target frame rate.

For 2560x1440, the best playable setting is High, averaging 72 FPS. This allows for a high level of visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium and Low also clear the bar, but High offers the best balance of fidelity and performance.

For 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Ultra, which averages 74 FPS. The system can run the game at maximum settings at 1080p and still stay well above the playable threshold. This makes 1080p the resolution where the hardware can fully stretch its legs.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to several other processors. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a delta of negative 0.2 percent, meaning it is effectively the same level of performance. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, a delta of positive 0.3 percent. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a delta of positive 0.4 percent, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, a delta of negative 0.4 percent. Any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve when paired with the RTX 2070 SUPER, since the game is not heavily CPU-bound at most settings.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (negative 1 percent delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (negative 1.2 percent delta), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (negative 1.3 percent delta), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (negative 1.5 percent delta). All of these GPUs sit in a tight performance band, meaning a system built with any of them would deliver near-identical results in Evolve. The Quadro M4000M is a workstation card, but its gaming performance in this title would be comparable. The RTX 3070 Mobile shows that even a laptop variant of a newer GPU lands in the same neighborhood, which speaks to the consistency of this performance tier.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role, as the frame rates are high enough that the i5-9400's six cores and six threads are exercised more heavily. The jump from Low (177 FPS) to Ultra (74 FPS) represents a 103 FPS swing, which is entirely driven by the GPU load increasing as settings rise. However, even at Low, the 177 FPS figure suggests the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to hit very high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to dominate. The difference between Low (118 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) is 68 FPS, and the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the primary constraint. The CPU is still sufficient, as evidenced by the fact that the 1440p Low result is only 59 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, despite a 78 percent increase in pixel count. This indicates the GPU is handling most of the scaling burden.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the performance. The Low preset averages 67 FPS, which is 110 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Ultra preset drops to 28 FPS, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER is overwhelmed by the 8.3 million pixels at 4K with heavy settings. The CPU's role at this resolution is minimal, as the frame rates are low enough that even a much weaker processor would produce similar results. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for the game, but the raw compute power of 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 is not enough to maintain high settings at 4K.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination can run Evolve, but the experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, including Ultra, which averages 74 FPS. This is the ideal resolution for this hardware, offering maximum visual quality with no performance concerns. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable at High, Medium, and Low settings, with High averaging 72 FPS. Ultra is not recommended, as it drops to 50 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves the target, averaging 67 FPS. Medium comes close at 52 FPS, but it falls below the threshold, and High and Ultra are not viable. The verdict is straightforward: this is a strong 1080p and 1440p machine for Evolve, but 4K users must accept significant visual compromises to maintain playable frame rates.