Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The database includes 3,070 tested CPU and GPU combinations for Evolve. This pairing of an Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 652nd out of those 3,700 combos. In percentile terms, the CPU sits at the 47th mark among all processors, while the GPU is at the 86th percentile among all graphics cards. That spread tells the story: the graphics hardware is far stronger relative to its own market than the processor is relative to the CPU market. Yet the recorded frame rates show the pair working well together in this game.

The rank of 652 out of 3,700 places this combo in the upper tier of tested configurations. Roughly the top 18% of all combos in the database outperform it, which aligns with a very strong GPU paired with a mid-range six-core processor. The game itself dates to 2015, and the measured results indicate that Evolve does not heavily punish the older CPU architecture in this pairing.

At 1080p, the combo averages 141 FPS on Ultra settings, 177 FPS on High, 193 FPS on Medium, and 212 FPS on Low. Those are high figures, but the interesting part is the scaling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p drops the Ultra average from 141 FPS to 95 FPS, a 33% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K drops Ultra further to 54 FPS, another 43% reduction. The GPU is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU has less influence when pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

The rank is also meaningful because of what it implies about the balance of this specific pairing. A weaker GPU would likely drop the combo further down the list at 4K. A stronger CPU would likely not improve frame rates much at 4K, since the RTX 4080 is already the limiting factor there. The data suggests this combo is GPU-bound at 4K Ultra, CPU-bound at 1080p Low, and somewhere in between at other settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-9400, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with an average score of 2,259 and a delta of -0.2%, the Intel Core i7-10710U at 2,248 with a delta of +0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2,246 with a delta of +0.4%, and the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2,264 with a delta of -0.4%. These deltas are all within half a percent of the i5-9400's average score of 2,254. In practical terms, swapping the CPU for any of these would produce nearly identical results in Evolve, since the game's frame rates at higher resolutions are dominated by the GPU.

The nearest rivals for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 are the RTX 4080 SUPER with an average score of 54,209 and a delta of +0.1%, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54,828 with a delta of -1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB at 55,698 with a delta of -2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S at 55,757 with a delta of -2.7%. The RTX 4080's own average benchmark score is 54,247. These are all extremely close, within roughly 3% of each other. For Evolve specifically, a system with the RTX 4080 SUPER would behave almost identically to this one, as would a system with the Radeon Pro W5700X, though the latter trails by just over 1% in raw average score.

What this means for a user is that the i5-9400 is not a unique bottleneck or an unusual choice. The CPUs listed as nearest rivals are all comparable in average compute performance, and none of them would shift the measured FPS numbers in Evolve by more than a fraction of a percent. Similarly, the GPU alternatives sit so close in average score that frame rate differences in this game would be minor. The measured data shows this combo sits in a dense cluster of similar-performance hardware, so users coming from any of these nearby parts should expect similar behavior.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals how the workload shifts between the two components across resolutions and presets. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 212 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, it drops to 141 FPS. That is a 33% reduction from changing only the preset, which indicates the GPU is doing substantially more work at Ultra. But the CPU still has headroom, since the frame rate remains far above 60 FPS even at the most demanding preset.

At 1440p, the pattern continues. Low settings produce 185 FPS, Medium produces 169 FPS, High produces 137 FPS, and Ultra produces 95 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 90 FPS, a 49% reduction. At 4K, the same preset sweep shows Low at 128 FPS, Medium at 99 FPS, High at 78 FPS, and Ultra at 54 FPS. Here the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which is the only measured configuration in the entire set that fails to clear 60 FPS.

The resolution scaling tells the clearest story about GPU dominance. At Ultra settings, the average FPS goes from 141 at 1080p, to 95 at 1440p, to 54 at 4K. That is a 62% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average goes from 212 at 1080p, to 185 at 1440p, to 128 at 4K, a 40% drop. The larger percentage drop at Ultra suggests that the GPU is working much harder at 4K Ultra, while at Low settings the CPU has more influence on the final frame rate.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint in most configurations. At 1080p Low, the 212 FPS average is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game, but even so, it is more than triple the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 4K Ultra, the 54 FPS result is clearly a GPU limitation, as the RTX 4080 is handling a massive pixel load. The i5-9400, with six cores and six threads, does not appear to hold back the GPU in any measured preset at any resolution.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Evolve. The verdict data lists the playable settings for each resolution, using a 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High as the best settings at an average of 78 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four settings are playable, with Ultra as the best at 95 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four settings are playable, with Ultra as the best at 141 FPS.

The only configuration that fails the 60 FPS threshold is 4K Ultra, which averages 54 FPS. Every other measured combination of resolution and preset clears 60 FPS by a comfortable margin. At 4K, users should stick to High or lower settings to stay above the threshold. At 1440p and 1080p, Ultra settings are fully playable.

The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth are more than sufficient for Evolve, a 2015 title. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are also adequate, as evidenced by the high frame rates even at low resolutions where CPU load is relatively higher. The data shows a system that can handle the game at high refresh rates on 1080p and 1440p displays, and at solid frame rates on 4K displays with moderate settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured results are as follows. Low settings average 128 FPS. Medium settings average 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. High settings average 78 FPS. Ultra settings average 54 FPS. The Medium preset is the only 4K configuration with recorded minimum and maximum values, and even the minimum of 84 FPS is well above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 185 FPS. Medium settings average 169 FPS, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 194 FPS. High settings average 137 FPS. Ultra settings average 95 FPS. The minimum at Medium, 144 FPS, is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, indicating a very stable experience at that setting.

At 1920x1080, Low settings average 212 FPS. Medium settings average 193 FPS, with a minimum of 164 FPS and a maximum of 222 FPS. High settings average 177 FPS. Ultra settings average 141 FPS. This is the highest-performing resolution in the set, with all presets clearing 140 FPS on average.

Looking at the full set, the only average below 60 FPS is 4K Ultra at 54 FPS. The next lowest average is 4K High at 78 FPS, which is 18 FPS above the threshold. The gap between 4K High and 4K Ultra is 24 FPS, the largest single-preset jump in the entire dataset. The gap between 1440p High and 1440p Ultra is 42 FPS, and the gap between 1080p High and 1080p Ultra is 36 FPS. These large drops at Ultra settings are typical of a game where the highest preset adds substantial GPU load.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K?

A: Yes, at Low, Medium, and High settings. The averages are 128 FPS, 99 FPS, and 78 FPS respectively. Ultra settings at 4K average 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings are fully playable at 1440p, averaging 95 FPS. All four presets, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, clear the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2,254. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 2,259 and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2,246, are within 0.4% of that score. The differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 much faster than similar GPUs?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54,247. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, a delta of +0.1%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, a delta of -1.1%. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, a delta of -2.6%. All are within a few percent.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves?

A: The highest recorded average is 212 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The highest recorded minimum is 164 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: Does this combo ever drop below 60 FPS?

A: In the measured data, only one configuration falls below 60 FPS: 4K Ultra, which averages 54 FPS. All other measured presets at all three resolutions stay above 60 FPS on average.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 78 FPS. Medium also works at 99 FPS, and Low works at 128 FPS, but High is the highest quality option that remains playable.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 95 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available in the measured data, and it clears the threshold by 35 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 141 FPS. This is the best result of any resolution and preset combination in the dataset.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, the data shows that Low settings at 1080p reach 212 FPS, which suits high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, Low reaches 185 FPS, and at 4K, Low reaches 128 FPS. The recorded data indicates that this combo is versatile across all three resolutions, with only the 4K Ultra preset falling short of the playable threshold. The launch MSRP of the RTX 4080 is 1,199 USD, which reflects the high-end tier of the GPU, though the measured performance in Evolve is strong across most settings.