Evolve

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a playable experience in Evolve at 1080p and 1440p, but falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K except when settings are dropped to Low. Benchmark results show the combo ranking 2269th out of 3700 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the database, yet the measured frame rates reveal a system that can handle the game comfortably at mainstream resolutions. The data indicates that at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 71 FPS, while at 2560x1440 the highest playable preset is High with 69 FPS average. At 3840x2160, only Low settings clear 60 FPS, hitting 64 FPS on average. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across all resolutions and settings, identifies the optimal configurations, and compares the hardware to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for Evolve span three resolutions and four quality presets, with the most complete data available at Medium settings where minimum and maximum values were recorded. At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance. Low settings yield an average of 169 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 131 FPS average, with minimums of 111 FPS and maximums of 150 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. High settings average 103 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 71 FPS average. The 1080p results indicate that even the most demanding preset maintains a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold, with the Ultra average sitting 11 FPS above that mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales downward predictably but remains playable across most settings. Low settings average 113 FPS, a 56 FPS reduction from the 1080p Low result, which reflects the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU. Medium settings average 88 FPS, with minimums of 75 FPS and maximums of 101 FPS, ensuring that even the lowest recorded frame rate stays above 60 FPS. High settings average 69 FPS, which is the closest any 1440p preset comes to the 60 FPS threshold among the playable options. Ultra settings at 1440p average 48 FPS, falling below the playability line and indicating that the combination of higher resolution and maximum quality overwhelms the RTX 5050’s capabilities.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture becomes more constrained. Low settings average 64 FPS, just barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold with a 4 FPS margin. Medium settings average 50 FPS, with minimums of 42 FPS and maximums of 57 FPS, showing that frame rates can dip well below the playable range during demanding scenes. High settings average 39 FPS, a significant drop that places the experience firmly in unplayable territory for most users. Ultra settings at 4K average 27 FPS, which is the lowest result across the entire dataset and represents a 142 FPS gap compared to the 1080p Low setting. The 4K results illustrate a clear pattern: the RTX 5050’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width, combined with a 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, are insufficient for Evolve’s highest quality presets at this resolution.

The Medium preset data is the only settings tier with complete min and max values across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080 Medium, the difference between the 111 FPS minimum and 150 FPS maximum is 39 FPS, indicating moderate frame time variation. At 2560x1440 Medium, the spread narrows to 26 FPS between 75 and 101 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the spread is 15 FPS between 42 and 57 FPS, showing that as resolution increases, the frame rate range compresses even as the average drops. This pattern suggests that at 4K, the GPU is consistently bottlenecked, leaving less headroom for variance, whereas at 1080p, the system can alternate between periods of higher and lower utilization.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average at or above 60 FPS defines the best playable configuration. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset qualifies as the best setting, producing an average of 71 FPS. This is notable because it means the system can run Evolve at maximum quality at the most common gaming resolution without sacrificing smoothness. The 71 FPS average provides an 11 FPS buffer above the playability threshold, which should accommodate brief dips during intense combat sequences. Lower presets at 1080p offer higher frame rates—Low at 169 FPS, Medium at 131 FPS, and High at 103 FPS—but they do not represent the best balance of visual fidelity and performance since Ultra already clears 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best settings tier is High, with an average of 69 FPS. This preset delivers a 9 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a viable choice for gamers who prioritize image quality at QHD resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 88 FPS and would also be playable, but High offers superior visual detail while still maintaining smooth performance. The Low preset at 1440p averages 113 FPS, which is the highest frame rate available at this resolution, but choosing Low would mean sacrificing the visual improvements that High provides. Ultra at 1440p averages 48 FPS and fails the playability test, so it cannot be recommended as the best setting despite offering the highest quality.

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 64 FPS. This result is critical: the RTX 5050 can run Evolve at 4K, but only with the lowest quality settings, and even then the margin above 60 FPS is just 4 FPS. Medium at 4K averages 50 FPS and falls below the threshold, while High and Ultra average 39 FPS and 27 FPS respectively, making them unplayable. The recommendation for 4K is unequivocally Low settings, as no higher preset can sustain 60 FPS on average. Gamers seeking higher quality at 4K would need a more powerful GPU than the RTX 5050, which sits at the 66th percentile among all tested GPUs according to its benchmark score.

The pattern across resolutions shows that Evolve scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 5050’s performance ceiling manifests as a requirement to lower settings as pixel count increases. At 1080p, Ultra is achievable; at 1440p, High is the limit; at 4K, only Low works. This progression aligns with the GPU’s 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate, which provide sufficient throughput for mainstream resolutions but struggle with the pixel fill demands of 4K.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 divide responsibilities across resolutions in Evolve. At 1920x1080, the scaling between presets suggests that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 98 FPS (from 169 to 71), a 58% reduction that corresponds directly to increased graphical load. The CPU’s capabilities—16 cores, 24 threads, and a 5.40 GHz boost clock—provide ample processing power for the game’s FPS mechanics, as evidenced by the 3dmark_16_threads score of 10717 and the cinebench_r23_multicore score of 30745. At 1080p Low, the 169 FPS average indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor, since such high frame rates require strong single-thread performance, and the 3dmark_single_thread score of 1136 confirms the i7-13700K’s strength in this area.

At 2560x1440, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced. The average frame rates drop by approximately 33-39% compared to 1080p at the same settings: Low falls from 169 to 113 FPS, Medium from 131 to 88 FPS, High from 103 to 69 FPS, and Ultra from 71 to 48 FPS. This consistent reduction across all presets points to the GPU being the bottleneck, as the additional 78% more pixels (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million) directly increase the rendering workload. The CPU’s performance remains unchanged, and its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it can feed the GPU without becoming a constraint. The passmark_multithread score of 45887 and geekbench_multicore score of 19429 further support the conclusion that the i7-13700K has ample headroom for Evolve’s CPU demands.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component. The frame rates at 4K are dramatically lower than at 1440p: Low drops from 113 to 64 FPS, Medium from 88 to 50 FPS, High from 69 to 39 FPS, and Ultra from 48 to 27 FPS. The 4K resolution contains 8.29 million pixels, which is 4 times the pixel count of 1080p and 2.25 times that of 1440p. The RTX 5050’s 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate and 32 ROPs are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at this fill rate demand. The CPU’s role at 4K is minimal, as the GPU cannot process frames quickly enough to require faster CPU input. The measured data shows that even at Low settings, the 4K average of 64 FPS is barely above the playability threshold, whereas the same settings at 1080p produce 169 FPS, a 105 FPS difference that underscores the GPU’s dominance in this scenario.

The scaling between presets also indicates that Evolve is not particularly CPU-heavy. The jump from Low to Medium at each resolution produces a consistent frame rate penalty: at 1080p, 169 to 131 FPS (22% reduction); at 1440p, 113 to 88 FPS (22% reduction); at 4K, 64 to 50 FPS (22% reduction). This uniformity suggests that the graphical settings primarily affect GPU workload, while the CPU maintains consistent performance across presets. The i7-13700K’s passmark_single_thread score of 4333 and cinebench_r15_singlecore score of 303 demonstrate sufficient single-thread capability for Evolve’s game logic, which is a typical characteristic of FPS titles.

The Verdict

The data provides a clear answer: this PC can run Evolve, but the playable range is limited by resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS at all four presets, including Ultra with an average of 71 FPS. This makes 1080p the ideal resolution for this combo, as it allows maximum quality without compromising smoothness. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable at High, Medium, and Low settings, with High averaging 69 FPS as the best quality option. Ultra at 1440p fails to reach 60 FPS, averaging 48 FPS, so it should be avoided. At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve playability, averaging 64 FPS, which is a marginal result that leaves little room for performance dips. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K all fall short of the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 50, 39, and 27 FPS respectively.

The verdict by resolution can be summarized as follows. For 1080p gaming, the combo is fully capable, delivering playable frame rates across the entire settings range, with Ultra at 71 FPS being the recommended configuration for the best visual experience. For 1440p gaming, the combo is capable with caveats: High settings at 69 FPS provide a good balance, but users must accept that Ultra is not playable. For 4K gaming, the combo is barely playable at Low settings only, and the 64 FPS average is fragile, meaning that demanding scenes could push frame rates below 60 FPS. The measured data shows no 4K Medium, High, or Ultra preset reaches the playable threshold, so 4K gaming with this hardware requires significant visual compromises.

The overall verdict is that the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination is a solid 1080p and entry-level 1440p solution for Evolve, but it is not a 4K-capable setup beyond the lowest settings. The 60 FPS playability threshold is met at 1080p Ultra, 1440p High, and 4K Low, which means users can choose their resolution based on their preference for image quality versus frame rate. The GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity is sufficient for Evolve at these settings, as the game’s requirements are modest for a 2015 title. The CPU’s performance is more than adequate, ensuring that the GPU remains the sole bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-13700K, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for how other CPUs would behave in this combo. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has an average score of 46971, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-13700K’s 46881, indicating nearly identical CPU performance in synthetic tests. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47022, 0.3% higher than the i7-13700K, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46654, 0.5% lower, and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 scores 46653, also 0.5% lower. These delta percentages are all within 1% of the i7-13700K, meaning that swapping to any of these CPUs would yield essentially the same frame rates in Evolve, since the game is not CPU-bound at the tested resolutions. The i7-13700K’s 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it sits comfortably above most processors, and its rivals occupy similar positions in the distribution.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, the nearest rivals show a wider range of delta percentages. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21153, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 5050’s 21035 average benchmark score. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21237, 1.0% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, 1.6% lower, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379, 1.6% higher. These rivals span a delta range of -1.6% to +1.6%, indicating that the RTX 5050’s performance in Evolve would be closely mirrored by any of these GPUs. For example, the RX 5600 XT, being 1.6% slower, would likely produce average frame rates a few FPS lower at each resolution and settings combination, such as approximately 67 FPS at 1080p Ultra instead of 71 FPS, and 63 FPS at 4K Low instead of 64 FPS. Conversely, the RTX A4000 Mobile, being 1.6% faster, might push 1080p Ultra to 72 FPS and 4K Low to 65 FPS, but these differences are marginal and would not change the playability verdict for any resolution.

The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its mid-range position, and the rivals listed are similarly positioned in the performance hierarchy. None of these alternatives would meaningfully alter the experience in Evolve, as the game’s performance is primarily dictated by the GPU at higher resolutions, and the differences among these GPUs are less than 2%. The CPU alternatives are even less impactful, given the i7-13700K’s strong single-thread and multi-thread scores, which ensure that Evolve’s frame rates are not limited by processor speed.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 2269th out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 38.7th percentile of all configurations in the database. This rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range standing more than the CPU’s high-end positioning, since the i7-13700K ranks in the 89th percentile among CPUs while the RTX 5050 ranks in the 66th percentile among GPUs. The combo’s overall rank is dragged down by the GPU, which is the limiting factor for achieving higher frame rates in Evolve, particularly at 1440p and 4K resolutions.

The rank of 2269 indicates that approximately 1431 tested combos perform better than this configuration in Evolve, while about 1431 perform worse. This places the combo in the lower half of the distribution, which is consistent with the measured frame rates showing that 4K Ultra is unplayable and 4K High is far below the 60 FPS threshold. However, the rank should be interpreted in context: Evolve is a 2015 title, and many of the 3700 combos in the database likely feature more powerful GPUs that can handle 4K Ultra with ease. The i7-13700K’s strong performance ensures that this combo is not CPU-limited, so any improvement in rank would require a GPU upgrade rather than a CPU swap.

The combo’s performance in Evolve is characterized by its ability to meet the 60 FPS threshold at 1080p Ultra, 1440p High, and 4K Low. This places it in a category of systems that can play the game well at mainstream resolutions but cannot push maximum quality at high resolutions. The 2269th rank reflects this reality: it is a mid-pack performer that will satisfy gamers with 1080p or 1440p monitors, but it will disappoint those expecting 4K Ultra performance. The data suggests that for Evolve specifically, the RTX 5050’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface are adequate for the game’s requirements, but the GPU’s raw compute power limits its ability to handle the most demanding presets at higher resolutions. The i7-13700K, with its 30 MB of L3 cache and 24 threads, provides a robust foundation that ensures the CPU never becomes a bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent scaling patterns observed across all resolutions and settings.