Evolve

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a wide range of performance in Evolve, from extremely high frame rates at 1080p to a more demanding situation at 4K Ultra. The data indicates this is a very strong pairing for the game, with clear scaling patterns across resolutions and settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have near-neighbor components that would produce very similar overall results in this system. For the Intel Core i7-14700K, the benchmark data shows it sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69355. The closest rival is the AMD EPYC 9115, which scores 69288, a delta of just 0.1% — effectively identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is 0.2% higher than the i7-14700K, meaning either processor would behave nearly indistinguishably in Evolve. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.7% higher at 69875, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is 0.9% higher at 69996. All four alternatives are within a 1% performance band, so swapping the i7-14700K for any of them would not meaningfully alter the frame rates in this game.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54247. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209, a delta of 0.1% — again, virtually identical. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, 2.6% higher. The AMD Radeon 8060S is the farthest at 55757, 2.7% higher. These deltas are all small, so any of these GPUs would provide comparable frame rates in Evolve, with the RTX 4080 SUPER being the closest match.

The practical implication is that a system built with any of these rival CPUs paired with the RTX 4080, or the i7-14700K paired with a rival GPU, would land within a few percentage points of the measured results. The CPU rivals are all within a 0.9% band, and the GPU rivals are within a 2.7% band, so the overall gaming experience would be nearly identical.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the RTX 4080 is the primary performance driver in Evolve, with CPU influence becoming more apparent only at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less saturated. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 335, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. This is 2.6 times the 4K High average of 78 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p goes from 335 to 141 FPS, a 58% drop, which shows how heavily the GPU is taxed by the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues: Low averages 225 FPS, Medium drops to 174, High to 137, and Ultra to 95. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 130 FPS, or 58% lower. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 128 FPS, Medium 99, High 78, and Ultra 54. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 74 FPS, a 58% reduction. Across all three resolutions, the percentage drop from Low to Ultra is consistently around 58%, which strongly suggests that GPU scaling is uniform and the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution.

The CPU's role is better understood by comparing the same settings across resolutions. At High settings, 1080p averages 204 FPS, 1440p averages 137 FPS, and 4K averages 78 FPS. The 1080p to 4K ratio is 2.6x, and the 1440p to 4K ratio is 1.8x. At Low settings, 1080p averages 335, 1440p averages 225, and 4K averages 128. The ratios are 2.6x and 1.8x, respectively. This consistency means the CPU is not a variable factor; the frame rate is dictated almost entirely by the GPU's pixel throughput. The i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is clearly sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 at all tested settings, as the frame rates scale exactly with resolution and preset changes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 335 FPS. The Medium preset averages 260 FPS, with a minimum of 221 and a maximum of 299. The High preset averages 204 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 141 FPS. No min or max values are provided for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, so only the Medium preset shows the full range of 221 to 299 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 225 FPS. Medium averages 174 FPS, with a minimum of 148 and a maximum of 200. High averages 137 FPS. Ultra averages 95 FPS. Again, only Medium has min and max data, showing a range of 148 to 200 FPS. The spread of 52 FPS on Medium at 1440p is smaller than the 78 FPS spread at 1080p Medium, which is consistent with the GPU being less stressed at lower resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 128 FPS. Medium averages 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 and a maximum of 114. High averages 78 FPS. Ultra averages 54 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a range of 84 to 114 FPS, a 30 FPS spread, which is the narrowest of all three resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the frame pacing is more consistent due to the GPU being more uniformly loaded.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the drop is 335 to 141 FPS, a 194 FPS difference. At 1440p, the drop is 225 to 95 FPS, a 130 FPS difference. At 4K, the drop is 128 to 54 FPS, a 74 FPS difference. The absolute drops shrink as resolution increases, but the percentage drops remain near 58%, confirming that the GPU is the sole scaling factor.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve with strong results at all three tested resolutions, but the 4K Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data shows that at 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best at 78 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and therefore not considered playable.

At 2560x1440, all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with Ultra averaging 95 FPS. This means the system can run the game at maximum settings at 1440p while still maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four settings are also playable, with Ultra averaging 141 FPS. The 1080p Ultra result is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU is not stressed at this resolution and preset.

The key takeaway is that this combination is fully capable of running Evolve at 60 FPS or above at 1080p and 1440p with any preset, including Ultra. At 4K, the system can run up to High settings at 78 FPS, but Ultra drops below the threshold. The one sub-60 result is a single data point: 4K Ultra at 54 FPS. All other eleven measured configurations exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest playable average being 78 FPS at 4K High.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the best settings are High, which achieves an average of 78 FPS. The Medium preset averages 99 FPS, but High is the most demanding option that still clears the threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 54 FPS and is therefore excluded. At 2560x1440, the best settings are Ultra, with an average of 95 FPS. This is the highest preset and still leaves a 35 FPS margin over the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 141 FPS. This is the maximum preset and provides an 81 FPS margin.

The data shows that the system's headroom at 1080p is substantial: even the most demanding preset runs at more than double the playable threshold. At 1440p, the headroom is still large, with Ultra at 95 FPS. At 4K, the headroom narrows considerably, with High at 78 FPS being the best playable option. The progression from 1080p Ultra at 141 FPS to 4K High at 78 FPS shows a 45% reduction in performance when moving up two resolution tiers while dropping one preset tier.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 54, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 78 FPS.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Evolve?

A: The highest average FPS is 335, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 260 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 225 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209. The delta is 0.1%, meaning the RTX 4080 is essentially tied with its SUPER counterpart in overall GPU performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Evolve at 4K?

A: The GPU is the dominant factor. At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop from 128 FPS on Low to 54 FPS on Ultra, a 58% reduction. The CPU's role is minimal, as the scaling is consistent across all resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system in Evolve?

A: The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 84, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The average at that configuration is 99 FPS, with a maximum of 114 FPS.

Q: How does the i7-14700K compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in benchmark scores?

A: The i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515. The Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.2% higher, making the two CPUs effectively equivalent in performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 222nd out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve. This places it in the top 6% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the high individual percentile scores of both components — the CPU at the 94th percentile and the GPU at the 86th percentile. The rank of 222 out of 3700 indicates that while there are faster combinations, this pairing is firmly in the upper tier of systems capable of running Evolve.

The ranking is a composite measure that accounts for both CPU and GPU contributions. Given that the GPU is the primary driver in this game, the rank likely reflects the RTX 4080's position relative to other GPUs in the database. The CPU's high percentile and close rivalry with the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X mean that the system's rank is not held back by processor performance. The 222nd rank out of 3700 means there are 221 combinations that achieve higher frame rates in Evolve, but the vast majority of systems — 3478 of them — rank below this configuration.