Evolve

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER lands at rank 2574 out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve. That places this system in the lower third of the database, which is a meaningful signal: the combination is not near the top of the charts for this title, but it is far from the bottom. The CPU is a top-tier part, sitting in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU is much more modest, ranking in the 62nd percentile against all GPUs. The bottleneck is clear from the outset, the graphics card carries most of the performance burden in this pairing.

The recorded data shows that this combo can produce playable framerates at every resolution tested, but only within certain settings ranges. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at all four presets, including Ultra at 66.3 FPS. At 2560x1440, three of the four presets remain above 60 FPS, with Ultra dipping to 45.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset stays above 60 FPS, hitting 63.5 FPS. The overall ranking reflects this mixed capability: competitive at lower resolutions, increasingly strained as resolution climbs.

# CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a system where the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 SUPER is still able to push high framerates, with Low settings reaching 159.4 FPS. The CPU, a 24-core, 32-thread Raptor Lake part with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at this resolution. The result is that the combo behaves like a GPU-bound system even at 1080p, though the headroom available from the CPU becomes apparent when looking at the scaling between presets.

Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops by roughly 35 to 40 percent across most settings. For High settings, the drop is from 96.6 FPS to 62.9 FPS, a decline of 33.7 FPS. For Medium, the drop is from 126.6 FPS to 83.8 FPS, a decline of 42.8 FPS. The Low preset falls from 159.4 FPS to 106.4 FPS, a 53 FPS reduction. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's rendering load is increasing substantially with pixel count, while the CPU remains underutilized.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. High settings drop to 38.1 FPS, Medium to 45.8 FPS, and Ultra to 29.1 FPS. Only Low settings remain playable at 63.5 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is steep, confirming that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity rendering at 4K. The CPU's role in this game is secondary; its high single-thread and multi-thread scores do not translate into higher framerates once the GPU saturates.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 159.4 FPS, Medium 126.6 FPS, High 96.6 FPS, and Ultra 66.3 FPS. All four presets clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra being the only one close to the line. The spread from Low to Ultra is 93.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution and that the CPU is not holding the system back.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid but the gap narrows. Low settings average 106.4 FPS, Medium 83.8 FPS, High 62.9 FPS, and Ultra 45.2 FPS. The High preset is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls below it. The step from High to Ultra represents a drop of 17.7 FPS, which is substantial and suggests that Ultra's additional effects are disproportionately expensive on this GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings average 63.5 FPS, Medium 45.8 FPS, High 38.1 FPS, and Ultra 29.1 FPS. Only Low is playable. The gap between Low and Ultra is 34.4 FPS, and even the Medium preset sits well below the 60 FPS line. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 224.4 GTexel/s texture rate are not enough to maintain fluid gameplay at 4K with medium or higher detail levels.

# FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 1920x1080 with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 produces an average of 66.3 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 62.9 FPS, making it the most demanding setting that stays above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 45.2 FPS and is not playable by the database's standard.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combo?

A: Only with Low settings. At 3840x2160, Low averages 63.5 FPS, while Medium drops to 45.8 FPS and High falls to 38.1 FPS. For 4K play, the user must accept Low detail.

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

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 18159, which is 0.4 percent higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 scores 18189, 0.5 percent higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 18373, 1.5 percent higher. The Intel Arc A770M scores 18383, 1.6 percent higher.

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

A: The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79097. The Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79371, which is 0.3 percent higher. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574, 0.6 percent higher, and the AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, 1.2 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, 1.7 percent lower.

Q: What is the performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 159.4 FPS and Ultra averages 66.3 FPS, a difference of 93.1 FPS. This shows the wide range of visual fidelity options available at this resolution.

# Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, with an average of 63.5 FPS. Medium falls to 45.8 FPS, High to 38.1 FPS, and Ultra to 29.1 FPS. Users targeting 4K must run Low to maintain playability.

At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High, averaging 62.9 FPS. Low runs at 106.4 FPS and Medium at 83.8 FPS, but High offers the highest visual quality while still clearing 60 FPS. Ultra is not playable at 45.2 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is Ultra, averaging 66.3 FPS. This is the only resolution where the maximum preset remains above the playable threshold. High runs at 96.6 FPS, Medium at 126.6 FPS, and Low at 159.4 FPS.

# The Verdict

This system can run Evolve, but the answer depends heavily on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS on every preset, including Ultra at 66.3 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this hardware. At 2560x1440, the system remains playable on High settings with 62.9 FPS, but Ultra falls to 45.2 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable at 63.5 FPS; all other presets fall below 60 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is straightforward: at 1920x1080, all four presets are playable; at 2560x1440, High, Medium, and Low are playable; at 3840x2160, only Low is playable. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB memory capacity and 175 W TDP, defines the performance envelope. Users seeking higher fidelity at 1440p or 4K would need a stronger GPU, but for 1080p gaming, this combo is more than sufficient.

# Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all within a narrow performance band. The Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79371, just 0.3 percent higher than the i9-14900K's 79097. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574, 0.6 percent higher. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, 1.2 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, 1.7 percent lower. In practical terms, swapping the i9-14900K for any of these would yield nearly identical gameplay framerates in Evolve, as the game is not CPU-bound in this configuration.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 18159, 0.4 percent higher than the RTX 2060 SUPER's 18093. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 scores 18189, 0.5 percent higher. The AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 18373, 1.5 percent higher, and the Intel Arc A770M scores 18383, 1.6 percent higher. These GPUs would produce nearly identical framerates in Evolve, meaning a system with any of these alternatives would land in the same playable categories at each resolution. The performance differences are small enough that the user experience would be effectively the same.