Evolve

Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a decisive performance profile in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The measured data shows this combination is exceptionally strong, with every tested resolution capable of clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold at most settings. The analysis below breaks down the exact frame rates, component scaling, and comparative positioning based strictly on the benchmark results.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is High, which delivers 77 FPS on average. The Ultra preset falls short of the playable threshold, producing only 54 FPS average, so High is the ceiling for a smooth 4K experience. Medium runs at 99 FPS average (with a min of 84 and max of 113), and Low reaches 127 FPS, but High offers the best visual fidelity while staying comfortably above 60.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the system can handle the absolute highest quality. Ultra is the best settings choice, yielding 94 FPS average. This is well above the 60 FPS floor, and the data shows no reason to drop below Ultra. High runs at 136 FPS, Medium at 173 FPS (min 147, max 199), and Low at 224 FPS, but Ultra is the recommended pick for maximum detail without sacrificing smoothness.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the bottleneck shifts entirely to the display or refresh rate, as Ultra produces 140 FPS average. This is the best preset available, and it more than doubles the playable threshold. High reaches 203 FPS, Medium 258 FPS (min 220, max 297), and Low 333 FPS. The Ultra setting at 1080p is the clear choice, offering the highest fidelity with frame rates that suit high-refresh monitors.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a classic resolution-dependent scaling pattern. At 1920x1080, the GPU is heavily utilized but the frame rates are so high (140 FPS at Ultra, 333 FPS at Low) that the CPU’s role becomes more prominent in maintaining those peaks. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with 24 cores and 24 threads, shows its strength in this regime; its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it can feed the RTX 4080 SUPER effectively at lower resolutions where draw calls and physics updates dominate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop by roughly 30-40% across all presets compared to 1080p (e.g., Ultra goes from 140 to 94 FPS, Medium from 258 to 173 FPS). This scaling is typical of GPU-bound workloads, where the rendering resolution increases the pixel fill rate demand. The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary driver here. The CPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the 1440p Ultra result staying above 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unambiguously the limiting factor. The transition from 1440p Ultra (94 FPS) to 4K Ultra (54 FPS) represents a 42% performance drop, which aligns with the 2.25x increase in pixel count (2560x1440 vs 3840x2160). The CPU’s influence nearly vanishes; even at 4K Low, the system hits 127 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold, showing that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the sole constraint. The data indicates that for this game, the GPU dictates performance at 4K, while the CPU matters more at 1080p and partially at 1440p.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Evolve at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 54, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable 4K preset is High, averaging 77 FPS.

Q: What is the highest quality setting that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra is playable at 2560x1440, averaging 94 FPS. This is the best settings choice, and the system has no trouble maintaining smooth frame rates at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is Low compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 333 FPS, which is significantly faster than Ultra’s 140 FPS. The difference is roughly 2.4x, reflecting the reduced shading and post-processing load.

Q: Which component is more important for high frame rates in this game?

A: The GPU is more critical at 4K, where the RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance limits the frame rate (e.g., 54 FPS at 4K Ultra). The CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS and the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus’s single-thread performance (4823 PassMark single-thread score) helps sustain those peaks.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER outperform its direct predecessor?

A: In aggregate benchmark scores, the RTX 4080 SUPER averages 54209, while the nearest rival, the RTX 4080, scores 54247. This is a negligible delta of -0.1%, indicating near-identical performance in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS reported is 84, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. At 2560x1440 Medium, the min is 147, and at 1920x1080 Medium, the min is 220.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this combination is more than capable of running Evolve at every resolution tested. At 1920x1080, all settings including Ultra clear the 60 FPS bar, with Ultra averaging 140 FPS and Low hitting 333 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra is also playable at 94 FPS, and every preset from Low to Ultra stays above 60. At 3840x2160, High is the best playable setting at 77 FPS, while Ultra dips to 54 FPS and is not recommended. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p and 1440p can run the game at maximum quality, while 4K users must opt for High settings to maintain smooth gameplay. This system is ideal for high-refresh monitors at 1440p and provides a solid 4K experience with minor visual compromises.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus’s nearest rivals are all within a narrow performance band. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is nearly identical, with an average score of 83807 against 84003 for this chip, a delta of just 0.2%. The AMD EPYC 4584PX and AMD EPYC 9135 are slightly slower, with deltas of 1.1% and 1.2% respectively, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is faster by -1.3% (i.e., this CPU is 1.3% ahead of it). For gaming, the Core Ultra 9 285K would behave virtually the same, and the EPYC parts are server-class but would show similar multi-core throughput.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the closest match, with a delta of -0.1% (meaning the RTX 4080 is 0.1% slower in aggregate). The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is -1.1% slower, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S are -2.7% and -2.8% slower, respectively. In practice, the RTX 4080 would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, while the AMD options would be slightly behind, but still likely playable at most settings given the game’s age.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3700 tested combinations in the database, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 268th. That places it in the top 7.2% of all tested combos, which is consistent with the high individual percentiles (CPU at 96th, GPU at 86th). The ranking reflects the excellent balance of a top-tier 24-core CPU and a high-end RTX 40-series GPU. For a game like Evolve, which is not particularly demanding by modern standards, this combo is overkill for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result shows that even this hardware hits a wall at the highest resolution with maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160 (4K):

• High: 77 FPS average
• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 99 FPS average, with min 84 and max 113
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• High: 136 FPS average
• Low: 224 FPS average
• Medium: 173 FPS average, with min 147 and max 199
• Ultra: 94 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• High: 203 FPS average
• Low: 333 FPS average
• Medium: 258 FPS average, with min 220 and max 297
• Ultra: 140 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down roughly doubles the frame rate at the same settings (e.g., 4K Low at 127 FPS vs 1080p Low at 333 FPS). The min/max values for Medium settings indicate stable frame pacing, with the tightest range at 1080p (220-297) and the widest at 4K (84-113). Overall, this hardware delivers an excellent experience in Evolve, with the only caveat being the 4K Ultra preset, which fails to meet the 60 FPS target.