Evolve

The benchmark data for Evolve on the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination shows a system that scales predictably across resolutions and presets, with clear performance tiers. The CPU is a top-tier part, ranking in the 96th percentile against all tested processors, while the GPU sits in the 66th percentile, making the graphics card the primary determinant of frame rates in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050 produces an average of 39 FPS on High settings. Dropping to Medium yields an average of 50 FPS, with measured minimum and maximum values of 42 and 57 FPS respectively. The Low preset delivers 64 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset bottoms out at 27 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 37 FPS, a substantial spread that reflects the GPU's limited memory bandwidth (320.0 GB/s) and 8 GB frame buffer when addressing 4K pixel counts.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages improve markedly. High settings produce 69 FPS, Medium averages 88 FPS with a 75-101 FPS range, Low reaches 113 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. The Medium preset here shows the only complete min/max data pair in the entire set, suggesting frame pacing remains consistent within a 26 FPS window. The delta between High and Ultra at this resolution is 21 FPS, narrower than at 4K, indicating the GPU has more headroom as pixel count decreases.

At 1920x1080, the combination becomes decisively fast. Low settings average 169 FPS, Medium averages 131 FPS with a 111-150 FPS range, High averages 103 FPS, and Ultra still manages 71 FPS. The difference between the highest and lowest presets at 1080p is 98 FPS, showing that even the most demanding settings remain comfortably within playable territory. Notably, the Ultra preset at 1080p outperforms the High preset at 1440p by only 2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from resolution scaling once the GPU is no longer pixel-bound.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, which averages 64 FPS. Medium falls short at 50 FPS, and High drops to 39 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming with this hardware requires significant visual compromises, as the Ultra preset at 27 FPS is far below the playable threshold.

For 2560x1440, High is the best playable setting, averaging 69 FPS. Medium (88 FPS) and Low (113 FPS) also clear the threshold, but High represents the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance. Ultra at 48 FPS misses the 60 FPS mark, meaning users must choose between High and Medium for a smooth experience.

At 1920x1080, Ultra is the answer, averaging 71 FPS. Every preset — Low at 169 FPS, Medium at 131 FPS, and High at 103 FPS — exceeds the threshold, so the only question is whether the visual upgrade from High to Ultra justifies the 32 FPS cost. The data confirms that this resolution is the sweet spot for the RTX 5050, with all settings playable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The CPU data for the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus indicates a formidable processor: 24 cores, 24 threads, a 5.80 GHz boost clock, and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731. Its single-thread score of 7303 in the same test places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. However, the GPU's 66th percentile ranking and its 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 throughput suggest that Evolve's frame rates are primarily limited by the RTX 5050, not the processor.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this. From 1080p Low (169 FPS) to 1440p Low (113 FPS), the drop is 56 FPS, or roughly 33%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (64 FPS), the drop is another 49 FPS, or 43%. These proportional declines track closely with pixel count increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would stay flatter across resolutions, particularly at lower settings where pixel fill rates dominate.

Preset scaling tells a similar story. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra cuts frame rates by 98 FPS, a 58% reduction. This magnitude of impact from shader complexity and texture quality points directly at the GPU's shading units (2560) and texture mapping units (80) as the limiting factors. The CPU's Passmark multi-thread score of 60860 and data compression score of 698346 show ample headroom for game logic and physics, but Evolve's rendering pipeline does not appear to stress these capabilities heavily.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further. The 27 FPS Ultra average versus the 64 FPS Low average — a 37 FPS spread — occurs despite the CPU maintaining identical computational output. This is the hallmark of a system where the GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB GDDR6 capacity constrain performance more than any processor limitation. The RTX 5050's pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are the figures that ultimately dictate these results.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807 on average versus 84003 for the 290K Plus, a delta of only 0.2%. For Evolve, these two processors would behave nearly identically, as the 285K's slightly lower multi-core throughput is irrelevant at the frame rates measured. The AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1% slower) and AMD EPYC 9135 (82980, 1.2% slower) are also close, though their server-oriented design makes them unlikely gaming choices. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher, but again, this margin would not produce observable frame rate differences in Evolve.

For the GPU, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which scores 21153 versus the RTX 5050's 21035, a delta of -0.6%. This integrated GPU is found in certain laptops and would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, though without the RTX 5050's dedicated 8 GB memory and Blackwell architecture features. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237, -1.0%) and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379, -1.6%) are similarly matched, with the mobile workstation card offering comparable performance. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713, 1.6%) is the closest desktop alternative, and its 6 GB memory configuration might struggle with 4K textures where the RTX 5050's 8 GB provides a slight edge.

The Verdict

This PC can run Evolve, but the experience varies sharply by resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 71 FPS. This is the fully playable scenario. At 2560x1440, High settings average 69 FPS, and Medium averages 88 FPS, both exceeding the threshold; Ultra at 48 FPS does not. At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, averaging 64 FPS, while Medium (50 FPS), High (39 FPS), and Ultra (27 FPS) all fall short.

The verdictByResolution data confirms this tiering: 1080p supports all four settings, 1440p supports three (High, Medium, Low), and 4K supports only Low. For users prioritizing resolution over fidelity, the 4K Low preset is viable. For those prioritizing visual quality, 1440p High is the best compromise, offering 69 FPS without the frame rate instability seen at 4K Medium.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K with High settings?

A: No. The measured average at 3840x2160 High is 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: High, which averages 69 FPS. Medium averages 88 FPS and Low averages 113 FPS, but High provides the best visual quality while staying above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Evolve?

A: The GPU. Frame rates scale proportionally with resolution changes (e.g., 1080p Low at 169 FPS versus 4K Low at 64 FPS), and the RTX 5050's 66th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 96th percentile indicates the graphics card is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the RX 5600 XT?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 21035 on average, which is 1.6% higher than the RX 5600 XT's 20713. In Evolve, this translates to nearly identical frame rates, though the RTX 5050's 8 GB memory may handle higher texture loads better.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 only. The Ultra preset averages 71 FPS at 1080p, but drops to 48 FPS at 1440p and 27 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest measured minimum is 42 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 Medium. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 75 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Medium, it is 111 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3700 tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2269th for Evolve. This places it in the 39th percentile of all tested combos, which is lower than either component's individual percentile (CPU at 96th, GPU at 66th). The rank reflects that while the CPU is exceptionally strong, the GPU's mid-tier positioning pulls the overall combination down for this particular game. The ranking suggests that many systems with slower CPUs but faster GPUs would outperform this combo in Evolve, as the game's frame rates are overwhelmingly GPU-limited. The data indicates that users seeking higher rankings in this title should prioritize graphics card upgrades over processor upgrades, as the current CPU provides far more compute capability than the RTX 5050 can leverage at the resolutions and settings tested.