Evolve

Evolve is a demanding FPS, and this pairing of a 6-core/12-thread AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with a 6 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti produces a wide spread of results depending on how you configure it. The measured data shows that the "High" preset is the sweet spot for this combination, delivering playable frame rates at both 1080p and 1440p without the steep performance penalty of the "Ultra" settings. At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 74.2 FPS, which is a solid 21 FPS jump over the 53.2 FPS seen at Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, High still holds at 50.5 FPS, which is acceptable for a title of this era, while Ultra drops to 32.7 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid. For those chasing maximum smoothness on a 1080p high-refresh monitor, the Medium preset at 99.3 FPS is a strong alternative, offering a 25.1 FPS advantage over High. The Low preset at 127.6 FPS is the only way to get close to 120+ FPS territory, but it comes with a significant visual downgrade. The data suggests that High is the recommended starting point; if you prioritize frame rate over fidelity, Medium provides a substantial boost with a more moderate visual hit than dropping to Low.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, built on the 12 nm Zen architecture with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate a balanced processor: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 show it is capable of handling modern game threads, but its performance is not top-tier. In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep it busy. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the frame rate reaches 127.6 FPS, which is the highest measured for this combo. This suggests that at lower graphical loads, the CPU is able to push frames well above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the processor's single-thread performance, reflected in the Cinebench R20 single-core score of 663, is modest. This becomes relevant when comparing the combo's overall ranking. With a combo rank of 1457 out of 1695 tested combinations, the CPU is not holding the system back at lower resolutions, but it is also not a high-end performer. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are standard for the platform, and the 65 W TDP indicates an efficient chip. The nearest rivals in terms of average CPU benchmark score, such as the Intel Core i5-1345U and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, show that the 2600 is in the middle of the pack, with deltaPct values of -0.4 and 0.6 respectively, meaning it trades blows with these newer mobile parts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the primary driver of graphical performance here. It features the TU116 chip on the 12 nm Turing architecture, with 1536 shading units and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus yields a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The GPU's raw compute is rated at 5.437 TFLOPS FP32, and its benchmark results confirm its mainstream positioning. In the Passmark G3D test, it scores 12871, which places it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The data from Evolve shows that the GPU is the limiting factor when settings are increased. At 1080p, the frame rate drops from 127.6 FPS at Low to 53.2 FPS at Ultra, a 74.4 FPS swing that is entirely due to the GPU's workload. This is further confirmed by the 4K results: at 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields only 20.1 FPS, which is unplayable, while even the Low preset at 4K only reaches 50.8 FPS. The GTX 1660 Ti's VRAM and bandwidth are adequate for the High preset at 1440p, as shown by the 50.5 FPS result, but the card's compute power is simply not enough for the higher fidelity settings at higher resolutions. The nearest rival, AMD Radeon RX 570X, has a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the 1660 Ti is essentially on par with that older card in average benchmark score, despite being a newer architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall ranking for this specific CPU and GPU pairing in Evolve is 1457 out of 1695 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 15% of all systems tested, which is a sobering statistic for a 6-core/12-thread CPU paired with a 6 GB GPU. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 77, meaning it outperforms 77% of all CPUs in the database, but the GPU's percentile is only 55. This discrepancy suggests that the graphics card is the component dragging the combo down in the rankings. The data shows that the combo is capable of good frame rates at medium settings, but it cannot compete with high-end configurations that pair stronger CPUs with more powerful GPUs. The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-11600KF at -0.6, show that the 2600 is competitive in processing power with some newer chips, but the overall combo ranking reflects the GPU's limitations. For a system aiming to play Evolve at high refresh rates, this ranking indicates that the user will need to accept either lower resolutions or reduced graphical presets to achieve a smooth experience. The 1695 total combos tested include many with newer, more expensive components, and this pairing falls behind the median, but it is not the worst performer in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, which reveals the bottleneck in this system. At 1080p, the High preset achieves 74.2 FPS. Dropping to 1440p High reduces the average frame rate to 50.5 FPS, a 23.7 FPS loss. Moving to 4K High, the frame rate plummets to 30.1 FPS, a 20.4 FPS drop from the 1440p result. This pattern is consistent across all settings: Low at 1080p is 127.6 FPS, at 1440p it is 85.7 FPS, and at 4K it is 50.8 FPS. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a roughly 60% reduction in performance, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The data indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti's pixel throughput (84.96 GPixel/s) and texture rate (169.9 GTexel/s) are the limiting factors at higher resolutions. The CPU's role becomes less significant as resolution increases, because the GPU takes longer to render each frame. For example, at 4K Low, the frame rate is 50.8 FPS, which is only slightly more than half of the 1080p Low result. This indicates that the GPU is saturated at 4K, and the CPU is not the primary limiter. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the CPU has more headroom, allowing the GPU to push frames to 127.6 FPS. The practical takeaway is that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming; at 1440p, you will have to stick to High or Medium, and 4K is only viable at Low settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The High preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, yielding 74.2 FPS at 1080p and 50.5 FPS at 1440p. If you need higher frame rates, Medium at 1080p offers 99.3 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: No, not at acceptable quality levels. At 4K, the Ultra preset produces only 20.1 FPS, and even the Low preset reaches only 50.8 FPS. The GPU does not have enough compute power for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's percentile rank of 55 is lower than the CPU's 77, and frame rates drop by over 60% when moving from 1080p to 4K.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19616. It is 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5-1345U and 0.6% slower than the Intel Core i5-11600KF, but it is 0.6% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U and 0.7% faster than the Intel Core i7-10700F.

Q: How does this GPU compare to the AMD Radeon RX 570X?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has an average benchmark score of 13925, which is 0.4% higher than the RX 570X's score of 13871. In practical terms, they are very close in performance, despite the architectural differences.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 127.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only configuration that reaches above 120 FPS in the measured data.