Evolve

# Evolve with AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 produces a distinctive performance profile in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably across resolutions, with the GPU becoming increasingly dominant as pixel count rises, while the CPU's six cores and twelve threads handle the game's logic without appearing to bottleneck even at lower resolutions. The combo ranks 2003rd out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the actual frame rates tell a more nuanced story about where this pairing excels.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 115 FPS at 1920x1080 to 77 FPS at 2560x1440, then further to 44 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which strongly indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The RTX 4060, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, simply cannot maintain the same throughput as pixel count quadruples.

The scaling pattern across all settings reinforces this interpretation. At Low settings, the average drops from 190 FPS at 1080p to 127 FPS at 1440p and 72 FPS at 4K — a 62% decrease from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the High preset's scaling. This consistency across presets suggests that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the dominant factor driving performance changes. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the gap between 1080p and 1440p to narrow substantially at lower settings, as the GPU would have more headroom. Instead, the proportional drops remain steady, pointing to a GPU that is fully utilized across all tested configurations.

The Medium preset data provides the only min/max FPS measurements, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the average is 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65, a spread of 17 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average climbs to 99 FPS with a range of 84 to 114 (30 FPS spread), and at 1080p Medium, the average reaches 147 FPS with a range of 125 to 169 (44 FPS spread). The widening range at lower resolutions suggests that while average performance improves, frame pacing becomes less consistent — a characteristic often associated with CPU-side limitations emerging when the GPU is not the sole constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 2003rd out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve, which places it in the 46th percentile of all pairings. This middling rank is somewhat surprising given the measured frame rates, but it reflects the fact that Evolve is an older title from 2015 and many modern combinations can push far higher numbers. The rank suggests that while this combo delivers playable performance, it does not stand out among the broader field of tested hardware pairings.

The CPU's percentile ranking among all processors is 71st, meaning the Ryzen 5 3600 outperforms 71% of CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 17035, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i7-1260P (avgScore 17007, deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i5-11400 (avgScore 17067, deltaPct -0.2), AMD EPYC 7573X (avgScore 17070, deltaPct -0.2), and AMD EPYC 7742 (avgScore 16998, deltaPct 0.2). These deltas are remarkably tight — within 0.2% — indicating that the Ryzen 5 3600 sits in a densely populated performance tier where tiny differences separate competitors.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 61st among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (avgScore 17666, deltaPct -0.2), AMD Radeon 780M (avgScore 17588, deltaPct 0.3), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (avgScore 17551, deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (avgScore 17509, deltaPct 0.7). The RTX 4060's position here is interesting — it is competitive with integrated and older discrete solutions in aggregate benchmark scores, though its real-world gaming performance in Evolve appears stronger than those aggregate numbers might suggest.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, built on the Zen 2 architecture (codename Matisse) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz can boost to 4.20 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 512 KB L2 and 64 KB L1 per core. These specifications place it as a solid mid-range desktop processor from the 3000 series, with a 65 W TDP and support for DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration delivering 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Evolve, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU across most tested scenarios, but the data hints at its influence at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 190 FPS average — a very high number that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU sufficiently even in less demanding settings. However, the lack of min/max FPS data for Low and High presets limits our ability to assess frame time consistency at those settings. The Medium preset's min/max data at 1080p (125 to 169 FPS) shows a 44 FPS range, which could indicate some CPU-side variability as the processor manages game logic and draw calls.

The Ryzen 5 3600's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance relative to its single-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15045 multi-core and 2124 single-core; in Geekbench, 7372 multi-core and 1536 single-core. The 3DMark results scale from 696 single-thread to 4605 at 16 threads and 4603 at max threads, demonstrating efficient scaling across its twelve threads. For a game like Evolve, which released before many modern multi-threading optimizations, the single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 2562) likely matters more than the multi-thread capacity, and that score is respectable though not exceptional.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 190 FPS at Low, 147 FPS at Medium, 115 FPS at High, and 80 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's min/max of 125/169 FPS shows the only frame time data available at this resolution. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 58% reduction in average FPS, illustrating the significant cost of higher graphical fidelity settings.

At 2560x1440, performance drops to 127 FPS at Low, 99 FPS at Medium, 77 FPS at High, and 54 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows min/max of 84/114 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 73 FPS, representing a 57% reduction — nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. This consistency suggests that the relative cost of each settings tier remains stable regardless of resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where each setting affects the same rendering pipeline proportionally.

At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 72 FPS at Low, 56 FPS at Medium, 44 FPS at High, and 31 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's min/max is 48/65 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops below 32 FPS, which is generally considered the threshold for smooth gameplay in fast-paced titles. The jump from 1440p to 4K at each settings tier represents roughly a 43-45% reduction in average FPS, slightly less severe than the 1080p to 1440p drop for some presets, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become increasingly limiting as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average at 2560x1440 High is 77 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM appears sufficient for this configuration, and the average suggests consistent performance.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this pairing?

A: Only at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the combo achieves 72 FPS at Low and 56 FPS at Medium, but drops to 44 FPS at High and 31 FPS at Ultra. For 4K, Medium settings provide the best balance, though the minimum of 48 FPS at Medium indicates occasional dips.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 17035 is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P (17007), Intel Core i5-11400 (17067), AMD EPYC 7573X (17070), and AMD EPYC 7742 (16998). These are effectively tied scores, with deltas of 0.2 or -0.2 percentage points.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The only min/max data available is for Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 44 FPS (125-169); at 1440p, it is 30 FPS (84-114); at 4K, it is 17 FPS (48-65). Higher resolutions show tighter frame time ranges, likely due to the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck and smoothing out CPU-side variability.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 sits at the 61st percentile, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, -0.2%), AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, 0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, 0.7%).

Q: What is the best resolution for Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo achieves 80 FPS average, which is playable but not high-refresh territory. At 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 31 FPS. For Ultra settings, 1080p is the only resolution that maintains a comfortable average above 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best overall experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 147 FPS average with a minimum of 125 FPS, providing smooth gameplay that exceeds most display refresh rates. At 1440p, Medium maintains 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. Even at 4K, Medium achieves 56 FPS average with a 48 FPS minimum, which is borderline playable for a fast-paced FPS but may be acceptable for less competitive play.

The High preset represents a reasonable alternative for those prioritizing visual quality over frame rate. At 1080p, High delivers 115 FPS, which is still excellent; at 1440p, it drops to 77 FPS, remaining above 60 FPS; at 4K, it falls to 44 FPS, which may be too low for many players. The Low preset, while achieving 190 FPS at 1080p and 127 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the modest gains over Medium at those resolutions. Ultra settings should be reserved for 1080p only, where the 80 FPS average remains playable, as the 54 FPS at 1440p and 31 FPS at 4K fall below comfortable thresholds.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combination, offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. The min/max FPS data at Medium also indicates that frame pacing is most stable at higher resolutions, with the 4K range of 17 FPS being notably tighter than the 44 FPS range at 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the dominant component in this pairing for Evolve, particularly as resolution increases. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, it features 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz (base 1830 MHz) drives 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, with a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 272.0 GB/s bandwidth, which appears to be a limiting factor at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark results show strong compute performance: 19545 in PassMark G3D, 95057 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 48643 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its DirectX scores in PassMark (175 in DX11, 76 in DX12, 236 in DX9) indicate strong legacy API performance, which is relevant for a 2015 title like Evolve that likely relies on older rendering paths. The RTX 4060's percentile ranking of 61st among all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier, and its average benchmark score of 17639 is competitive with its nearest rivals.

In Evolve specifically, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical as resolution scales. The 62% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at both Low and High settings points to the GPU's pixel throughput as the primary constraint. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears adequate for this game, as no VRAM-related stuttering is evident in the data, but the 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth likely cap performance at higher resolutions. The RTX 4060's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this older title, making raw rasterization performance the key factor in determining frame rates.