Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a playable 1080p experience in Evolve, but the data clearly shows that 4K Ultra settings are not viable, with the combo ranking in the bottom 13% of tested configurations. This pairing is a classic 1080p-focused setup where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's FPS demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, the optimal experience is at 1920x1080 with High settings, producing an average of 77.9 FPS. This offers a strong balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: No. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 45.9 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to a stuttery 19 FPS. The data indicates that 4K is not a practical option for this game with this hardware.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 is statistically tied with its closest rivals, showing a negligible -0.1% delta versus the Intel Core i5-12500 and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE, and a +0.1% delta over the AMD EPYC 7J13.

Q: What is the GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER scores 50 in the Passmark DirectX 12 test. This is notably lower than its DirectX 11 score of 104, suggesting the older API may be more efficient for this architecture in some workloads.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The evidence suggests no major CPU bottleneck at 1080p. The FPS scales dramatically with resolution (from 124.7 FPS at 1080p Low to 45.9 FPS at 4K Low), indicating the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases, not the processor.

Q: How does the GPU's overall performance rank against other graphics cards?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 14286 is within -0.2% to -0.7% of its nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in determining Evolve's performance ceiling, particularly as resolution climbs. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p High settings but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's base clock of 1530 MHz boosts to 1785 MHz, and its 1408 shading units deliver a FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS, which explains its strong showing in the 1080p tests.

The data shows a clear correlation between GPU load and frame rate. At 1920x1080, the card produces 124.7 FPS on Low settings, but this falls to 55 FPS on Ultra, a drop of over 55%. This pattern is consistent with the GPU being fully utilized. At 3840x2160, the card's limitations are exposed, with even Low settings only reaching 45.9 FPS. The 2:1 FP16 ratio of 10.05 TFLOPS does not appear to provide a tangible benefit in this game, as the DirectX 12 benchmark score of 50 is half of the DirectX 11 score of 104, suggesting the game may perform better with older API paths. The GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs underscores that it is a mid-range part, and the measured FPS in Evolve reflects that positioning.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 provides a robust foundation for this gaming setup, with its 6 cores and 12 threads ensuring that Evolve is never starved for processing power. Its Zen 3 architecture, running on a 7 nm process, features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are more than adequate for a 2015 FPS title like Evolve.

Benchmark results show the CPU is a strong performer in its class. Its multi-threaded Cinebench R23 score of 16429 is substantial, and its single-thread score of 2319 indicates solid per-core performance. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5386 and max-thread score of 5411 are nearly identical, demonstrating that the CPU scales effectively with all available threads. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 is essentially tied on average score, with a -0.1% delta against the Intel Core i5-12500 and a +0.1% delta against the AMD EPYC 7J13. This means the CPU is not a differentiator in performance; it is a consistent, capable partner for the GPU. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU can easily feed the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates, and the bottleneck only shifts to the GPU at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth and visually appealing experience, the measured data points to 1920x1080 with High settings as the best choice. This configuration yields an average of 77.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target for fluid gameplay. The jump from Medium (98.4 FPS) to High (77.9 FPS) costs about 20% performance but provides a significant visual upgrade. Ultra settings at 1080p drop to 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced FPS.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to Low settings, which produces 83.5 FPS. Medium settings at 1440p (64.5 FPS) are also acceptable, but High settings drop to 48.5 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold. For 4K gaming, Low settings are the only viable option at 45.9 FPS, but this is still a compromised experience. The data strongly suggests that users should prioritize resolution and settings to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS, which is only reliably achievable at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1475 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the bottom 13% of all configurations, indicating that while it is functional, it is far from a high-end pairing. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing, as the CPU itself performs at a high percentile (79th) among all processors.

The low combo rank is not a verdict on playability at lower resolutions, but rather a reflection of the system's overall potential. In the 1080p tests, the system performs admirably, but the rank is dragged down by its inability to handle 4K Ultra settings (19 FPS) and its limited performance at 1440p Ultra (36.1 FPS). This suggests that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can compete with more expensive setups, but it will not scale well to higher resolutions or future demanding titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of performance across resolutions and settings.

1920x1080:

• Ultra: 55 FPS
• High: 77.9 FPS
• Medium: 98.4 FPS
• Low: 124.7 FPS

2560x1440:

• Ultra: 36.1 FPS
• High: 48.5 FPS
• Medium: 64.5 FPS
• Low: 83.5 FPS

3840x2160:

• Ultra: 19 FPS
• High: 31.1 FPS
• Medium: 38.5 FPS
• Low: 45.9 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, dropping from Ultra to Low settings roughly doubles the frame rate. At 1080p, the spread is from 55 FPS to 124.7 FPS. At 1440p, the spread is from 36.1 FPS to 83.5 FPS. At 4K, the spread is from 19 FPS to 45.9 FPS. This indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER has a steep performance curve when graphical load is adjusted, making settings management critical for maintaining playability.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on High settings reduces the frame rate from 77.9 FPS to 48.5 FPS, a 38% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K on High settings further reduces the frame rate from 48.5 FPS to 31.1 FPS, a 36% decrease. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the increase in pixel count directly taxes the render pipeline.

The data shows that resolution scaling is not linear. For example, at Low settings, the FPS drops from 124.7 (1080p) to 83.5 (1440p) to 45.9 (4K). The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep at 45%, suggesting that the 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the 4K frame buffer. The CPU's performance remains constant across resolutions, so the FPS decline is entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to keep up with the increased pixel workload. This analysis confirms that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component, and the Ryzen 5 5500 has ample headroom to support a more powerful graphics card if an upgrade is ever considered.