Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 372 out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the top 10% of all systems evaluated for this title. This high percentile positioning indicates that the combination of AMD's 5000-series Zen 3 processor and NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture delivers a strong foundation for this FPS, though the data reveals distinct scaling behaviors that merit a closer look.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 372 out of 3700, this system sits comfortably in the upper echelon of tested configurations for Evolve. The percentile placement suggests that roughly 90% of alternative pairings will trail this setup in raw performance, which is expected given the RTX 4080's standing at the 86th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors. The data implies that this pairing is well-balanced for the game's demands, as neither component appears to be a severe bottleneck based on the measured frame rates.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its contribution. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores a 0.2% advantage over the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and a 0.2% edge over the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, while trailing the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 by 0.2% and the Intel Core i9-12900T by 0.3%. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the processor's 6 cores and 12 threads are performing at parity with a broad range of contemporary chips. On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 sits 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER, but trails the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7% in average benchmark scores. This suggests the graphics card is a known quantity that holds its own against similar-tier offerings.

The rank of 372 becomes more meaningful when considering that the RTX 4080 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 40-series, yet it still propels this combo into the top decile. The data indicates that Evolve, being a 2015 release, does not fully stress the modern hardware, allowing the combination to leverage its high-end specifications effectively.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the AD103 chip using a 5 nm process from TSMC, packing 45,900 million transistors across a 379 mm² die. Its memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The base clock runs at 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, while the memory operates at 1400 MHz with an effective rate of 22.4 Gbps. These specifications translate into a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute reaching 48.74 TFLOPS.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates scale from 54 FPS on Ultra to 78 FPS on High, 99 FPS on Medium, and 128 FPS on Low. This progression shows that the graphics card is the primary driver of performance at 4K, as the settings changes produce significant FPS swings. The 16 GB VRAM is ample for this game, as even at Ultra settings the memory capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor given the title's age. The RTX 4080's 9728 shading units and 304 texture mapping units handle the game's rendering demands with headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates even at 1440p.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 indicate strong raw performance. The DirectX 11 score of 314 is particularly relevant for Evolve, which launched in an era when DX11 was standard. The data shows that the RTX 4080, despite being a newer architecture, delivers excellent legacy API performance, which explains the smooth frame rates observed across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K, with the frame rate drops becoming more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 141 on Ultra to 256 on Low, while at 1440p it drops to a range of 95 to 224, and at 4K it further falls to 54 to 128. This scaling indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role diminishes.

The percentage drops between resolutions tell a story about the limiting component. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS falls from 204 to 137, a reduction of approximately 33%. The same transition at Low settings sees a drop from 256 to 224, a 12.5% decrease. At Ultra, the 1080p to 1440p transition shows a 33% drop (141 to 95). These numbers suggest that at lower settings, the CPU may be providing a ceiling at 1080p, as the frame rates do not scale proportionally with the reduced GPU load.

The 1440p to 4K transition is more severe. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 137 to 78, a 43% reduction. At Medium, it falls from 174 to 99, a 43% drop. At Low, the decrease is from 224 to 128, a 43% reduction. This consistent 43% decline across settings indicates that the GPU is the clear limiting factor at 4K, as the performance scales with the pixel count rather than being bound by the CPU. The data implies that for maximum frame rates at 1080p, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate, but the RTX 4080's raw power is what enables playable frame rates at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 256 FPS on Low, 233 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 198 and maximum of 268), 204 FPS on High, and 141 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that even at the highest settings, the system exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, making 1080p a non-issue for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 224 FPS on Low, 174 FPS on Medium (min 148, max 200), 137 FPS on High, and 95 FPS on Ultra. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p results in a 30% performance penalty (137 to 95 FPS), which is a notable trade-off for the visual fidelity gains. The Medium setting's minimum of 148 FPS ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate remains above 144 Hz, a common threshold for high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 128 FPS on Low, 99 FPS on Medium (min 84, max 114), 78 FPS on High, and 54 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra setting is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, which could be a concern for players seeking a locked 60 FPS experience. However, the High setting at 78 FPS provides a comfortable margin above this threshold, and Medium at 99 FPS offers smoother gameplay with a 84 FPS minimum. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K strikes a balance between visual quality and performance, as its minimum frame rate of 84 FPS is still well within playable territory.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 Vermeer architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it carries a 96 MB shared L3 cache alongside 64 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core. The processor supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform with PCIe Gen 4 support across 20 lanes.

In Evolve, the CPU's impact is most visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 256 suggests that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU at very high frame rates, likely approaching the game's engine limits. The Passmark single-thread score of 2941 and multithread score of 20363 indicate solid per-core performance, which is crucial for a game that relies on a few primary threads. The data compression score of 230392 and integer math score of 60033 further underscore the CPU's arithmetic capabilities.

The CPU's 96 MB L3 cache is a standout feature, and while the FACT PACK does not specify a vCache3d value, the shared cache size is substantial for a 5000-series part. This cache configuration likely helps in scenarios where game data needs to be rapidly accessed, though the measured FPS at higher resolutions shows the GPU becoming the bottleneck. The CPU's TDP of 105 W is modest, and its ECC memory support adds a stability feature that is not commonly utilized in gaming scenarios.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the 5500X3D's performance is virtually identical to the Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Core Ultra 5 225, all within 0.2% of each other. This means that in Evolve, the choice of CPU among these options would not produce a discernible difference in frame rates, as the game is not heavily CPU-bound at the resolutions where the GPU is not the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings are viable, but the Ultra preset at 141 FPS is the best choice for players prioritizing visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, as it still exceeds the 120 Hz threshold. The Medium preset at 233 FPS is ideal for competitive play where maximum frame rates matter, though the difference between High (204 FPS) and Medium (233 FPS) is marginal in real-world terms.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 137 FPS offers the best balance for most users, as it maintains a frame rate above 120 Hz while providing good visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is still playable and may appeal to those who want maximum detail, but the 42 FPS drop from High represents a significant trade-off. The Medium preset at 174 FPS is the choice for players with 144 Hz monitors, as its minimum of 148 FPS ensures consistent refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 99 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it delivers a high average with a minimum of 84 FPS, avoiding the sub-60 FPS dips seen at Ultra. The High preset at 78 FPS is also viable for those who prefer better visuals, but the 21 FPS drop from Medium may not be worth the fidelity gains on all displays. The Low preset at 128 FPS is unnecessary at 4K, as it sacrifices too much visual quality for a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most 4K monitors. The Ultra preset at 54 FPS should be avoided for consistent gameplay, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth action.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations in Evolve?*

A: The combination ranks 372 out of 3700 tested combos, placing it in the top 10% of all systems evaluated for this game.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 4K with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 128 FPS, achieved on the Low settings preset. The Medium preset delivers 99 FPS, and High drops to 78 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data suggests the CPU may provide a ceiling at lower settings, as the frame rate differences between Low (256 FPS) and Medium (233 FPS) are smaller than at higher resolutions. The GPU becomes the clear bottleneck as resolution increases.

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

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 84 FPS, which occurs at the 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings. The 2560x1440 Medium preset has a minimum of 148 FPS, and the 1920x1080 Medium preset has a minimum of 198 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER in average benchmark scores, but it trails the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%.

Q: What settings are recommended for a smooth 4K experience?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160, which averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, is the recommended choice for maintaining frame rates above 60 FPS. The High preset at 78 FPS is also viable, but Ultra at 54 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold.