Evolve

# Evolve with AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2530th out of 2872 tested CPU/GPU combinations for Evolve, placing it in the bottom 12% of all combos. This is a combination where a capable six-core processor is held back dramatically by an integrated GPU that sits at the 9th percentile of all graphics cards. The Arc B390's only benchmark score—1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12—places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710, which contextualizes why this combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates at most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations, this pairing sits firmly in the lower quartile of performance for Evolve. The data indicates that this combo outperforms only roughly 342 other tested configurations, meaning approximately 88% of all CPU/GPU pairings deliver better results in this game. The bottleneck is unambiguous: the Intel Arc B390's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs means the graphics solution is the primary constraint, while the Ryzen 5 5600's 74th percentile among all CPUs shows substantial untapped processing headroom.

The Ryzen 5 5600's average benchmark score of 20468 places it nearly identical to its nearest rivals—just 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V at 20454, 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G at 20425, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9454P at 20363. This suggests the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class. Meanwhile, the Arc B390's average score of 1482 is 1.3% above the GT 520MX, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M, 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% above the GT 710—a cluster of legacy and low-end parts that frames the GPU's capability ceiling.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 89 FPS, which is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. At 1440p Low, it drops to 60 FPS exactly—playable but with no headroom. Everything else falls below 60 FPS, with 4K Ultra bottoming out at 14 FPS. This rank of 2530 reflects a system that can handle Evolve only at its lowest settings and lower resolutions, and even then, the experience is marginal.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low (89 FPS average) or 1440p Low (60 FPS average). At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 69 FPS, which is above 60 but with a minimum of 59 FPS indicating occasional dips below the threshold. All other settings and resolutions fail to reach 60 FPS on average.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo delivers consistently playable results across multiple settings. At 1080p, Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS, and High averages 54 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (60 FPS) reaches the playable threshold, while 4K never exceeds 34 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). These are all entry-level or legacy parts, indicating the B390's performance class.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600 the limiting factor in this combo?

A: No. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking among all processors and its benchmark scores—including 18309 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2584 in single-core—show it is a mid-range performer. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking and the FPS scaling patterns indicate the Arc B390 is the bottleneck.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings: 22 FPS at 4K, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 1080p. No minimum FPS data was recorded for Low, High, or Ultra settings in the measured results.

Q: How does this combo perform at Ultra settings?

A: Poorly across all resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, it averages 37 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, 25 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, 14 FPS. None of these are playable for a fast-paced FPS, and the frame rates suggest the GPU is overwhelmed by the graphical demands of Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear hierarchy of playability. For a consistent experience above 60 FPS, 1080p Low is the only setting that provides substantial headroom, averaging 89 FPS. This should be the default recommendation for competitive play where frame rate stability matters. If visual quality is a priority, 1080p Medium (69 FPS average, 59 FPS minimum) offers a compromise—it stays close to 60 FPS but will dip below on occasion, which may be noticeable in intense firefights.

At 1440p, Low is the only viable option, hitting exactly 60 FPS average. This could work for players with 1440p monitors who prioritize resolution over visual fidelity, but the lack of headroom means any demanding scene could push frames below 60. The 1440p Medium configuration (46 FPS average) and 1440p High (36 FPS average) are not recommended for smooth gameplay. At 4K, no settings are playable—even Low only reaches 34 FPS, which is below the threshold for a responsive FPS experience.

The Ultra preset is effectively unusable at any resolution, with frame rates ranging from 14 FPS at 4K to 37 FPS at 1080p. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 17 FPS (54 to 37), a 31% performance penalty that yields diminishing visual returns given the already low baseline. The data suggests that staying at Low or Medium at 1080p is the optimal balance between performance and playability for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results: Low averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 79, High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 37 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 52 FPS, representing a 58% drop in performance when maxing out settings. The Medium preset's 69 FPS average is notable because it is the only non-Low setting that remains above 60 FPS, though its 59 FPS minimum shows it is right at the edge.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops significantly across all settings. Low averages 60 FPS—exactly at the playability threshold—while Medium drops to 46 FPS (minimum 39, maximum 53), High to 36 FPS, and Ultra to 25 FPS. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs 29 FPS on Low (89 to 60), a 33% reduction, and 23 FPS on Medium (69 to 46), a 33% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop suggests a GPU-bound scenario where the additional pixels directly translate to lower frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 34 FPS, Medium 26 FPS (minimum 22, maximum 30), High 21 FPS, and Ultra 14 FPS. The progression from 1440p to 4K costs another 26 FPS on Low (60 to 34), a 43% reduction. Notably, the 4K Medium preset has the only complete min/max data across all resolutions, showing a 22 FPS minimum and 30 FPS maximum—a narrow band that indicates the GPU is consistently overwhelmed rather than experiencing intermittent spikes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound system with predictable scaling. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 89 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease) and then to 34 FPS at 4K (a 43% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 55 FPS, or 62%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 69 FPS at 1080p to 46 FPS at 1440p (33%) and then to 26 FPS at 4K (43%), matching the Low preset's scaling pattern almost exactly.

This consistent scaling behavior is a strong indicator that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor would be maxed out regardless of pixel count. Instead, every 2x increase in pixel count (1080p to 1440p is 1.78x pixels, 1440p to 4K is 2.25x pixels) produces nearly proportional FPS drops, which is the classic signature of a GPU that is saturated at all tested settings.

The Ryzen 5 5600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is clearly not the constraint here. Its single-thread score of 2584 in Cinebench R23 and 882 in 3DMark single-thread indicate it can handle the game's CPU demands at these frame rates. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 89 FPS while 4K Low only reaches 34 FPS—a 62% reduction—shows that the GPU is working progressively harder as resolution increases, while the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames. The scaling data makes it clear: upgrading the GPU would yield substantial FPS gains at all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

In benchmark tests, the Ryzen 5 5600 shows strong scaling from 2 to 8 threads: 3DMark scores are 1737 for 2 threads, 3313 for 4 threads, 4798 for 8 threads, and 5641 for 16 threads, with a max-thread score of 5659. This shows that the CPU benefits from additional threads up to its 12-thread count, but the gains diminish after 8 threads—from 4798 to 5659 is only an 18% increase, suggesting Evolve's engine doesn't fully utilize all available threads. The single-thread score of 882 in 3DMark and 2584 in Cinebench R23 indicate solid per-core performance for a mid-range processor.

For Evolve, a game released in 2015, the Ryzen 5 5600's processing power is more than sufficient. The game's engine likely relies heavily on single-thread performance, which the 5600 provides in abundance. The CPU's 74th percentile ranking among all processors, combined with its 20468 average benchmark score, places it in good company—just 0.1% behind the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G. The CPU's performance is not the issue; the data shows that even at 4K Ultra with 14 FPS, the processor is capable of delivering far more frames if the GPU could keep up. The Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking is the definitive bottleneck in this combination, and any meaningful upgrade to the graphics solution would unlock the Ryzen 5 5600's full potential in Evolve.