Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a combination that targets 1080p and 1440p gaming in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The data shows this combo ranks 2450 out of 2872 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of the database. The GPU is the older component, released in October 2019, while the CPU launched in November 2025, creating a significant generational gap that shapes the performance profile. The GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth and boosts to 1785 MHz, while the Ryzen 5 7500X3D provides six cores, twelve threads, and a 96 MB shared L3 cache. The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four quality settings reveals a system that can handle Evolve at playable framerates in most configurations, but struggles at 4K with higher presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?

A: According to the measured rows, 1080p delivers the highest average FPS across all settings, from 123 FPS at Low to 52 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the range drops to 83 FPS at Low and 35 FPS at Ultra, while 4K only manages between 47 FPS at Low and 20 FPS at Ultra. The data indicates 1080p is the sweet spot for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 580 (12928). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M2090 (13075) by 0.7% and leads the AMD Radeon 740M (12870) by 0.9%. These deltas are small, indicating near-parity performance within its peer group.

Q: What is the CPU’s percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D sits in the 89th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44573. This places it well above the median, with its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600, scoring 44889 and outperforming it by 0.7%.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable framerates at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 64, with a minimum of 55 and a maximum of 74. This indicates a stable experience above the 60 FPS threshold, making it a viable option for 1440p gaming in Evolve.

Q: How does the GPU’s VRAM capacity affect high-resolution performance?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory. At 4K resolution, the average FPS drops to 29 at High and 20 at Ultra, suggesting that the VRAM capacity may be a limiting factor at these demanding settings, as the GPU must manage larger textures and frame buffers.

Q: What is the CPU’s launch MSRP, and how does it rank in the combo’s context?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has a launch MSRP of $269. In the context of this combo, it is a modern processor paired with an end-of-life GPU, which means the CPU’s high multithreaded capabilities (25047 in Passmark multithread) are not fully utilized by the GPU’s constraints in Evolve.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary rendering component in this combo, and its specifications directly influence the measured FPS in Evolve. The GPU features a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units, with a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 5.027 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for a 2015 title like Evolve. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for handling texture data at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s role becomes clear when examining the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the GTX 1660 SUPER delivers 123 FPS at Low settings, showing that the GPU can easily handle the game’s minimum requirements. However, as resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU’s workload expands, and the average FPS drops accordingly. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 20, which is unplayable, indicating that the GPU’s 6 GB VRAM and 5.027 TFLOPS are insufficient for maximum settings at that resolution. The GPU’s 53rd percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12986, places it in the mid-range, and its nearest rivals show similar performance levels, confirming that it is a capable but not high-end card.

The 12 nm process node and 6,600 million transistors on a 284 mm² die contribute to its 125 W TDP, which is manageable for most systems. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with Evolve’s rendering requirements. The boost clock of 1785 MHz is relatively high for its class, which helps maintain performance in less demanding scenes. However, the data shows that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings, as the CPU’s capabilities far exceed what the GPU can deliver in terms of raw framerate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired smoothness. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields an average of 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 and a maximum of 110, providing a balanced experience with good visual fidelity and a framerate well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p drops to 75 FPS average, which is still playable but loses the headroom of Medium. For competitive play, the Low preset at 123 FPS offers the highest refresh rate potential, but the visual quality suffers. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS average is borderline, with dips potentially noticeable during intense action.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the best choice, delivering 64 FPS average with a minimum of 55 and maximum of 74. This is the only 1440p setting that consistently stays near or above 60 FPS. The High preset at 50 FPS average is playable but may stutter in busy scenes, while Low at 83 FPS is faster but sacrifices detail. Ultra at 35 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, none of the settings provide a consistently smooth experience; Low at 47 FPS is the highest average, but even this dips below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 37 FPS and High at 29 FPS are marginal, while Ultra at 20 FPS is unplayable.

The data suggests that the best experience is achieved at 1080p with Medium settings, as it offers a framerate that is more than sufficient for a fast-paced FPS, while maintaining a reasonable level of visual quality. For users with 1440p monitors, Medium is the only viable preset that balances performance and quality. The measured min and max FPS values for Medium at both resolutions (81-110 at 1080p, 55-74 at 1440p) indicate that the framerate is stable, with no severe drops. This stability is important for a game like Evolve, where consistent performance is key to gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 123 at Low to 52 at Ultra. The Low preset achieves 123 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset, indicating that the GPU is not stressed at this resolution with minimal settings. The Medium preset yields 96 FPS average, with a minimum of 81 and maximum of 110, showing a narrow variance that suggests consistent performance. High drops to 75 FPS, and Ultra falls to 52 FPS, which is still above the 30 FPS playability threshold but not ideal for a competitive shooter.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS decreases across all settings. Low delivers 83 FPS, Medium 64 FPS (with min 55, max 74), High 50 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is notable, with the Low preset losing 40 FPS and Ultra losing 17 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s rendering workload scales significantly with resolution. The Medium preset at 1440p remains playable, with the minimum of 55 FPS ensuring that most gameplay stays smooth, although dips below 60 FPS are possible.

At 3840x2160, the performance degrades further. Low averages 47 FPS, Medium 37 FPS (with min 31, max 42), High 29 FPS, and Ultra 20 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min of 31 FPS, which is below the standard playability threshold, making it unsuitable for regular play. The High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable, with average FPS in the 20-30 range. The data reveals that this combo is not designed for 4K gaming in Evolve, as even the lowest settings fail to maintain 60 FPS.

The absence of min and max FPS for most settings (only Medium presets have them) limits the analysis of frame pacing, but the available data shows that Medium at any resolution has a stable range. For example, at 1080p Medium, the spread is 81-110 FPS, a 29 FPS difference, while at 1440p Medium, it is 55-74 FPS, a 19 FPS difference. This suggests that the GPU can maintain consistent performance when not pushed to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K illustrates the GPU’s limitations and the role of the CPU in this combo. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 123, which drops to 83 at 1440p Low (a 32.5% decrease) and further to 47 at 4K Low (a 61.8% decrease from 1080p). For Medium settings, the progression is 96 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p (a 33.3% decrease), and 37 FPS at 4K (a 61.5% decrease). The High preset shows 75 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p (a 33.3% decrease), and 29 FPS at 4K (a 61.3% decrease). Ultra follows a similar pattern: 52 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (a 32.7% decrease), and 20 FPS at 4K (a 61.5% decrease).

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings is telling. The FPS decreases by roughly one-third from 1080p to 1440p and then by another one-third from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the quality preset. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the resolution increase directly impacts the pixel count and fill rate requirements. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s 48 ROPs and 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient to maintain higher framerates at 4K, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck.

The CPU’s role in this scaling is secondary. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has a boost clock of 4.50 GHz and a Passmark single-thread score of 3494, which is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU can likely push framerates beyond what the GPU can render, as evidenced by the high FPS at Low settings. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s rendering time grows, and the CPU’s frame generation becomes less critical. The data shows that the FPS scaling is smooth and predictable, indicating that the GPU is fully utilized at all resolutions, with the CPU providing adequate support without becoming a bottleneck.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a modern six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads. The CPU’s Passmark multithread score is 25047, and its single-thread score is 3494, with a physics score of 2779. These numbers place it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong performance for a desktop processor.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI, which are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded tasks. The single-thread score of 3494 is high, suggesting that the CPU can quickly process game instructions, minimizing frame time overhead. The 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial for gaming, as it reduces memory latency and improves data access for frequently used assets. The CPU’s memory support includes DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, which provides fast data transfer to the GPU, though the GPU’s 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is the primary path for rendering data.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (avg score 44466, deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309, deltaPct 0.6), all of which it slightly outperforms in average benchmark score. The Intel Core i5-14600 (44889) outperforms it by 0.7%. These small deltas indicate that the CPU is competitive with top-tier mobile and desktop processors, but its performance in Evolve is likely limited by the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 123 FPS, which is high but not exceptional, suggesting that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The CPU’s 65 W TDP is low for its performance level, which is a benefit for system thermals, but this does not directly impact game performance. The CPU’s release date of November 2025 and launch MSRP of $269 make it a recent addition, but its pairing with an end-of-life GPU (GTX 1660 SUPER, released October 2019) creates an imbalance. The CPU’s capabilities are far ahead of the GPU, meaning that in Evolve, the GPU will almost always be the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2450 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the 14.7th percentile of all combos. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s age and performance level, as the GTX 1660 SUPER is an end-of-life product with a 53rd percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU, in contrast, is a high-performing modern processor, but its contribution to the ranking is overshadowed by the GPU’s limitations. The data shows that the combo’s measured FPS is heavily dependent on the GPU, with the CPU providing a stable foundation but not compensating for the GPU’s deficiencies.

The combo’s ranking suggests that it is not a top-tier choice for Evolve, but it is not the worst either. The 2872 tested combos include a wide range of hardware, and this pairing falls in the lower-mid range. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580, have similar benchmark scores, indicating that this combo would perform similarly to systems with those GPUs. However, the CPU’s high percentile (89th) means that the combo is CPU-heavy, which could benefit other games or applications that are more processor-intensive.

In the context of Evolve, the combo’s performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium settings, but it cannot handle 4K or ultra settings. The measured FPS at 1080p Medium (96 FPS) is above the 60 FPS target, and at 1440p Medium (64 FPS) it is playable, but the Ultra presets at any resolution are not recommended. The ranking of 2450 out of 2872 reflects this reality, as many other combos with newer GPUs will outperform it. The data indicates that users with this combo should stick to 1080p or 1440p with Medium settings to get the best experience, as higher settings will result in sub-30 FPS at 4K and sub-60 FPS at 1440p Ultra.

The imbalance between the CPU and GPU is a key factor in the ranking. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a powerful processor that could drive much faster GPUs, but the GTX 1660 SUPER holds it back in Evolve. This is evident in the FPS scaling, where the CPU’s high single-thread performance does not translate into higher framerates at 4K, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The combo’s rank of 2450 is a direct consequence of this GPU limitation, and it suggests that users looking for better performance in Evolve would need to upgrade the GPU rather than the CPU.