Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, shows a wide performance spread across settings and resolutions when paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700. The measured data reveals a system capable of high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to determine the optimal configuration and the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset delivers the best experience at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields an average of 85 FPS, which is smooth, but the Medium preset achieves 156 FPS average with a minimum of 133 FPS. The High preset sits in between at 122 FPS. For a competitive FPS title, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance, providing a frame rate well above 144Hz territory while maintaining a strong minimum FPS of 133, which ensures minimal stutter. The Low preset pushes this to 201 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is substantial and likely unnecessary given the headroom.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more nuanced. The High preset delivers an average of 82 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset provides a much better experience with an average of 105 FPS and a minimum of 89 FPS, keeping the gameplay fluid. The Ultra preset drops to 57 FPS, which is borderline for a shooter. Therefore, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended choice; it keeps the frame rate well above 90 FPS on average and the minimum of 89 FPS ensures the action remains responsive.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a consistently high refresh rate. The High preset averages 47 FPS, which is playable for a slower-paced game but not ideal for Evolve's hunting and combat mechanics. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, which is the best playable option at this resolution, providing a stable 60 FPS experience. The Ultra preset falls to 32 FPS, which is not recommended for this genre. The Low preset averages 77 FPS but at a significant visual cost. The data suggests that for a 4K experience, the Medium preset is the only viable option, offering a stable 60 FPS average. Overall, the Medium preset provides the most consistent performance across all three resolutions, making it the default recommendation for this combo.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's memory configuration includes 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This substantial memory pool and bandwidth are critical for Evolve, which is a graphically demanding title with large, detailed environments. The 16 GB capacity ensures that texture data is not a bottleneck, even at 4K with High or Ultra settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a factor. The base clock is 1900 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The boost clock represents the maximum potential speed, and the game clock is the expected sustained speed during typical gaming loads. The difference between the game and boost clocks indicates that the card has thermal and power headroom to increase performance when needed. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not the primary limiting factor, as frame rates reach as high as 201 FPS on Low settings. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth become the bottleneck. The frame rate drops from 201 FPS at 1080p Low to 77 FPS at 4K Low, a reduction of over 60%, which directly corresponds to the increased pixel count and memory pressure.

The GPU's raw compute power is rated at 25.18 TFLOPS FP32, which is substantial. The measured FPS data suggests that this power is sufficient to handle Evolve's engine efficiently at 1440p and 1080p, but at 4K, the sheer pixel throughput demand limits performance. The GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 58, and its average benchmark score is 15852. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, has a nearly identical average score of 15862, a delta of -0.1%, indicating that the RX 7700 sits in a specific performance tier. However, the measured FPS in Evolve shows that this GPU is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience when paired with a capable CPU at mainstream resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1291 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places the combo in the 45th percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-pack result. This ranking indicates that while the system is not at the top end of performance, it is also far from the bottom, and it outperforms a significant portion of other hardware pairings tested in this game.

This ranking is a product of both components' capabilities. The CPU's average benchmark score is 25005, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score is 15852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The combo's in-game ranking is lower than the CPU's percentile, suggesting that the GPU is the more limiting factor in this specific title, as the CPU has more headroom relative to its peers. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, have an average score of 24964, a delta of 0.2%, meaning the 8400F is essentially on par with that chip. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has an average score of 16129, which is 1.7% higher, indicating that the RX 7700 is slightly behind that competing card in general compute. The combo rank of 1291 reflects the balance of these two components, showing that while the CPU is a strong performer, the GPU holds the system back from climbing higher in the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system exhibits excellent performance. On Low settings, the average FPS is 201, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. The Medium preset reduces this to an average of 156 FPS, with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS. High settings yield an average of 122 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 85 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear trade-off, but even at Ultra, the system maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS, ensuring playability.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings produce an average of 135 FPS, which is still very smooth. The Medium preset averages 105 FPS, with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. High settings deliver an average of 82 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to an average of 57 FPS. At this resolution, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, providing a high frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to struggle with higher settings. Low settings average 77 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, providing a stable experience. High settings drop to an average of 47 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to an average of 32 FPS. The data shows a clear cliff between Medium and High at 4K, indicating that the GPU's resources are exhausted beyond the Medium preset.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Medium is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra at all resolutions. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that are disproportionately demanding on the GPU, while the jump from Low to Medium is less taxing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and illustrates the performance scaling characteristics of this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 201 FPS. At 1440p Low, this drops to 135 FPS, a reduction of 33%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 77 FPS, a further 43% reduction from 1440p. This dramatic scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 1080p Medium, the average is 156 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 105 FPS (a 33% reduction), and at 4K Medium, it falls to 60 FPS (a 43% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across different settings suggest that the scaling is resolution-bound rather than settings-bound. The GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are being stressed more heavily as the number of pixels increases, leading to a predictable decrease in frame rates.

This scaling pattern also reveals the role of the CPU. At 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, the frame rates are high, suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS at lower resolutions, where the CPU's limits are reached. However, the FPS continues to scale with resolution, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component in this configuration. The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a steeper relative drop, which is typical for a GPU with a 256-bit memory bus, as the bandwidth requirements at 4K exceed what the card can efficiently provide at higher settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This modern Zen 4 architecture provides strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics. The CPU's single-thread benchmark scores are solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943.

In Evolve, which is a game that relies on both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, the 8400F proves to be more than adequate. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 201 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see frame rates cap out at a lower value regardless of resolution. The fact that FPS scales down as resolution increases indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 6165. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle the background tasks and game engine threading without issue. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for gaming, as it allows for faster access to frequently used data. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25005 places it in the 77th percentile, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, is essentially identical in performance with a delta of 0.2%. This confirms that the 8400F is a strong gaming CPU that pairs well with the RX 7700, providing ample headroom for the GPU to operate at its full potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use for a 1440p monitor with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides the best experience, with an average of 105 FPS and a minimum of 89 FPS. This offers a high, stable frame rate that is well-suited for an FPS title.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, which is playable. High settings drop to 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS, which are not recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005, while its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, has an average score of 24964. This represents a delta of 0.2%, meaning the 8400F is marginally faster.

Q: Is the GPU or the CPU more likely to be the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, from 201 FPS to 77 FPS on Low settings, while the CPU's performance remains sufficient to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Medium and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 156 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 85 FPS. This is a difference of 71 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding.

Q: How does the GPU's average benchmark score compare to that of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has a score of 16129. The RX 7700 is 1.7% slower than the RTX 3060 Ti in these benchmarks.