Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a playable, though aging, experience in Evolve, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. This combination ranks 2088th out of 3700 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower-middle tier of systems, which aligns with the GTX 1080 Ti's 58th percentile standing among all GPUs and the CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all processors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and steep performance curve as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally capable, with the High preset averaging 110 FPS and the Low preset pushing to 181 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the system is rarely strained, and the frame rates are high enough to support competitive play on most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are significant but leave the system in a solid playable state. The High preset falls from 110 FPS to 74 FPS, a 36 FPS reduction. Low settings at 1440p still produce 121 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset sits at 94 FPS, showing that the system can handle this resolution comfortably when settings are moderated.

The transition to 3840x2160 (4K) is where the hardware begins to show its limits. High settings at 4K produce only 42 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K still manages 69 FPS, making it the only settings tier at this resolution to hit a comfortable playability threshold. Medium at 4K drops to 54 FPS, and Ultra falls to just 29 FPS, which is borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K on High settings shows a 68 FPS drop (110 to 42), representing a 62% reduction in frame rate. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the workload shifts fully onto the GPU's rendering capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration for Evolve, particularly as resolution climbs. Its 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not enough to prevent the frame rate collapse seen at 4K Ultra. The GPU's base clock of 1481 MHz and boost clock of 1582 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the 3584 shading units are the workhorses that must process the game's effects.

The GPU's benchmark results show a mixed profile. In synthetic tests, it scores 18600 on Passmark G3D and 67929 on Geekbench OpenCL, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, which scores 0.8% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, which scores 1.7% lower. This puts the 1080 Ti in a competitive bracket with mid-range cards from several generations later, but its age shows in the DirectX 12 performance, where it scores only 66 on Passmark. The data suggests that while the card has ample raw compute power for older titles like Evolve, its architectural limitations (Pascal, 16nm) prevent it from efficiently handling the most demanding settings at high resolutions.

The 4K Ultra result of 29 FPS is particularly telling. At this setting, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed, with the frame rate dropping below 30 FPS, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive. The gap between Low (69 FPS) and High (42 FPS) at 4K highlights how sensitive this GPU is to the game's visual fidelity settings. Reducing settings from High to Low at 4K recovers 27 FPS, which is a 64% improvement, proving that adjusting graphics options is the most effective way to maintain playability with this older card.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 appears to be the sweet spot for this combo. It delivers an average of 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS, providing smooth, consistent performance without requiring the user to sacrifice too much visual quality. The min FPS of 80 ensures that even in intense combat scenarios, the frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is equally compelling, offering 140 FPS average with a minimum of 119 FPS. This is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, providing a fluid experience that maximizes the GTX 1080 Ti's potential without pushing the CPU into a limiting role. The High preset at 1080p (110 FPS) is also viable, but the jump to Medium provides a 27% performance increase for what is likely a minimal visual difference.

For 4K users, the Low preset is the only sensible choice, yielding 69 FPS. While this requires significant visual compromises, it is the only way to achieve a playable frame rate at this resolution. The Medium preset at 4K (54 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra at 29 FPS should be avoided entirely. The data strongly suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for less demanding titles or those willing to accept Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2088 out of 3700 tested combinations places it in the 56th percentile of all systems tested for Evolve. This is a middling position, which is surprising given the CPU's strong 77th percentile ranking among all processors. The discrepancy highlights the GPU's relative weakness; the GTX 1080 Ti's 58th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down. In practical terms, this means that while the Ryzen 5 8400F has headroom to spare, the GTX 1080 Ti cannot fully utilize it in this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 0.2% higher in average benchmark, and the Intel Core i7-13620H, which scores 0.4% higher. The GPU's nearest rivals show that the Radeon Pro W5500 is 0.8% faster, while the GTX 580 is 1.7% slower. These deltas are small, indicating that the combo's performance is tightly clustered with other mid-range pairings. The rank suggests that users of this system will have performance comparable to many other builders, but they should not expect top-tier results in Evolve.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its capabilities are more than sufficient for Evolve. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, the CPU has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its synthetic benchmarks are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, placing it at the 77th percentile of all CPUs.

In Evolve, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 181 FPS, a remarkably high frame rate that suggests the CPU is not limiting performance. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system manages 76 FPS, which indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to maintain decent frame rates. The 3DMark benchmarks show the CPU scales well with thread count, scoring 1874 on 2 threads, 3563 on 4 threads, and 6165 on max threads, demonstrating solid multi-threaded performance for a 6-core part.

However, the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rates are almost entirely dictated by the GPU, as seen by the sharp drop from 1080p to 4K. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (83.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for this game, which is not particularly CPU-intensive by modern standards. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 8400F is not the bottleneck in any measured configuration; the GTX 1080 Ti is always the limiting factor past 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions.

1920x1080:

• Low: 181 FPS average — This is the highest frame rate recorded for the entire combo, showcasing the system's peak capability when visual demands are minimal.
• Medium: 140 FPS average, with a minimum of 119 FPS and maximum of 161 FPS. The min FPS suggests stability even in heavy scenes.
• High: 110 FPS average — A solid 60+ FPS experience that is smooth and responsive.
• Ultra: 76 FPS average — Still very playable, proving the combo can handle maximum settings at 1080p.

2560x1440:

• Low: 121 FPS average — Excellent for 1440p, maintaining high refresh rates.
• Medium: 94 FPS average (min 80, max 108) — The best balance of quality and speed at this resolution.
• High: 74 FPS average — Playable, but the drop from 1080p High (110 FPS) shows the GPU is working harder.
• Ultra: 51 FPS average — Marginal for smooth play; the frame rate dips below 60 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter.

3840x2160:

• Low: 69 FPS average — The only 4K setting that achieves a playable frame rate, though it requires significant visual compromises.
• Medium: 54 FPS average (min 45, max 62) — The min FPS of 45 indicates occasional drops into uncomfortable territory.
• High: 42 FPS average — Below the 60 FPS target, making it suboptimal for a competitive FPS.
• Ultra: 29 FPS average — Effectively unplayable for fast-paced action; the game will feel laggy and unresponsive.

The data across all resolution and settings combinations shows a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles at 4K. The differences between Low and Ultra settings are dramatic, with the 1080p Low to Ultra spread being 105 FPS (181 to 76), and the 4K Low to Ultra spread being 40 FPS (69 to 29). This highlights the GTX 1080 Ti's sensitivity to graphical load, making settings management crucial for maintaining a good experience. The combo is best utilized at 1080p Medium or High, or 1440p Medium, where it delivers strong performance without pushing the aging GPU past its limits.