Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER presents a classic 1080p-oriented configuration. In Evolve, this combo demonstrates a clear performance ceiling dictated by the GPU, while the CPU provides ample headroom. The data reveals a system that handles competitive settings at Full HD but struggles to maintain playable framerates as resolution scales upward.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 123 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 83 FPS, a reduction of 40 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset yields just 47 FPS, which is a 76 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB frame buffer and 192-bit memory bus are quickly saturated at higher pixel counts.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is substantial, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 96 at 1080p to 64 at 1440p, then plummets to 37 at 4K. The 4K result also shows a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS, meaning the experience is not only slow but also stutter-prone. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput—5.027 TFLOPS FP32—becomes the hard limiting factor, far outweighing the CPU’s contribution.

The pattern holds across all presets. At High settings, the averages are 75 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. At Ultra, the numbers fall to 52, 35, and 20 FPS respectively. The 4K Ultra result of 20 FPS is effectively unplayable, and even the 1440p Ultra average of 35 FPS is marginal. Benchmark results indicate that this combo is designed for 1080p gaming; anything above that requires significant settings compromises that erode visual fidelity.

The fact that the 1080p Low preset hits 123 FPS while the 4K Low preset only reaches 47 FPS highlights that the GPU is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the constraint here. The 4K results across all presets are below 50 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the GTX 1660 SUPER cannot feed the display pipeline fast enough at that resolution, regardless of how much CPU headroom is available.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU and GPU combo in Evolve?*

A: The data clearly shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 52 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 123 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 35 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only averages 47 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where all presets remain at least playable.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER's memory configuration impact performance?

A: The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The 4K results show a dramatic performance collapse—29 FPS on High and 20 FPS on Ultra—which suggests that the memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for the higher texture and buffer demands at that resolution, causing the GPU to become the primary limiting factor.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F holding back the GTX 1660 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores and the FPS scaling pattern indicate it is not the bottleneck. The 8400F has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943. The FPS drops are proportional to resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU is likely providing more than enough processing power for the GTX 1660 SUPER to reach its full potential.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset averages 123 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 52 FPS. This represents a 71 FPS gap, or roughly a 58% reduction in average framerate when moving from the lowest to the highest visual quality settings at 1920x1080.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming if settings are lowered?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 83 FPS, which is smooth. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, which is also playable. However, the High preset at 50 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 35 FPS is not ideal for a fast-paced FPS game.

*Q: How does the combo's rank in Evolve compare to other tested systems?*

A: The combo ranks 3151 out of 3700 tested combinations in this game. This places it in the lower percentile of systems, meaning that while it is functional for 1080p, a majority of other tested CPU and GPU pairings deliver higher average framerates in Evolve.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and smooth performance, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended starting point. The data shows an average of 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. This ensures that the framerate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold for competitive play, while still providing a noticeable improvement over the Low preset's visual fidelity.

If the user prioritizes maximum smoothness and responsiveness over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice. It delivers an average of 123 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump from Low to Medium only costs 27 FPS on average, but the jump from Medium to High costs 21 FPS, and the jump from High to Ultra costs 23 FPS. The diminishing returns on the higher presets make Medium the sweet spot for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to the Low preset. It is the only preset that maintains a comfortable average above 60 FPS, hitting 83 FPS. The Medium preset at 64 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced games, but in a FPS, the 55 FPS minimum could lead to noticeable hitches during intense firefights. The High and Ultra presets at 50 FPS and 35 FPS respectively should be avoided for competitive play.

For 4K, the data suggests that this combo is not suitable for a good experience in Evolve. Even the Low preset at 47 FPS is below the ideal threshold, and the Medium preset's minimum of 31 FPS is likely to be frustrating. Users with a 4K display should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or 1080p in the game settings, as the GPU does not have enough headroom to provide a consistently smooth framerate at that native resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results are as follows. With the Low preset, the average FPS is 123. The Medium preset yields an average of 96 FPS, with a minimum of 81 and a maximum of 110. The High preset produces an average of 75 FPS. The Ultra preset brings the average down to 52 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops across the board. The Low preset averages 83 FPS. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 55 and a maximum of 74. The High preset averages 50 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 35 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. The Low preset averages 47 FPS. The Medium preset averages 37 FPS, with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 42. The High preset averages 29 FPS. The Ultra preset averages only 20 FPS.

The data shows a consistent scaling factor. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 71 FPS. At 1440p, that difference narrows to 48 FPS. At 4K, the difference shrinks to 27 FPS. This tightening of the FPS range at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU's pixel throughput, not the CPU's processing power, is the dominant constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Evolve, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3151 out of 3700. This places it in the bottom 15% of all tested systems for this game. The rank reflects the GPU's age and position in the hierarchy; it is an older mid-range card that is now outclassed by newer offerings.

The GPU's individual benchmark percentile is 53, meaning it performs better than 53% of all GPUs in the database. However, its average benchmark score of 12986 is only slightly higher than its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940 (a 0.4% difference). The CPU, on the other hand, has a much stronger percentile of 77, and its average benchmark score of 25005 is virtually identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964 (a 0.2% difference).

This contrast in component-level rankings versus the in-game combo rank is telling. The CPU is a strong performer, but the game's performance is heavily tied to the GPU. The combo rank of 3151 suggests that in Evolve, the GTX 1660 SUPER's limitations are the primary reason this system falls behind many others. The 6 GB VRAM and the 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are simply not competitive in a modern FPS title, even one from 2015.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Phoenix. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU's L3 cache is 16 MB shared. This hardware configuration is more than sufficient for the demands of Evolve, which is a game from 2015 that does not require extreme core counts.

The CPU's benchmark results support this conclusion. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943. The high single-core score is critical for gaming, as many game engines are still sensitive to single-threaded performance. The CPU also has a strong Passmark multithread score of 24389, indicating it can handle background tasks without impacting game performance.

In the context of this combo, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution. The FPS data shows a clear GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the system hits 123 FPS, which is high enough to show that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see the FPS plateau at a similar level across different resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which points directly to the GPU's rendering capabilities as the limiting factor.

The Ryzen 5 8400F's 12 threads and 4.70 GHz boost clock provide enough headroom for the GTX 1660 SUPER to operate at its maximum potential. The data suggests that even at 1080p Ultra, which averages 52 FPS, the CPU is not struggling. The system's rank of 3151 is not due to a weak processor; it is due to the graphics card's inability to keep pace with modern rendering demands at higher resolutions and settings.