Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 3,151st out of 3,700 tested combos when running Evolve, placing it in the bottom 15 percent of all tested system pairings for this title. This is a pairing of a modern, high-end 2024 desktop processor with an end-of-life 2019 graphics card, and the benchmark data for Evolve reflects that lopsided union: the CPU is among the strongest available (it sits in the 81st percentile of all CPUs in general benchmarks), while the GPU sits at only the 53rd percentile, which is a statistical dead heat with several mobile and aging parts. Because Evolve is a 2015 FPS title, the question becomes whether the old GPU is still capable of delivering a smooth experience at modern resolutions, and the measured FPS numbers reveal a card that can handle the game at reasonable settings but collapses under the weight of 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 3,150 out of 3,700 places this pairing in the bottom 2% of all combos tested for Evolve. That is a surprisingly low position when the components individually appear reasonable, but the data explains why: the GTX 1660 SUPER is a GPU that sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, meaning roughly half of all graphics cards are faster, and the game's frame rates at high resolutions suffer accordingly. The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer—the Ryzen 5 9600X reaches the 81st percentile of all CPUs, and its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,253 is very high. In a game like Evolve, which was designed for the hardware of 2015, the CPU is far more capable than what the game demands, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor. This explains the low combo rank: the pairing is held back entirely by the graphics card, particularly at 4K, where the game's Ultra settings are unplayable. The data shows that this combination is best treated as a 1080p or 1440p system, not a 4K machine.

The measured FPS strongly support this. At 1,920x1,080, the lowest preset yields 123 FPS, which is enough for high-refresh monitors, and High is 75 FPS, which is fine for a standard 60 Hz screen. At 2,560x1,440, the numbers drop to 83 FPS for Low and 50 FPS for High. It is only at 3,840x2,160 that the game becomes marginal: even Low only produces 47 FPS, and Medium drops to 37 FPS, with an average of 31 FPS as the minimum. The data indicates that this combo is a 1080p performer, and the low combo rank reflects that any jumps to 1440p or 4K will be met with weak performance. The GPU's 6 GB of VRAM and its 192-bit memory bus are enough for older titles like Evolve at 1080p, but the GPU's 5.0 TFLOPS of compute is simply too low for high-resolution gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 75 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. That is a very playable number, sitting right in the middle of what most gamers consider the minimum for a smooth experience.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in this title?

A: The data indicates that 4K is not a viable option. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 47 FPS, and Medium drops to 37 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS. At Ultra, the average is just 20 FPS, which is unplayable.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12,986, which is 0.4% higher than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile's score of 12,940. That is a negligible difference, meaning they perform virtually identically in synthetic tests, though real-world game performance can vary.

Q: What about the CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29,713, which is within 0.8% of all of its nearest rivals. For example, the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 29,955 (0.8% higher), and the Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29,879 (0.6% higher). The 9600X is essentially on par with those chips.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor. At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread strength is more than enough, but the GPU's performance at 1080p High is 75 FPS, and at 4K High drops to 29 FPS. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1,253 is far higher than what a 2015 FPS needs.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The sweet spot is 1920x1080 with High settings, delivering 75 FPS, or Low at 123 FPS. At 1440p, High drops to 50 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid. 4K is not sensible.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo is capable of high frame rates: Low yields 123 FPS, Medium 96 FPS, and High 75 FPS. Moving to 1440p, those numbers fall to 83 FPS for Low, 64 FPS for Medium, and 50 FPS for High. At 4K, the performance collapses: Low drops to 47 FPS, Medium to 37 FPS, and High to just 29 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings is a 62% reduction in FPS (from 75 FPS to 29 FPS), which is a dramatic loss that is typical for a GPU-limited system.

The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The GTX 1660 SUPER's compute of 5.0 TFLOPS and memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s are insufficient to fill the pixel count at 4K, and the 6 GB VRAM is not the issue; rather, the GPU's raw throughput is simply too low. The CPU's role is minimal at 4K, as it is not required to work as hard due to the low frame rate. This is evident in the 4K Medium average of 37 FPS, which is exactly the same as the 1080p Medium's 96 FPS, but that is a massive drop in the FPS per pixel.

At 1080p, the GPU can often keep up, but at 4K, the pixel load becomes too heavy. The fact that 1080p Low produces 123 FPS vs 4K Low producing 47 FPS shows the GPU is the primary driver of the performance difference; a CPU bottleneck would not cause such a massive drop in FPS when resolution increases. The 4K numbers are all below 60 FPS, even at Low, which is a definite sign that the GPU is the weak link. The 1440p data sits in between, showing that the combo is more balanced there, but still GPU-limited at High and Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is broken down by resolution and a quality preset, with average, and sometimes minimum and maximum FPS recorded.

1920x1080 (Full HD):

• Low: 123 FPS average.
• Medium: 96 FPS average, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS.
• High: 75 FPS average.
• Ultra: 52 FPS average.

At 1080p, the combo is clearly capable of smooth gameplay. Low and Medium are far above the 60 FPS threshold, and High is still above 60 FPS. Even Ultra manages 52 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS line but still playable. The fact that 1080p Ultra (52 FPS) is still faster than 1440p High (50 FPS) shows that the GPU has a significant pixel load to handle.

2560x1440 (Quad HD):

• Low: 83 FPS average.
• Medium: 64 FPS average, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS.
• High: 50 FPS average.
• Ultra: 35 FPS average.

At 1440p, the performance is still acceptable for most gamers. Low and Medium are above 60 FPS, but High drops to 50 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. Ultra is barely 35 FPS, which is too stuttery for comfortable play.

3840x2160 (4K Ultra HD):

• Low: 47 FPS average.
• Medium: 37 FPS average, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS.
• High: 29 FPS average.
• Ultra: 20 FPS average.

At 4K, the combo is not viable. Even Low is below 60 FPS, Medium is below 30 FPS, and High and Ultra are unplayable. The minimum FPS of 31 FPS at Medium shows that there are significant frame drops, likely during intense action sequences. The 4K numbers are a clear indicator that the GPU is not meant for this resolution.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K results in a roughly 40-50% drop in FPS at the same settings. This is a sign of a GPU-limited system, as CPU load does not scale with resolution. The Ultra preset at 1080p (52 FPS) is still faster than the 1440p Ultra (35 FPS), which is a 33% drop when moving up one resolution step.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience is at 1920x1080 with High settings, which delivers 75 FPS. This is a solid balance between visual quality and performance, especially for a 60 Hz monitor. For gamers with a high-refresh monitor (144 Hz), Low settings at 1080p are the only way to get close: 123 FPS is enough to take advantage of a 120 Hz display, though it is not perfectly smooth. Medium at 1080p (96 FPS) is also an excellent option.

At 1440p, High settings yield 50 FPS, which is playable for slower-paced games but may feel stuttery in a fast FPS. Medium at 1440p (64 FPS) is a better choice for a 60 Hz monitor, but 64 FPS is still a bit short of 60 FPS. Low at 1440p (83 FPS) is the best option for competitive play, but the visual quality is low.

At 4K, the only option that is close to playable is Low at 47 FPS, but that is below the 60 FPS standard. Medium is 37 FPS, and High and Ultra are 29 FPS and 20 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended for any level of play.

The data suggests that the best experience for most gamers will be 1080p with High or Medium settings. High gives 75 FPS, which is a good visual quality, and Medium gives 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS, which ensures a smoother experience. Ultra at 1080p is 52 FPS, which is not worth the visual gain for a 20 FPS drop from High. The game's art style and fast-paced nature means a higher FPS is more important than a few extra shadows, so Medium is the recommended setting for aggressive play, while High is for those who want a visual upgrade.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), built on a 4nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 1,253 in 3DMark single-thread, which is a strong number. It is in the top 81st percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE—is only 0.2% behind, meaning the 9600X is a top-tier CPU.

In Evolve, a game from 2015, the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p, the game can produce 123 FPS with Low settings, which means the CPU can feed the GPU enough data. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,253 and multi-thread scores of 7,590 (max threads) indicate that the CPU is more than capable of a 2015 title. Even at 1080p Ultra (52 FPS), the CPU is not the limiting factor. The fact that FPS drops from 1080p to 4K is a direct result of the GPU's inability to handle the pixel count, not the CPU.

The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Evolve, which was built for the 6-core/12-thread era of 2015. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is high, but the game's engine is not highly parallel, so single-thread performance is more important. The CPU's single-thread performance in CineBench R23 is 2,183.5, which is a high score, and the Geekbench single-core of 2,923 is also strong. This ensures that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the CPU's power is wasted because the GPU is too slow.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this setup. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 123 FPS, and the CPU is capable of that. The CPU's 65W TDP and 6-core design are more than enough for this game, and the 9600X is likely not breaking a sweat. The 32 MB of L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth are also more than sufficient.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a Turing-architecture card with 1,408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1,530 MHz and a boost clock of 1,785 MHz. It has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its performance is rated at 5.0 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It is in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a score of 12,940, which is 0.4% behind.

The GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting factor in this setup for Evolve. At 1080p, it can maintain a 75 FPS average at High settings, but it drops to 50 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K. This is typical of a GPU that has enough raw power for 1080p but not for higher resolutions. The 5.0 TFLOPS is not enough to fill the 4K pixel count at acceptable frame rates. The 6 GB VRAM is not the issue, as the game's textures are not demanding, but the compute is.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is also a factor. At 4K, the bandwidth is still enough, but the compute is not. The 12nm TU116 chip is a mid-range GPU from 2019, and it was never intended for 4K gaming. The data shows that the GPU can handle 1080p easily, with 1080p Low at 123 FPS and High at 75 FPS. The GPU's performance at 4K is poor, with High at 29 FPS and Ultra at 20 FPS.

The GPU's 53rd percentile is a reflection of its overall performance, and in Evolve, this is further emphasized. The GPU's memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and 192-bit bus are good for 1080p, but not for 4K. The 20 frame average at 4K is a clear sign that the GPU is not up to the task. The data suggests that the GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and users should not expect to use this card at 4K for any demanding title.

In summary, the GPU is the bottleneck. Its performance is directly responsible for the frame rate targets at each resolution. A stronger GPU would increase the FPS at all resolutions (since the CPU is not a bottleneck), but the user would have to compromise on resolution or settings. The 1660 SUPER is a mid-range GPU, and its performance in Evolve is exactly what a mid-range GPU from 2019 would provide.