Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, presents an interesting scaling pattern for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates exceptionally high at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers indicate about the hardware’s balance and in-game behavior.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is sharp and consistent across all settings, clearly identifying the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 as the primary performance limiter as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 264.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 177.8 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 86.9 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 101.3 FPS, meaning the 4K result is roughly 38% of the 1080p performance. This dramatic scaling indicates that while the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, the GPU’s compute and memory resources are saturated at higher pixel counts.

The trend is similar for High settings, where the average falls from 161 FPS at 1080p to 109.1 FPS at 1440p, and then to 61.5 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with a 110.3 FPS average at 1080p plunging to 76.7 FPS at 1440p and finally to 40.7 FPS at 4K. This pattern suggests that the gap between 1080p and 1440p is significant but manageable, while the jump to 4K imposes a near-halving of frame rates across all presets, confirming that 4K is the most demanding scenario for this GPU.

The data implies that at 1080p, particularly on Low and Medium settings, the system is likely not fully GPU-bound, as the high frame rates suggest the CPU has headroom. However, the Ryzen 7 5700X’s 3DMark single-thread score of 921 and 16-thread score of 6858 indicate a capable processor that can drive high frame rates without bottlenecking the RTX 4070 in most scenarios. The 4K results, however, show a clear GPU limitation, as the RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are stretched by the higher pixel load.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 40.7 FPS. This is the lowest score in the dataset, indicating that Ultra at 4K is only suitable for less demanding play.

Q: How much faster is Low vs. Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 264.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 110.3 FPS. This represents a 154.4 FPS difference, meaning Low is roughly 2.4 times faster than Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rates range from 76.7 FPS on Ultra to 177.8 FPS on Low. The substantial drop from 1080p scores, especially on Low settings (264.7 to 177.8), indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, though the CPU still provides enough throughput for high frame rates.

Q: What is the best result for the system in this game?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 264.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only result exceeding 250 FPS, showing the system’s peak capability in this title.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) and 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371). It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135) by 2.2%.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700X a strong match for this GPU?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 26214, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its performance is nearly identical to the Intel Core i9-11900KF (26196, delta 0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (26272, delta -0.2%), indicating a solid mid-range processor that complements the GPU well.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the decisive factor in Evolve’s higher-resolution performance. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a constraint at 4K. The GPU’s base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz allow for significant compute throughput, reflected in its FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU’s passmark G3D score is 26927, while its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3854, demonstrating strong raw compute.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU’s role clearly. At 1080p Low, the 264.7 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, as the CPU’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz can likely process game logic faster than the GPU can render frames. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s shading units (5888) and texture units (184) are tasked with more work, leading to the observed frame rate declines. At 4K Ultra, the 40.7 FPS average indicates the GPU is heavily loaded, and the 12 GB VRAM may be near capacity with high-resolution textures.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 81 versus all GPUs places it above average, but its nearest rivals in synthetic scores include the RX Vega 56 and MX570 A, which are older or lower-tier parts. In Evolve, the RTX 4070’s performance is more aligned with its 4K capability, where it provides playable frame rates on Medium (78.6 FPS) but struggles on Ultra (40.7 FPS). The boost clock behavior is critical here, as sustained boosts are necessary to maintain the 61.5 FPS average at 4K High, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience at 1920x1080, the High preset is the optimal choice, offering a 161 FPS average. This is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors, and it maintains visual fidelity without the extreme cost of Ultra (110.3 FPS). The Medium preset (205.5 FPS) is a viable alternative for competitive play, but High provides a better visual-to-performance ratio for most users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again stands out with a 109.1 FPS average, which is excellent for 1440p gaming. The Medium preset (136.2 FPS) offers even higher frame rates, but the visual quality difference might be noticeable. The Ultra preset (76.7 FPS) is playable but dips below the 80 FPS mark, making High the recommended preset for a smooth 1440p experience.

For 4K (3840x2160), the data strongly suggests using the Medium preset, which delivers a 78.6 FPS average. This is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS comfortably, making it the sweet spot for this resolution. The High preset (61.5 FPS) is marginally playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, while Low (101.3 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality for the frame rate gain. Ultra (40.7 FPS) should be avoided for serious play, as it falls below playable thresholds. Overall, the Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, while High at 1080p and 1440p is the recommended default.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. The Low preset averages 264.7 FPS, which is the peak score in the entire dataset. Medium follows with 205.5 FPS, then High at 161 FPS, and Ultra at 110.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 154.4 FPS drop, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU, reducing frame rates by more than half compared to Low.

At 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 177.8 FPS, Medium 136.2 FPS, High 109.1 FPS, and Ultra 76.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 101.1 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but still substantial. The High preset remains above 100 FPS, making it a strong choice for 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop considerably. Low averages 101.3 FPS, dropping below the 1080p High result (161 FPS). Medium averages 78.6 FPS, High averages 61.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 40.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 60.6 FPS, showing that the GPU’s limitations become more pronounced at higher pixel counts. Notably, the 4K Low result (101.3 FPS) is still faster than the 1440p Ultra result (76.7 FPS), highlighting how settings have a greater impact on performance than resolution in this configuration.

Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset consistently yields the lowest frame rates, while Low yields the highest. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 can handle 1080p and 1440p with high settings comfortably, but 4K requires a reduction to Medium or High to maintain playable frame rates. The combo’s rank of 400 out of 1695 combinations in this game indicates it is a strong performer, though not the absolute top-tier setup.