Evolve

The pairing of AMD’s latest Zen 5 architecture with NVIDIA’s aging Pascal generation creates one of the most extreme bottlenecks in the database. The Ryzen 7 9700X is a top-tier 8-core processor, while the GTX 1050 Ti is a low-end GPU from 2016. This analysis examines how that imbalance manifests in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, and what the measured frame rates reveal about the limiting factors.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance rank of this combo in Evolve?*

A: The combo ranks 1678 out of 1695 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 1% of all configurations for this game. This is a very poor result, indicating that the system struggles to deliver acceptable performance.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 60.7 FPS, which occurs only at 1080p with Low settings. This is the sole configuration that crosses the 60 FPS threshold, and it does so by a narrow margin.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i5-14500HX, which scores 35940 (0.2% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802 (0.6% slower). It also trades blows with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and Ultra 5 225H.

Q: How does the GPU's synthetic performance stack up against its peers?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 5316, placing it in the 30th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce 930A, which scores 5317 (a 0% delta), showing the 1050 Ti is at the very bottom of the discrete GPU hierarchy.

Q: What is the frame rate drop when moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 60.7 FPS. At 4K Low, the average FPS drops to 25. This represents a 58.8% reduction in performance when the resolution is quadrupled.

Q: Given the high-end CPU, why are the frame rates so low?

A: The data indicates a severe GPU bottleneck. The GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB of VRAM and 112.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of higher resolutions and settings, causing the frame rates to collapse regardless of the CPU's capability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: this combination is only playable at the lowest settings and resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the system manages an average of 60.7 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that achieves a playable frame rate. Moving to Medium settings at 1080p drops the average to 50.1 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target.

For a smoother experience, the Low preset at 1080p is the only viable option. The data shows that the GTX 1050 Ti cannot handle the increased load of higher presets. At 1440p, even Low settings only yield 44.2 FPS, and at 4K, every preset falls below 25 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial, with Ultra producing only 25.1 FPS compared to Low's 60.7 FPS. This suggests that players should prioritize the Low preset to maintain a stable frame rate, as the visual upgrade from higher settings is not worth the significant performance cost.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 1678 out of 1695 places this system in the bottom 1% of all tested configurations for Evolve. This is a remarkably low ranking, indicating that the hardware pairing is fundamentally mismatched for this title. The data suggests that the GTX 1050 Ti is the primary constraint, as its performance percentile of 30% aligns closely with the system's overall poor showing in this game.

The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier performer. Its average benchmark score of 36029 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. This massive disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile explains the poor in-game results. The system is not limited by processing power but by the graphics card's inability to render frames quickly enough. The ranking underscores that Evolve is heavily GPU-bound in this configuration, and the Ryzen 7 9700X's potential is entirely untapped.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent trend across all resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 60.7 FPS on Low to 25.1 FPS on Ultra. The High preset manages 35.8 FPS, while Medium achieves 50.1 FPS. This shows a steep drop-off as settings increase, with Ultra being only 41% of the Low preset's performance.

At 1440p, the performance degrades further. Low settings produce 44.2 FPS, Medium drops to 32.6 FPS, and High falls to 22.5 FPS. The Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 16.9 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 27% of the frame rate at Low settings, but the absolute loss is more significant at higher presets.

At 4K, the system is overwhelmed. The Low preset yields 25 FPS, Medium drops to 18.1 FPS, High falls to 13.3 FPS, and Ultra manages only 12 FPS. These numbers are far below playable thresholds. The data shows that the GTX 1050 Ti's memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s and 4 GB VRAM are insufficient for 4K rendering, causing a dramatic performance collapse.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the decisive factor in this combo's performance. Its specifications—4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 112.1 GB/s bandwidth—are simply inadequate for Evolve at higher settings. The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce this: it scores 6340 in Passmark G3D and 26 in Passmark DirectX 12, placing it in the 30th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's clock speeds of 1291 MHz base and 1392 MHz boost are low by modern standards, and its FP32 performance of 2.138 TFLOPS is a fraction of what contemporary cards offer. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in every scenario. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 35.6 FPS, a 59% drop. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that runs out of memory bandwidth and shading power when the load increases.

The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (score 5317) and the AMD Radeon R7 240 (score 5280), are in the same performance class. This confirms that the 1050 Ti is not a gaming card for modern titles but rather an entry-level solution. In Evolve, it can only handle the lowest graphical demands.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a high-end processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and its benchmark scores are impressive. It scores 31588 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4459 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 36029, placing it in the 89th percentile.

However, in this combo, the CPU's performance is entirely irrelevant to the frame rates. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the CPU is a limiting factor. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would theoretically be most utilized, the system only achieves 60.7 FPS. This is far below what the Ryzen 7 9700X is capable of driving. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-14500HX and Core Ultra 9 185H, all have similar average scores, but none of that matters when the GPU cannot keep up.

The CPU's high thread count and clock speeds are wasted in this configuration. The data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would produce nearly identical frame rates in Evolve, as the GTX 1050 Ti is the sole constraint. This is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario, where the processor sits idle waiting for the graphics card to finish its work.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K provides clear evidence of a GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 60.7 at 1080p to 44.2 at 1440p (a 27% decrease) and then to 25 at 4K (a 59% decrease from 1080p). This scaling is not linear, which indicates that the GPU is running out of resources at higher resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the drop is even more severe. The system achieves 25.1 FPS at 1080p, 16.9 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is a 52% reduction. The fact that the frame rate does not halve when the pixel count quadruples suggests that the GPU is already completely saturated even at 1080p Ultra.

The resolution scaling data implies that the limiting component is the GTX 1050 Ti's memory subsystem. The 4 GB VRAM and 112.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the larger framebuffers required at 1440p and 4K. The CPU's performance is constant regardless of resolution, so the frame rate drop is entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to handle the increased workload. This confirms that the Ryzen 7 9700X is not the bottleneck, and upgrading the graphics card would yield massive improvements in this game.