Evolve

# Evolve with AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER

The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a system that is firmly GPU-limited in Evolve, with the measured frame rates showing a clear and consistent pattern of degradation as resolution climbs. This combination ranks 1491st out of 1695 tested combos in the game, placing it in the lower percentile of systems, which aligns with the GTX 1660 SUPER's 55th percentile standing among all GPUs. The Ryzen 7 9700X, by contrast, sits at the 89th percentile among CPUs, meaning the processor is doing far more heavy lifting than the graphics card can keep up with at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic drop as resolution increases, confirming that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 122.2 FPS, but this falls to 83.7 FPS at 1440p and 49.6 FPS at 4K. That represents a 59.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a steep decline that points squarely at the GPU's pixel-pushing capabilities rather than any CPU constraint.

Moving to Medium settings, the pattern holds: 94.1 FPS at 1080p, 66.5 FPS at 1440p, and 36.6 FPS at 4K. High settings follow with 77.8 FPS, 48.8 FPS, and 26.8 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the numbers reflect that harshly: 54.2 FPS at 1080p, 37.5 FPS at 1440p, and just 18.3 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is 16.7 FPS, while the gap from 1440p to 4K is 19.2 FPS, showing that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are exhausted quickly.

The scaling behavior indicates that at 1080p, the system can approach playability on lower presets, but the 4K results are uniformly below 50 FPS across all settings, with even Low dropping to 49.6 FPS. This is a GPU that struggles with 4K in Evolve, and the data suggests that 1080p is the practical ceiling for this combo. The Ryzen 7 9700X's 8 cores and 16 threads are not the limiting factor here; the frame rate drops are too consistent with a pure GPU-bound scenario.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9700X brings substantial compute resources to this pairing, with 8 cores and 16 threads running on the Zen 5 architecture at Granite Ridge. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, which matters for a game like Evolve that relies on consistent frame pacing. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459 indicate excellent per-core capability, yet the measured FPS in Evolve never approaches what this CPU could theoretically support if paired with a stronger GPU.

The benchmark data shows the CPU's multicore strength: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588, Geekbench multicore of 17002, and Passmark multithread of 37161. These numbers position the Ryzen 7 9700X well above the GTX 1660 SUPER's needs in this game. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14500HX at 0.2% higher average score, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 at 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H at 0.4% lower, showing that this CPU is competitively placed in the broader market.

In Evolve specifically, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data, and with 8 cores at high clocks, it does so without breaking a sweat. The fact that FPS drops by roughly half from 1080p Low to 4K Low, while the CPU load remains relatively constant, confirms that the processor is not the constraint. The Ryzen 7 9700X's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of DDR5 bandwidth further ensure that memory subsystem latency does not become an issue. For a game from 2015, this CPU is overkill, but it leaves headroom for other tasks or future GPU upgrades.

GPU Role

The GTX 1660 SUPER is the determining factor in this combo's Evolve performance. Based on the Turing architecture with 12 nm process, this GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1530 MHz and boost clock of 1785 MHz drive 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, producing 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications place it at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, and the nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at 0.2% lower, the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics at 0.2% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT at 0.7% lower.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU's limits clearly. At 1080p Low, the GTX 1660 SUPER manages 122.2 FPS, which is respectable, but this drops to 54.2 FPS at Ultra — a 68 FPS swing that highlights the GPU's sensitivity to pixel shader complexity and texture fill rate. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p, but at 4K, the memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s becomes a bottleneck, as evidenced by the 18.3 FPS result at Ultra. Even at 4K Low, the 49.6 FPS figure suggests the GPU is struggling to maintain playable frame rates regardless of settings.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 12699 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278 provide additional context for its performance class. The texturing rate of 157.1 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s are modest numbers that translate directly to the resolution scaling observed. This is a GPU designed for 1080p gaming, and the data confirms that pushing it to 1440p or 4K in Evolve results in suboptimal experiences, with only the Low preset at 1440p reaching 83.7 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1491 out of 1695 tested systems in Evolve, this pairing sits in the bottom 12% of all combinations. This low ranking is a direct consequence of the GTX 1660 SUPER's position in the GPU hierarchy, as the Ryzen 7 9700X is a high-end CPU that would typically be paired with a much more powerful graphics card. The GPU's 55th percentile standing versus the CPU's 89th percentile creates a significant imbalance that limits overall system performance in this game.

The measured FPS across all 12 data points averages out to roughly 59.7 FPS, but this average masks the wide variance between presets and resolutions. At 1080p, the combo achieves playable frame rates on Low (122.2 FPS) and Medium (94.1 FPS), but High and Ultra dip to 77.8 and 54.2 FPS respectively. At 1440p, only Low (83.7 FPS) and Medium (66.5 FPS) remain in playable territory, while High (48.8 FPS) and Ultra (37.5 FPS) fall short. At 4K, every preset is below 50 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at that resolution for competitive play.

The ranking reflects that this combo is better suited to older or less demanding titles, and in Evolve, it delivers a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings. The GPU's end-of-life production status and the CPU's active status further underscore the mismatch, with the Ryzen 7 9700X capable of supporting a much faster GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 1080p the measured results show 122.2 FPS on Low, 94.1 FPS on Medium, and 77.8 FPS on High, all of which are above 60 FPS. Ultra falls to 54.2 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing in Evolve?

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where all presets remain above 50 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, while 4K results are all below 50 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700X or the GTX 1660 SUPER the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The GTX 1660 SUPER ranks at the 55th percentile among GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 9700X ranks at the 89th percentile among CPUs, and the FPS drops with resolution are consistent with GPU limitations.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics, and 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Vega 11. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT is 0.7% higher.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X is 0.2% below the Intel Core i5-14500HX, 0.4% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, and 0.8% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H in average benchmark score.

Q: Is this combo suitable for 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: No. The highest 4K result is 49.6 FPS on Low, and Ultra drops to 18.3 FPS. None of the 4K preset measurements reach 50 FPS, indicating the GPU cannot handle that resolution in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 94.1 FPS while maintaining visual quality above Low. High is also viable at 77.8 FPS, but Ultra's 54.2 FPS result is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players prefer for a smooth experience.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 66.5 FPS is the highest quality option that stays above 60 FPS, with Low at 83.7 FPS providing more headroom for demanding scenes. High at 48.8 FPS and Ultra at 37.5 FPS are playable but may suffer from frame pacing issues during intense action. For 4K, the Low preset at 49.6 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, but even this falls short of 60 FPS, so players should consider dropping to 1440p for a better experience.

The data suggests that the best experience overall is achieved at 1080p with Medium settings, as it provides nearly double the frame rate of Ultra while still offering reasonable visual fidelity. For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low at 122.2 FPS is the smoothest option and leaves headroom for recording or streaming overhead. The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for the Medium preset at 1080p, but higher settings may increase memory pressure without proportional visual gains given the GPU's compute limits. Ultimately, this combo performs best when the resolution is kept at 1080p and the preset is kept at Medium or below.