Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, pairs the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in a combo that sits at rank 20 out of 1695 tested configurations. This is a top-tier pairing, placing it in the 99th percentile of all measured combos. The data shows a system capable of extreme frame rates, but the relationship between the CPU’s 8 cores and the GPU’s immense compute power reveals a nuanced performance curve that shifts dramatically with resolution and settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), using a 4 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This is a modern desktop chip, released in August 2024, and its benchmark scores reflect a strong balance between single-thread and multi-thread performance. For instance, its 3DMark single-thread score is 1280, while its max-thread score is 9771. In Cinebench R23, it achieves 4459 points single-core and 31588 points multi-core.

In Evolve, a game from 2015, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s high boost clock is critical here, as Evolve’s engine is likely sensitive to single-thread performance. The data supports this: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 374.2 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at very high frame rates. However, the 8-core/16-thread configuration ensures that background tasks or more demanding scenes with multiple monsters and players won't cause stutters. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) further reduce latency, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame pacing in a fast-paced FPS. The processor’s 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36029, puts it slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX by 0.2% and behind the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4%, showing it is a very competitive chip for this type of workload.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

With a combo rank of 20 out of 1695, this pairing is exceptional. This rank means that only 19 other CPU-GPU combinations in the database deliver higher average frame rates in Evolve. The ranking is a direct result of the RTX 4090’s raw power, which is the primary driver of FPS in this game, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that this combo is not just in the top 1% of performers; it’s near the absolute pinnacle of what is possible. The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, is the main contributor. The nearest rivals to the RTX 4090 in the database are the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (0.4% lower score), NVIDIA Tesla P40 (0.5% higher score), and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (0.9% lower score), which are all professional/workstation cards, not consumer gaming GPUs. This highlights how dominant the RTX 4090 is for gaming. The CPU’s contribution is to ensure that it doesn't hold the GPU back, and the rank suggests it succeeds, as the combo performs at a level consistent with the GPU’s top-tier status.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a classic resolution scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 374.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, it drops to 247.2 FPS, a reduction of 34%. At 4K Low, it falls to 145 FPS, which is another 41% drop from 1440p. This steep decline as resolution increases indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU is capable of pushing far more frames, as evidenced by the 1080p results, but the RTX 4090’s rendering load at higher pixel counts caps the output. The pattern is consistent across settings. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 223.8 at 1080p to 152.8 at 1440p (a 32% reduction) and then to 88.6 at 4K (a 42% reduction from 1440p). This shows that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The fact that the 1080p Low result is nearly 2.6x higher than the 4K High result (374.2 vs 88.6 FPS) quantifies the massive impact of resolution on the GPU’s workload. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still the primary driver of performance, but at 4K, the GPU is fully saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The benchmark results provide a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 374.2 FPS on Low, 289.9 FPS on Medium, 223.8 FPS on High, and 153.7 FPS on Ultra. This shows a linear scaling where each higher preset reduces performance by roughly 20-25%. At 2560x1440, the numbers are 247.2 FPS on Low, 195.4 FPS on Medium, 152.8 FPS on High, and 105.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, averaging about a 34% reduction across all settings. At 3840x2160, the results are 145 FPS on Low, 112.2 FPS on Medium, 88.6 FPS on High, and 58.3 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra setting is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, which is a critical threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that the combo is exceptionally fast, but even the RTX 4090 cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K with the highest settings in this game. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 86.7 FPS, which is a substantial gap, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy graphical load that the GPU struggles to handle at this resolution.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 100 FPS on High settings?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 152.8 FPS. At 3840x2160 with High settings, it drops to 88.6 FPS. Therefore, 1440p is the highest resolution that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS on High settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029. This is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802). It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (36165) and 0.8% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H (36328).

Q: Is the RTX 4090's performance significantly different from its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66473. This is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733) and 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097). It is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127) and 1.3% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67320). These are all very small differences, indicating similar overall compute performance in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 289.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This is a very high frame rate, well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 60 FPS in the measured configurations?

A: Yes, the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS is at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 58.3. All other tested resolutions and settings combinations maintain an average above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 4K Low?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 58.3, while at 4K Low, it is 145. This represents a 60% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra, showing the significant performance cost of the highest settings preset.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 1080p and 1440p, the High preset is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 223.8 FPS, and at 1440p High, it delivers 152.8 FPS. Both are exceptionally high and well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common in gaming monitors. The Ultra preset at these resolutions still provides very high frame rates (153.7 and 105.3 FPS, respectively), but the visual gain is minimal compared to the performance loss. For 4K, the situation is different. The Ultra preset drops to 58.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K provides 88.6 FPS, which is a much better experience and still looks great. The Medium preset at 4K offers 112.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. Therefore, the recommendation is to use High settings for 1080p and 1440p, and Medium or High for 4K, with a preference for Medium if you have a 120Hz+ 4K display, as it keeps the frame rate above 110 FPS. The Low preset is generally not recommended, as it leaves significant performance on the table, but it can be used to achieve the absolute maximum frame rates (over 370 FPS at 1080p) for competitive play.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant force in this combo. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 1313 MHz, with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps. The GPU has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. This massive memory pool and bandwidth are overkill for Evolve, a game from 2015, but they ensure that the GPU is never starved for data, even at 4K with high-resolution textures. In terms of compute, the RTX 4090 has 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, with 128 RT cores and 512 Tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 66473 place it at the very top of the performance hierarchy.

The measured FPS data directly reflects this GPU's power. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 374.2 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The drop from 1080p to 4K at the same settings is substantial, showing the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 223.8 at 1080p to 88.6 at 4K. This is a 60% reduction, which is consistent with the GPU having to render four times as many pixels (though the actual scaling is not linear). The 24 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Evolve, and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is never a problem. The RTX 4090’s high boost clock of 2520 MHz also helps maintain high frame rates, as the GPU can quickly process the graphical commands from the CPU. In summary, the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates in this combo, especially at higher resolutions, and its massive specifications allow it to push Evolve to its limits.