Evolve

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache can be particularly beneficial in gaming workloads that exhibit data locality, though the benchmark data for Evolve does not isolate cache effects.

In synthetic multi-threaded tests, the CPU scores 10,081 in 3DMark 16-thread, 14,281 in Cinebench R20 multicore, and 34,004 in Cinebench R23 multicore. Single-thread performance is also strong: 1,212 in 3DMark single-thread, 2,016 in Cinebench R20 single-core, and 4,800 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores place the CPU in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,780. The nearest rivals are extremely close: the Intel Xeon 6353P scores 37,811 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 37,831 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HK scores 38,020 (0.6% higher), and the Intel Core i5-13600KF scores 38,028 (0.7% higher). The differences are negligible, meaning the 9800X3D sits right at the top of this pack.

For Evolve, a game released in early 2015, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient. The game's engine was designed for the multi-core processors of its era, so the 9800X3D's high single-thread performance is likely the more relevant factor for maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU is less likely to be a bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 246 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with frames well beyond typical display refresh rates. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 164.4 FPS, still very high, indicating the CPU's headroom is not exhausted even at moderate resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. The goal is to identify which preset offers the most balanced experience, avoiding both low frame rates and unnecessarily high settings that yield diminishing returns.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 246 FPS average, Medium delivers 189 FPS, High delivers 148.1 FPS, and Ultra delivers 102.3 FPS. All four presets are playable, but the jump from Low to Medium costs 57 FPS (23% reduction) while the jump from Medium to High costs 40.9 FPS (22% reduction). The drop from High to Ultra costs 45.8 FPS (31% reduction), which is the steepest penalty. For a competitive FPS experience, Medium or High would be preferable; Ultra drops below 120 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh displays.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 164.4 FPS, Medium averages 125.3 FPS, High averages 100.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 70.6 FPS. The Medium preset keeps the frame rate above 120 FPS, while High remains above 100 FPS. Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smoothness on many displays, so it is not recommended at this resolution unless visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate. The drop from Medium to High is 24.9 FPS (20% reduction), and from High to Ultra is 29.8 FPS (30% reduction). High is a reasonable choice for a balance of visuals and performance.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 92.3 FPS, Medium averages 70.3 FPS, High averages 58 FPS, and Ultra averages 38.8 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains a frame rate above 90 FPS; Medium is near 70 FPS, which is playable on standard 60 Hz displays, but High and Ultra fall to 58 FPS and 38.8 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only measured configuration that drops below 40 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset provides the best compromise: 70.3 FPS average is above the 60 FPS threshold, and the visual uplift over Low is likely significant.

Overall, the Medium preset appears to offer the most consistent experience across all resolutions, as it never drops below 70 FPS even at 4K, while providing better visuals than Low. The High preset is viable at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K it straddles the 60 FPS line.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 102.3 FPS. This is the lowest measured average at that resolution, compared to 246 FPS on Low, 189 FPS on Medium, and 148.1 FPS on High.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU or the Radeon RX 9070 GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly compared to lower resolutions (e.g., 58 FPS on High at 4K versus 100.4 FPS at 1440p). This indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU's high single-thread scores (e.g., 4,800 in Cinebench R23 single-core) are unlikely to be fully utilized at such high pixel counts.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600KF?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 37,780, which is 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-13600KF's score of 38,028. This difference is within the margin of error, meaning the two processors perform nearly identically in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the best settings preset for maintaining a frame rate above 120 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 125.3 FPS, which is above 120 FPS. The Low preset averages 164.4 FPS, also above 120 FPS, but Medium offers better visuals while still meeting the threshold. The High preset averages 100.4 FPS, which falls below 120 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM provide enough capacity for Evolve at Ultra settings?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth. The measured data shows that Ultra settings at 4K average 38.8 FPS, which is low, but this is likely due to GPU compute limits rather than VRAM capacity, as Evolve is not a VRAM-intensive title by modern standards. The data does not indicate VRAM exhaustion.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all tested CPUs?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs. This means it outperforms 90% of all CPUs in the benchmark database, based on its average benchmark score of 37,780.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9070 is ranked 584 out of 1,695 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the top 34.5% of all combinations. This rank reflects the system's overall capability in this specific game, which is a 2015 FPS title.

The CPU's position in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs suggests that the processor is not the limiting factor in this combo. The GPU, however, ranks in the 79th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34,780. The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA A2 (34,866, 0.2% higher), the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34,677, 0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970 (34,541, 0.7% lower), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (34,511, 0.8% lower). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating the RX 9070 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

Given that the game is from 2015, it is likely that the CPU's high single-thread performance (e.g., 4,800 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is more than adequate, and the GPU's mid-tier ranking (79th percentile) is what drags the combo down from a higher position. The 584th rank out of 1,695 combos means there are 1,111 combos that perform better in Evolve, likely those with more powerful GPUs. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 246 FPS, which is excellent, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 38.8 FPS, indicating the GPU's limits are reached at high resolutions and settings. The combo's rank reflects a balanced but not top-tier system for this game.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is based on the Navi 48 chip with the RDNA 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units, with 56 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1330 MHz, a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and a game clock of 2070 MHz. Memory is 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 2518 MHz (effective 20.1 Gbps) and a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU's pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 36.13 TFLOPS.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 6,290 in 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), 133,741 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 165,532 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark scores include 25,381 for G3D and 14,737 for GPU compute. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 79th, with an average benchmark score of 34,780.

For Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU is not fully stressed, as evidenced by the 246 FPS average at Low settings. As resolution increases to 2560x1440 and then 3840x2160, the frame rates drop proportionally: at 4K Low, the average is 92.3 FPS, which is 62.5% lower than at 1080p Low. This scaling indicates the GPU's fill rate and compute resources are the primary constraints at 4K. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2015 game, so the bottleneck is the GPU's raw throughput, not memory capacity. The boost clock of 2520 MHz is relatively high, but the game's engine, designed for older hardware, may not fully utilize the RDNA 4.0 architecture's features, leading to lower-than-expected efficiency at Ultra settings.

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

The measured FPS data for Evolve with this combo covers 12 configurations, with no min or max FPS recorded, only averages.

1920x1080:

• Low: 246 FPS average
• Medium: 189 FPS average
• High: 148.1 FPS average
• Ultra: 102.3 FPS average

The Low preset at 1080p is the highest frame rate measured across all configurations. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent reduction: Medium is 23.2% lower than Low, High is 21.7% lower than Medium, and Ultra is 30.9% lower than High. The Ultra preset at 1080p is still above 100 FPS, making it playable on most displays.

2560x1440:

• Low: 164.4 FPS average
• Medium: 125.3 FPS average
• High: 100.4 FPS average
• Ultra: 70.6 FPS average

At 1440p, the Low preset remains above 160 FPS, while the Medium preset stays above 120 FPS. The High preset barely exceeds 100 FPS, and Ultra drops to 70.6 FPS. The relative reductions are: Medium is 23.8% lower than Low, High is 19.9% lower than Medium, and Ultra is 29.7% lower than High. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the only configuration at this resolution that falls below 100 FPS.

3840x2160:

• Low: 92.3 FPS average
• Medium: 70.3 FPS average
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 38.8 FPS average

At 4K, the Low preset is the only one that exceeds 90 FPS. Medium averages 70.3 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 58 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter on 60 Hz displays. Ultra averages 38.8 FPS, making it the only configuration in the entire dataset that falls below 40 FPS. The reductions are: Medium is 23.8% lower than Low, High is 17.5% lower than Medium, and Ultra is 33.1% lower than High. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended for smooth gameplay based on these measurements.

Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Medium preset provides a consistent 70-190 FPS range, making it the most versatile choice for this combo. The High preset is viable at 1080p and 1440p but marginal at 4K. The Ultra preset should only be used at 1080p or 1440p if visual fidelity is prioritized over high frame rates.