Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER presents a stark contrast in capability, combining a top-tier 2024 processor with an end-of-life 2019 graphics card. Benchmark data for Evolve shows that this pairing is heavily constrained by the GPU, yet the CPU’s immense headroom ensures that framerates remain stable across all tested settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, offering guidance on optimal settings and contextualizing the role each component plays in this specific title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average framerate this combo achieves in Evolve?*

A: The highest measured average framerate is 122.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data set that exceeds 120 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, performance is demanding. The average framerates range from 46.4 FPS on Low settings to 19 FPS on Ultra. The High preset yields 31.7 FPS, while Medium produces 35.4 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a bottleneck for the GTX 1660 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a 34004 score in Cinebench R23 multicore and a 4800 score in single-core, far exceed what is necessary for the framerates observed, meaning the GPU is the primary constraint on performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 47.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 36.8 FPS. This represents a 11 FPS drop for the higher visual fidelity.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Evolve?*

A: The combo ranks 1498 out of 1695 tested combinations. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, reflecting the significant limitation imposed by the graphics card in this title.

*Q: Does the GTX 1660 SUPER support modern graphics APIs used by Evolve?*

A: Yes. The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it compatible with the game’s rendering requirements.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for Evolve reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across resolutions and presets. For a smooth gameplay experience, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the optimal balance, delivering an average of 97.1 FPS. This is a substantial improvement over the High preset’s 76.4 FPS at the same resolution, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset’s 122.9 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 20.7 FPS, which is a noticeable reduction in smoothness for marginal visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the best choice, averaging 66.5 FPS. This is comfortably playable and provides a better experience than the High preset, which drops to 47.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution is not recommended, as the 36.8 FPS average falls below the threshold for fluid motion. For 3840x2160, the data shows that even the Low preset only manages 46.4 FPS, while Medium drops to 35.4 FPS. Given the significant performance hit, 4K gaming with this combo is not viable for a consistently responsive experience, making 1080p or 1440p the sensible choices.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset is a heavy burden for this GPU. At 1080p, it produces 52.2 FPS, which is 44.9 FPS lower than the Medium preset. The performance cost of Ultra settings is disproportionate to the visual benefits in this title. Therefore, users should prioritize the Medium preset to maintain high framerates, or use Low settings if maximum refresh rate is the goal. The High preset serves as a middle ground, but the data indicates that Medium offers the best overall experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive factor in this combo’s performance in Evolve. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is adequate for the game’s textures at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s boost clock of 1785 MHz and its 1408 shading units deliver a FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS. These specifications, while modest by modern standards, are what determine the framerates observed in the measured data.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 55 against all other GPUs highlights its mid-range standing. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (with an average score deltaPct of -0.7), are closely matched in overall compute capability. In Evolve, this translates to a clear performance ceiling. The measured FPS shows a consistent pattern: as resolution and settings increase, performance drops sharply. For instance, moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 on High settings halves the average framerate from 76.4 FPS to 31.7 FPS.

The GPU’s role is that of a strict limiter. The CPU is capable of feeding frames much faster, but the GTX 1660 SUPER cannot process them quickly enough, especially at higher resolutions. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the tested presets, as the game likely does not exceed this allocation at 1080p or 1440p. However, the GPU's raw compute power is insufficient for high-refresh-rate 1440p or any playable 4K experience. The data clearly shows that the graphics card is the bottleneck, and any attempt to improve performance must focus on reducing the GPU's workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Evolve, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1498 out of 1695 total combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of tested systems, a position that reflects the severe mismatch between the components. While the CPU is a top performer, the GPU’s limitations drag the overall system ranking down significantly.

This low ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance profile. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s average benchmark score is 14286, which is only slightly ahead of integrated graphics solutions like the AMD Radeon Vega 11, which has a deltaPct of -0.5. In a game like Evolve, this level of GPU performance is insufficient to leverage the CPU’s capabilities. The result is a system that performs like a much more modest machine, despite having one of the most powerful consumer CPUs available.

The ranking also highlights the importance of balanced builds. A processor with an average benchmark score of 37780, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6353P and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600KF, is wasted when paired with a GPU that sits near the 55th percentile. For this specific game, the combo’s rank suggests that users would see similar framerates with a much less expensive processor. The CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU is, and the overall rank accurately reflects that the system’s gaming performance is anchored by its graphics card.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an exceptionally powerful processor that plays a minimal, yet important, role in this combo’s Evolve performance. Its 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture, operate at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The processor also features a large 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is designed to improve gaming performance. Its benchmark scores are outstanding, including a Geekbench multicore score of 18413 and a Passmark multithread score of 40009.

However, in Evolve, the data shows that the CPU's power is not the primary driver of framerates. The measured FPS at all resolutions and settings are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4800, is more than sufficient to handle the game’s logic and physics. The processor’s high performance ensures that it will not introduce stutters or frame pacing issues, even when the GPU is struggling to keep up.

The CPU's role here is to provide a stable and unconstrained platform. Its 90th percentile ranking against all CPUs, and its proximity to rivals like the Intel Core i9-13900HK (with a deltaPct of -0.6), confirms its top-tier status. In this configuration, the CPU is never the bottleneck. Instead, it ensures that the GPU is the sole limiting factor, allowing the framerates to be as high as the GTX 1660 SUPER can manage. While the CPU does not boost the average FPS in a meaningful way, it guarantees that the performance is consistent and free of processor-related dips, making the experience as smooth as the GPU will allow.