Evolve

Evolve is a 2015 multiplayer FPS that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and settings selected. The data for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D reveals a system capable of extreme frame rates, but with distinct bottlenecks that shift as workload changes. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows, settings scaling, and component roles to define how this combination behaves in practice.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear hierarchy among the four available presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 303 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. However, the jump from Low to Medium is substantial, with the Medium preset still producing a very strong 276 FPS average. The High preset drops to 246 FPS, while Ultra sits at 170 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 30 FPS, but the gap between High and Ultra is 76 FPS, which is a steep penalty for the final step in visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low produces 265 FPS, Medium drops to 210 FPS, High comes in at 165 FPS, and Ultra falls to 114 FPS. The Medium preset here is particularly interesting because it is the only settings level at this resolution that includes min and max FPS data, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS. That minimum value means the frame time stays consistent enough for competitive play, even during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the story changes. Low yields 154 FPS, Medium produces 120 FPS, High drops to 94 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K also has min and max data, showing 102 FPS minimum and 138 FPS maximum. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is 29 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1440p gap but less severe in raw terms than the 1080p drop.

The best experience across all resolutions is the Medium preset. It delivers 276 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 120 FPS at 4K, with the only recorded min FPS values at Medium for 1440p and 4K being 179 and 102 respectively. These numbers indicate that Medium offers a balanced trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate stability. High settings are viable at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K High average of 94 FPS is below the 100 FPS threshold that many fast-paced FPS players prefer. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p, where 170 FPS remains playable, but the 4K Ultra score of 65 FPS is too low for competitive play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of frame rates in Evolve, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, which provides a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Evolve, a game from 2015 that does not have demanding texture budgets. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU has headroom at lower resolutions, as the 1080p Low average of 303 FPS is the highest recorded score, indicating that the card is not memory-bound at that setting.

The GPU's clock speeds are listed as a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. The boost clock is the relevant figure for gaming, and the data suggests that the RTX 5090 D can sustain high utilization in Evolve without thermal throttling, as the frame rates remain consistent across multiple resolutions. The GPU's 21760 shading units and 680 TMUs provide the raw compute power needed to push such high averages. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS is the key metric for this game's shader workload, and the measured results indicate that the card is not the limiting factor at 1080p or 1440p with lower presets.

At 4K, the GPU becomes more important. The transition from 1440p Low (265 FPS) to 4K Low (154 FPS) is a 111 FPS drop, which is a 42% reduction. This drop is substantial and indicates that the GPU is now the primary bottleneck, as the CPU has enough headroom to feed the card at lower resolutions. The 32 GB memory size is overkill for Evolve, but it ensures that no texture streaming or asset loading issues occur at any resolution or setting. The GPU's 176 ROPs handle pixel output efficiently, as seen in the 4K Medium average of 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the system scales from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 303 at 1080p to 265 at 1440p, then to 154 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 38 FPS (12.5%), while the 1440p to 4K drop is 111 FPS (42%). This nonlinear scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the pixel count quadruples from 1440p to 4K, but the frame rate does not drop by the same factor due to other bottlenecks.

At Medium settings, the progression is 276 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 120 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 66 FPS (24%), and from 1440p to 4K is 90 FPS (43%). The 4K Medium minimum of 102 FPS is notable because it is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but still shows that the system is working hard to maintain that level.

High settings show a similar pattern: 246 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 94 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 81 FPS (33%), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 71 FPS (43%). Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 170 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 65 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 56 FPS (33%), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 49 FPS (43%).

The consistent 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU has more influence, as evidenced by the smaller relative drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1440p high-refresh gaming, where it can maintain over 165 FPS at High settings, but it still delivers playable frame rates at 4K with Medium or High presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest averages. Low settings produce 303 FPS, which is the maximum recorded for this combo. Medium settings yield 276 FPS, with a minimum of 235 FPS and a maximum of 318 FPS. High settings drop to 246 FPS, while Ultra settings fall to 170 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p has the only complete min/max data for that resolution, showing that the frame time variance is 83 FPS, which is acceptable for a fast-paced game.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 265 FPS. Medium settings produce 210 FPS, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS. High settings average 165 FPS, and Ultra settings average 114 FPS. The Medium min of 179 FPS is important because it means the system never drops below the refresh rate of most 1440p gaming monitors, which typically cap at 144Hz or 165Hz.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 154 FPS. Medium settings produce 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. High settings average 94 FPS, and Ultra settings average 65 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 102 FPS is the only 4K data point that includes a min value, and it shows that the system can hold above 100 FPS in demanding scenes. The 4K Ultra average of 65 FPS is the lowest recorded score for this combo, but it remains above the 60 FPS standard for console-like gameplay.

The data rows show no null min or max values for Low, High, or Ultra settings at any resolution, which means those measurements were not recorded. The Medium preset at all three resolutions has complete min and max data, providing the most reliable picture of frame time consistency. This is another reason why Medium is the recommended preset for this game.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 303, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: Yes, the 4K Medium preset averages 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS. Even 4K High averages 94 FPS, which is above 60 FPS.

Q: Which settings preset has the most complete frame time data?

A: The Medium preset at all three resolutions includes both minimum and maximum FPS values, while Low, High, and Ultra settings only have average FPS recorded.

Q: How much FPS is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 246 at 1080p to 94 at 4K, a loss of 152 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 303 FPS, which suggests the GPU has headroom. The CPU's performance is a factor, but the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 65 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X provides the processing backbone for this combo. It has 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The Zen 3 architecture on a 7 nm process delivers strong single-thread performance, which is critical for Evolve's game logic and physics. The CPU's benchmark scores support this, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527 and a multi-core score of 16262.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low average of 303 FPS is not limited by the GPU, as the RTX 5090 D has the raw power to render faster. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads handle the game's AI and player tracking, which can be demanding in a multiplayer FPS with multiple hunters and monsters on screen. The 64 MB of L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame times.

The CPU's benchmark data shows a 3DMark 16-thread score of 9075 and a max-thread score of 10075. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, but Evolve is not a highly threaded game. The single-thread performance, reflected in the 3DMark single-thread score of 941, is more relevant. The CPU's boost clock of 4.80 GHz is high for the era, and it allows the system to reach the 246 FPS average at 1080p High without the GPU becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H, which is 0.3% faster, and the Intel Core i7-14650HX, which is 0.5% slower. This places the 5900X in a competitive position for gaming, though the differences are minimal. The CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms its capability.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 54th out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the top 2% of all configurations in the database, which is a strong result given the age of the game. The rank reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across all resolutions, but it also indicates that there are 53 combos that perform better.

The rank is influenced by the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's raw power. The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77712 puts it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the 5900X's average score of 41376 puts it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs. The combination of two high-percentile components results in a system that excels in a game like Evolve, which rewards both fast CPU processing and high GPU throughput.

The combo rank of 54 is notable because it is lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This is because Evolve is not a demanding game by modern standards, and even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are overkill for a 2015 title, so the GPU's massive compute resources are not fully utilized at lower resolutions. The CPU's 12 cores are also more than needed, as the game likely uses fewer than 8 threads effectively.

The rank also reflects the diminishing returns of high-end hardware in older games. A combo with a faster single-thread CPU or a more balanced GPU might achieve a higher rank because Evolve does not scale perfectly with core counts or memory bandwidth. The 54th rank is still excellent, but it shows that the combo is not the absolute best for this specific title, despite the powerful components.