Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, presents an interesting scaling profile for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the processor's substantial core count ensures headroom at lower settings. The transition from 1080p to 4K shows a predictable decline in frame rates, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly with the graphics preset, offering clear insight into where the bottleneck lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not uniform across settings. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 304 at 1920x1080 to 127 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 177 FPS. This represents a 58% performance loss, which is substantial. However, the absolute numbers remain high, with 127 FPS at 4K Low still being very playable. This large delta indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is doing more of the heavy lifting, and the GPU's workload increase at 4K exposes a more significant performance gap.

The scaling pattern shifts at higher settings. With Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 258 at 1080p to 99 at 4K, a 159 FPS difference. The High preset shows a similar trend, dropping from 203 to 77 FPS, a 126 FPS decrease. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, sees the least absolute drop but the most severe relative performance: it goes from 140 FPS at 1080p down to 54 FPS at 4K. This 86 FPS drop represents a 61% performance loss. This pattern suggests that as the preset quality increases, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor much sooner, making the resolution scaling more linear with the pixel count increase.

The data indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities are best showcased at 1440p. At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 136 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 224 FPS. These numbers are notably high, suggesting that for this specific game, the combination of this CPU and GPU is well-balanced at this resolution. The 4K results, while playable at Medium (99 FPS) and High (77 FPS), demonstrate a clear performance ceiling. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 54 FPS, dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting is too demanding for a consistently smooth experience at that resolution. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings (136 to 77 FPS) highlights the significant pixel-pushing demands of 4K, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. In the context of Evolve, a game released in 2015, this processor provides an immense amount of headroom. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 304 FPS, a figure that is likely limited by the game engine's single-threaded performance or the GPU's raw speed at that low workload, rather than a lack of CPU cores.

The processor's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2083, is crucial for achieving these high frame rates. At lower resolutions, the CPU must feed frames to the GPU as fast as possible, and the 5950X's boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensures it can keep up. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale significantly with resolution and settings, which are primarily GPU-centric variables.

When comparing to its nearest rivals, the 5950X is positioned as a high-performance part. It sits at a 0.4% advantage over the Intel Core i9-13900F and is 0.2% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX in average benchmark score. This places it in a competitive tier, but for a game like Evolve, the absolute performance is more than sufficient. The 64 MB of L3 cache and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are ample for this title, ensuring that the CPU can efficiently handle game data. The processor's 91st percentile ranking against all CPUs further reinforces its high-end status. The data suggests that the CPU's role in this pairing is to provide a stable, high-frequency foundation that never limits the GPU, even in less demanding scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for Evolve. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process and features 10240 shading units. The boost clock of 2550 MHz helps deliver a substantial FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS. These specifications are far beyond what a 2015 title like Evolve requires, which is why the system achieves such high frame rates.

The GPU's role is most clearly defined by the resolution scaling data. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average FPS plummets to 54, showing that the graphics card's compute and memory resources are being heavily taxed. The 16 GB VRAM buffer is not likely to be a limiting factor in this game, as Evolve's textures and geometry are from an older era, but the raw pixel throughput required at 4K is significant. The benchmark scores for the GPU, such as a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600, place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's performance relative to its direct predecessor, the RTX 4080, is nearly identical, with a delta of -0.1% in their average benchmark scores. This indicates that the "SUPER" variant offers a marginal performance improvement. In the context of Evolve, this means the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at higher settings. The data shows that at 1080p High, the system hits 203 FPS, which is a high number but not as high as the Low preset's 304 FPS. This suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU's shading and texture units are engaged enough to prevent the CPU from becoming the sole bottleneck. The GPU's memory clock of 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) and its 320 TMUs and 112 ROPs are all working to render the game's environments, and the results show a clear performance hierarchy based on the GPU's workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 310th out of 3700 total combos for Evolve. This places it in the top 8.4% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. This high ranking is a direct result of the GPU's immense power and the CPU's ability to support it. The combo's rank is more heavily influenced by the GPU's performance, as the game is graphically demanding at higher presets, and the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier card.

The ranking is not the absolute top tier, which is reserved for the most extreme and modern hardware combinations. However, for a game from 2015, this system is overkill in the best way. The 310th rank out of 3700 indicates that while there are faster combos, this specific pairing is more than capable of delivering a high-refresh-rate experience at 1440p and a solid 4K experience at medium to high settings. The data shows that the combo is not limited by the CPU, as its nearest CPU rivals have minimal score differences, but rather by the GPU's ability to render frames at higher resolutions. This ranking confirms the balance of the two components, where the CPU provides the necessary headroom for the GPU to stretch its legs.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a high refresh rate experience?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 with High settings, the system achieves an average of 136 FPS. At 1920x1080 with High settings, it reaches 203 FPS. For a high refresh rate monitor, 1440p High is the optimal balance, as the 4K High preset only averages 77 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, it can. The measured results show an average of 77 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings and 99 FPS with Medium settings. However, the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5950X a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The data indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 304 FPS, which is an extremely high value. The frame rates scale predictably with resolution and graphical settings, which are GPU-centric variables, showing the CPU provides ample headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the standard RTX 4080 in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, while the RTX 4080 has a score of 54247. This represents a delta of -0.1%, indicating that the SUPER variant is virtually identical in performance to its non-SUPER counterpart in these tests.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 224 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 94 FPS. This is a significant difference of 130 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is much more demanding on the GPU, but the system remains very playable at both settings.

Q: Does the CPU's high core count benefit this game?

A: While Evolve is from 2015 and may not utilize all 16 cores, the Ryzen 9 5950X's high single-thread performance is crucial. Its boost clock of 4.90 GHz and 3DMark single-thread score of 944 help ensure that the CPU can deliver frames quickly to the GPU, preventing any CPU-induced stutters at high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is from measured benchmarks of the system with Evolve.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average FPS 304
• Medium: Average FPS 258 (Min 220, Max 297)
• High: Average FPS 203
• Ultra: Average FPS 140

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average FPS 224
• Medium: Average FPS 173 (Min 147, Max 199)
• High: Average FPS 136
• Ultra: Average FPS 94

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average FPS 127
• Medium: Average FPS 99 (Min 84, Max 113)
• High: Average FPS 77
• Ultra: Average FPS 54

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience depends on the user's display and priority for visual fidelity. For users with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, the High preset is recommended. At 1080p, it delivers 203 FPS, and at 1440p, it delivers 136 FPS. This preset offers a strong balance between visual quality and high, smooth frame rates. The Ultra preset is also viable at these resolutions, with 140 FPS at 1080p and 94 FPS at 1440p, but it provides diminishing returns for the performance cost.

For 4K users, the High preset is the best choice for a smooth experience, averaging 77 FPS. The Medium preset is also a good option, providing 99 FPS, which is closer to a 100 Hz refresh rate. The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K due to its 54 FPS average, which falls below the common 60 FPS target for fluid gameplay. The Low preset is only advisable for competitive play at very high refresh rates, as it achieves 304 FPS at 1080p but sacrifices significant visual quality. The data shows that the Medium preset offers a substantial jump from Low, and the High preset is the sweet spot for quality and performance across all resolutions.