Evolve

# Evolve with AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a playable but uneven experience in Evolve, with the benchmark data showing a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance ensures high frame rates at lower resolutions. The measured results span from 28 FPS at 4K Ultra to 177 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 177 at 1920x1080 to 118 at 2560x1440, then to 67 at 3840x2160. This represents a 33% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43% drop when stepping up to 4K. The pattern is similar at Medium settings, where averages are 137, 92, and 52 FPS respectively, and at High settings, where the averages are 107, 72, and 41 FPS.

The scaling behavior at Ultra settings is particularly telling. The 1080p Ultra average of 74 FPS drops to 50 FPS at 1440p (a 32% decrease) and then plummets to 28 FPS at 4K (a 44% further drop). This consistent ~30-45% penalty per resolution step indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain playable rates at 4K, especially under Ultra settings.

Interestingly, the relative performance gap between settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, Low (177 FPS) is 2.4 times faster than Ultra (74 FPS). At 4K, Low (67 FPS) is also 2.4 times faster than Ultra (28 FPS). This suggests that the GPU's workload scales proportionally with settings, and the limiting factor remains consistent across the resolution range. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, even Low settings yield only 67 FPS, which is below the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays, making 1440p the practical ceiling for this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and display refresh rate. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with High (107 FPS) and Medium (137 FPS) providing smooth experiences on 100Hz+ monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 74 FPS, which is acceptable for 60Hz displays but may feel less fluid on higher-refresh panels. For competitive play, Low at 177 FPS offers the maximum headroom, though the visual compromise is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 92 FPS (with a documented range of 78-106 FPS) provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. High at 72 FPS is playable on 60Hz monitors but sits below the 75Hz threshold for smoother displays. Low at 118 FPS remains viable for high-refresh 1440p panels, while Ultra at 50 FPS is only suitable for slower-paced gameplay or when visual fidelity takes priority over frame rate.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations become more restrictive. Medium at 52 FPS (range 44-60 FPS) is the highest preset that maintains a playable average, though the minimum of 44 FPS may cause noticeable stutter in intense scenes. Low at 67 FPS is the safest choice for consistent 4K performance, while High at 41 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are best avoided for anything beyond casual exploration. The data suggests that 4K Ultra is not a realistic target for this hardware combination in Evolve.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU-GPU combo for Evolve?

A: The measured data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the average FPS is 92 (range 78-106), which is smooth on most displays. At 1920x1080, you gain extra headroom (137 FPS on Medium), but the visual upgrade at 1440p is worthwhile given the playable frame rates.

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

A: Yes, but with significant settings compromises. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 67, which is playable. Medium yields 52 FPS (range 44-60), while High and Ultra drop to 41 and 28 FPS respectively. For consistent 4K performance, Low or Medium settings are recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER's VRAM affect Evolve's performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The benchmark results show that 4K Ultra (28 FPS) and 4K High (41 FPS) are severely limited, which is consistent with the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s being insufficient for high-resolution, high-detail workloads. At 1080p and 1440p, the VRAM capacity is adequate, as frame rates remain high.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X bottlenecking the RTX 2070 SUPER in Evolve?

A: The data suggests no CPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops linearly with resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, are more than sufficient for Evolve's demands, especially given the game's 2015 release date.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 177 FPS, while Ultra averages 74 FPS. This is a 103 FPS difference, or approximately 2.4 times faster at Low settings. The Medium preset at 137 FPS sits between these extremes.

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

A: The combo ranks 2151 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 42nd percentile. This indicates that while the hardware is capable, it is not in the top tier for this specific game, likely due to the GPU's age relative to newer options.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination holds a rank of 2151 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places it at roughly the 58th percentile of all configurations, meaning a majority of tested systems outperform it. The ranking reflects the GPU's age (released in 2019) relative to the game's requirements, though the CPU is a modern high-end part.

The CPU alone performs exceptionally well in synthetic benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 53288 and a percentile rank of 91 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P (0.2% higher score), Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (0.3% lower), Intel Xeon 634 (0.6% higher), and Intel Core i7-14700F (0.6% lower). This places the Ryzen 9 7900X in elite company for processing power.

The GPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 20282 and ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (1.2% higher), Intel Arc B570 (1.3% higher), and Intel Arc A750 (1.5% higher). This shows the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with mid-range modern GPUs but falls short of high-end options. In Evolve specifically, the combo's rank suggests that the GPU limits overall performance, as the CPU has ample headroom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X features 12 cores and 24 threads, built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) using a 5 nm process from TSMC. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz, boosting up to 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 170 W. The CPU has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and the CPU provides 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7900X demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 29300, while the single-core score is 2016.5. Geekbench scores are 19267 (multicore) and 2617 (single-core). The 3DMark results show scaling from 2137 (2 threads) to 12536 (max threads), with intermediate scores of 4151 (4 threads) and 7798 (8 threads). Passmark results include a multithread score of 51406 and a single-thread score of 4238.

For Evolve, the CPU's role is largely supportive, as the game was released in 2015 and does not take advantage of 12 cores. The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 177 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The high single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core score of 323, Geekbench single-core of 2617) helps maintain frame rates in scenes with complex physics or AI. However, the measured FPS drops consistently with resolution, confirming that the CPU is not the bottleneck—the GPU is. The 7900X's 24 threads provide headroom for background tasks and future games, but in Evolve, its contribution is primarily to avoid any CPU-side frame rate caps.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance in Evolve across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 177 FPS, Medium averages 137 FPS (with a range of 116-157), High averages 107 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. All 1080p presets are playable, with even the most demanding Ultra setting exceeding 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 118 FPS, Medium at 92 FPS (range 78-106), High at 72 FPS, and Ultra at 50 FPS. The Medium preset remains smooth, while Ultra dips below 60 FPS, making it less suitable for fast-paced action. The 1440p results show a clear step down from 1080p, with roughly 30% lower frame rates across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to: Low at 67 FPS, Medium at 52 FPS (range 44-60), High at 41 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. Only Low maintains an average above 60 FPS, while Medium approaches playability with a 44 FPS minimum. High and Ultra are below 45 FPS, which may cause noticeable judder during gameplay. The 4K data highlights the GPU's limitations, as even Low settings cannot reach the frame rates seen at 1440p Medium.

Comparing settings within each resolution, the performance gap between Low and Ultra is consistent: approximately 2.4 times at 1080p, 2.4 times at 1440p, and 2.4 times at 4K. This uniformity suggests that Evolve's graphics options scale predictably, with each preset tier adding similar computational load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture, using the TU104 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process by TSMC. It has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across an 8 GB GDDR6 interface with a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 113.3 GPixel/s, texture rate is 283.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 9.062 TFLOPS.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 2070 SUPER achieves a Passmark G3D score of 18169 and a Passmark GPU compute score of 7557. Its Geekbench OpenCL score is 83358, and Vulkan score is 90637. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1651. The GPU's average benchmark score of 20282 places it in the 65th percentile, with nearest rivals being within 1.5% in either direction.

The GPU's role in Evolve is decisive. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary limiter at all resolutions above 1080p. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the high frame rates, but the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s becomes a constraint at 4K, particularly at higher settings. The 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS indicates that the GPU cannot handle the combined load of high resolution and maximum detail.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's Turing architecture, with its 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, provides features that Evolve does not utilize, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption. However, the raw rasterization performance—9.062 TFLOPS FP32—is what drives the measured results. The boost clock of 1770 MHz ensures consistent performance, but the GPU's end-of-life status and 12 nm process node mean it cannot match newer 5 nm parts. For Evolve, the data shows that the GPU delivers a solid 1080p experience, good 1440p performance with settings adjustments, and limited 4K capability, making it a balanced but aging component in this pairing.