Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2530 out of 2872 tested combos for Evolve. This places the pairing in the bottom twelfth of all tested configurations, indicating that while the CPU is a high-end part, the integrated GPU becomes the overwhelming bottleneck in this title. The combination sits well below the median, which is expected given that the Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution with a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. For context, the CPU alone sits in the 92nd percentile among all processors, making this a severely imbalanced pairing where the graphics component dictates overall performance.

The rank of 2530 out of 2872 means that roughly 88% of tested combos deliver higher frame rates in Evolve. This is not a configuration designed for competitive play at high refresh rates, but rather one that can manage playable frame rates at lower settings and resolutions. The data shows a clear ceiling imposed by the GPU, as the CPU's substantial compute resources remain largely underutilized in this scenario. The measured FPS values across all settings and resolutions confirm this dynamic, with the highest average frame rate recorded at just 89 FPS at 1080p Low settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, delivering a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio.

Memory is entirely system-shared, with the GPU relying on the CPU's DDR5 memory through a dual-channel interface. The memory bandwidth is classified as "System Dependent," meaning performance scales with the host system's memory configuration. In this case, the Ryzen 9 9900X provides 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is shared between the CPU and GPU workloads. This shared memory architecture is a critical constraint, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for the same memory resources during gaming.

The GPU's benchmark results are modest, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). These comparisons illustrate that the Arc B390 sits at the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum, which directly explains the low frame rates observed in Evolve.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 89 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a smooth 60+ FPS experience with significant headroom. Medium at 1080p drops to 69 FPS average, still playable but with a minimum of 59 FPS that borders on the edge of acceptability. High at 1080p averages 54 FPS, while Ultra falls to 37 FPS, which is generally considered too low for a responsive experience.

For 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option for smooth gameplay, averaging 60 FPS exactly. Medium at 1440p drops to 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced scenes. High at 1440p averages 36 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 25 FPS. At 4K, all settings produce sub-60 FPS results, with Low averaging 34 FPS, Medium at 26 FPS, High at 21 FPS, and Ultra at 14 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not a realistic option for this combo in Evolve, even at the lowest settings.

The measured rows indicate that the Low preset at 1080p provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, with a 29% improvement over Medium and a 65% improvement over High. For users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, Medium at 1080p offers a reasonable compromise, but the minimum FPS of 59 indicates that frame pacing may suffer during intense moments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the measured frame rates show a clear progression across settings. Low averages 89 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this combo. Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 79 FPS, indicating some variance but generally stable performance. High averages 54 FPS, a significant drop of 35 FPS from Low. Ultra averages 37 FPS, which is barely playable for a fast-paced FPS title. The step between Low and Medium represents a 22.5% reduction in average FPS, while the step from Medium to High is a 21.7% reduction, and from High to Ultra a 31.5% reduction.

At 1440p, the pattern continues but with lower absolute values. Low averages 60 FPS, exactly matching the 1080p Medium result. Medium averages 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53 FPS. High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is 32.6%, while the drop from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium is 33.3%. This consistency suggests that resolution scaling has a predictable impact on performance, with the GPU being the limiting factor.

At 4K, the results are uniformly low. Low averages 34 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 and maximum of 30 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The 4K Low result is 61.8% lower than the 1080p Low result, indicating that the GPU's pixel throughput is severely constrained at this resolution. The 4K Medium minimum of 22 FPS and maximum of 30 FPS shows that even the best-case scenario remains below playable thresholds for most users.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the extent to which the Intel Arc B390 limits performance. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 89 at 1080p to 60 at 1440p (a 32.6% reduction) and then to 34 at 4K (a 61.8% reduction from 1080p). At Medium settings, the progression is 69 to 46 to 26 FPS, representing drops of 33.3% and 62.3% respectively. At High settings, the progression is 54 to 36 to 21 FPS, with drops of 33.3% and 61.1%. At Ultra settings, the progression is 37 to 25 to 14 FPS, with drops of 32.4% and 62.2%.

The consistent ~33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~62% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints. The pixel count increases by 77.8% from 1080p to 1440p, and by 300% from 1080p to 4K. The observed FPS drops do not perfectly match these pixel count increases, suggesting that other factors such as memory latency and shader throughput also play a role. However, the near-linear scaling across settings within each resolution confirms that the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU.

The data indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X is not the bottleneck at any resolution or setting. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would theoretically have the most headroom due to the lower GPU load, the maximum average FPS of 89 is well below what the CPU is capable of delivering. The CPU's multi-threaded performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172, suggests it could drive frame rates well beyond 200 FPS in this title if paired with a more capable GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achievable. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 89, while at 1440p Low it drops to 60 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 34 FPS, making it unsuitable for gameplay.

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at Ultra settings smoothly?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 37, which is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p and 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 25 and 14 respectively, making these configurations unplayable.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: Low settings average 89 FPS, while Medium averages 69 FPS. The Medium preset has a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, indicating a 22.5% reduction in average frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combo?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Ryzen 9 9900X ranks in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The FPS scaling across resolutions follows the GPU's expected performance curve, not the CPU's capabilities.

Q: What is the highest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 89, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The maximum FPS recorded for any configuration is 79, seen at 1080p Medium settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU features 64 MB of L3 cache, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor is built on TSMC's 4 nm process, with a transistor count of 16,630 million across a dual-die design of 2x 70.6 mm².

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 9900X demonstrates strong performance across the board. It scores 32172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2253 in single-core. Geekbench results show 22174 multi-core and 3010 single-core scores. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling across thread counts: 1286 single-thread, 2519 for 2 threads, 4886 for 4 threads, 9114 for 8 threads, 12552 for 16 threads, and 13929 for max threads. PassMark results include 54643 for multi-thread and 4672 for single-thread, with specialized workloads like data compression scoring 683579 and integer math scoring 181056.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555, 0.1% higher), AMD EPYC 7313 (57399, 0.2% lower), Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, 1.1% higher), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, 1.4% higher). These comparisons place the Ryzen 9 9900X in the upper echelon of desktop processors, with an average benchmark score of 57498 and a 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Despite this substantial compute capability, the CPU's role in Evolve with the Arc B390 is minimal. The highest measured FPS of 89 at 1080p Low is likely constrained by the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth, not the CPU's processing power. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are far more than Evolve requires, even at lower settings where the GPU load is reduced. The CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253, would be sufficient for much higher frame rates in this FPS title if the GPU were not the limiting factor.