Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER sits at rank 2151 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. That places it in the 42nd percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for this title, meaning roughly 58% of combinations deliver higher average frame rates. For a pairing that marries a 2024 flagship-class processor with a 2019 mid-range graphics card, the ranking reflects a system that is clearly held back by its graphics component in this game.

The CPU itself ranks in the 92nd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 57498. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the AMD EPYC 9015 at 57555 (0.1% ahead), the AMD EPYC 7313 at 57399 (0.2% behind), the Intel Core i9-14900 at 58115 (1.1% ahead), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M at 58323 (1.4% ahead). The GPU, however, only reaches the 65th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (1% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (1.2% ahead), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% ahead), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (1.5% ahead).

The disparity between a top-decile CPU and a mid-pack GPU is the defining characteristic of this combo's ranking. In Evolve, the data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint across most settings, which pushes the overall combo down the list despite the processor's clear strength. The 3700-combo pool includes many pairings with more balanced or GPU-heavy configurations, which explains the modest overall position.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X brings 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries 64 MB of L3 cache alongside 1 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core. This is a processor designed for heavy multi-threaded workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and Geekbench multicore score of 22174.

For Evolve, a game released in 2015, the CPU's single-thread performance is arguably more relevant than its massive core count. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2253 and Geekbench single-core score of 3010 indicate excellent per-thread capability. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and 2-thread score of 2519 further confirm that the processor can handle lightly-threaded game logic with ease)Skip. The PassMark single-thread score of 4672 and physics score of 3381 suggest that even the most demanding simulation aspects of the game engine would not strain this CPU.

The data indicates that in Evolve, the CPU is almost never the bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 177 FPS, the processor has ample headroom. The 12-core configuration is far beyond what a 2015-era shooter would utilize; even the PassMark multithread score of 54643 and 3DMark max-threads score of 13929 show that the CPU's capabilities are simply not fully engaged by this older title. The CPU's 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support also provide more than enough data throughput for the game's demands.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU104 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores. The base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is decisive. The game's rendering demands scale directly with resolution and settings, and the RTX 2070 SUPER's mid-range positioning becomes apparent in the measured results. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 28 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 177 FPS. This wide spread indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher quality presets, while at lower settings the frame rate climbs to levels where the CPU could theoretically support even more.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 18169 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 place it firmly in the mid-range tier. Its DirectX 11 score of 151 and DirectX 12 score of 67 from PassMark show that while it handles older APIs reasonably well, its performance in modern rendering paths is less impressive. For Evolve, which relies on DirectX 11-era rendering, the GPU's 160 TMUs and 64 ROPs determine texture fill and pixel throughput, respectively. The texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggle at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 177 FPS, Medium yields 137 FPS with a minimum of 116 and maximum of 157, High achieves 107 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression where each settings tier costs roughly 30-40 FPS, with Ultra representing a significant jump in rendering load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall to 118 FPS on Low, 92 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 78 and maximum of 106), 72 FPS on High, and 50 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 68 FPS, slightly larger than the 103 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that resolution scaling amplifies the cost of higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress considerably. Low settings average 67 FPS, Medium averages 52 FPS (with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60), High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages just 28 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 39 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is becoming saturated at this resolution, with each settings tier providing diminishing returns in visual quality per frame rate cost.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across settings. At Low settings, 177 FPS at 1080p falls to 118 FPS at 1440p and 67 FPS at 4K — a reduction of 33% and 62%, respectively. At Medium, 137 FPS drops to 92 FPS at 1440p and 52 FPS at 4K, representing 33% and 62% decreases. High settings show 107 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K, again a 33% and 62% drop. Ultra follows the same pattern: 74 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K.

The remarkably consistent 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings points to a GPU-bound scenario. The pixel count increase from 1080p to 1440p is 78%, and from 1080p to 4K it is 300%, yet the frame rate drops are proportionally smaller. This suggests that the game engine and the GPU's memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the raw pixel throughput. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM capacity are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but become strained at 4K, particularly at higher settings where texture and geometry complexity increase.

The data implies that the CPU's role in resolution scaling is negligible — the same percentage drops occur regardless of settings, which would not happen if the CPU were contributing to the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU's performance headroom remains constant across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the sole constraint.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Evolve?

A: The data shows strong performance at both resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo averages 107 FPS, while at 1440p High it averages 72 FPS. Both are playable, but 1080p offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while 1440p High sits only 12 FPS above that threshold.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 74 FPS, which is smooth. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 50 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 28 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 57498, which is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555), 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313 (57399), 1.1% behind the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115), and 1.4% behind the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323).

Q: What is the GPU's performance relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER averages 20282 in benchmarks, which is 1% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480), 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534), 1.3% behind the Intel Arc B570 (20556), and 1.5% behind the Intel Arc A750 (20582).

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS across all settings?

A: At 1080p, all settings except Ultra remain above 100 FPS, and even Ultra stays above 60 FPS at 74 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings exceed 60 FPS (118 and 92 FPS respectively), while High falls just short at 72 FPS. At 4K, no setting reaches 60 FPS.

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

A: At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 137 FPS at 1080p to 92 FPS at 1440p and 52 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium settings as the sweet spot for this combo across most resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average of 137 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS provides a fluid experience with headroom for demanding scenes. The minimum frame rate of 116 FPS ensures that even the most intense moments in Evolve remain well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the maximum of 157 FPS indicates the system can push higher when the action calms down.

At 1440p, Medium again offers the best balance. The average of 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS keeps gameplay smooth, while the maximum of 106 FPS shows that the system has some reserve capacity. High settings at 1440p drop to 72 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less margin for frame drops. Low settings at 1440p reach 118 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra frames.

For 4K, Medium is the only viable option for a playable experience, averaging 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS. While not ideal, the 44 FPS minimum is borderline acceptable for a slower-paced shooter. High settings at 4K average 41 FPS, and Ultra falls to 28 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for competitive play. Low settings at 4K average 67 FPS, which is playable but sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

The data suggests that players prioritizing frame rate should select Low settings at 1080p for 177 FPS, while those wanting a balanced experience should choose Medium at 1080p or 1440p. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it still achieves 74 FPS. At higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become too pronounced for Ultra to be a sensible choice, and the visual gains do not justify the frame rate penalty.