Evolve

Settings Recommendations

For Evolve, the measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 137 FPS average, while Medium drops to 106 FPS, High to 83 FPS, and Ultra falls to 58 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 31 FPS, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 25 FPS, making Ultra the least efficient setting tier. Given that Evolve is a competitive FPS, the Low preset is the only one that exceeds the 120 FPS threshold commonly associated with high-refresh displays. However, Medium at 106 FPS remains very playable and offers better visual quality with only a 31 FPS penalty. The 1440p results reinforce this pattern: Low hits 92 FPS, Medium 71 FPS, High 56 FPS, and Ultra 39 FPS. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS — Low manages 52 FPS, Medium 40 FPS, High 32 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS.

The best experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1080p. It provides 106 FPS average with a minimum of 90 FPS and maximum of 122 FPS, keeping frame pacing consistent enough for competitive play while retaining more detail than Low. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended choice, delivering 71 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum and 82 FPS maximum — the tightest frametime window in the entire dataset. This suggests Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot for those prioritizing smoothness over raw framerate. At 4K, the data indicates that only Low is viable, and even then, 52 FPS average falls short of a locked 60. For Ultra settings, the 1080p result of 58 FPS average is the only configuration where Ultra exceeds 50 FPS, but the 25 FPS drop from High makes it hard to justify. The data strongly favors Medium as the balanced preset across all resolutions, with the 1080p Medium row being the standout for overall experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D brings 12 cores and 24 threads to the Evolve test bench, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This is a Zen 5 architecture part on the AMD Socket AM5 platform, fabricated on a 4 nm TSMC process. Its 128 MB of L3 cache is substantial, and the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1269, combined with a PassMark single-thread score of 4646, indicates strong per-core performance. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2512 and 4-thread score of 4885 show that even lightly threaded workloads scale well, which matters for Evolve's engine that may not fully utilize all 24 threads.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 137 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional for a flagship-class processor. The 3DMark max-thread score of 13795 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 demonstrate that the 9900X3D has ample compute headroom. Yet, the measured FPS at 1080p Low is far below what a CPU with this single-thread performance could theoretically push in a lighter title. This points to the Intel Arc B570 becoming the limiting factor early. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, compared to the CPU's 91st percentile, reinforces this interpretation. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 5340 and Geekbench multicore score of 22884 further confirm that physics and game logic are not the constraint.

The clock speeds are high enough that frame pacing should not suffer from CPU stalls. The 4.40 GHz base and 5.50 GHz boost are both strong figures, and the 12-core configuration ensures that background threads or streaming workloads will not interfere with the main render thread. However, the benchmark results indicate that even at 1080p, the GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate are the ceiling. The CPU's role here is to ensure that the Arc B570 is fed without introducing frame-time spikes, and the data shows no evidence of CPU-induced variability — the Medium preset at 1080p has a tight 90-122 FPS range, and 1440p Medium ranges from 60-82 FPS. These consistent windows suggest the CPU is maintaining stable frame delivery while the GPU handles the rendering load. In summary, the 9900X3D is over-provisioned for Evolve at these settings, but its high single-thread and multi-thread scores guarantee that it will not drag down the Arc B570's performance.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 137, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next highest is 106 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 92 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is 52 FPS at Low settings. Medium yields 40 FPS, High 32 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High averages 56 FPS while Ultra averages 39 FPS. This represents a 17 FPS drop, or roughly a 30% reduction in average frame rate, for the visual upgrade from High to Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1080p Low?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and strong single-thread scores (1269 in 3DMark single-thread) indicate it has headroom, while the GPU's 65th percentile ranking and the fact that even at Low settings the system only reaches 137 FPS suggest the Arc B570 is the bottleneck.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1080p Medium?

A: The 1080p Medium preset shows an average of 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 122 FPS. This 90-122 window represents a relatively narrow band, indicating stable frame pacing.

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

A: The combo ranks 2294 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the lower half of the database. This rank reflects the GPU's modest performance ceiling rather than the CPU's capability.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2294 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the 21st percentile of all configurations, meaning roughly 79% of tested combos deliver higher frame rates. The rank is heavily influenced by the Intel Arc B570, which holds a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs. In contrast, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D sits in the 91st percentile among all CPUs. This disparity is significant: the CPU is a top-tier part, while the GPU is a mid-range offering.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals clarifies the situation. The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, deltaPct -0.1). It also closely matches the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, deltaPct 0.4) and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662, deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are all within 0.5%, meaning the Arc B570's performance class is well-established. The combo's rank of 2294 suggests that in Evolve, this GPU class yields frame rates that are competitive with those older mobile and workstation parts, but far below what modern high-end GPUs achieve.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a different story. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 is within 2.1% of the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620), Intel Xeon 6505P (53701), Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053), and Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093). The deltaPct values range from -0.6% to 2.1%, indicating that the 9900X3D is competitive with these processors. However, this CPU-level performance does not translate into a high combo rank because the GPU constrains the system. The data shows that pairing a 91st-percentile CPU with a 65th-percentile GPU results in a combo that ranks near the bottom quarter of the database. This is a clear case where the GPU selection determines the overall experience, and the CPU's contribution to the rank is minimal. The measured FPS figures across all resolutions and settings consistently fall below what would be expected if the CPU were the primary driver.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system scales from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern indicates a GPU-bound configuration. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 137 at 1080p to 92 at 1440p to 52 at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 62%, which is consistent with a GPU that is heavily loaded at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the progression is 106 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and 40 FPS at 4K. This is a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component.

The High preset shows a similar scaling pattern: 83 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33%, and from 1440p to 4K is 43%. Ultra settings follow with 58 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 33%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 44%. These nearly identical scaling ratios across all four presets — averaging around 33% and 43-44% respectively — are a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p would be much smaller, because the CPU load would remain similar while the GPU work increased. Instead, the FPS drops proportionally with the pixel count, indicating that the Arc B570's fillrate and memory bandwidth are being exhausted.

The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth may also contribute to the scaling behavior. At 4K, the higher resolution demands more memory bandwidth, and the 380.0 GB/s figure is modest compared to higher-tier GPUs. The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits, and the measured 4K results — topping out at 52 FPS on Low — show that the GPU is nearing its practical limits. The data indicates that the CPU is never the limiting factor at any resolution, as the FPS scales consistently with resolution changes. For users targeting higher frame rates at 4K, the GPU would need to be upgraded, while the 9900X3D would continue to provide ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full range of performance across settings. The Low preset achieves 137 FPS average, the highest of any configuration. Medium delivers 106 FPS average with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 122 FPS. High settles at 83 FPS average. Ultra drops to 58 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 79 FPS, which is the largest of any resolution. This indicates that at 1080p, the settings have a significant impact on the GPU load, but even the Ultra preset remains playable at 58 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the measured results show a downward shift. Low averages 92 FPS. Medium averages 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. High averages 56 FPS. Ultra averages 39 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, narrower than at 1080p. The Medium preset's 60 FPS minimum is notable because it means that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays at or above 60 FPS, providing a consistent experience for players on 144Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest of the three resolutions. Low averages 52 FPS. Medium averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High averages 32 FPS. Ultra averages 22 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is only 30 FPS, reflecting the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at this resolution regardless of settings. The Medium preset's 34 FPS minimum is concerning, as it indicates that frame pacing can become erratic in busy scenes. The 4K data clearly shows that this combo is not suitable for 4K gaming in Evolve, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 60 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently offers the best balance of average FPS and minimum FPS. The 1080p Medium row (106 avg, 90 min, 122 max) and the 1440p Medium row (71 avg, 60 min, 82 max) are the only configurations where the minimum FPS stays above 60 at their respective resolutions. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p and 4K all have average FPS below 60, making them less suitable for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K is the only 4K option above 50 FPS, but it still falls short of a locked 60 FPS experience. The data supports a clear hierarchy: Medium at 1080p for competitive play, Medium at 1440p for visual quality with acceptable smoothness, and Low at 4K for those who absolutely must run at that resolution.