Evolve

# Evolve with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

The pairing of AMD's top-tier Ryzen 9 9900X3D with NVIDIA's aging GeForce GTX 1070 creates one of the most lopsided configurations in the benchmark database. The CPU is a 12-core Zen 5 flagship with a 91st-percentile standing among all processors, while the GPU sits at just the 47th percentile among all graphics cards. In Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, this imbalance manifests clearly: the GTX 1070 becomes the bottleneck at every resolution, but the degree to which it limits performance varies dramatically as settings and resolution change. The measured data shows a system that can deliver playable framerates at 1080p, struggles at 1440p, and falls below acceptable thresholds at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS rows for this combination reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system averages 80 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops the average to 54 FPS, a 32.5% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 31 FPS, which represents a 61.3% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario: the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has ample headroom at 1080p, but the GTX 1070's pixel throughput limits frame generation as pixel count increases.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system hits 132 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it drops to 88 FPS, a 33.3% decline. At 4K Low, the average falls to 50 FPS, which is 62.1% below the 1080p result. Notably, the percentage drops between 1080p and 4K are nearly identical across High and Low presets (61.3% vs 62.1%), suggesting that resolution scaling is largely independent of graphics settings in this game. This consistency points to a fixed bottleneck: the GPU's memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s and its 8 GB GDDR5 frame buffer.

Medium settings provide the only rows with min/max FPS data, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 and maximum of 117. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 68 FPS with a min of 58 and max of 79. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 39 FPS with a min of 33 and max of 45. The min-to-max spread remains tight across resolutions (30 FPS at 1080p, 21 FPS at 1440p, 12 FPS at 4K), but the absolute minimums at 4K dip below 35 FPS, which is problematic for a fast-paced FPS.

Ultra settings are punishing at every resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 55 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 37 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the system musters just 21 FPS average. The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is 25 FPS (80 vs 55), indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy additional load on the GTX 1070. The data suggests that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU: the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 12 cores and 24 threads are vastly overprovisioned for a 2015 title, while the GTX 1070's 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs are stretched thin at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This particular CPU-GPU combination ranks 2369th out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 17.5% of all configurations. That ranking is surprising given the CPU's pedigree, but it reflects the reality that Evolve's performance is dominated by the graphics card. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 places it just 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, yet none of that CPU horsepower translates into a competitive gaming rank when paired with a GPU that sits at the 47th percentile.

The GTX 1070's own benchmark profile shows why this combo ranks so low. Its PassMark G3D score of 13498 and average benchmark score of 9780 put it in the company of the AMD FirePro W5000 (0.2% lower) and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (0.5% higher). These are workstation and mobile-class parts, not gaming GPUs from the same era as the 1070's 2016 release. The combo rank of 2369 out of 2872 indicates that the majority of tested systems use more balanced pairings, even if their CPUs are far less capable.

What the rank does not capture is the CPU's latent potential. If the GTX 1070 were swapped for a modern GPU, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's 3DMark scores (12490 at 16 threads, 13795 at max threads) and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 would likely propel this combo into the top quartile. But as measured, the data shows a system that is severely GPU-limited. The rank of 2369 reflects the weakest link, and in this case, that link is the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 102 FPS average with a minimum of 87 FPS, which is smooth for an FPS title. High settings at 1080p yield 80 FPS average, still playable, but Medium offers a 27.5% framerate improvement with only a modest visual downgrade. Ultra at 1080p drops to 55 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play. The recommendation at 1080p is Medium, as it provides the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity per the measured rows.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens. Medium settings produce 68 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is acceptable for casual play but may feel sluggish in fast-paced encounters. High settings at 1440p drop to 54 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. Low settings at 1440p achieve 88 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. The data suggests Medium as the recommended preset at 1440p, as it stays above 60 FPS on average and never dips below 58 FPS in the measured range.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a playable framerate. Low settings average 50 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The minimum of 33 FPS at Medium indicates that frame times will be inconsistent, making 4K gaming impractical with this GPU. For users who insist on 4K, Low settings are the only option that stays above 45 FPS on average, but even that falls below the 60 FPS target. The measured data indicates that 1440p Medium is the highest resolution-preset combination that maintains a consistent playable experience.

FAQ

Q: Is this system capable of running Evolve at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 102 FPS and High averages 80 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 68 FPS, which is above 60 but with a minimum of 58 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS on average.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093), 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053), and 2.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620). It also sits 2% above the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701).

Q: What is the GTX 1070's standing among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 ranks at the 47th percentile among all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 9780 places it within 0.7% of the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (9716) and 0.6% of the NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724).

Q: Why does the combo rank so low if the CPU is so powerful?

A: The combo ranks 2369th out of 2872 tested combinations because Evolve's performance is primarily GPU-bound. The GTX 1070's 47th-percentile standing limits framerates regardless of the CPU's 91st-percentile performance.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: Medium settings at 1920x1080 provide the best measured experience with 102 FPS average and a minimum of 87 FPS. High settings offer 80 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 55 FPS.

Q: Does the GTX 1070's VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 50 at Low settings, indicating that the GPU's memory subsystem and compute resources are insufficient for 4K in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the decisive component in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards but was competitive at its 2016 release. The GPU's 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs operate at a base clock of 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz. These specifications yield a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS.

In Evolve, the GTX 1070's role as the bottleneck is evident from the resolution scaling data. The 61.3% framerate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings aligns with the GPU's limited pixel throughput. The 1070's 47th-percentile ranking among all GPUs places it just above the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, both of which are workstation-class parts with lower gaming performance. The GPU's PassMark DirectX 11 score of 100 and DirectX 12 score of 48 indicate that its DX11 performance is solid but DX12 support is weak, which matters for a 2015 title that likely uses DX11.

The memory configuration plays a critical role. The 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of memory pressure and compute load results in a 21 FPS average. The 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is also a limiting factor at higher resolutions, as texture fetch and pixel fill requirements outpace the memory subsystem's capability. The GPU's 16 nm process node and 7,200 million transistors are dated, and its 150 W TDP with a single 8-pin power connector reflects its mid-range positioning at launch.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a desktop processor from the Ryzen 9 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It features 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 128 MB of L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads. It supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is minimal due to the game's age and the GPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's benchmark scores are exceptional: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 47737, single-core reaches 6739, and Geekbench multicore hits 22884. Its 3DMark scores range from 1269 single-thread to 13795 max-threads. These numbers place the CPU at the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Despite this, the measured FPS in Evolve never indicates CPU limitation, as the framerates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all Intel parts, with the Core Ultra 5 245KF essentially matching its average score (0.6% difference). This positioning confirms that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a top-tier processor, but in this specific game and GPU pairing, its capabilities are untapped. The 12-core, 24-thread configuration with 128 MB of L3 cache is overkill for a title released in 2015, which likely uses fewer than 8 threads effectively. The CPU's 120 W TDP and 4 nm process node are modern attributes that contribute to its efficiency, but they do not influence Evolve's framerates given the GPU constraint. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings preset, as evidenced by the consistent GPU-bound scaling pattern across all measured rows.