Evolve

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a wide performance envelope in Evolve, ranging from highly playable at 1080p to marginal at 4K Ultra. The measured data shows a clear pattern where resolution and settings drastically alter the experience, but the system remains functional across all tested configurations. This analysis breaks down the FPS figures, component roles, and ranking data to provide a clear picture of what this pairing offers for this specific FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a typical GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 190 FPS at 1920x1080 to 127 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 72 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent, indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's rendering workload increases predictably with pixel count.

At Medium settings, the pattern continues with 147 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33%, identical to the Low setting percentage, while the drop to 4K is 43% again. This consistency suggests that the game's engine scales resolution demands linearly regardless of the quality preset, which points to the GPU being the dominant limiting factor as resolution increases.

The High settings tier shows a similar trend: 115 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 33% and 43% respectively, matching the other settings. Ultra settings follow with 80 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. Here, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32.5%, and the drop to 4K is 42.6%, a slight deviation but within the same range.

The fact that the relative FPS reductions are nearly identical across all four settings tiers strongly indicates that the RTX 4060 is the bottleneck as resolution climbs. The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, has ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions, but the GPU's rendering capacity is exhausted more quickly at higher pixel counts. At 4K Ultra, the average of 31 FPS shows the GPU is fully saturated, while at 1080p Low, the 190 FPS figure suggests the CPU could potentially push even higher if the GPU were faster. The data shows that for 4K gaming, users will need to drop settings significantly to achieve smoother frame rates, while 1080p and 1440p offer much more flexibility.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. In Evolve, these specifications translate to a GPU that handles 1080p and 1440p quite well but struggles with 4K Ultra.

The GPU's performance percentile is 61, meaning it outperforms 61% of all tested GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 17639, which places it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rivals show it is closely matched with the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% behind), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% ahead), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% ahead), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7% ahead). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the RTX 4060 sits in a tightly contested performance bracket.

Looking at the game-specific results, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Evolve at all tested settings, as there are no indications of texture loading stutters or memory-related crashes. The memory clock of 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective) provides enough bandwidth for the game's assets at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, the bandwidth becomes a limiting factor, contributing to the lower frame rates observed. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are adequate for the game's visual demands at lower resolutions but are pushed to their limits at 3840x2160.

The FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS is a key indicator of the GPU's raw compute power. This figure supports the observed 44 FPS average at 4K High and 56 FPS at 4K Medium. The GPU's direct compute capabilities are further evidenced by its Passmark G3D score of 19545 and DirectX 12 score of 76. These numbers show that while the RTX 4060 is not a top-tier card, it has enough power for Evolve at mainstream settings. The performance gap between 1440p and 4K is the most telling sign of the GPU's role as the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 128 MB L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. Its percentile vs. all CPUs is 91, placing it in the top 10% of processors.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames, and the data shows it does this effectively. At 1080p Low, the 190 FPS average is likely near the CPU's limit for this game, but it is high enough that the GPU becomes the bottleneck in most scenarios. The 3DMark scores support this: 12490 for 16 threads, 9002 for 8 threads, and 4885 for 4 threads. These indicate strong multi-threaded performance, which is beneficial for modern game engines that utilize multiple cores.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it is competitive but not dominant. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF is 0.6% behind, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3% ahead, the Intel Xeon 6505P is 2% ahead, and the Intel Core i7-14700F is 2.1% ahead in average benchmark score. These small deltas mean the 9900X3D is in the same performance class as these CPUs, with no single rival being significantly faster.

The single-thread performance is also notable, with a Geekbench single-core score of 3041 and a Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2830. This matters for Evolve because the game's frame pacing and physics calculations often rely on a few fast cores. The Passmark single-thread score of 4646 further confirms that the CPU can handle the per-thread workload. With 24 threads available, the CPU never appears to be a limiting factor in the measured FPS, even at 1080p where frame rates are highest. The data indicates that the 9900X3D provides ample processing headroom, allowing the RTX 4060 to be the deciding component for performance across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1533 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the 53rd percentile of all tested combinations, meaning it performs better than approximately 53% of the systems tested. This mid-pack ranking is a direct result of pairing a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU.

The CPU alone ranks in the 91st percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile. The combo's rank of 1533 is heavily weighted by the GPU's performance, as the CPU's high percentile does not compensate for the GPU's lower standing in this specific game. In other words, the 9900X3D is overkill for the RTX 4060 in Evolve, as the GPU is the bottleneck in most scenarios.

Examining the measured FPS, the combo's performance at 1080p High (115 FPS) and Medium (147 FPS) is solid, but not exceptional when considering the CPU's capabilities. The fact that the combo ranks in the middle suggests that many other combinations with similar or better GPUs and weaker CPUs achieve higher frame rates. The ranking data implies that for Evolve, the GPU choice is more critical than the CPU choice, and this pairing sacrifices potential GPU performance for CPU headroom that the game does not fully utilize.

The delta between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's mid-pack rank highlights a mismatch. If the goal is to maximize FPS in Evolve, the data suggests that a more balanced pairing, such as a mid-range CPU with a higher-tier GPU, would yield a better rank. However, for users who need the CPU for other tasks like content creation or heavy multitasking, this combo offers a versatile solution, though it leaves performance on the table in this specific game.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 77 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1533 out of 2872 tested combos, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all tested systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 31, while the CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its high benchmark scores.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 147. At 4K Medium, it drops to 56 FPS, a 62% reduction.

Q: Does the RTX 4060 have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory appears sufficient, as there are no reported issues in the measured data, though bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread score compare to its multi-thread score?

A: The CPU has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 and a multicore score of 47737, indicating strong performance in both areas.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and target frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Low preset is required, as it delivers an average of 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for some users. For 1440p, the High preset offers 77 FPS, which is a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 99 FPS, making it ideal for users with 144Hz monitors.

At 1080p, all settings are playable, but the High preset at 115 FPS is the sweet spot for visual fidelity and smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 80 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns in visual quality for the performance cost. The Medium preset at 1080p is the best choice for competitive play, offering 147 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 190 FPS for maximum frame rates.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1440p (127 FPS) or 1080p (190 FPS) is recommended. For a balanced experience, the Medium preset at 1440p (99 FPS) or High at 1080p (115 FPS) is ideal. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with G-Sync or V-Sync displays who can tolerate lower frame rates, as it provides 80 FPS at 1080p and 31 FPS at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates shows a clear progression across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: average 190 FPS.
• Medium settings: average 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and maximum of 169 FPS.
• High settings: average 115 FPS.
• Ultra settings: average 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: average 127 FPS.
• Medium settings: average 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS.
• High settings: average 77 FPS.
• Ultra settings: average 54 FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: average 72 FPS.
• Medium settings: average 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS.
• High settings: average 44 FPS.
• Ultra settings: average 31 FPS.

The data reveals that the Medium settings tier is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating more variance in frame times at this setting. The other settings show only average FPS, suggesting steadier performance. The minimum FPS values are notably lower than the averages, particularly at 4K Medium where the minimum is 48 FPS, which could result in noticeable stutters. Overall, the breakdown confirms that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant compromises in settings to achieve playable frame rates.