Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, presents a demanding load for the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p, but struggles significantly at higher resolutions. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU holds its own at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming the Radeon RX 6600 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 149 FPS at 1920x1080 to 97 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 52 FPS, and then plummets to 57.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, which is a clear indicator that pixel throughput, not CPU processing, is the constraint.

The pattern repeats at Medium settings, where average FPS drops from 117 at 1080p to 73.7 at 1440p and further to 45.3 at 4K. The scaling factor between 1440p and 4K is particularly harsh, with a 28.4 FPS loss, suggesting the GPU's 8 GB of memory and 128-bit bus are being saturated. At High settings, the same trend appears: 86.5 FPS at 1080p, 57.8 FPS at 1440p, and 36.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result of 36.2 FPS is just below the playable threshold, indicating that this resolution is not viable for this combo.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic degradation. The 1080p Ultra score of 61.8 FPS is already moderate, but it drops to 42.4 FPS at 1440p and a very low 22.1 FPS at 4K. This near-linear decline with pixel count shows that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are overwhelmed. The data clearly shows that 1080p is the intended resolution for this pairing, with 1440p being possible only on Low or Medium settings. The 4K resolution is only marginally playable on Low, and the 22.1 FPS at Ultra is a clear indicator that the GPU cannot handle the workload.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600, based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, is the dominant component in this system's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p but becomes stressed at 4K, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops. The GPU's boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz are high, but the 1792 shading units are not enough to handle the pixel counts of 4K Ultra.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 8.928 TFLOPS is a strong figure for 1080p gaming, yet the measured results show it is insufficient for Evolve at high resolutions. The pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are adequate for the game's 2015-era graphics, but the data shows that the card's 64 ROPs are a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's percentile ranking of 69 versus all GPUs places it in the upper mid-range, which aligns with its 1080p performance.

The 132 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU indicate a power-efficient card, but that efficiency does not translate to high-resolution performance. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility ensure modern driver paths, yet the scores in PassMark DirectX 12 (51) and DirectX 11 (152) show that the card is better suited to older API workloads, which is relevant for a 2015 title like Evolve. The GPU's average benchmark score of 25235 places it nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 890M (deltaPct 0) and slightly behind the RX 580 2048SP (deltaPct -0.2), confirming its position as a solid but not exceptional performer.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this Intel Core i5-10400F and Radeon RX 6600 combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers 117 FPS. This provides a high refresh rate experience without the visual compromises of Low settings. High settings at 1080p, with 86.5 FPS, are also a strong choice for those prioritizing image quality, as the frame rate remains well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that Low settings (97 FPS) are the only way to maintain a high refresh rate, while Medium (73.7 FPS) is acceptable for 60 FPS gaming. High settings at 1440p (57.8 FPS) are borderline, and Ultra (42.4 FPS) should be avoided due to the noticeable drop below 60 FPS. For 3840x2160, the only playable option is Low settings at 57.5 FPS, which is just under 60 FPS but still playable. Medium at 4K (45.3 FPS) is a compromise, while High (36.2 FPS) and Ultra (22.1 FPS) are not recommended for any serious gameplay.

The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performing, with a 61.8 FPS average at 1080p being the only result above 60 FPS. For this game, the data indicates that the jump from Medium to Ultra costs 55.2 FPS at 1080p (from 117 to 61.8), which is a significant penalty for incremental visual gains. The recommendation is to stay with Medium or High at 1080p, and only use Low at 1440p or 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Evolve at 4K?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which averages 57.5 FPS. Medium settings at 4K yield 45.3 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 36.2 and 22.1 FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for smooth play.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, even Ultra settings achieve 61.8 FPS, while Medium and High reach 117 and 86.5 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in Evolve?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F, with 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 149 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. The FPS drops at higher resolutions are due to GPU limitations, not CPU processing.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 6600 a strong GPU for this game?

A: The GPU's percentile ranking of 69 versus all GPUs shows it is a mid-range performer. Its 8 GB memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p, but the 4K Ultra result of 22.1 FPS confirms it is not a high-resolution card.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset?

A: No. The Ultra preset provides the lowest frame rates across all resolutions. At 1440p and 4K, it falls below 42.4 FPS, making it the least desirable option compared to High or Medium.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 1374 out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This is consistent with its 1080p-focused performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F, a 10th Gen Comet Lake processor, plays a supporting role in Evolve's performance. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it provides enough parallel processing power to keep the GPU fed at lower resolutions. The CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz and base clock of 2.90 GHz are adequate for a 2015 title, and its 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game logic and physics. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 show a balanced processor, though not a top-tier one.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 73 versus all CPUs is higher than the GPU's 69, but the measured FPS data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 149 FPS result suggests the CPU is not holding back the system, as this is a high frame rate for any title. However, at 4K Ultra (22.1 FPS), the CPU's performance is irrelevant because the GPU is completely overwhelmed. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and max-thread score of 4735 indicate that the CPU's multi-threading capability is sufficient for Evolve's engine.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s on a dual-channel DDR4 interface is a potential bottleneck in theory, but the data does not show this in practice. The PassMark multi-thread score of 12115 and single-thread score of 2541 are solid, but the game's FPS results are more dependent on the GPU's pixel throughput. The i5-10400F's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (deltaPct -0.8) and Intel Core i5-8500 (deltaPct -1.1), show similar average scores, confirming that this CPU is a competent but not exceptional gaming processor. In this combo, the CPU's role is to avoid becoming a bottleneck, which it does successfully up to the point where the GPU fails.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core i5-10400F and Radeon RX 6600 deliver strong results across all settings. Low settings average 149 FPS, providing an excellent high-refresh-rate experience. Medium settings average 117 FPS, which is smooth and visually better. High settings drop to 86.5 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings average 61.8 FPS, which is playable but shows a significant performance cost for maximum visual fidelity. The spread from Low to Ultra is 87.2 FPS, indicating a wide range of performance depending on user preference.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases notably. Low settings average 97 FPS, which is still high. Medium settings drop to 73.7 FPS, a comfortable 60+ FPS experience. High settings average 57.8 FPS, which is just below 60 FPS and may be noticeable on some displays. Ultra settings fall to 42.4 FPS, which is not ideal for fast-paced FPS gameplay. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 34.9% performance loss at Low (from 149 to 97), and a 31.4% loss at Ultra (from 61.8 to 42.4), highlighting the GPU's resolution dependency.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings average 57.5 FPS, which is barely playable. Medium settings drop to 45.3 FPS, and High settings fall to 36.2 FPS. Ultra settings average only 22.1 FPS, which is unplayable for a competitive FPS. The 4K results show that the GPU's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are insufficient for this resolution, with the performance dropping by 61.4% from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (149 to 57.5 FPS) and by 64.2% at Ultra settings (61.8 to 22.1 FPS). The data conclusively shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Evolve.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 1374 out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 19th percentile of all systems. This ranking is low, but it is important to contextualize it with the measured FPS data. The combo's 1080p performance is strong, with 149 FPS at Low and 117 FPS at Medium, but the ranking is dragged down by the poor 4K results. The GPU's percentile of 69 and CPU's percentile of 73 suggest this is a mid-range system, yet the overall combo rank of 1374 indicates that many other systems in the database handle Evolve better at higher resolutions.

The combo's rank is influenced by the fact that Evolve is a 2015 title that may not scale well with modern hardware. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (deltaPct 0.2) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (deltaPct 0.5), have similar average scores, but the RX 6600's 8 GB memory is a limiting factor for 4K. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-8500 (deltaPct -1.1), show that the i5-10400F is a typical mid-range processor. The rank of 1374 suggests that while this combo is adequate for 1080p gaming, it is not competitive with systems that use higher-end GPUs with more memory bandwidth. The data confirms that this pairing is best suited for 1080p or 1440p Low/Medium settings, and its low overall rank reflects its inability to handle 4K Ultra settings effectively.