Evolve

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor from the Core 10th Gen series, built on the Comet Lake architecture with a 14 nm process node. Its base clock sits at 2.90 GHz, boosting up to 4.30 GHz, and it carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration places it in the 68th percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 14185. In Evolve, this CPU’s contribution is best understood through its multithreaded capability — the 3dmark_16_threads score of 4748 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 4735 indicate that the processor can handle heavy thread loads, which matters for a game that must track multiple monsters and hunters simultaneously.

When compared against its nearest rivals, the i5-10400F sits in a tight cluster. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, which is 0.2% lower than the i5-10400F’s average, while the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, 0.5% lower. On the other side, the Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, 0.3% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, 0.6% higher. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning the i5-10400F’s CPU-bound performance is effectively indistinguishable from these alternatives in synthetic tests. However, the i5-10400F’s single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark_single_thread is modest, and the cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 1451 suggests that per-core performance is adequate but not exceptional.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role becomes more pronounced at lower resolutions and lower settings where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 201 FPS, which is far above any display refresh rate target, and this is where the CPU’s 4.30 GHz boost clock and 12 threads allow the game logic to run without bottlenecking the frame output. The passmark_multithread score of 12115 reinforces that the i5-10400F can keep up with the game’s simulation demands. The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the limiting factor — the GPU still has headroom, and the frame rates scale almost exclusively with GPU load as settings rise. At 4K Ultra, the CPU’s influence fades entirely, as the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck with only 32 FPS average.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU with a Navi 32 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is generous for a game released in 2015 that was designed around far smaller memory pools. The GPU’s base clock is 1900 MHz, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz and a game clock of 2041 MHz. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs give it a pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute throughput is 25.18 TFLOPS, which places it in the 58th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 15852.

The RX 7700’s nearest rivals show a narrow competitive band. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, just 0.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, 1.0% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, 1.7% higher. These deltas are small, but in a game like Evolve, the RX 7700’s 16 GB VRAM is a decisive advantage — none of these rivals match that capacity, and Evolve’s environments with dense foliage and dynamic lighting can consume significant memory at high resolutions. The passmark_g3d score of 20974 and passmark_directx_12 score of 96 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which matters because Evolve’s engine leverages modern API features.

At 4K Ultra, the RX 7700 delivers only 32 FPS, which tells a clear story: the GPU is saturated. The 4K High preset jumps to 47 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. These numbers suggest that the RX 7700’s raw compute is sufficient for 4K at medium settings, but Ultra settings in Evolve push the shading units and ROPs to their limit. The VRAM is not the issue — 16 GB is ample — but the 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput simply cannot sustain 4K Ultra in this title. At 1440p, the GPU shows more headroom: 1440p Ultra hits 57 FPS, while 1440p High reaches 82 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely stressed, with 1080p Ultra at 85 FPS and 1080p High at 122 FPS. The data indicates that the RX 7700 is a 1440p-class card for Evolve, with 1080p being well within its comfort zone.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows for this combo cover four settings presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — across three resolutions. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot for most users. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 156 FPS average with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS. This is a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that exceeds 144 Hz displays, and the minimum frame time is solid enough to avoid stutter. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS — still excellent for a 1440p monitor, and the minimum frame rate stays above 60 FPS, which is critical for consistent gameplay in a fast-paced FPS.

At 4K Medium, the combo produces 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is playable for most users, though the 51 FPS minimum is close to the edge of what many would consider smooth. For users with a 4K display, Medium is the recommended preset — it balances visual fidelity with playability, and the measured minimum of 51 FPS indicates that the game will not dip below a playable threshold in typical scenes. High settings are a step up visually but come at a notable cost: 1080p High drops to 122 FPS, 1440p High to 82 FPS, and 4K High to 47 FPS. The 4K High result is particularly weak, falling below the 60 FPS target. Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the combo reaches 85 FPS — below the Medium preset’s 156 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, 57 FPS is borderline, and at 4K Ultra, 32 FPS is not playable for a competitive FPS.

The verdict is clear: Medium is the optimal preset. It provides the best balance across all three resolutions, with 1080p Medium being the standout choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, 1440p Medium being ideal for mainstream 1440p displays, and 4K Medium being acceptable for 4K users who prioritize playability over maximum detail. Low settings are only useful for extreme frame rate pushes — 201 FPS at 1080p Low and 135 FPS at 1440p Low — but the visual hit is substantial, and the Medium preset already offers enough performance headroom.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-10400F + AMD Radeon RX 7700 combo ranks 1291 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the 55th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 45% of tested combos perform better in this game. The rank is moderate, which reflects a mismatch between the CPU and GPU in this title. The i5-10400F is a 68th-percentile CPU, while the RX 7700 is a 58th-percentile GPU — but in Evolve, the combo’s rank is driven more by the GPU’s limitations at higher settings, especially at 4K Ultra where the 32 FPS result drags down the overall assessment.

When interpreting this rank, it is important to note that the combo’s performance is not uniform across settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 201 FPS, which would place it competitively against many higher-ranked combos that are GPU-bound at that resolution. However, at 4K Ultra, the 32 FPS result is well below what top-tier combos would deliver. The rank of 1291 reflects an average across all measured scenarios, and the data shows that this combo is strongest at 1080p and 1440p with Medium settings, where it outperforms many combos with weaker GPUs. The CPU’s 68th-percentile standing means it is not holding the combo back — the GPU is the limiting factor in the most demanding scenarios, and the rank would likely improve if the game were CPU-bound, which it is not at higher resolutions.

The nearest GPU rivals provide context: the RX 7700’s average benchmark score of 15852 is nearly identical to the R9 370X’s 15862, and both are within 1.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti. In Evolve, the RX 7700’s 16 GB VRAM gives it an edge over the 3060 Ti’s lower capacity in memory-heavy scenes, but the raw compute differences are small. The combo rank of 1291 suggests that Evolve is not particularly favorable to this pairing — the game’s older engine does not fully utilize the RX 7700’s modern architecture, and the CPU’s single-thread performance is only average. Users looking to improve this rank would need a stronger GPU, as the CPU is already providing adequate support.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals the bottleneck structure of this combo. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 156 to 105, a reduction of 51 FPS or roughly 33%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings, the average drops from 105 to 60, a reduction of 45 FPS or roughly 43%. At High settings, the scaling is similar: 1080p High (122 FPS) to 1440p High (82 FPS) is a 40 FPS drop (33%), and 1440p High to 4K High (47 FPS) is a 35 FPS drop (43%). These percentages are consistent, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting component at all resolutions above 1080p.

At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic: 1080p Low (201 FPS) to 1440p Low (135 FPS) is a 66 FPS drop (33%), and 1440p Low to 4K Low (77 FPS) is a 58 FPS drop (43%). The consistent percentage drops — roughly one-third from 1080p to 1440p and another one-third from 1440p to 4K (compounded) — are classic signs of GPU-bound scaling. The pixel count increases by about 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by about 125% from 1440p to 4K, and the FPS drops track closely with the pixel throughput demands. This means the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at higher resolutions; the RX 7700’s shading units and ROPs are simply saturated.

The data also shows that the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is the steepest in absolute terms: 1080p Ultra (85 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (57 FPS) is a 28 FPS drop, and 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (32 FPS) is a 25 FPS drop. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is a 62% reduction from 1080p Ultra, which is a larger relative drop than at other settings. This indicates that Ultra settings impose a disproportionate load on the GPU, likely due to advanced shading and shadow effects that scale superlinearly with resolution. The conclusion is unambiguous: the RX 7700 is the limiting component in this combo for Evolve, and the i5-10400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at all resolutions. Users who want higher 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU, not a faster CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 201 FPS, which is the single highest measured result in the dataset. Medium settings yield 156 FPS average with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS, providing a very stable experience. High settings drop to 122 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 85 FPS average. These numbers show that 1080p is well within the RX 7700’s comfort zone — even Ultra settings maintain a frame rate that is playable on a 60 Hz monitor and respectable on a 144 Hz display. The gap between Low and Ultra is 116 FPS, which is substantial, but the game remains fluid at every preset.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings produce 135 FPS average, which is still high enough for a 144 Hz display. Medium settings deliver 105 FPS average with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS — the minimum stays above 60 FPS, making this the recommended preset for 1440p users. High settings reach 82 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS average. The Ultra result is borderline for smooth gameplay, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold, but it is still playable on a 60 Hz display. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 78 FPS drop, which is a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p, reflecting the GPU becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles at higher settings. Low settings produce 77 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for 4K. Medium settings deliver 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS — this is the only 4K preset that maintains a frame rate near the 60 FPS target, though the 51 FPS minimum is a concern for consistency. High settings drop to 47 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 32 FPS average. The 4K Ultra result is not playable for an FPS, and even 4K High is below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that 4K is only viable at Medium settings, and even then, the minimum frame rate suggests occasional dips below 60 FPS. The gap between the 1080p Low result (201 FPS) and the 4K Ultra result (32 FPS) is 169 FPS, a 84% reduction, which underscores the GPU-bound nature of this combo at higher resolutions.