Evolve

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for Evolve show a clear hierarchy across the four available presets, and the data strongly favors Medium as the best experience for this combination of an Intel Core i5-10400F and an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 203 FPS, which is 17 frames higher than High (186 FPS) and only 19 frames below the Low preset's 222 FPS. The Medium preset also provides a minimum FPS of 172 and a maximum of 233 at 1080p, indicating a stable frame delivery with no severe dips. Low settings push the average to 222 FPS, but that gain comes at the cost of visual fidelity, and the incremental improvement over Medium is modest relative to the visual quality sacrifice.

At 1440p, Medium again stands out with an average of 159 FPS, a minimum of 135 FPS, and a maximum of 183 FPS. High trails at 125 FPS, while Low reaches 194 FPS. The gap between Medium and Low narrows to 35 FPS, but Medium still offers a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, the story shifts: Medium averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 104 FPS, while High drops to 71 FPS and Low stays at 117 FPS. The 4K Medium result is particularly notable because it maintains a playable frame rate with a minimum above 75 FPS, suggesting that this preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions.

Ultra settings, by contrast, produce the lowest averages at every resolution: 129 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS standard, making it unsuitable for consistent play at that resolution. Benchmark results indicate that Medium offers the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, with the 4K minimum of 77 FPS being particularly strong for a preset that still includes meaningful graphical enhancements. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, Low is the fallback, but Medium is the recommended default for this hardware pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX brings substantial resources to Evolve, beginning with its 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is far beyond what a 2015 FPS title requires, and the data shows that the GPU is never the bottleneck at lower resolutions. The card's clocks — a base of 1929 MHz, a boost of 2498 MHz, and a game clock of 2365 MHz — provide the raw throughput needed to push frame rates above 200 FPS at 1080p. The memory clock runs at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed, which supports the high bandwidth figure.

The GPU's compute resources include 6144 shading units, 384 TMUs, 192 ROPs, and 96 ray accelerators, with a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 959.2 GTexel/s. These specs translate into 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which explains why the card can handle Evolve's rendering load at 4K Medium with a 90 FPS average. The RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die, delivers this performance with a TDP of 355 W, requiring a 750 W suggested PSU and 2x 8-pin power connectors.

In the context of this benchmark, the GPU's role is most evident at 4K, where the average FPS drops from 222 at 1080p Low to 117 at 4K Low. That 105 FPS reduction is driven by the GPU's need to render four times the pixels. However, the RX 7900 XTX still manages a 4K High average of 71 FPS, which is respectable for a demanding resolution. The card's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 64, and its average benchmark score is 19410. In the nearestRivals list, the RX 7900 XTX sits close to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (deltaPct of 0.4), the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (deltaPct of -1), the AMD FirePro D300 (deltaPct of -1.2), and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (deltaPct of 1.2). These deltas are all within 1.2%, indicating that the synthetic benchmark scores place the RX 7900 XTX in a tight cluster with those older cards, though the real-world game results are far more differentiated.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition in which component governs performance. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 222 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 194 FPS; and at 4K Low, it falls to 117 FPS. This represents a 47.3% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 39.7% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop is 105 FPS, or 47.3% of the 1080p value. These percentages indicate that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases, because the CPU has more headroom at lower resolutions where the frame rate is highest.

For Medium settings, the pattern holds: 203 FPS at 1080p, 159 FPS at 1440p (a 21.7% drop), and 90 FPS at 4K (a 43.4% drop from 1440p). The High preset shows 186 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p (a 32.8% drop), and 71 FPS at 4K (a 43.2% drop). Ultra settings exhibit the steepest scaling: 129 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p (a 33.3% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (a 43.0% drop). The consistent 43% drop from 1440p to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput is the dominant constraint at 4K, regardless of preset.

The fact that 1080p Low reaches 222 FPS while 4K Low only hits 117 FPS indicates that the CPU (Intel Core i5-10400F) can feed the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions, but the GPU cannot maintain the same frame rate once the pixel count quadruples. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that CPU overhead becomes a factor, but the GPU still has enough headroom to exceed 200 FPS. At 4K, the GPU's rendering load is the clear limiter, as evidenced by the 49 FPS Ultra result, which falls below the 60 FPS standard. For users seeking high refresh rates, 1080p or 1440p Medium is the practical ceiling; 4K requires accepting Medium settings to stay above 90 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo in Evolve?

A: Medium provides the best experience, with averages of 203 FPS at 1080p, 159 FPS at 1440p, and 90 FPS at 4K. The 4K minimum of 77 FPS is notably strong, while Ultra drops to 49 FPS at 4K, which is below the 60 FPS standard.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 19410. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (deltaPct of 0.4), NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (deltaPct of -1), AMD FirePro D300 (deltaPct of -1.2), and NVIDIA TITAN Xp (deltaPct of 1.2). All deltas are within 1.2%.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 222 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads may limit the frame rate. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as shown by the 49 FPS Ultra result versus the 222 FPS 1080p Low result.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 692 out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the top 18.7% of all combos.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings: 77 FPS at 4K, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 172 FPS at 1080p. Low, High, and Ultra presets have no min FPS recorded in the data.

Q: How does the CPU's synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon 6756E (deltaPct of 0.2), Intel Core 7 160UL (deltaPct of -0.3), AMD EPYC 7552 (deltaPct of 0.5), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (deltaPct of -0.6). All deltas are within 0.6%.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks 692 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places the pairing in the top 18.7% of all combinations, which is a strong showing for a title released in 2015. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads and the GPU's 24 GB of VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that this combo can deliver 222 FPS at 1080p Low and 117 FPS at 4K Low, which are both well above playable thresholds.

The CPU's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 68, meaning it outperforms 68% of CPUs in the database, while the GPU's percentile is 64. These percentiles align with the combo's overall rank, suggesting that neither component is dramatically holding back the other. The CPU's average benchmark score of 14185 places it near the Intel Xeon 6756E (deltaPct of 0.2) and AMD EPYC 7552 (deltaPct of 0.5), while the GPU's average score of 19410 puts it close to the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (deltaPct of 1.2). The rank of 692 out of 3700 indicates that there are many combos with higher-performing CPUs or GPUs, but for Evolve specifically, this pairing delivers a balanced experience across all resolutions.

The fact that the combo ranks in the top 18.7% is notable given that the GPU is end-of-life and the CPU is from the Comet Lake generation. Benchmark results indicate that the pairing is more than sufficient for Evolve, with the 4K Medium average of 90 FPS being a highlight. For users with a 1440p or 1080p monitor, the combo delivers well above 120 FPS on Medium, which is ideal for high-refresh displays. The rank also suggests that the GPU's 24 GB VRAM is overkill for this game, but it ensures no memory-related stutters at any resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process, offers a TDP of 65 W and supports DDR4 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's PCIe Gen 3 interface provides 16 lanes, which is sufficient for the RX 7900 XTX's PCIe 4.0 x16 bus (the card will run at Gen 3 speeds, but the bandwidth difference is minor for this game).

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 4748 in 3DMark with 16 threads, 3929 with 8 threads, 2560 with 4 threads, and 1350 with 2 threads. The single-thread score is 688. In Cinebench, the R20 multicore score is 4318 and single-core is 609, while R23 multicore hits 10283 and single-core 1451. Geekbench shows a multicore score of 6257 and single-core of 1420. PassMark results include a multithread score of 12115 and single-thread of 2541. These numbers indicate a capable mid-range CPU that can handle modern games, but in Evolve, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations.

The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 222 FPS, which is near the CPU's practical limit for this title. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 203 FPS, and at 1080p High it falls to 186 FPS. This scaling suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p Medium or High, as the GPU is still able to maintain high frame rates. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 49 FPS, which is clearly GPU-limited, as the CPU would have far less work to do per frame at 4K. The CPU's 12 threads are likely underutilized in Evolve, given that the game's release date of 2015 predates the widespread use of many-core CPUs.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 68 and its average benchmark score of 14185 place it in a competitive position. Its nearest rivals in the database are the Intel Xeon 6756E (deltaPct of 0.2), Intel Core 7 160UL (deltaPct of -0.3), AMD EPYC 7552 (deltaPct of 0.5), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (deltaPct of -0.6). These deltas are all within 0.6%, indicating that the i5-10400F performs similarly to these other CPUs in synthetic tests. In Evolve, the CPU's 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient to feed the GPU's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, as the game does not require high CPU-to-GPU data transfers.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Evolve with this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with the most complete data available for Medium settings. At 4K (3840x2160), the results are as follows: High averages 71 FPS, Low averages 117 FPS, Medium averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS and a maximum of 104 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only one with a recorded minimum, and that minimum of 77 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended preset for 4K play.

At 1440p (2560x1440), the averages are: High at 125 FPS, Low at 194 FPS, Medium at 159 FPS with a minimum of 135 FPS and a maximum of 183 FPS, and Ultra at 86 FPS. The Medium preset again provides the only min/max data, and the 135 FPS minimum is well above any playability concern. The 194 FPS Low result shows that the combo can exceed 180 FPS at 1440p, but Medium offers a more balanced experience with 159 FPS average.

At 1080p (1920x1080), the averages are: High at 186 FPS, Low at 222 FPS, Medium at 203 FPS with a minimum of 172 FPS and a maximum of 233 FPS, and Ultra at 129 FPS. The 1080p Medium result shows a minimum of 172 FPS, which is the highest minimum recorded for any resolution and preset combination. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 129 FPS, which is still above 120 FPS, but the data shows that Medium provides an additional 74 FPS over Ultra. The Low preset at 222 FPS is the highest average across all data points, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth the 19 FPS gain over Medium.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides a minimum FPS above 77 FPS, while the Ultra preset never exceeds 129 FPS and drops to 49 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that Medium is the most reliable preset for maintaining high frame rates, with the 1080p Medium maximum of 233 FPS being the highest recorded maximum. The High preset offers a middle ground, with averages ranging from 71 FPS at 4K to 186 FPS at 1080p, but it lacks the min/max data that Medium provides. The Low preset is the only one that remains above 117 FPS at all resolutions, but its visual quality is the lowest. This breakdown confirms that the combo is best utilized with Medium settings, particularly for users who want to avoid frame rate dips below 75 FPS at any resolution.