Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, shows a wide performance spread across resolutions and settings when paired with the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB. The measured data indicates that this combination is highly capable at 1080p, but the demands of 4K resolution quickly overwhelm the GPU, making the experience dependent on careful settings selection. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, the role of each component, and how this specific combo stacks up against the broader database.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a steep performance penalty as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-intensive title. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 118 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings drops the average to 79 FPS, a reduction of exactly 39 frames. The jump to 2160p (4K) at High settings further reduces the average to 45 FPS, showing that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at lower settings. At Low settings, the frame rate is 194 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 130 FPS at 1440p and then to 74 FPS at 4K. This indicates that while the CPU has enough headroom to push very high frame rates at 1080p, the GPU's rendering workload at 4K cuts the performance by more than half compared to 1080p. The data suggests that the RX 9060 XT is well-suited for 1440p gaming, but at 4K, users will need to rely on lower presets to maintain a playable frame rate.

The gap between Medium and High settings at each resolution is consistent. At 1080p, Medium averages 151 FPS versus 118 FPS on High, a difference of 33 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 22 FPS (101 vs 79), and at 4K, it narrows to 12 FPS (57 vs 45). This shrinking delta at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as the cost of increasing quality settings is relatively smaller when the absolute frame rate is already low.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB is the decisive component in this pairing for Evolve. Its specifications include a boost clock of 3130 MHz and a game clock of 2530 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing a bandwidth of 322.3 GB/s. The data shows that this memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the performance drops to an average of 45 FPS on High, which is likely insufficient for smooth gameplay on many displays.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 4093, which places it in the 24th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the Intel HD Graphics 630, which scores 4075 (a 0.4% difference), and the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M at 4151 (a -1.4% difference). These are low-end or older parts, indicating that the RX 9060 XT's raw score in this specific benchmark is not representative of its gaming performance in Evolve, where it delivers over 100 FPS at 1080p High settings.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB appears adequate for the tested presets, as the game does not show any signs of severe stuttering or min FPS collapses at lower resolutions. The measured min FPS for Medium settings are 128 at 1080p, 86 at 1440p, and 49 at 4K, which are all within a reasonable range of the average FPS. This suggests that memory is not a bottleneck, and the frame rate drops are primarily due to the GPU's compute and fill rate limits at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB ranks 1890 out of 3700 total combinations for Evolve. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance distribution, which is notable given the high frame rates observed at 1080p. The ranking likely reflects that many other tested combos include more powerful GPUs that can sustain higher averages at 4K, where this combo struggles.

The CPU's own percentile ranking is 68, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors in the database on average benchmark scores. However, the GPU's percentile is 24, which drags the combo's overall standing down. The data shows that the RX 9060 XT, while capable at lower resolutions, does not have the raw power to compete with higher-tier cards at 4K, and this is reflected in the combo's rank. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher), AMD EPYC 7552 (0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% lower), showing the i5-10400F is a solid mid-range performer that is not holding the GPU back at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the most balanced experience is achieved at 1440p with High settings, which yields an average of 79 FPS. This provides a good combination of visual quality and smoothness. For users with a 1080p display, the High preset at 118 FPS is excellent and leaves headroom for enabling Ultra, which still averages 82 FPS, or for future titles.

At 4K, the data indicates that users should avoid the Ultra preset, which drops to just 31 FPS average, and even High at 45 FPS may be borderline. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 57 FPS with a min FPS of 49, which is the most viable option for 4K gaming on this hardware. The Low preset at 4K reaches 74 FPS, but the visual quality loss is substantial. The sweet spot for this combo is clearly 1440p, where even Ultra maintains a playable 55 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 118 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on most monitors.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 57, while High drops to 45 and Ultra falls to 31. The data suggests that Medium is the highest playable preset at 4K.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The RX 9060 XT's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4093 is 0.4% higher than the Intel HD Graphics 630 and 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M, but 1.4% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F is in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 10283 and single-core is 1451.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data indicates 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution, as it provides an average of 79 FPS on High and 101 FPS on Medium, with Ultra still maintaining 55 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank overall for this game?

A: This pairing ranks 1890 out of 3700 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the lower-middle range of the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides a solid foundation for this combo. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it has enough processing power to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. The CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz and 12 MB of shared L3 cache contribute to its strong single-thread performance, which is critical for older FPS titles like Evolve that may not scale well across many cores.

Benchmark data shows the CPU scores 10283 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1451 in single-core, with a Geekbench multicore score of 6257 and single-core of 1420. Its Passmark single-thread score is 2541, and the multithread score is 12115. These numbers indicate that the i5-10400F is a capable mid-range processor, but its memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4 is modest by modern standards.

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role becomes less critical as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 194 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame rate limit for this game. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom. The data shows no significant min FPS collapses that would indicate CPU stuttering, which supports the conclusion that the processor is performing its role without being a bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS are:

• Ultra: 31 FPS
• High: 45 FPS
• Medium: 57 FPS (min 49, max 66)
• Low: 74 FPS

At 2560x1440, the average FPS are:

• Ultra: 55 FPS
• High: 79 FPS
• Medium: 101 FPS (min 86, max 116)
• Low: 130 FPS

At 1920x1080, the average FPS are:

• Ultra: 82 FPS
• High: 118 FPS
• Medium: 151 FPS (min 128, max 173)
• Low: 194 FPS

The data shows a clear progression: at every preset, the frame rate increases as resolution decreases. The largest relative jump occurs from 4K to 1440p, where the average FPS nearly doubles on High settings (45 to 79). The smallest relative difference is between 1440p and 1080p on Low settings, where the increase is from 130 to 194 FPS. This pattern confirms that the GPU's performance scales predictably with pixel count, and the CPU is not a limiting factor in any of the tested configurations.