Evolve

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 produces a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within the 2015 title Evolve. The data set for this combination reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable of delivering high frame rates, yet the scaling patterns across resolutions and settings expose a clear shift in performance responsibility from the CPU to the GPU. With the RTX 3080 sitting at the 68th percentile among all GPUs and the i5-10400F equally positioned at the 68th percentile among CPUs, the benchmark results show a system where the 6-core, 12-thread processor is rarely the limiting factor, except at the lowest graphical presets where the framerate ceiling becomes apparent.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 in Evolve illustrates a textbook case of GPU-bound scaling, but with a notable CPU-imposed ceiling at the lower end. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 153 FPS at 1080p to 102 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 33%, before settling at 58 FPS at 4K, another 43% decline. This continuous, steep drop indicates that the RTX 3080’s rendering workload is scaling directly with pixel count, with the processor maintaining adequate headroom to feed the GPU at all times.

However, the Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the system produces an enormous 222 FPS average. When moving to 1440p Low, that figure falls to 168 FPS, a 24% decline, and at 4K Low it drops to 96 FPS, a further 43% loss. The sheer magnitude of these numbers suggests that at 1080p Low, the CPU is nearing its practical limit for frame generation in this title, as the GPU is so underutilized that the 2.90 GHz base clock (4.30 GHz boost) of the Comet Lake processor becomes the determining factor. The RTX 3080’s 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is effectively waiting on the CPU’s 12 threads to issue draw calls.

The Medium preset offers the most balanced view of scaling, as it includes minimum and maximum frame data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 195 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 130 FPS (min 111, max 150), and at 4K Medium it reaches 74 FPS (min 63, max 85). The consistency of the minimum-to-maximum spread—roughly 25-30% of the average—indicates that the system is maintaining stable frame pacing without significant hitches, even as the resolution increases and the GPU load intensifies.

The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, shows the steepest resolution cliff. The system delivers 106 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and just 40 FPS at 4K. This represents a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is notably larger than the 58% reduction seen on the Low preset. This suggests that the Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU’s 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 8704 shading units, making the resolution scaling less linear and more punishing at the higher pixel counts.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination in Evolve?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 222, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. This indicates that the system has substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, provided the graphical settings are kept minimal.

*Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in Evolve with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, at 4K with the High preset, the system averages 58 FPS, and at Medium it averages 74 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for fast-paced FPS titles, but the Medium and High presets remain viable for 4K play.

Q: How does the CPU's core configuration affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. At 1080p with Low settings, the frame rate reaches 222 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s practical frame generation limit. The processor’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide sufficient bandwidth for the RTX 3080, but the CPU becomes the limiting factor at the lowest preset and resolution.

Q: What is the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields an average of 102 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 71 FPS. This 31 FPS difference (approximately 30%) represents the additional GPU load from Ultra settings, which likely include higher-quality shadows, textures, and post-processing effects that stress the RTX 3080’s 320-bit memory bus and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's performance consistent with its benchmark standing?

A: The RTX 3080 is positioned at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23172. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA P106-100, scores 23249 (a delta of -0.3%), indicating the 3080 is slightly below that rival in synthetic tests. In Evolve, the card’s real-world results are strong, but the 4K Ultra figure of 40 FPS shows that even a high-percentile GPU faces challenges with the most demanding settings.

Q: What does the comboRankInGame of 1143 out of 3700 signify?

A: The rank of 1143 out of 3700 tested combinations places this setup in the top 31% of all CPU-GPU pairings for Evolve. This indicates that while the system is above average, there are many other combinations that deliver higher frame rates, likely those with more powerful CPUs that can push higher frame rates at 1080p Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame for this specific configuration is 1143 out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the 69th percentile of all tested systems in Evolve. This ranking is somewhat lower than the individual component percentiles—both the CPU and GPU sit at the 68th percentile against their respective peers—which suggests that the pairing may not be perfectly optimized for this particular title. The gap between the components' individual standings and the combo’s overall rank indicates that Evolve may favor CPUs with higher single-thread performance or additional cores beyond what the i5-10400F offers.

When examining the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163 (delta of 0.2% higher than the i5-10400F’s 14185 average), while the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.5% lower). These differences are marginal, meaning the i5-10400F is well-matched against its direct competitors. Similarly, the GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (score 23273, delta -0.4%) and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X (score 23276, delta -0.4%), are within a fraction of a percent of the RTX 3080’s average benchmark score of 23172. This near-tie in synthetic benchmarks does not translate to identical gaming performance, as the measured FPS in Evolve shows the RTX 3080’s Ampere architecture handles the game’s workload effectively.

The rank of 1143 suggests that the bottleneck is not severe but present. In a game like Evolve, which is an FPS title from 2015, the graphics engine likely relies heavily on a few CPU threads for game logic and physics. The i5-10400F’s 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and Passmark single-thread score of 2541 are respectable, but they may not be sufficient to fully saturate the RTX 3080’s capabilities at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 222 FPS, which is high, but other combinations ranked higher likely exceed this figure, pushing the combo’s relative position down.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance across all presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 222 FPS, the highest recorded in the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows at 195 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS. The High preset averages 153 FPS, while the Ultra preset brings the frame rate down to 106 FPS. The spread from 106 to 222 FPS across presets at 1080p shows that the RTX 3080 has immense headroom at this resolution, and the CPU is likely the limiting factor for the Low and Medium presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s workload. The Low preset yields 168 FPS, which is a 24% reduction from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 130 FPS (min 111, max 150), while the High preset drops to 102 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 71 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a 51 FPS loss, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being taxed by the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates on demanding presets. The Low preset averages 96 FPS, which is still playable. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS (min 63, max 85), providing a smooth experience. The High preset averages 58 FPS, which is borderline for FPS gaming, and the Ultra preset falls to 40 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The 4K data shows that the RTX 3080’s 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 628 mm² die size are sufficient for the game, but the Ultra preset’s requirements exceed the card’s capabilities at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F, based on the Comet Lake architecture and manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process, provides 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. The processor’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for gaming, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451, which place it in a competitive position against its nearest rivals.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role is to feed the RTX 3080 with geometry and draw calls. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 222 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and the Passmark multithread score of 12115 suggest that the processor can handle substantial parallel workloads, but the game’s engine may not utilize all 12 threads effectively. The Geekbench single-core score of 1420 indicates that the per-thread performance is adequate, but not exceptional, which could explain why the system cannot exceed 222 FPS at 1080p Low.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are sufficient for the RTX 3080, which requires a 700W PSU according to the suggested PSU specification. The PCIe Gen 3 x16 interface provides adequate bandwidth for the GPU, though the RTX 3080 is capable of PCIe Gen 4, which is not supported by the i5-10400F. This does not appear to be a significant bottleneck, as the measured FPS at 4K High (58 FPS) is more likely limited by the GPU’s compute throughput than the PCIe interface.

Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the most compelling experience. The data shows an average of 130 FPS with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS, providing a smooth and consistent frame rate that takes advantage of the RTX 3080’s capabilities without pushing the GPU to its limits. This preset at 1440p also maintains a solid margin above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring that the game remains responsive during intense firefights.

At 1920x1080, the High preset at 153 FPS is the recommended choice for competitive players who prioritize frame rate over graphical fidelity. The Ultra preset at 106 FPS is still playable, but the 47 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual improvements, especially in a fast-paced FPS where higher frame rates provide a competitive advantage. The Low preset’s 222 FPS is excessive for most monitors, which typically max out at 144Hz or 165Hz, making the High preset a more sensible choice.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 74 FPS (min 63, max 85) is the most viable option, as it provides a frame rate that is consistently above 60 FPS. The High preset at 58 FPS is acceptable, but players may notice occasional dips below 60 FPS during demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended, as the low frame rate can detract from the gameplay experience in an FPS title where reaction time is critical. The Low preset at 96 FPS is an option for those who prioritize performance, but the visual quality reduction is significant.