Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, places very different demands on a system than a modern battle royale. With the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB, the measured frame rates reveal a configuration that is clearly capable of high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions but hits a pronounced wall at 4K. The data shows a spread of 185.2 FPS between the fastest and slowest tested settings, indicating that the graphics card is the dominant factor in performance scaling, while the six-core processor provides a stable foundation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 132.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 93 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 39.4 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 50.2 FPS, which represents a 62.1% decrease from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the RTX 4060 Ti's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are being saturated by the pixel count.

The Low settings preset tells a similar story but with a more dramatic absolute drop. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 221.7 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. At 1440p Low, it still manages 148.9 FPS, but at 4K Low, the average plummets to 83.8 FPS. The fact that even the lowest quality settings cannot hold a 100+ FPS average at 4K confirms that the resolution itself, rather than the graphical features, is the limiting factor. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding scenario, yielding just 36.5 FPS, which is barely playable and indicates that this configuration is not suited for 4K Ultra gaming in Evolve.

How This Combo Ranks

In the aggregate database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing ranks 715th out of 1695 combos for Evolve. This places it in the upper-middle tier of tested configurations, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems but is not near the top of the leaderboard. The percentile data for the individual components supports this positioning. The RTX 4060 Ti sits at the 17th percentile among all GPUs, which is low, but its nearest rivals include the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB, which scores nearly identically (deltaPct of 0.2), suggesting that the 8 GB variant is not heavily penalized in this particular game.

The CPU, on the other hand, is a much stronger performer relative to its peers. The i5-10400F achieves a 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552 (deltaPct of 0.4) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (deltaPct of -0.8), showing that it sits in a dense cluster of similarly performing processors. The combo rank of 715 indicates that the GPU is holding the system back more than the CPU, as the processor's strong relative standing does not translate into a top-tier overall ranking when paired with a mid-range graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Comet Lake architecture processor, built on a 14 nm process, has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. For a game like Evolve, which was released in 2015, the core count and threading are more than adequate. The benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 688 in 3DMark and a max-thread score of 4735, indicating that the processor scales well with additional threads.

The CPU's role in this configuration is to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 221.7 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that any CPU limitation would become apparent. However, the data shows that the i5-10400F can keep up with the RTX 4060 Ti in this title, as frame rates continue to scale with resolution changes. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 suggest that the processor has sufficient headroom for gaming workloads. The 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1200 compatibility indicate a mainstream part that is well-matched to a mid-range GPU for this older game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers consistently high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 221.7 FPS, Medium yields 173.3 FPS, High reaches 132.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 94 FPS. All of these results are above the 60 FPS threshold, and the Low and Medium presets are suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 127.7 FPS, showing that the graphical settings have a substantial impact on performance even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are still strong but show a clear step down. Low settings maintain 148.9 FPS, Medium produces 116.8 FPS, High delivers 93 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60 FPS exactly. The 1440p Ultra result is notable because it hits the 60 FPS mark precisely, which is often considered the baseline for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 83.8 FPS, Medium achieves 62.5 FPS, High produces 50.2 FPS, and Ultra is the only preset to fall below 40 FPS, with an average of 36.5 FPS. The 4K results indicate that this combo is best suited for Low or Medium settings at this resolution if a stable frame rate is the priority.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve high refresh rates?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo achieves over 170 FPS on Medium settings and over 220 FPS on Low, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, Low settings still produce 148.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 116.8 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 83.8, while at 4K High it drops to 50.2. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding, yielding only 36.5 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, as frame rates scale heavily with resolution. The i5-10400F has a 73rd percentile CPU ranking and can produce high frame rates, but the RTX 4060 Ti's 17th percentile GPU ranking shows it is the weaker component.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB compare to the 16 GB version in this game?

A: The nearest rivals data shows the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB has an average score of 2907, with a deltaPct of 0.2 compared to the 8 GB model's 2913. This indicates near-identical performance in Evolve, so the extra memory does not provide a significant advantage here.

Q: What are the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 148.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 60 FPS. This is a difference of 88.9 FPS, showing that the Ultra settings nearly halve the performance compared to Low.

Q: Is this combo ranked well compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 715th out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the upper-middle range. The CPU's strong relative performance (73rd percentile) is offset by the GPU's lower ranking (17th percentile).