Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination. Benchmark data indicates that this pairing delivers a playable experience, but the settings and resolution you choose dramatically dictate the quality of that experience. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a system that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher graphical presets.

Settings Recommendations

For a consistently smooth experience, the Medium preset is the optimal choice across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers a robust 138.6 FPS average, which is a significant 65.1 FPS higher than the High preset at 108.5 FPS. This difference suggests that the High preset introduces a substantial load that the GTX 1080 Ti can handle, but Medium provides a much larger performance buffer for demanding scenes. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset maintains a solid 96.1 FPS average, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for fluid gameplay. The data shows that Medium offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance headroom, ensuring the game remains responsive.

While the High preset is playable at both 1080p and 1440p, with averages of 108.5 and 71.4 FPS respectively, it does not offer the same level of safety margin as Medium. The Ultra preset, conversely, is only recommended for 1080p gaming, where it achieves a 73.5 FPS average. At 1440p, the Ultra preset dips to 52.8 FPS, which begins to feel less smooth, and at 4K it becomes unplayable at 32.2 FPS. The Low preset, while maximizing frame rates (184 FPS at 1080p), is generally unnecessary given the strong performance of the Medium preset. Therefore, the data strongly supports using Medium for the best overall experience, reserving High or Ultra for users who prioritize visual quality over a higher frame rate buffer.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake generation, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate a strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 868 suggest that the CPU is well-equipped to handle the primary game thread. The processor's multi-threaded capabilities are also substantial, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7579.

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher settings, but it becomes more critical at lower settings and resolutions. The performance scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 184 FPS to 73.5 FPS) shows a clear GPU bottleneck as settings increase. However, the fact that the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to achieve 184 FPS at Low settings indicates that it is not a limiting factor at that level. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for the game. The i5-11400F ranks in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 17181 is nearly identical to close rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which has a deltaPct of 0. This indicates the CPU is a balanced mid-range performer that will not hold back the GTX 1080 Ti in most gaming scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the primary driver of performance in Evolve. With 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, it has a massive memory bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s, which is essential for high-resolution textures. The GPU's 3584 shading units and boost clock of 1582 MHz contribute to a raw compute throughput of 11.34 TFLOPS. This hardware profile explains the significant FPS differences between the Low and Ultra presets. The GTX 1080 Ti's architecture is built for high-end 1440p and entry-level 4K gaming, but the data shows that Evolve's Ultra preset is too demanding for smooth 4K play on this card.

The measured results show a clear GPU-bound scenario. At 4K, the FPS drops from 70.1 on Low to 32.2 on Ultra, a dramatic 37.9 FPS reduction. This scaling indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being heavily taxed by the higher preset's effects. The card's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 18600 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 67717, places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 19402 is nearly identical to that of the NVIDIA TITAN Xp, which is only 1.1% faster. This suggests that the GTX 1080 Ti is a high-end card that remains relevant, but its age is showing when pushed to 4K with maximum settings in a game like Evolve.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves a comfortable average of 70.1 FPS. The Medium and High presets are borderline, with 51.1 and 44.9 FPS respectively, while the Ultra preset is not recommended at 32.2 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for competitive play?

A: For the highest frame rates, the 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings provides the best performance at 184 FPS. However, for a balance of visual quality and speed, 1920x1080 with Medium settings at 138.6 FPS is an excellent choice.

Q: How does the Ultra preset impact performance compared to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, switching from High to Ultra results in a significant performance cost. The average frame rate drops from 71.4 FPS on High to 52.8 FPS on Ultra, a decrease of 18.6 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system for Evolve?

A: The benchmark data indicates a clear GPU bottleneck, especially at higher settings. For example, at 1080p, the FPS drops by 110.5 when going from Low (184 FPS) to Ultra (73.5 FPS), which is a result of the GPU struggling with the increased graphical load.

Q: Does the system have enough video memory for Evolve?

A: The GPU is equipped with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory, which is more than sufficient for Evolve. The game's highest settings at 4K still only resulted in a performance issue, not a memory capacity error, indicating memory size is not a limiting factor.

Q: How does this combination rank among other tested setups?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 1016 out of 1695 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the lower half of all tested systems.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU's workload. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 108.5 at 1920x1080 to 71.4 at 2560x1440, and finally to 44.9 at 3840x2160. This represents a 58.6% performance drop from 1080p to 4K. The data shows that the GTX 1080 Ti is not powerful enough to maintain a high refresh rate at 4K with this preset. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings, with the FPS roughly halving from 1080p to 4K.

This consistent drop indicates that the frame rate is primarily dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The resolution scaling suggests that the limiting component is the graphics card, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would not drop so significantly with higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. The substantial performance hit at 4K, particularly at the Ultra preset where the FPS falls to 32.2, confirms that the GTX 1080 Ti's compute power is insufficient for maxed-out 4K gaming in Evolve. Users targeting 4K will need to significantly lower graphical settings to achieve a playable frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the system excels, with an average of 184 FPS on Low, 138.6 FPS on Medium, 108.5 FPS on High, and 73.5 FPS on Ultra. This resolution offers the most flexibility, allowing users to choose between maximum frame rates or higher visual settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates begin to compress. The Low preset yields 121.6 FPS, Medium drops to 96.1 FPS, and High falls to 71.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 52.8 FPS is still playable but is nearing the edge of what is considered smooth. At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. The Low preset is the only option for a consistently smooth experience at 70.1 FPS. The Medium and High presets produce 51.1 and 44.9 FPS respectively, which may be acceptable for slower-paced games but are not ideal for an FPS. The Ultra preset at 32.2 FPS is the only configuration that is not playable, indicating the system is out of its depth at this resolution with maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination ranks 1016 out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve. This places the system in the bottom 40% of all tested configurations. The ranking reflects the age of the GPU, which, despite being a high-end card at its launch, is now outperformed by many newer mid-range and high-end options. The CPU, while a solid performer, does not boost the combination into a higher tier.

The data indicates that this system is a capable 1080p gaming machine, capable of high refresh rates on Medium and High settings. However, its performance at 1440p and 4K is more limited, and it falls behind many other tested combinations that feature newer GPUs with more advanced architectures. The combo's ranking is a direct result of the GTX 1080 Ti's performance ceiling, which is the primary factor limiting the system's overall standing in this benchmark database. For users with this hardware, the data suggests sticking to 1080p or 1440p with Medium settings for the best experience.