Evolve

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 delivers a playable experience in Evolve only when settings and resolution are carefully managed. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern: the GTX 1650 is the primary constraint, and the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at most settings. The data indicates that the best experience is found at 1080p with Low or Medium presets, where the game achieves average frame rates well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. At higher resolutions or with Ultra settings, the frame rate collapses to levels that are not suitable for a competitive FPS title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for this combination reveal that the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 76.8 FPS. This is the clear recommendation for any user prioritizing frame rate stability. The Medium preset at the same resolution is a close second, delivering an average of 61.8 FPS, which is still acceptable for most players. The High preset at 1080p drops to 46.8 FPS, which is playable but begins to show the GPU's limits.

Moving up to the Ultra preset at 1080p yields a drastic reduction to 31.2 FPS, making it unsuitable for fast-paced gameplay. The data shows a steep performance cliff between Medium and Ultra, suggesting that the GTX 1650’s 896 shading units and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory are overwhelmed by the higher fidelity effects. For 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, producing 51.2 FPS; Medium falls to 39.1 FPS, and High drops to 28.6 FPS. At 4K, all presets are unplayable, with the best result being 28.2 FPS on Low.

The optimal strategy is to prioritize the Low preset at 1080p for maximum smoothness, or the Medium preset if visual quality is more important than a few extra frames. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is just 15 FPS, but the visual improvement can be significant. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as the 14.8 FPS average at 4K and 22.7 FPS at 1440p indicate that this hardware cannot handle the highest settings in any meaningful way.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the definitive limiting factor in this pairing. Its specifications, including a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, are modest by modern standards. The GPU’s memory configuration of 4 GB GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p gaming but becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates at 4K Ultra (14.8 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (31.2 FPS) illustrate how the GPU’s memory bandwidth and processing power are quickly exhausted.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are directly reflected in the benchmark results. When the resolution increases, the pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain playable frame rates. The data shows that the GTX 1650 performs best when the rendering load is light, which is why the Low preset at 1080p yields 76.8 FPS. The GPU’s percentile rank of 43 places it in the lower half of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 8713 is only 0.4% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, indicating similar performance levels.

The Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, provides DirectX 12 (12_1) support, which is relevant for Evolve’s engine. However, the lack of ray tracing cores and tensor cores means that any advanced features are handled by the standard shader units. The 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors confirm that this is a low-power card, and its performance ceiling is clearly defined by the measured data. In this game, the GPU is the sole reason for the frame rate drops, as the CPU has ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 76.8 FPS at 1080p to 51.2 FPS at 1440p, a drop of 25.6 FPS, and then to 28.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory: 61.8 FPS at 1080p, 39.1 FPS at 1440p, and 24.2 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows 46.8 FPS at 1080p, 28.6 FPS at 1440p, and 19.5 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset suffers the most, with 31.2 FPS at 1080p, 22.7 FPS at 1440p, and 14.8 FPS at 4K. This pattern strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as the frame rate scales inversely with pixel count. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively constant across resolutions. The fact that the frame rate nearly halves from 1080p to 4K on every preset confirms that the GTX 1650’s rendering capabilities are being saturated. The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting up to 4.40 GHz, is not the constraint here; its 75th percentile rank among all CPUs shows it has more than enough processing power for this game.

The delta between Low and Ultra at the same resolution also grows with resolution, from a 45.6 FPS gap at 1080p to a 13.4 FPS gap at 4K. This suggests that at 4K, even the lowest settings are too demanding, and the GPU is struggling to fill the pixel buffer. For a smooth experience, users must stay at 1080p, as the 1440p performance is marginal at best.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1633 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the bottom 4% of all configurations, which is a poor result reflecting the GPU’s limitations. The combo rank is heavily influenced by the GPU, as the CPU is a relatively strong performer. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 17181 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta), and it is only 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1260P.

The GPU, however, holds the combo back. Its average benchmark score of 8713 is 0.4% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, and it sits at the 43rd percentile of all GPUs. When combined, the system is unable to deliver competitive frame rates in Evolve at higher settings. The rank of 1633 out of 1695 indicates that most other combinations, even those with slower CPUs but faster GPUs, will outperform this setup. The data suggests that this combo is only suitable for low-resolution, low-detail gaming, and it will struggle in any scenario that demands high graphical fidelity.

The performance gap between this combo and higher-ranked ones is not due to CPU limitations, as the processor’s single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark and its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 are respectable. The bottleneck is purely the GTX 1650’s inability to keep up with the rendering demands of Evolve at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The Low preset at 1920x1080 provides the highest average frame rate at 76.8 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution is also playable at 61.8 FPS.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?*

A: No. The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 28.2 FPS on Low, and Ultra drops to 14.8 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rate drops dramatically with resolution, while the CPU has a 75th percentile rank and is not the constraint.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, which is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P2200.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset achieves 76.8 FPS, while Ultra achieves 31.2 FPS, a difference of 45.6 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a strong performer?

A: Yes, its average benchmark score of 17181 places it at the 75th percentile of all CPUs, and it is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-1260P.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low preset delivers 76.8 FPS, Medium delivers 61.8 FPS, High delivers 46.8 FPS, and Ultra delivers 31.2 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Low and Medium presets are above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the results are significantly lower. Low preset averages 51.2 FPS, Medium drops to 39.1 FPS, High falls to 28.6 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 22.7 FPS. None of these are ideal for smooth gameplay, though Low is borderline acceptable.

At 3840x2160, the performance is poor across the board. Low preset averages 28.2 FPS, Medium averages 24.2 FPS, High averages 19.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 14.8 FPS. These numbers are all below playable thresholds and confirm that 4K is not viable with this hardware.

The data shows a consistent pattern where each step up in resolution reduces the frame rate by roughly 30-40%, and each step up in settings (from Low to Ultra) reduces the frame rate by another 40-50%. The best experience is clearly at 1080p Low, and the worst is at 4K Ultra. The min and max FPS values are not provided, but the average frame rates are sufficient to characterize the performance for this title.