Evolve

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Evolve. This combination ranks 447th out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the upper quartile of system performance for this title. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but which begins to show CPU constraints as resolution drops and frame rates climb into very high territory. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions and four quality settings provide a complete picture of how this hardware handles the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic and predictable shift in performance. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 158.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 105.0 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately one-third. Moving further to 3840x2160, the frame rate drops again to 63.4 FPS, meaning the 4K result is roughly 60% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline is classic evidence of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load at higher pixel counts overwhelms the graphics card's throughput.

The scaling pattern under Low settings is even more revealing. At 1920x1080, the system produces a massive 259.8 FPS average. At 2560x1440, this falls to 174.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it settles at 100.2 FPS. The fact that the 1080p Low result exceeds 250 FPS suggests that the CPU is nearing its practical limit for frame generation in this title. When the resolution drops low enough, the graphics card has ample headroom, and the processor's ability to feed the render pipeline becomes the limiting factor.

Examining the Ultra settings data, the trend continues but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p Ultra average is 111.1 FPS, dropping to 72.7 FPS at 1440p and 44.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result barely maintains playability, while the 1080p Ultra figure is still very smooth. The scaling factor from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is roughly 2.5x in pixel count, but the frame rate drops by about 60%, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint at these higher quality presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the system, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This processor uses the Rocket Lake architecture on a 14 nm process node, with a 12 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark and a multithread score of 5652 in 3dmark_max_threads. The Cinebench R23 results are 2029 for single-core and 14372 for multi-core, which indicates a solid mid-range processor for gaming workloads.

In Evolve, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at low resolutions and high frame rates. The 259.8 FPS average at 1080p Low is the ceiling for this combo, and the data suggests that the i5-11400F is the component that prevents even higher frame rates. The processor's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 17181 place it in the upper tier, but not at the very top. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with a deltaPct of 0, and the Intel Core i7-1260P at -0.2, indicating a very tight cluster of similar-performing parts.

The 3dmark scores show a clear scaling pattern: 1691 for 2 threads, 3171 for 4 threads, 4691 for 8 threads, and 5619 for 16 threads. This linear progression indicates good thread scaling, which benefits games that can use multiple cores. However, the single-thread score of 868 is relatively modest, and in a game like Evolve, which may not be heavily multithreaded, this could limit maximum frame rates. The Passmark data shows a single-thread score of 2981 and a multithread score of 16908, with physics performance at 842, which is a reasonable result for a desktop gaming processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end Ampere architecture card built on a 8 nm Samsung process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, with boost clocks reaching 1665 MHz. Its FP32 performance is rated at 34.10 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, making it well-suited for modern game rendering requirements.

The GPU's benchmark results confirm its high-end positioning. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 171798 indicate strong performance in graphics-intensive workloads. The Passmark G3D score of 26896 places it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with a deltaPct of -0.5, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at -0.9, showing that the 3080 Ti sits very close to the top-tier cards.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant at higher resolutions and quality settings. The 4K Ultra result of 44.4 FPS is clearly GPU-limited, as the massive pixel count and complex shading work overwhelm even this powerful card. The 100.2 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates the card's raw throughput when the visual load is reduced. The GPU's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores provide advanced features that may not be heavily utilized in this 2015 title, but the raw compute power ensures strong performance across all settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Evolve?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings provides a strong balance with 105.0 FPS average. For maximum smoothness, 1920x1080 at High delivers 158.5 FPS, while 4K High at 63.4 FPS is playable but closer to the edge.

Q: How does the CPU perform relative to its closest competitors?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it at 75th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores 17189 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are essentially tied. The Intel Core i7-1260P is just 0.2% behind, indicating very similar overall performance.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the 44.4 FPS average at 3840x2160 Ultra is well below the 60 FPS threshold, and the GPU's processing power is clearly the constraint. The CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution and quality level.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average is 259.8 FPS, which is the highest result across all tested configurations. This figure likely approaches the CPU's frame generation limit for this game.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the RTX 3090 in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41224, while the RTX 3090 scores 41441. The deltaPct is -0.5, meaning the 3080 Ti is just half a percent behind the 3090 in synthetic testing.

Q: What is the 4K Medium performance level?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the system achieves 80.0 FPS average. This is a solid result for 4K gaming and represents a good balance between visual quality and smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 447th out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the top 26% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The ranking reflects the fact that the system performs well overall but is held back by the CPU at lower resolutions where the GPU has excess capacity.

The i5-11400F's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs and its average benchmark score of 17181 indicate that it is a capable processor, but not a top-tier one. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct -0.2), which are comparable in overall compute performance. The GPU, on the other hand, ranks in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224, placing it just behind the RTX 3090.

The combo's rank of 447 suggests that many other tested combinations achieve better frame rates in Evolve. This is likely because the CPU's performance ceiling prevents the system from fully utilizing the GPU's power at lower resolutions. The fact that the combo ranks well below the GPU's individual percentile indicates that the CPU is indeed the limiting factor in this pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo in Evolve is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves 259.8 FPS on Low settings, 200.4 FPS on Medium, 158.5 FPS on High, and 111.1 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with Ultra being 57% slower than Low. The gap between Medium and High is 41.9 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 47.4 FPS, indicating that the quality settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are 174.2 FPS on Low, 138.2 FPS on Medium, 105.0 FPS on High, and 72.7 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Low result is 33% lower than the 1080p Low result, while the Ultra result drops by 35% compared to 1080p Ultra. This consistent scaling suggests the GPU is increasingly the bottleneck as resolution rises.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 100.2 FPS on Low, 80.0 FPS on Medium, 63.4 FPS on High, and 44.4 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low figure is still very playable, while the 4K Ultra figure is below the commonly desired 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High result of 63.4 FPS is just above that threshold, making it the highest quality setting that maintains smooth performance at this resolution.

The data shows that the system is capable of high frame rates across most settings, with the exception of 4K Ultra where it falls just short of 60 FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, 1080p Low delivers exceptional performance, while those seeking the best visual experience should consider 1440p Ultra at 72.7 FPS as a strong option.