Evolve

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 presents a fascinating study in generational mismatch within the game Evolve. The data reveals a system where the GPU’s raw power is frequently constrained by the CPU’s older architecture, yet the sheer strength of the RTX 5080 still manages to deliver playable and often exceptional frame rates. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, focusing on how resolution, settings, and component characteristics interact to produce the final numbers.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Evolve shows a classic pattern of scaling, but with some notable anomalies that point directly to a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 258.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 228.3 FPS, a drop of 29.8 FPS. However, the jump to 4K Low yields 138.1 FPS, which is a substantial 90.2 FPS decrease from the 1440p figure. This pattern—a modest decline from 1080p to 1440p followed by a massive drop at 4K—is typical. The GPU is barely breaking a sweat at 1080p and 1440p in this scenario, indicating the CPU is likely the limiting factor, preventing the frame rate from climbing higher.

This hypothesis is reinforced when examining the Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 237.4 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 185.5 FPS, a decline of 51.9 FPS. The 4K Medium result is 108.1 FPS, another significant drop of 77.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe at Medium than at Low, which suggests that as the GPU load increases, it begins to take over as the primary bottleneck. The difference between the 1080p Low (258.1 FPS) and 1080p Medium (237.4 FPS) is only 20.7 FPS, which is a smaller margin than the scaling between resolutions. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is saturated and cannot push more frames regardless of the GPU’s capability.

The High settings tell a similar story. The 1080p High average is 217.5 FPS, which drops to 143.3 FPS at 1440p High. This 74.2 FPS drop is larger than the one seen in Low settings, showing the GPU is becoming more involved. At 4K High, the average falls to 83.7 FPS, a 59.6 FPS drop from 1440p. The final and most demanding tier, Ultra, shows the most consistent scaling. The 1080p Ultra average is 146.4 FPS, which drops to 100.4 FPS at 1440p Ultra. The 4K Ultra average is 55.5 FPS. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the definitive limiting component across all resolutions, as the performance cost of each resolution increase is more uniform and significant. The data implies that for lower settings, the i5-11400F holds the system back at 1080p and 1440p, but the RTX 5080 becomes the sole bottleneck at 4K and at Ultra settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Evolve, a game released in 2015, and explains why the GPU can handle 4K resolutions without issue. The high memory bandwidth is likely a key reason why the frame rates at 4K, even on High settings (83.7 FPS), remain very respectable. The game’s textures and geometry are unlikely to stress the 16 GB VRAM capacity, allowing the card to focus its resources on rendering.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also a factor. The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. These high clocks, combined with 10752 shading units, contribute to the card’s immense compute power. This is reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 36565, which places it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The data shows that the RTX 5080 is capable of producing extremely high frame rates, evidenced by the 258.1 FPS at 1080p Low. However, its performance is often capped by the CPU in this specific pairing.

The GPU benchmarks show that the RTX 5080 is a top-tier part, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc A570M (avg score 58239, deltaPct 1.6) and the Intel Arc Pro A60 (avg score 60326, deltaPct -1.9). The performance delta is minimal, indicating that these cards are in a similar performance class, but the RTX 5080’s actual gaming performance in Evolve is what matters here. The GPU’s role in this combo is to provide the massive headroom that, while not fully utilized at lower settings, ensures that the system remains fluid even when the CPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the GPU’s workload is so high that it finally becomes the sole determinant of performance, yielding 55.5 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 121 out of 1695 total combos for Evolve. This places the system in the top 7.1% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing. The high rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s exceptional capabilities, but the data suggests that the CPU is holding the combo back from an even higher position.

The rank of 121 is impressive, but it is likely lower than what the RTX 5080 could achieve when paired with a more modern, higher-performing CPU. The bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, as indicated by the resolution scaling data, means that this combo is not fully expressing the GPU’s potential. If the CPU were not a constraint, the frame rates at these lower resolutions would be higher, potentially pushing the combo higher up the rankings. The data shows that while the combo is very capable, the CPU is the weak link in the chain for this specific game. The fact that it still ranks in the top 121 out of 1695 combos confirms the sheer power of the RTX 5080, which can overcome a significant CPU deficit to deliver excellent performance.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Evolve?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 258.1, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 55.5. The significant performance drops seen when increasing resolution at Ultra settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor in this scenario.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1440p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 143.3 at 2560x1440 to 83.7 at 3840x2160, a decrease of 59.6 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 258.1 on Low to 146.4 on Ultra, a difference of 111.7 FPS.

*Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Evolve?*

A: The combo ranks 121st out of 1695 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of systems.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 185.5.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In the context of Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, this CPU’s single-thread performance is critical. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 and Passmark single-thread score of 2981 are respectable for its generation, but the data suggests they are insufficient to keep pace with the RTX 5080.

The resolution scaling analysis strongly implies a CPU bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p for lower settings. The minimal frame rate increase from 1440p Low (228.3 FPS) to 1080p Low (258.1 FPS) suggests that the CPU is hitting its limit, unable to process the game’s logic and draw calls fast enough to feed the GPU more frames. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and max-thread score of 5652 show that the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are limited, which can be a factor in modern games that utilize multiple cores, though Evolve is older.

The CPU’s memory support is limited to DDR4 with a dual-channel bus, providing a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This is significantly lower than the GPU’s own memory bandwidth, which can sometimes lead to data transfer bottlenecks between the system memory and the GPU’s VRAM. However, the most telling indicator is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p. If the CPU were not the bottleneck, the 1080p Low frame rate (258.1 FPS) would be significantly higher, as the GPU would be able to render more frames. The fact that it is only slightly higher than the 1440p Low (228.3 FPS) confirms that the i5-11400F is the limiting component in this pairing at these settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset offers the highest average FPS at 258.1, ensuring a maximally responsive experience. However, the Medium preset at 237.4 FPS is a strong alternative, offering a significant visual upgrade for a relatively small performance cost of 20.7 FPS. The High preset at 217.5 FPS is also viable for those with high refresh rate monitors.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance. It achieves an average of 185.5 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 228.3 FPS of Low, but it provides a much better visual experience. The High preset at 143.3 FPS is still very smooth and offers even better visuals, but the 42.2 FPS cost over Medium might be too high for some. For 4K gaming, the High preset is the clear recommendation, delivering an average of 83.7 FPS. The Medium preset at 108.1 FPS is also excellent and provides a higher frame rate, but High offers the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness on a 60Hz display. The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K, as it drops to 55.5 FPS, which may not be optimal for a fast-paced FPS. For the best experience at 4K, High is the sweet spot.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is a complete breakdown of the average FPS measurements, organized by resolution and settings preset.

1920x1080:

• Low: 258.1 FPS
• Medium: 237.4 FPS
• High: 217.5 FPS
• Ultra: 146.4 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 228.3 FPS
• Medium: 185.5 FPS
• High: 143.3 FPS
• Ultra: 100.4 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 138.1 FPS
• Medium: 108.1 FPS
• High: 83.7 FPS
• Ultra: 55.5 FPS

These numbers illustrate a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with even the Ultra setting achieving a high 146.4 FPS. The 1440p results show a steeper drop-off as settings increase, with Ultra still maintaining a triple-digit frame rate at 100.4 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, while the High preset remains comfortably above it. The data confirms that this combo is most efficient at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU bottleneck limits the GPU’s potential, but at 4K, the RTX 5080’s power is fully utilized to deliver strong performance.