Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, places a heavy load on the GPU, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F with the AMD Radeon RX 570 reveals a system that is decisively bound by its graphics card. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings paint a clear picture: this is a combination built for 1080p gaming, with little headroom for higher resolutions or maximum visual fidelity. The data shows a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, suggesting that the RX 570's 4 GB of VRAM and GCN 4.0 architecture are the primary limiting factors in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the data is the dramatic FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 48.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 31.1 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 18.9 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 61% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The trend is consistent across all settings: the Ultra preset at 1080p delivers 31.5 FPS, but at 4K it collapses to 9.8 FPS, which is unplayable.

This scaling behavior is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck here. If the processor were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the sharp decline with increasing pixel count points directly at the Radeon RX 570’s fillrate and memory bandwidth being overwhelmed. The 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 32 ROPs are simply insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels at 4K, especially when compared to the 2.1 million pixels at 1080p.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, which further confirms the GPU stress. At 1080p, Low yields 78.5 FPS and Ultra yields 31.5 FPS, a 47 FPS difference. At 4K, the same comparison shows 29.4 FPS versus 9.8 FPS, a 19.6 FPS difference. The absolute numbers are lower, but the relative cost of Ultra settings becomes prohibitive at higher resolutions. The data implies that any attempt to run Evolve at 4K with this combo will result in a slideshow, regardless of the quality preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the undisputed centerpiece in determining this system's gaming performance. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p but becomes a severe constraint at 1440p and 4K. The benchmark results indicate that the card’s 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are not enough to maintain fluid frame rates in Evolve’s dense, particle-heavy environments at higher resolutions.

The card’s clock speeds—1168 MHz base and 1244 MHz boost—are modest by modern standards. More importantly, the pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s is a bottleneck at 4K. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra (9.8 FPS) is particularly telling; it suggests the GPU is running out of both memory capacity and processing power simultaneously. The 4 GB VRAM is likely being exhausted by the high-resolution textures, forcing the system to use slower memory paging, which compounds the performance hit.

Interestingly, the RX 570’s average benchmark score of 30158 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109) and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097), according to the nearestRivals data. However, this is a synthetic average. In real-world Evolve gameplay, the older GCN architecture and limited VRAM mean the card performs far below what those synthetic scores might suggest for modern titles. The 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs shows it is a mid-pack card, but its age is evident in this specific workload.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the data strongly points to a 1080p resolution with Medium settings. The measured results show 62.4 FPS at 1920x1080 on Medium, which is a smooth and playable experience for an FPS. Dropping to Low settings pushes the frame rate to 78.5 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual fidelity loss may not be worth the extra 16 FPS.

High settings at 1080p provide 48.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. The 31.5 FPS at Ultra is simply too choppy. At 1440p, the situation worsens. Medium settings yield 42.3 FPS, which is borderline acceptable, but the 52.5 FPS at Low is the only truly smooth option at this resolution. The data suggests that users should avoid 1440p unless they are willing to sacrifice visual quality to Low.

The 4K resolution is not viable for this combo. Even at Low settings, the 29.4 FPS average is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally 1080p Medium, which balances visual detail with a frame rate that remains above 60 FPS. This setting avoids the performance cliff seen at Ultra while providing a more immersive experience than Low.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K?

A: No. The measured data shows that even at Low settings, the average FPS at 3840x2160 is only 29.4, and at Ultra it drops to 9.8. These frame rates are far below playable levels.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best balance, achieving an average of 62.4 FPS. This is the only configuration that consistently stays above 60 FPS while offering more than minimal visual quality.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results show a significant FPS drop as resolution increases, which is a clear sign of a GPU bottleneck. The Intel Core i5-13400F, with its high single-thread performance (3004 in Cinebench R23), is not the limiting factor.

Q: How does the RX 570's performance compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: While the synthetic average benchmark score of 30158 is close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109), the measured FPS in Evolve reveals the RX 570's age. The 4 GB VRAM and lower pixel rate (39.81 GPixel/s) cause it to fall far behind modern cards in real-world, high-resolution workloads.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever usable with this setup?

A: Only at 1080p, where it averages 31.5 FPS. This is technically playable but not recommended for a competitive FPS. At 1440p (22.5 FPS) and 4K (9.8 FPS), it is not a viable option.

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

A: The data shows Low at 78.5 FPS and Medium at 62.4 FPS. This is a 16.1 FPS difference, which is noticeable but may be worth the visual improvement for some players.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 570 combination ranks 1607 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested hardware pairings for this specific game. The poor ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which is at the 74th percentile among all GPUs but is clearly outclassed in this title.

The CPU, in contrast, performs admirably. The i5-13400F ranks in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 25236 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201, 0.1% delta). This suggests the processor is more than capable of feeding the GPU in most scenarios. The bottleneck is purely graphical.

The combination’s low rank is a cautionary tale about pairing a modern, capable CPU with an older, entry-level GPU. While the CPU has headroom to spare, the GPU holds the entire system back. The data implies that upgrading only the graphics card would yield a massive improvement in Evolve, moving the combo up the rankings significantly. The current rank of 1607 is a direct result of the GPU’s inability to handle the game’s demands at higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting role in Evolve, but it is a robust one. With 10 cores (6 performance and 4 efficiency) and 16 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capability. Its boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and physics. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004 and multi-core score of 21279 demonstrate a processor that is well above average for gaming.

In the context of this game, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The benchmark data shows that the FPS scales inversely with resolution, which means the GPU is doing all the heavy lifting. The i5-13400F’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a future-proof platform, but it cannot compensate for the RX 570’s limitations.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and Raptor Lake architecture make it an efficient choice. Its performance is comparable to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365 average score, -0.5% delta) and the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103, 0.5% delta), according to the nearestRivals data. This means the processor is punching well above its weight, but it is wasted in this pairing because the GPU cannot utilize its full potential. The data suggests that in a system with a more powerful GPU, the i5-13400F would not be a bottleneck in Evolve.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 78.5 FPS average
• Medium: 62.4 FPS average
• High: 48.1 FPS average
• Ultra: 31.5 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 52.5 FPS average
• Medium: 42.3 FPS average
• High: 31.1 FPS average
• Ultra: 22.5 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 29.4 FPS average
• Medium: 23.3 FPS average
• High: 18.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 9.8 FPS average

The data reveals a clear pattern: the frame rate halves roughly every time the resolution doubles, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-bound system. The 1080p Low setting is the only configuration that approaches the 80 FPS mark, while 4K Ultra is the only setting that falls below 10 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 47 FPS, but at 4K it narrows to 19.6 FPS, showing that the GPU is so overwhelmed at high resolutions that the settings have diminishing returns. The 1440p results are a middle ground, but none of the settings at this resolution achieve 60 FPS, making it a poor choice for competitive play. The 1080p Medium setting at 62.4 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a playable experience without the stark visual compromises of Low.