Evolve

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Evolve with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 shows a clear pattern: the game scales heavily with resolution, and the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as pixel count rises. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 215.1 FPS, which drops to 147.9 FPS at 1440p Low, and then falls to 80.7 FPS at 4K Low. That is a 62.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating the rendering load is growing faster than the GPU's fill rate can compensate.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At High, the frame rate goes from 131.3 FPS at 1080p, to 90.7 FPS at 1440p, to 48.5 FPS at 4K. At Ultra, the numbers are 91.2, 62.0, and 37.0 FPS respectively. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is roughly 30-31% across High, Medium, and Ultra, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where memory bandwidth and shading throughput scale with resolution. The gap between 1440p and 4K is larger, around 40-47%, because 4K has over twice the pixel count of 1440p.

What this tells a builder is that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but at 4K the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated. The fact that dropping from Ultra to Low at 4K yields a 43.7 FPS improvement (37.0 to 80.7) confirms the GPU is the bottleneck—if the CPU were limiting, lowering settings would not produce such a large gain. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 123.9 FPS (215.1 vs 91.2), which suggests the CPU can push very high frame rates when the GPU is not strained.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, 1440p delivers 90.7 FPS, which is comfortably playable, while 4K High drops to 48.5 FPS—borderline for competitive play. At 1080p, the combo exceeds 130 FPS on High and 215 FPS on Low, but the visual fidelity gain from 1440p is worth the frame rate trade-off.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 strong enough for 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Only on Low settings. The measured 4K Low average is 80.7 FPS, which is smooth. However, 4K Medium drops to 63.8 FPS, and 4K High falls to 48.5 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, you would need to use Low settings at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit bus are the limiting factors.

Q: How much performance do you lose going from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 131.3 FPS to 90.7 FPS, a 30.9% reduction. At Medium, it goes from 167.5 to 114.5 FPS, a 31.6% drop. At Low, from 215.1 to 147.9 FPS, a 31.2% reduction. This consistent ~31% loss indicates a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: Does the Core i5-13400F bottleneck the RTX 3070?

A: The benchmark results indicate no significant CPU bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 215.1 FPS, which is near the practical limit for many displays. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and multi-thread score of 7314 show strong per-core performance, and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 indicates ample headroom for game logic and physics.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and Low settings?

A: At 1080p, the difference is 123.9 FPS (215.1 Low vs 91.2 Ultra). At 1440p, it is 85.9 FPS (147.9 vs 62.0). At 4K, it is 43.7 FPS (80.7 vs 37.0). The absolute gap shrinks at higher resolutions because the GPU becomes more saturated.

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

A: The combo ranks 769th out of 1695 tested combinations, placing it in the 54.6th percentile. This means it outperforms more than half of all tested combos, which is reasonable for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU from the Ampere generation.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F brings 10 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake-S architecture uses a 10 nm process and has 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 21279, while Geekbench multi-core hits 10971. Single-thread performance is also solid, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 3004 and Geekbench single-core at 2301.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, while the GPU focuses on rendering. The data shows this division of labor works well. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 215.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU can process frames faster than the GPU can render them at that resolution. The 3DMark scores reinforce this: 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 show consistent scaling across thread counts, meaning the CPU does not have a weak spot in multi-threaded workloads.

The CPU's 65W TDP is modest, and its boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides sufficient single-core speed for games that rely on one or two threads. The l3 cache of 20 MB shared helps with data reuse in game scenarios. However, the benchmark results show that at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 37.0 FPS Ultra result. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this game; instead, the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the constraints at high resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.1% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (0.5% faster), AMD EPYC 9474F (0.5% slower), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (0.5% slower). These deltas are negligible, meaning the i5-13400F sits in a performance tier where minor differences do not translate into meaningful FPS changes in Evolve.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for settings selection based on resolution and target frame rate.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 91.2 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. However, dropping to High yields 131.3 FPS, a 44% improvement for what is likely a minor visual difference. If you have a 144Hz monitor, High is the better choice; if you have a 240Hz monitor, Medium at 167.5 FPS or Low at 215.1 FPS are viable options. The data suggests that High is the optimal balance for 1080p, as it provides both high frame rates and good visual quality.

At 1440p, High settings at 90.7 FPS are the best option for a 60-100 Hz display. Medium at 114.5 FPS is better for a 120Hz panel, but the visual downgrade from High may be noticeable. Low at 147.9 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where frame rate trumps visual fidelity. Ultra at 62.0 FPS is playable but has no advantage over High in terms of smoothness, so it is not recommended unless you prioritize maximum visual quality.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low settings at 80.7 FPS are the only way to achieve a smooth experience. Medium at 63.8 FPS is borderline, and High at 48.5 FPS is not recommended for fast-paced FPS gameplay. Ultra at 37.0 FPS is only suitable for slow-paced exploration or screenshots. If 4K is a priority, you would need to accept Low settings or consider a stronger GPU.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is 1440p High, which delivers 90.7 FPS—above the 60 FPS threshold with a margin for dips, and high enough visual quality to appreciate the game's environment.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 769th out of 1695 total tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, outperforming roughly 54.6% of combinations. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance and the GPU's high-end Ampere architecture.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 82, meaning it outperforms 82% of all tested CPUs. The GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 72, meaning it outperforms 72% of all tested GPUs. The combo's rank of 769 out of 1695 is consistent with these individual percentiles—the GPU is the weaker link, and the overall rank is pulled down by the GPU's lower relative standing. If the CPU were paired with a higher-tier GPU, the combo rank would likely improve, but with the RTX 3070, this is the expected performance envelope.

The nearest GPU rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% faster), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% faster), AMD FirePro S7150 (0.6% slower), and AMD Radeon R9 M295X (1.1% slower). These small deltas indicate that the RTX 3070 is well-positioned among its peers, and the combo's rank is competitive for its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p:

• Low: 215.1 FPS average
• Medium: 167.5 FPS average
• High: 131.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 91.2 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo provides a wide range of performance, from 91.2 FPS at Ultra to 215.1 FPS at Low. The spread of 123.9 FPS between lowest and highest settings gives the user substantial flexibility. The step from Low to Medium costs 47.6 FPS, Medium to High costs 36.2 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 40.1 FPS. The diminishing returns are evident—Ultra provides only 91.2 FPS versus High's 131.3 FPS, a 30.5% reduction for what is typically a marginal visual improvement.

1440p:

• Low: 147.9 FPS average
• Medium: 114.5 FPS average
• High: 90.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 62.0 FPS average

At 1440p, the frame rates remain playable across all settings. Low is over 144 FPS, Medium is over 100 FPS, High is near 90 FPS, and Ultra stays above 60 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 28.7 FPS, which is a 31.6% drop, making Ultra a poor trade-off unless visual fidelity is paramount. The 1440p results show this resolution is the sweet spot for a 60-144 Hz display.

4K:

• Low: 80.7 FPS average
• Medium: 63.8 FPS average
• High: 48.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 37.0 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Only Low settings achieve a smooth 60+ FPS experience. Medium is barely above 60 FPS, High falls below 50 FPS, and Ultra is below 40 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 16.9 FPS, Medium to High is 15.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 11.5 FPS. The 4K results indicate that the RTX 3070 is not well-suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Evolve, and users should either lower resolution or accept Low settings at 4K.

The overall pattern across all resolutions and settings is consistent: the combo delivers strong 1080p and 1440p performance, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions to remain playable. The data confirms this is a 1440p-class gaming system with 1080p headroom for high refresh rates.