Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing. The measured data reveals a system capable of delivering high frame rates, but the relationship between resolution, settings, and performance is not entirely linear, indicating a complex balance between CPU and GPU demands. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers reveal about the hardware's capabilities and limitations in this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The most immediate observation from the data is how average frame rates scale with resolution. At 1920x1080, the system is clearly pushing very high frame rates, with the Low preset hitting 249.2 FPS and even the demanding Ultra preset maintaining 106.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, we see a significant drop across all settings. The Low preset falls to 167.9 FPS, a 32.6% decrease from its 1080p counterpart. The High preset drops from 151.7 FPS to 104.9 FPS, a reduction of 30.8%. This pattern suggests that while the RTX 3080 is capable of handling 1080p with ease, the increased pixel count at 1440p begins to place a more substantial load on the GPU.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) is even more pronounced, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The Low preset at 4K manages 94.7 FPS, which is a 43.6% drop from the 1440p Low result. The High preset at 4K falls to 57.1 FPS, a 45.6% decline from its 1440p score, and the Ultra preset drops to 39.6 FPS, a 44.0% reduction. This steep decline in performance as resolution increases points directly to the GPU's rendering capabilities being the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, appears to have enough headroom at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher, but the GPU's workload grows so much at 4K that it becomes the definitive constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 249.2, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 sufficient for smooth 4K gameplay in Evolve?

A: At 4K, the system achieves 57.1 FPS on High settings and 39.6 FPS on Ultra. While the High preset is playable, the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236. This places it 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D by 0.5% (25365).

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 167.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 70.7 FPS. This represents a 57.9% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its closest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35787. It is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860) and 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101). It outperforms the AMD Radeon 880M by 0.4% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile by 1%.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with the High preset, the system achieves an average of 151.7 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 10971. The single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004. In the context of Evolve, a game released in 2015, the CPU's high thread count and modern architecture are more than sufficient to prevent a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

The data supports this interpretation. At 1080p, where the GPU's workload is relatively light, the system achieves frame rates exceeding 150 FPS on High settings and approaching 250 FPS on Low. This indicates the CPU can feed the GPU with enough data to maintain these high frame rates. However, the role shifts as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rates drop dramatically, but this is not a sign of CPU limitation; rather, it shows that the GPU is now the constraining factor. The CPU's performance, as measured by its 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, is clearly not the limiting component in this pairing for this game. The processor sits 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H in average benchmark scores, confirming its competitive standing, but the game's demands are far more heavily weighted toward the graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high. The Low preset yields 249.2 FPS, Medium yields 194.2 FPS, High yields 151.7 FPS, and Ultra yields 106.4 FPS. This shows a smooth and predictable scaling, with each step up in quality costing about 40-45 FPS. At 2560x1440, the numbers are still strong but show a more significant cost for higher quality. Low produces 167.9 FPS, Medium produces 132.6 FPS, High produces 104.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 70.7 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra here is 34.2 FPS, which is a larger absolute drop than between Medium and High (27.7 FPS).

At 3840x2160, the 4K results are where the GPU's limitations become evident. The Low preset manages 94.7 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium preset drops to 75.9 FPS. High falls to 57.1 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 39.6 FPS. The scaling here is steeper, with a 19.1 FPS difference between Low and Medium, an 18.8 FPS difference between Medium and High, and a 17.5 FPS difference between High and Ultra. This contrasts with the 1080p results, where the differences between presets were more uniform, suggesting that at 4K, each additional quality setting has a relatively similar and substantial impact on the GPU. Overall, the system ranks 513th out of 1695 tested combinations for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture and features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz. The GPU's 8704 shading units and 68 RT cores give it substantial raw compute power, reflected in its Passmark G3D score of 25086 and its 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs. In Evolve, the GPU's role is central, and its performance directly dictates the frame rates, especially at higher resolutions.

The data shows that the RTX 3080's performance scales predictably with resolution, but the game's demands are such that 4K Ultra is a significant challenge. At 1080p, the GPU is able to render frames quickly enough to allow the CPU to push frame rates to 249.2 FPS on Low settings. However, at 4K, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become taxed. The 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth is likely a key factor, as higher resolutions require more data to be transferred. The GPU's benchmark standing is solid, sitting just 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, but those comparisons do not translate to game-specific performance, where the 4K Ultra preset's 39.6 FPS result clearly shows a hard limit.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is a viable choice, delivering an average of 106.4 FPS. For those seeking maximum smoothness on a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor, the High preset at 151.7 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, while the Medium preset at 194.2 FPS provides an even higher frame rate cushion.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the clear sweet spot, achieving 104.9 FPS, which is above the 100 FPS mark and should feel very smooth. The Ultra preset at 70.7 FPS is also playable but represents a 32.6% performance hit compared to High. For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The High preset at 57.1 FPS is the highest quality setting that remains reasonably playable, though it will not fully utilize a 60Hz display. The Medium preset at 75.9 FPS is a better option for a smoother experience, offering a 33% improvement over High. The Low preset at 94.7 FPS is the best choice for players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity on a 4K panel. The Ultra preset at 39.6 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as the frame rate is too low for a fluid experience.