Evolve

# Evolve — Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a playable but uneven experience in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The measured frame rates show a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p on lower presets but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost of 4.70 GHz, provide ample headroom for this game's processing demands, while the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The combo ranks 2638 out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of all systems evaluated for this title.

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

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz position it as a strong mid-range contender for gaming workloads. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher), indicating the i5-14400F is tightly clustered with several high-end mobile and desktop parts.

In Evolve, the CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant, as the game's AI-driven monster behavior and physics calculations rely heavily on per-core efficiency. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and Geekbench single-core score of 2058 reflect strong per-thread capability, which translates to stable frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios. The multi-threaded results are equally robust, with Cinebench R23 multi-core scoring 21645 and Geekbench multi-core at 11268, suggesting the processor can handle any background tasks without stealing cycles from the game.

The 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for Evolve's level geometry and entity management. The 65 W TDP indicates this CPU operates within a modest power envelope, which is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions where thermal throttling could otherwise impact performance. At 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU's influence on the 160 FPS average becomes apparent—this is a scenario where the i5-14400F's high boost clock keeps the frame rate ceiling high.

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

Q: What is the best resolution for achieving 60+ FPS at High settings with this combo?

A: At 2560x1440 High settings, the system produces an average of 65 FPS, while at 1920x1080 High settings it reaches 97 FPS. The 3840x2160 High setting falls below 60 FPS at 37 FPS average, so 1440p is the highest resolution that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS on High.

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

A: The i5-14400F scores 21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, placing it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226 avg score) and 0.5% of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121 avg score). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U by only 0.1% and beats the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2%, showing near-parity with all four nearest rivals.

Q: What is the FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings?

A: The system delivers 124 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium and 83 FPS at 2560x1440 Medium, representing a 33% reduction in average frame rate. The minimum FPS also drops from 105 to 71, while the maximum falls from 143 to 96.

Q: Is the GPU's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 67 FPS average, but this drops to 45 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 26 FPS at 4K Ultra. While the 8 GB frame buffer is not the sole constraint, the steep performance cliff at higher resolutions suggests the memory bandwidth and capacity limit Ultra preset viability beyond 1080p.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RX 6600 XT is in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, scores 24277 (0.7% lower), while the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (0.8% higher), indicating the GPU sits slightly below mid-pack in overall compute capability.

Q: What frame rate can players expect at 4K Low settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Low settings, the system produces an average of 61 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only 4K preset that achieves playable performance, as Medium drops to 47 FPS and High falls to 37 FPS.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance scaling as resolution increases. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS from 160 to 107, a 33% drop, while moving from 1440p to 4K further reduces it to 61, another 43% decline. This progressive degradation indicates the RX 6600 XT's render output units and texture units become saturated as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more gradual but still substantial: 124 FPS at 1080p, 83 FPS at 1440p (33% drop), and 47 FPS at 4K (43% drop). The High preset shows similar relative decreases: 97 FPS to 65 FPS (33% drop), then to 37 FPS (43% drop). This consistent 33% and 43% reduction pattern across all presets strongly suggests the GPU's fixed-function units, particularly the 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs, are the primary bottleneck rather than memory bandwidth or CPU limitations.

The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K where higher texture detail demands more data throughput. The pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are modest figures that align with the observed frame rates. The CPU, by contrast, shows no signs of limiting even at 1080p Low where the 160 FPS average would require substantial per-frame processing—the i5-14400F's 10 cores handle Evolve's workload with significant headroom.

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

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, while Medium reaches 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 and maximum of 143. High settings produce 97 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 67 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 93 FPS, indicating that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are heavily taxed by the higher-quality rendering features.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but show clear degradation. Low averages 107 FPS, Medium 83 FPS (min 71, max 96), High 65 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The 62 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution is narrower than at 1080p, reflecting the increased pixel fill rate demands. The Medium preset still offers a smooth experience above 60 FPS, but Ultra falls below playable thresholds for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 61 FPS average, Medium 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), High 37 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The 35 FPS range between Low and Ultra at 4K highlights how the GPU's fixed-function throughput becomes the dominant constraint. Even the Low preset hovers near the 60 FPS threshold, making 4K a marginal resolution for this combination unless players accept lower frame rates.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). Its 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs define the raw processing throughput, while 32 ray accelerators contribute to modern rendering features.

The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 compute performance and 21.21 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1) suggest the card is well-suited for rasterized workloads like Evolve, which relies on traditional shading rather than ray tracing. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern API features, though Evolve's 2015 release date means it likely runs on older APIs.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 24442 places it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (0.7% higher), Intel Arc A350M (0.8% lower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (0.8% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.1% higher). This clustering indicates the RX 6600 XT performs near several older and newer cards, but its measured FPS in Evolve suggests the game is particularly sensitive to memory bandwidth and fill rate, where the 128-bit bus may be a weakness.

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

For players targeting a consistent 60 FPS experience, the 2560x1440 Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering 83 FPS average with a minimum of 71 and maximum of 96. This preset offers smooth gameplay with no frame rate dips below the critical 60 FPS threshold, making it suitable for both casual and competitive play. The 1440p High preset at 65 FPS average is also viable, though the lack of minimum FPS data means occasional drops below 60 cannot be ruled out.

At 1080p, the High preset at 97 FPS average is the optimal choice for visual quality without sacrificing performance. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS remains above 60 FPS, but the 30 FPS gap between High and Ultra suggests diminishing returns on visual fidelity for the performance cost. For players with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 160 FPS unlocks the full potential of 144 Hz displays, though the visual compromise may be significant.

At 4K, only the Low preset at 61 FPS meets the 60 FPS threshold, and even this is marginal. The Medium preset at 47 FPS is playable for slower-paced content but may feel sluggish in fast combat scenarios. Given the game's FPS genre and the need for responsive controls, 4K gaming with this combo is not recommended beyond Low settings, and 1440p Medium represents the sweet spot for overall experience.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination ranks 2638 out of 3700 tested configurations in Evolve, placing it in the 71st percentile of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance class relative to the full spectrum of tested hardware, despite the CPU's strong showing in synthetic benchmarks. The combo's position in the lower third of the ranking table indicates that while it delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, many other combinations offer superior performance in this title.

The rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU's 83rd percentile standing and the GPU's 70th percentile placement. This discrepancy suggests Evolve's engine is more demanding on GPU resources than typical titles, or that the game's optimization favors different hardware configurations. The measured FPS data confirms this interpretation: the system excels at lower resolutions and presets but falls off sharply at 4K, a pattern consistent with a GPU-limited scenario where the CPU's capabilities are underutilized.

Given that the combo ranks below the midpoint of all tested systems, players seeking higher frame rates at 4K or Ultra presets would need to consider more powerful GPU options. However, for 1080p and 1440p gaming at Medium or High settings, this combination provides a solid experience that outperforms many lower-tier configurations. The data shows a competent mid-range pairing that handles Evolve adequately at mainstream resolutions, with clear limitations only at extreme settings.