Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, places very different demands on a CPU-GPU pairing than a typical modern shooter. With the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, the benchmark data reveals a system where the GPU is almost always the primary constraint, yet the CPU's headroom becomes visible at the lowest settings. The measured results show a pairing that is capable of smooth play at 1080p, but which struggles to maintain frame rates at higher resolutions, a pattern consistent with the GTX 1070's mid-range standing in the current GPU hierarchy.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 80.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 50.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a significant 37% reduction, before plummeting further to just 30.8 FPS at 3840x2160. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario; the Core i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power to feed the GTX 1070 at lower resolutions, but the graphics card's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are simply overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K.

The situation is even more telling at Ultra settings. The average frame rate at 1080p is already a low 56.7 FPS, and this falls to 36.8 FPS at 1440p and a nearly unplayable 19.2 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35% performance drop, and the jump to 4K costs another 48% of the frame rate. The data indicates that the GTX 1070's 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 107.7 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for Evolve's Ultra preset at high resolutions. Conversely, the CPU's performance, which ranks in the 88th percentile of all processors, is never the bottleneck here.

Conversely, when settings are dropped to Low, the frame rates at 1080p reach 132.9 FPS. This suggests that while the GPU is still the primary limiter, the CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2333, allows the system to push far beyond 60 FPS when the graphical load is light. However, even at Low settings, the 4K resolution still drops the average to 48.4 FPS, confirming that the sheer fill-rate demands of 4K are beyond this GPU's capabilities, regardless of the visual fidelity settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested hardware combinations for Evolve, this pairing secures the 1450th position out of 1695 total combos. This places it in the lower 15% of all tested systems, a ranking that is heavily influenced by the GPU's age and performance class. The GTX 1070's overall benchmark average score is 12331, which places it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a strictly average performer in the current landscape. This is the primary factor dragging the combo rank down.

The CPU, in contrast, is a high performer. Its average benchmark score of 32508 places it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H, which scores 32513 (a 0% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, which scores 32446 (a 0.2% delta). The i5-14400F is effectively on par with these mobile and desktop processors, showing it is not the weak link in this pairing. The data strongly suggests that if this CPU were paired with a more powerful GPU, the combo's rank in the Evolve-specific charts would be substantially higher.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile ranking (88th) and the GPU's middling one (51st) is the defining characteristic of this system. The combo rank of 1450 is a direct consequence of the GTX 1070's limitations, not the i5-14400F's capabilities. In games that are less graphically demanding, this CPU would likely propel the system to a much better relative standing, but for Evolve, the GPU is the anchor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with High settings produces an average of 80.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate at a "High" quality preset. For a smoother experience, lowering to Medium at 1080p yields 103.2 FPS, while Low at 1080p reaches 132.9 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 30.8 FPS on High, 40.3 FPS on Medium, and 48.4 FPS on Low. Only the Low preset comes close to a playable 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is largely unplayable at 19.2 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores 32513, resulting in a 0% delta. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 scores 32446, a 0.2% delta, meaning the i5 is effectively tied with both.

Q: Is the system more limited by the CPU or the GPU?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 places it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-14400F's score of 32508 places it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. The massive frame rate drops at higher resolutions confirm the GPU is the bottleneck.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset yields an average of 50.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 36.8 FPS. This represents a 27% performance cost for enabling the highest visual fidelity settings.

Q: Does the GTX 1070's memory configuration impact its performance in Evolve?

A: The GTX 1070 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The significant frame rate drops at 4K, where memory pressure is highest, indicate that the memory subsystem is a contributing factor to the performance ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's capabilities across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the system is capable of high refresh-rate gaming: Low settings produce a 132.9 FPS average, Medium produces 103.2 FPS, and High produces 80.6 FPS. Pushing to the Ultra preset at 1080p drops the average to 56.7 FPS, which is the first setting at this resolution to fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance takes a significant hit across all presets. The Low setting yields 85.9 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium drops to 65.4 FPS, and High falls to 50.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p manages only a 36.8 FPS average, making it a poor choice for any competitive or fast-paced play. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings alone results in a 30 FPS loss.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with a 48.4 FPS average. Medium drops to 40.3 FPS, High falls to 30.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset is essentially a slideshow at 19.2 FPS. The data shows a linear and steep decline in performance as resolution increases, confirming the GPU's pixel-pushing limitations. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the system must be kept at 1080p with either Medium or High settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the definitive performance bottleneck in this configuration for Evolve. Its specifications, while impressive for 2016, are outdated for modern titles. The GPU is built on the Pascal architecture with a 16 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. These numbers, combined with its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit memory bus, provide a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. The core clock operates at a base of 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz, delivering a peak FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS.

In the context of Evolve, these specifications result in a GPU that is well-suited for 1080p gaming. The measured data shows it can deliver over 80 FPS at High settings and over 100 FPS at Medium settings when paired with the capable i5-14400F. However, the GPU's mid-range performance class is clearly demonstrated by its benchmark percentile. With an average benchmark score of 12331, it sits in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, placing it exactly in the middle of the pack. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (scoring 12241, a 0.7% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M (scoring 12490, a -1.3% delta).

The GPU's role is further defined by its memory and clock behavior. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and even 1440p in most cases, but the 4K data indicates a hard limit. The massive frame rate drop from 48.4 FPS at 1080p Low to 30.8 FPS at 4K High suggests that the memory bandwidth and fill rate are saturated. The GPU's pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are simply not enough to handle the 8.3 million pixels at 4K with any consistency. This makes the GTX 1070 the single most important factor in determining the system's performance ceiling in Evolve.