Evolve

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER produces a highly variable experience in Evolve, depending heavily on the chosen resolution and quality preset. Benchmark data shows this combination ranks 1493rd out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of the database. The measured frame rates range from a playable 124.6 FPS at 1080p Low to a nearly unplayable 19.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, illustrating a system that is decisively GPU-limited in most scenarios.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, the system delivers 76.3 FPS on High and 124.6 FPS on Low, which are the only settings that consistently exceed 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (82.7 FPS) clears that threshold, while 3840x2160 never reaches 60 FPS on any preset.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14314) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352). It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389) by 0.7%. The GPU sits at the 55th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's performance relative to its nearest competitors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta). It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446) and 0.2% behind both the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32584) and Intel Core i7-13705H (32586).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. For example, dropping from 1080p High (76.3 FPS) to 4K High (31.5 FPS) cuts performance by more than half, while the CPU's capabilities remain constant. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are not the constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: Which preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 yields 63.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. While Low offers 82.7 FPS, Medium provides a better visual quality-to-performance trade-off without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset usable for this configuration?

A: No. The measured average of 19.1 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is far below playable thresholds. Even the Low preset at 4K only reaches 46.2 FPS, indicating that 4K is generally not recommended for this hardware combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU116 chip and features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. Its memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz, and it contains 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. These specifications produce a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s.

In Evolve, the VRAM capacity and bandwidth play a critical role. The 6 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, particularly on higher presets. The measured FPS drop from 1080p High (76.3 FPS) to 4K High (31.5 FPS) suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is insufficient to feed the higher pixel count. The GTX 1660 SUPER's FP32 performance of 5.027 TFLOPS also explains why it struggles with the Ultra preset's increased shading load, which shows a 59% reduction from High at 4K (19.1 FPS vs. 31.5 FPS). The GPU's DirectX 12 benchmark score of 50 and DirectX 11 score of 104 further indicate its mid-range positioning, consistent with its 55th percentile ranking overall.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate across all presets is 87.0 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 58.9 FPS, a 32% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average plummets to 33.1 FPS, which is a 62% drop from the 1080p average. This scaling behavior is typical for a system where the GPU is the primary constraint.

Looking at specific presets, the High setting shows the most telling progression: 76.3 FPS at 1080p, 52.9 FPS at 1440p, and 31.5 FPS at 4K. The Low preset demonstrates a similar trend: 124.6 FPS at 1080p, 82.7 FPS at 1440p, and 46.2 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of performance when doubling resolution indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER's fillrate and memory bandwidth are saturated. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases; its 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for the workload at 4K, where the GPU's 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute becomes the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset (76.3 FPS) offers a solid experience, while Low (124.6 FPS) is best for competitive play. The Medium preset (97.6 FPS) provides a good middle ground. The Ultra preset (49.3 FPS) dips below 60 FPS and is not recommended unless visual fidelity takes absolute priority.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset (82.7 FPS) is the only one that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset (63.6 FPS) is playable but close to the threshold. High (52.9 FPS) and Ultra (36.4 FPS) fall short of smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS; Low (46.2 FPS) is the most playable, while Medium (35.6 FPS), High (31.5 FPS), and Ultra (19.1 FPS) become progressively less viable.

The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the best overall compromise, offering 97.6 FPS with improved visual quality over Low. For users prioritizing frame rate, 1080p Low at 124.6 FPS is the strongest choice. At higher resolutions, only the Low preset at 1440p (82.7 FPS) provides a consistently smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low achieves 124.6 FPS, Medium reaches 97.6 FPS, High delivers 76.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 49.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 75.3 FPS, showing a 61% performance penalty for maximum settings.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 82.7 FPS, Medium at 63.6 FPS, High at 52.9 FPS, and Ultra at 36.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p averages 32% across all presets, with the largest absolute decrease seen on Low (41.9 FPS lost).

At 3840x2160, the numbers are: Low at 46.2 FPS, Medium at 35.6 FPS, High at 31.5 FPS, and Ultra at 19.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the worst-case scenario, delivering less than a third of the 1080p Low performance. The scaling from 1440p to 4K averages a 44% reduction, confirming the GPU's memory bandwidth (336.0 GB/s) and pixel rate (85.68 GPixel/s) are insufficient for 4K workloads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The processor's multi-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 (21914 points) and Passmark Multithread (25783 points), is more than adequate for the game's engine. Even at 1080p Low (124.6 FPS), the CPU does not appear to bottleneck, as the frame rate remains high. The single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093 and Passmark Single Thread score of 3723, ensures that the game's main thread is well-served.

The CPU's 88th percentile ranking among all CPUs contrasts sharply with the GPU's 55th percentile, reinforcing the notion that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 19.1 FPS, a figure that would not improve with a stronger CPU because the GPU is already saturated. The data indicates that users seeking higher frame rates in Evolve should focus on GPU upgrades rather than CPU changes, as the i5-14400F's performance is not the constraint in any measured configuration.