Evolve

# Evolve with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing delivers a broadly capable Evolve experience, but the benchmark data reveals a system whose performance is heavily dictated by graphics settings and resolution. With a combo rank of 972 out of 1695 tested combinations, this setup sits near the middle of the pack, indicating a balanced but not exceptional configuration for this 2015 FPS title. The measured frame rates tell a story of a GPU that can push high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable numbers at 4K with maximum quality.

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. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide a solid foundation for gaming workloads. In Evolve, a game from 2015 that is not particularly demanding on modern CPUs, the processor's capabilities are more than sufficient. The L3 cache of 20 MB shared across the cores helps maintain smooth performance in hectic multiplayer scenarios.

Benchmark results place this CPU in the 88th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32508. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, both scoring within 0.2% of the i5-14400F. This clustering indicates that the CPU is well within the performance envelope needed for Evolve, where even the most demanding scenes are unlikely to bottleneck this processor. The single-core performance, measured at 3093 in Cinebench R23, is particularly relevant for Evolve's game logic and physics calculations, which typically rely on fewer threads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The memory runs at 2125 MHz, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With a boost clock of 2460 MHz and 3072 shading units, the GPU offers 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. Its pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are key metrics for understanding how it handles Evolve's rendering workload.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 66 against all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 23181, shows it is a mid-range performer. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, with the RTX 4060 trailing the RX 6600M by 0.6% and the GTX 780 Ti by 0.7%. Interestingly, the Intel Arc B580 is 0.7% ahead, and the AMD Radeon 760M is 0.8% behind. This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 4060's advantage in Evolve comes more from its modern feature set and driver optimization than raw computational dominance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 116.2 FPS, which drops to 75.6 FPS at 1440p and further to 46.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 59.6% drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern varies by settings preset. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 191.7 FPS at 1080p to 127.5 FPS at 1440p and 72.3 FPS at 4K — a 62.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This consistent scaling suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the bottleneck. At Ultra settings, the drop is even more pronounced: 79.8 FPS at 1080p falls to 54.1 FPS at 1440p and 32.3 FPS at 4K, a 59.5% decrease. The fact that the percentage drops are similar across settings implies that resolution scaling is primarily GPU-bound, with the CPU maintaining adequate frame delivery even at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves a rank of 972 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the 57th percentile, meaning roughly 57% of tested combinations perform better in this specific game. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically exceeds the other's capabilities.

Given the CPU's 88th percentile standing and the GPU's 66th percentile, the combo rank suggests that Evolve's performance is more constrained by the GPU than the CPU. The data indicates that this pairing is well-matched for 1080p gaming, where the CPU can feed frames efficiently, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The mid-pack ranking also implies that many other GPU options could improve performance in Evolve, while CPU upgrades would yield diminishing returns.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 148.7 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 116.2 FPS is also excellent, offering better visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay. Ultra at 1080p drops to 79.8 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the high refresh rate advantage.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides 100.1 FPS, making it the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. High at 75.6 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays, while Low at 127.5 FPS suits competitive play. Ultra at 54.1 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay. At 4K, only the Low preset at 72.3 FPS achieves consistently playable frame rates; Medium at 53.6 FPS and High at 46.9 FPS are marginal, while Ultra at 32.3 FPS is not recommended for serious play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 191.7 FPS on Low, 148.7 FPS on Medium, 116.2 FPS on High, and 79.8 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that the RTX 4060 can easily handle 1080p gaming with headroom for high refresh rates at most settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, frame rates decrease to 127.5 FPS on Low, 100.1 FPS on Medium, 75.6 FPS on High, and 54.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p averages around 35-38% across settings, consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls to 72.3 FPS on Low, 53.6 FPS on Medium, 46.9 FPS on High, and 32.3 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results clearly indicate that this combo is not designed for maximum quality at this resolution, with even Low settings barely exceeding 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS gaming in Evolve at 1080p?

A: Yes, all settings presets at 1920x1080 exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest being Ultra at 79.8 FPS and the highest being Low at 191.7 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 100.1 FPS offers the best combination of visual quality and smooth performance, while High at 75.6 FPS is suitable for 60 Hz displays.

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

A: Only at Low settings does it achieve 72.3 FPS, which is playable. Medium at 53.6 FPS and High at 46.9 FPS are marginal, and Ultra at 32.3 FPS is not recommended.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F scores 32508 on average, essentially tying with the Intel Core i7-12800H at 32513 and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 at 32446, with a 0.2% difference.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck at higher resolutions?

A: Yes, the consistent frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicate the RTX 4060 is the limiting component, as the CPU's performance remains sufficient even at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 972 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it near the middle of the database and indicating balanced but not outstanding performance.