Evolve

# Evolve with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

This combo places 362nd out of 1,695 tested combinations in Evolve, putting it in the top 21% of all systems tested. The pairing of Intel's Core i5-14400F with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 produces a system that handles this 2015 FPS title with considerable authority, though the data reveals some interesting bottlenecks at higher settings. The measured frame rates show a system that can push well beyond 200 FPS at 1080p on lower presets, yet drops to under 50 FPS at 4K Ultra — a spread that suggests the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting as resolution climbs.

How This Combo Ranks

The 362nd position out of 1,695 tested combos places this configuration in the 78.6th percentile of all systems tested in Evolve. That is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a current-generation GPU. The ranking indicates this combo outperforms roughly four out of every five alternative system configurations tested in this game, which is notable given Evolve's age and the fact that many higher-end CPUs with similar GPUs would be expected to land higher.

What is more revealing is how the CPU's general benchmark percentile compares to the combo's in-game rank. The Core i5-14400F sits at the 88th percentile against all CPUs in general benchmarks, while the RTX 5070 ranks at the 83rd percentile against all GPUs. The combo's in-game rank of 362 out of 1,695 is slightly lower than either component's standalone percentile would suggest, implying Evolve may not fully utilize the hardware's potential. The game's 2015 release date likely means it does not take advantage of modern multi-threading or the Blackwell architecture's newer features, leaving performance on the table.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 2325 MHz with a boost of 2512 MHz, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. These specifications translate to a PassMark G3D score of 29,137, placing the card at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs.

In Evolve, the GPU's influence is most apparent at higher resolutions and settings. The gap between Low and Ultra presets at 4K is dramatic: 108.6 FPS at Low versus 46.5 FPS at Ultra. That is a 62.1 FPS swing, or a performance drop of 57.2% when maxing out settings. This indicates the RTX 5070's raw compute power — 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 with 6,144 shading units — is being taxed heavily by Evolve's Ultra preset at 4K. The card's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are substantial, yet the game still manages to push the GPU to its limits at the highest settings.

CPU Role

The Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh architecture, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosting to 4.70 GHz. It carries 20 MB of shared L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 and 1.25 MB of L2 per core. The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores are 21,914 multi-core and 3,093 single-core, while Geekbench shows 11,209 multi-core and 2,333 single-core. These figures place the processor at the 88th percentile against all CPUs.

Evolve, as a 2015 title, likely does not scale well beyond a handful of threads. The CPU's strong single-core performance — a PassMark single-thread score of 3,723 — should be more relevant than its multi-thread capabilities. The 4.70 GHz boost clock gives this processor excellent single-thread headroom, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates in older game engines. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 281.7 FPS, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU ample frames at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the RTX 5070 and Core i5-14400F combination delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low preset hits 281.7 FPS, Medium achieves 217.1 FPS, High runs at 170.6 FPS, and Ultra still manages 120.9 FPS. Every preset at 1080p exceeds 120 FPS, meaning even the most demanding settings provide a high-refresh-rate experience.

Moving to 1440p, the numbers remain strong but show the GPU starting to work harder. Low preset produces 190.4 FPS, Medium drops to 146 FPS, High runs at 112.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 79.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 111.1 FPS, a 58.4% reduction. At 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced. Low preset yields 108.6 FPS, Medium drops to 83 FPS, High achieves 68.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 46.5 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating this preset is the first to truly challenge the combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 4K sees frame rates fall from 281.7 FPS to 108.6 FPS — a 61.4% reduction. At Ultra settings, the same resolution transition drops from 120.9 FPS to 46.5 FPS, a 61.5% reduction. The consistency of this percentage across settings suggests the scaling is purely resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The 1440p results sit almost exactly between the 1080p and 4K figures, which is expected given the pixel count progression. At Low, 1440p delivers 190.4 FPS, which is 67.6% of the 1080p figure and 175.3% of the 4K figure. This linear scaling indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's role diminishes when pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The 84.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra (281.7 to 46.5 FPS) demonstrates that while the combo is capable of extreme performance at lower settings, the RTX 5070's 12 GB frame buffer and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are tested at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that High settings at 1440p provide an excellent balance, delivering 112.7 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and close to 120 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. For users with 1080p displays, even Ultra settings at 120.9 FPS are playable, but dropping to High at 170.6 FPS provides a substantial frame rate increase with minimal visual compromise.

At 4K, High settings at 68.9 FPS is the highest preset that maintains a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. Moving to Ultra at 4K drops to 46.5 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay but falls short of the smoothness most players expect. Medium at 4K offers 83 FPS, which is a safer choice for maintaining high frame rates. The Low preset at 1080p reaching 281.7 FPS indicates this combo has headroom for competitive play where maximum frame rates matter more than visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this combo in Evolve?

A: At 1440p High, the combo delivers 112.7 FPS, providing an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. For 4K, High at 68.9 FPS is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p Ultra?

A: The combo achieves 120.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Evolve?

A: The data shows GPU-bound scaling from 1080p to 4K, with FPS dropping by approximately 61% across all settings. The CPU's 4.70 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate measured in this testing?

A: The lowest result is 46.5 FPS at 4K Ultra settings, which is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo drops from 170.6 FPS at 1080p to 68.9 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 101.7 FPS or approximately 59.6%.

Q: Does this combo support competitive frame rates?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low the combo reaches 281.7 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 190.4 FPS, both of which are well above what competitive FPS players typically require.