Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 lands at rank 15 out of 1,695 tested combos in Evolve. That places this configuration in the top 1% of all tested pairings, a position that reflects the extreme ceiling of the RTX 5090 rather than the mid-range positioning of the i5-14400F. The data suggests that in a 2015 title like Evolve, the GPU is doing the overwhelming share of the heavy lifting, and the 10-core processor is simply along for the ride at most resolutions.

What makes this rank particularly interesting is the composition of the pairing. The CPU sits at the 88th percentile against all processors, while the GPU commands the 94th percentile against all graphics cards. When the component with the lower percentile is still this high, and the game is from an era where CPU demands were far lighter than today, the combination is naturally going to excel. The benchmark results confirm this: even at 4K Ultra, the combo manages 60.9 FPS, which is playable, but the frame rates scale dramatically as settings drop, indicating a GPU that has headroom to spare in less demanding scenarios.

The rank also needs context from the nearest rivals. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32,508 places it within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-12800H and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, and a hair ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 250. Meanwhile, the GPU’s average score of 84,306 is nearly identical to the RTX 5090 D and RTX 5050 Mobile, with a 1.3% gap to the AMD Radeon PRO W6600. This tells us the combo’s rank is not a fluke of CPU or GPU outlier behavior; both components are performing exactly as their silicon suggests they should.

FAQ

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-14400F bottleneck the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Evolve?

A: The measured FPS data suggests minimal bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 322.9 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 257.5 FPS. These are extremely high frame rates that a CPU-bound scenario would typically cap lower. The i5-14400F’s boost clock of 4.70 GHz and 10 cores appear sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 in this title.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in raw compute?

A: The i5-14400F scores 21,914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,093 in single-core. Its average benchmark score of 32,508 is statistically tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32,513, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32,446, 0.2% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 250 by just 0.2% (32,584 vs 32,508).

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5090 sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 puts it 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D and 0.2% ahead of the RTX 5050 Mobile, while it leads the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 by 1.3% (84,306 vs 83,209).

Q: Is this combo better suited for high refresh rate 1080p or 4K gaming?

A: The data shows the combo excels at both, but for different reasons. At 1080p Low, it delivers 322.9 FPS, which is ideal for esports-level refresh rates. At 4K High, it still manages 88.9 FPS. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for 4K, while the CPU’s 4.70 GHz boost clock keeps 1080p frame rates exceptionally high.

Q: How does the combo rank within the full database of tested configurations?

A: It holds rank 15 out of 1,695 combos. This places it in the top 0.9% of all tested pairings, a position that is remarkable given the CPU is not a flagship part.

Q: What is the weakest link in this configuration for Evolve?

A: The CPU is the clear limiting factor, but only in the most extreme cases. The i5-14400F has a TDP of 65 W and is not multiplier-unlocked, so overclocking headroom is absent. However, the measured data shows the combo still exceeds 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, meaning the CPU is only a bottleneck at resolutions where frame rates are already beyond playable thresholds.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, but with an interesting twist at the lower settings. At Low settings, the combo delivers 322.9 FPS at 1080p, 257.5 FPS at 1440p, and 148.7 FPS at 4K. That is a 26.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 53.9% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU that is being pushed harder as pixel count rises, but the absolute numbers remain high enough to suggest the RTX 5090 is not fully saturated until 4K.

At High settings, the pattern shifts. The combo hits 233.8 FPS at 1080p, 156.7 FPS at 1440p, and 88.9 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 43.3%, which is steeper than the Low setting’s 42.2% drop over the same range. This indicates that higher quality presets are making the GPU work harder per pixel, which is expected. However, the 1080p to 1440p drop at High is 33.0%, which is larger than the 26.8% drop at Low, suggesting that the CPU is starting to play a role at 1080p High.

The Ultra settings tell the clearest story about the limiting component. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 163.8 FPS, which drops to 108.7 FPS at 1440p and 60.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-100 FPS figure in the entire measured set, and it represents a 62.8% reduction from 1080p Ultra. This is a GPU-limited scenario, as the RTX 5090’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being fully utilized. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is likely still not the bottleneck here, but the data cannot confirm that without additional testing.

What the scaling implies is that this combo is overkill for 1080p in Evolve, adequate for 1440p, and only at 4K Ultra does it begin to show strain. The limiting component is the GPU at 4K, but at 1080p, the CPU’s 4.70 GHz boost clock is likely the ceiling for the highest frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates. Low settings yield 322.9 FPS, Medium 295 FPS, High 233.8 FPS, and Ultra 163.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 159.1 FPS, which is a 49.3% reduction. This shows that Evolve’s Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU, even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the numbers remain high but begin to compress. Low delivers 257.5 FPS, Medium 201 FPS, High 156.7 FPS, and Ultra 108.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 148.8 FPS, a 57.8% reduction. The fact that 1440p Ultra still exceeds 100 FPS indicates the RTX 5090 has substantial headroom at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop more dramatically. Low hits 148.7 FPS, Medium 115.7 FPS, High 88.9 FPS, and Ultra 60.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, and it does so by just 1.1 FPS. This suggests that 4K Ultra is the boundary of what this combo can handle in Evolve, while 4K High remains comfortably playable.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low settings provide the highest FPS, followed by Medium, then High, and Ultra is the most demanding. The relative gaps between presets are similar at each resolution, indicating that Evolve’s settings scale in a predictable manner. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB of VRAM is never a limiting factor, as even the highest texture loads in a 2015 game would fit comfortably within that allocation.

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 is 2.50 GHz, and it boosts to 4.70 GHz. This combination of core count and clock speed is well-suited for a game like Evolve, which was released in 2015 and does not demand the high core counts that modern titles do.

The CPU’s benchmark results give context to its gaming performance. It scores 3,093 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 21,914 in multi-core. The single-core score is particularly relevant for Evolve, as older game engines often rely heavily on one or two threads. The 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures that single-threaded performance is strong enough to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This is ample for a game from 2015, where working sets are smaller than modern titles. The 65 W TDP also means the CPU is not drawing excessive power, which is a consideration for system builders pairing it with a 575 W GPU.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1080p. At Low settings, the combo hits 322.9 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU’s maximum frame delivery rate. The fact that 1080p Medium drops to 295 FPS and High drops to 233.8 FPS indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as settings increase. At 4K, the CPU is almost certainly not the bottleneck, as the GPU is working much harder to fill the additional pixels.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, both within 0.2% of the i5-14400F. This suggests that in Evolve, any of these CPUs would deliver similar frame rates when paired with the RTX 5090, as the game is not heavily CPU-bound at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the High preset at 1440p is the standout choice. The measured 156.7 FPS is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors, and the visual improvement over Medium is significant. At 4K, High is the recommended preset, delivering 88.9 FPS, which is smooth for most players.

If the goal is maximum visual fidelity, Ultra at 1440p delivers 108.7 FPS, which is still highly playable. However, Ultra at 4K drops to 60.9 FPS, which is borderline. The data suggests that players with 4K displays should either accept High settings or be prepared for occasional frame rate dips below 60 FPS at Ultra. Given that Evolve is a fast-paced FPS, the smoother frame rate of High at 4K is likely the better experience.

For players with 1080p displays, Medium at 295 FPS is a sensible choice for high refresh rate monitors, as the visual difference between Medium and High is less impactful than the 61.2 FPS gap between them. Low at 1080p pushes 322.9 FPS, which is only useful for competitive play where every frame matters, but the visual compromise is steep.

The data does not include min or max FPS figures, so frame time consistency cannot be assessed. However, the average FPS numbers suggest that the combo is stable enough across all presets and resolutions. The recommendation is to prioritize High at 1440p or 4K, as it offers the best visual-to-performance ratio in the measured data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a monster of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC’s 5 nm process. It packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than enough for any game, let alone a 2015 title like Evolve.

The GPU’s clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with the massive core count, yield 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This is an extraordinary amount of compute power for a game from 2015, which explains why the combo achieves such high frame rates at 4K.

The RTX 5090’s benchmark results reinforce its dominance. It scores 39,650 in Passmark G3D and 14,411 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its average benchmark score of 84,306 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being the RTX 5090 D (0.1% ahead), RTX 5050 Mobile (0.2% ahead), and AMD Radeon PRO W6600 (1.3% behind).

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s role is clear at 4K. The 60.9 FPS at Ultra and 88.9 FPS at High show that the RTX 5090 is being pushed to its limits at this resolution, even though the game is over a decade old. The 32 GB VRAM is never a constraint, as even the highest texture settings in Evolve would use a fraction of that capacity. The GPU’s 575 W TDP is substantial, but it is the price of this level of performance.

The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures that the CPU can feed the GPU without bandwidth limitations. The RTX 5090’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 means it is fully compatible with Evolve’s rendering requirements. The data shows that the GPU is the dominant component in this combo, and its performance largely dictates the frame rates at all resolutions and settings.