Evolve

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT presents a fascinating case study for a 2015 FPS title like Evolve. The CPU is a modern 14-core powerhouse from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, while the GPU is a mid-range RDNA 2.0 part with 8 GB of VRAM. Benchmark data for this specific combination in Evolve is measured, showing a wide range of performance across resolutions and settings. The results reveal a system that can deliver high frame rates at 1080p, but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K with higher presets, making it a combo that demands careful settings management.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination among all tested combos in Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 2408 out of 3700 tested combinations in Evolve. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, suggesting that while it can play the game, many other configurations deliver better raw performance in this specific title.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600K compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618. Its closest rival, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, scores 48698, which is 0.2% higher. Another rival, the AMD EPYC 4345P, scores 48470, putting it 0.3% lower. These are very tight margins, indicating the CPU sits in a highly competitive performance tier.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Evolve, and at what settings?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 167, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is a substantial jump from the next highest, which is 129 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings, showing how much headroom is available at the lowest preset.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded, and does it suggest the game is unplayable at those settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 27, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is below the threshold for smooth, playable frame rates, indicating that the GPU is heavily overloaded and the experience would likely be a slideshow with frequent stutters.

Q: Does the GPU have a higher or lower percentile ranking compared to all GPUs than the CPU has compared to all CPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has a percentile rank of 65 against all GPUs, meaning it performs better than 65% of them. In contrast, the Intel Core i5-14600K has a percentile rank of 90 against all CPUs. This shows the CPU is a much stronger component relative to its peers than the GPU.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440 resolution?

A: At 2560x1440, the difference is 65 FPS. The Low setting produces an average of 112 FPS, while the Ultra setting drops to 47 FPS. This demonstrates a massive performance cost for the highest visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured data places this Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination at rank 2408 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This position, in the 35th percentile of all tested systems, is a key indicator that this pairing is not optimized for this particular game. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. The CPU itself is a top-tier performer, ranking in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 65th percentile. This creates an imbalance where the processor has significant headroom, but the graphics card cannot translate that into higher frame rates in Evolve, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

Examining the CPU's nearest rivals provides context for its processing power. The i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which scores 48698 with a deltaPct of -0.2%. Similarly, the AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470, a mere 0.3% behind. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX trails slightly with a score of 48287, 0.7% lower. These negligible differences suggest that from a pure processing standpoint, the i5-14600K is a very strong performer, and any performance bottlenecks in Evolve are unlikely to stem from the CPU. The GPU, however, is a different story.

The Radeon RX 6650 XT's nearest rivals are professional workstation cards, which is unusual for a gaming-focused GPU. The NVIDIA Tesla K40m has a score of 19885, which is 0.6% higher than the RX 6650 XT's 19765. The AMD FirePro D300 and FirePro W7000 score 19637 and 19905, respectively, with deltas of 0.7% and -0.7%. This indicates that in synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6650 XT performs in a similar tier to these older professional cards. However, its real-world gaming performance in Evolve, as shown by the measured FPS, is what matters for this analysis, and the data suggests it is the limiting factor in this combo.

The combination's overall rank of 2408 suggests that many other pairings can achieve better results in Evolve. The data implies that while this system is capable of playing the game, it is not a high-performance configuration for it. The 14-core CPU is overkill for a game from 2015, while the 8 GB GPU is likely struggling with the game's engine at higher settings. The rank serves as a warning that users should not expect top-tier performance without making significant compromises in graphical fidelity or resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and features a Navi 23 chip. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The GPU's clocks are set with a base of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. Memory operates at 2190 MHz, effectively 17.5 Gbps. These specifications place it as a solid mid-range card, but the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus can be limiting factors in modern titles.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining performance. The measured FPS data shows a dramatic drop as resolution and settings increase, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 167 FPS, indicating the GPU can handle the load easily. However, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS plummets to 27. This 140 FPS difference is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to process the increased pixel count and graphical complexity.

The 8 GB VRAM is a critical consideration. While Evolve is from 2015, higher resolutions and texture packs can quickly consume memory. The data suggests that at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU is likely running out of memory or hitting a bandwidth wall, causing the severe frame rate drop. The 128-bit memory bus, while paired with fast GDDR6, may not provide enough bandwidth to feed the GPU at higher resolutions. The benchmark results at 3840x2160 with Medium settings show an average of 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 57, which is still not ideal for a smooth experience.

The GPU's compute capabilities are also relevant. It offers 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s. These are decent figures, but Evolve's engine may not be optimized to leverage them fully. The measured scores in synthetic benchmarks like Passmark's G3D test (17166) and 3DMark Steel Nomad (1859) provide a baseline, but the in-game FPS data is more telling. The GPU is the clear bottleneck in this combo, and users must adjust settings to accommodate its limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo in Evolve is at 1920x1080 resolution. At this resolution, even the Ultra setting produces an average of 70 FPS, which is playable. However, the High setting offers a significant improvement, with an average of 101 FPS. For the smoothest experience, the Low setting delivers 167 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but may sacrifice too much visual quality for some users.

At 2560x1440, the choice becomes more restrictive. The Low setting yields a solid 112 FPS, and Medium produces 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is still smooth. The High setting drops to 68 FPS, which is acceptable for many, but the Ultra setting falls to 47 FPS, which may be too low for a fast-paced FPS. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot at this resolution, balancing visual fidelity with performance.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely challenged. The Low setting is the only one that provides a comfortable frame rate, with an average of 64 FPS. Medium drops to 49 FPS, which is borderline, and High falls to 39 FPS, which is likely too choppy for consistent gameplay. Ultra is unplayable at 27 FPS. For 4K gaming, users should stick to Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize 1080p for the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, the High preset is recommended, as it provides over 100 FPS and should look significantly better than Low. For 1440p, Medium is the optimal choice. 4K gaming is not recommended for this combo in Evolve, as even Low settings may not provide a consistently smooth experience, and the visual compromise is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this combo performs across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance is generally strong. Low settings produce an average of 167 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 129 FPS, with a minimum of 110 and maximum of 148 FPS. High settings yield 101 FPS, and Ultra drops to 70 FPS. This shows a clear scaling curve, with each step up in quality costing a significant number of frames.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low settings average 112 FPS, which is still very good. Medium settings average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100 FPS. High settings drop to 68 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 65 FPS, highlighting the increasing demand on the GPU at a higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low settings average 64 FPS, which is the only preset that is consistently playable. Medium settings average 49 FPS, with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 57 FPS. High settings drop to 39 FPS, and Ultra falls to just 27 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 37 FPS, and even the Low setting is only marginally above the 60 FPS target.

The data shows a clear pattern: the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, decent performance at 1440p with lower settings, and poor performance at 4K with any setting above Low. The Medium settings at each resolution provide the most data points, with minimum and maximum FPS values, showing consistency. For example, at 1080p Medium, the range is 110-148 FPS, indicating stable performance. At 1440p Medium, the range is 74-100 FPS, which is still stable but lower. At 4K Medium, the range is 42-57 FPS, which shows more variability and a lower floor, suggesting the GPU is near its limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and uses the Intel Socket 1700. The CPU's integrated graphics are UHD Graphics 770, but they are not relevant for this dedicated GPU setup.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data and handle game logic. Given the game's 2015 release, it is unlikely to utilize all 14 cores effectively. The i5-14600K's single-core performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064 and Geekbench single-core score of 2491. These scores suggest that the CPU can handle the game's single-threaded tasks with ease. The multi-core performance is also excellent, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 16673.

The benchmark data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. The measured FPS drops are directly correlated with increases in resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound tasks. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 167 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 27 FPS. This is not because the CPU is slowing down, but because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that it can process the game's instructions quickly, and its 24 MB of L3 cache helps with data access.

The CPU's 125W TDP and support for up to 20 threads provide ample processing power for any background tasks or streaming workloads while gaming. Its percentile rank of 90 against all CPUs confirms its high-end status. The nearest rivals, like the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, have nearly identical average scores, showing that the i5-14600K is a top-tier processor. In Evolve, its performance is more than sufficient, and the data suggests that users could pair it with a more powerful GPU to get better frame rates at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear trend in resolution scaling. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops significantly at every settings level. For example, at Low settings, the drop is from 167 FPS to 112 FPS, a 55 FPS decrease. At Medium settings, the drop is from 129 FPS to 87 FPS, a 42 FPS decrease. At High settings, the drop is from 101 FPS to 68 FPS, a 33 FPS decrease. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 70 FPS to 47 FPS, a 23 FPS decrease. This shows that the performance penalty is more pronounced at lower settings, where the GPU is less stressed.

Scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 shows an even more dramatic drop. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 112 to 64, a 48 FPS decrease. At Medium settings, it falls from 87 to 49, a 38 FPS decrease. At High settings, it falls from 68 to 39, a 29 FPS decrease. At Ultra settings, it falls from 47 to 27, a 20 FPS decrease. These numbers indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the increase in pixel count from 1440p to 4K (over 2.2 times) causes a massive workload increase.

The scaling pattern suggests that the combo is CPU-limited at 1080p with lower settings. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not fully utilized, allowing the CPU to push 167 FPS. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the frame rate drops accordingly. The fact that the FPS drop is larger when going from 1080p to 1440p than from 1440p to 4K, in terms of FPS, but the percentage drop is similar, points to a consistent GPU limitation. For instance, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 32.6%, while from 1440p to 4K it's 43.7%. This indicates that the GPU's performance scales poorly with resolution, which is typical for a card with a 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of VRAM.

The data implies that for this combo, 1080p is the resolution where the CPU and GPU are best balanced. At 1440p, the GPU starts to struggle, and at 4K, it is overwhelmed. Users who want to play at higher resolutions will need to significantly lower settings, particularly at 4K. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the limiting component in this system for Evolve, and the powerful i5-14600K cannot compensate for its graphical limitations.