Evolve

# Evolve with Intel Core i5-14600K + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a striking asymmetry in Evolve: a high-end 14-core processor driving a GPU that sits near the bottom of the hardware hierarchy. The measured frame rates tell a story of a system where the graphics solution is the overwhelming bottleneck, yet the CPU's headroom ensures that frame pacing remains consistent even when visual quality is pushed. The data shows a combo that ranks 2530th out of 2872 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems, which is a direct reflection of the Arc B390's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs rather than any deficiency in the processor.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a GPU that is saturated even at the lowest settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 89 FPS, which falls to 60 FPS at 1440p Low and then to 34 FPS at 4K Low. That represents a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling curve that suggests the GPU is running out of fillrate and shading capacity long before the CPU becomes relevant. The 1440p Low result of 60 FPS is exactly half of the 1080p Low figure, indicating near-perfect linear scaling with pixel count — a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering pipeline is the sole limiter.

Moving to High settings, the pattern intensifies. The system delivers 54 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33%, and from 1440p to 4K is another 42%. This compounding degradation points to a GPU that is not just limited by pixel throughput but also by its texture and shading capabilities, as the High preset increases the per-pixel workload. At Ultra settings, the situation becomes nearly unplayable: 37 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and just 14 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is a mere 16% of the 1080p Low figure, illustrating how quickly the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are overwhelmed.

The limiting component is unambiguous. The Core i5-14600K, with its 5.30 GHz boost clock and 14 cores, is nowhere near being stressed by Evolve's engine, which is a 2015 title with modest CPU demands. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU utilization must be at or near 100% in every measured scenario, as the frame rate scales almost perfectly with resolution changes and setting changes. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller frame rate differences between Low and Ultra at a given resolution, or at least a plateau where higher settings do not reduce FPS further. Neither pattern appears in the data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1080p for this combo?

A: The data shows 1080p Low achieves 89 FPS, Medium achieves 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, and High achieves 54 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above that threshold, though Low offers the largest safety margin.

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

A: Benchmark results indicate 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the average is 34 FPS. Medium drops to 26 FPS, High to 21 FPS, and Ultra to 14 FPS. None of these meet a 30 FPS playability standard except Low, and even that is marginal.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% above the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% above the GT 710 (1443). It is nominally the fastest of this group, but the differences are within a few percentage points.

Q: Is the Core i5-14600K holding back the GPU in Evolve?

A: No. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all processors and its multi-core score of 24491 in Cinebench R23 far exceed what a 2015 FPS title requires. The frame rates are entirely dictated by GPU limits, as evidenced by the linear scaling across resolutions.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The 1440p Medium preset shows an average of 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 FPS and a maximum of 53 FPS. The 7 FPS gap between average and minimum represents a reasonable frame pacing profile for a GPU this limited.

Q: How does this combo rank relative to all tested systems in Evolve?

A: It ranks 2530th out of 2872 combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems. This ranking is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile score, confirming that the graphics card is the primary determinant of overall performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings substantial processing resources to this pairing: 14 cores, 20 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its architecture is Raptor Lake-R on a 10 nm process, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 16673 and a single-core score of 2491. These figures place it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 90% of processors in the database.

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role is almost entirely preparatory. The game, released in 2015, was designed for the quad-core and six-core processors of that era. The 14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads provide massive headroom for game logic, physics, and AI calculations, but the measured frame rates never approach a level where CPU throughput would matter. At 1080p Low, the system produces 89 FPS — a figure that could theoretically be higher if the GPU were stronger, but the CPU is certainly not the constraint at this level. Even at 4K Ultra, where the system manages only 14 FPS, the CPU is likely idle for most of each frame, waiting on the GPU to finish rendering.

The single-core performance is particularly relevant for Evolve's engine, which likely relies on a few main threads. The 14600K's single-core score of 2064 in Cinebench R23 and its 4270 score in Passmark single-thread tests indicate excellent per-thread performance. This ensures that even if the game engine is poorly threaded, the processor will not introduce stutter or frame hitches. The data shows consistent minimum frame rates in the one preset that reports them — 1440p Medium has a 39 FPS minimum versus a 46 FPS average, and 1080p Medium has a 59 FPS minimum versus a 69 FPS average — suggesting the CPU maintains stable frame delivery without drops.

The processor's cache hierarchy — 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 — provides ample on-die storage for game assets that are frequently accessed. While this does not directly influence the GPU-bound frame rates, it contributes to the absence of CPU-related micro-stutters that can occur when cache misses force slower memory accesses. The combination of high clock speeds, robust cache, and abundant cores means the 14600K is effectively invisible in the performance equation, serving as a stable platform that never becomes the weak link.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve is a stark indicator of where this system stands. At the 12th percentile, this pairing is outperformed by 88% of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of the Arc B390's position at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking does little to boost the overall result, as the graphics card's limitations dominate every measured frame rate.

This rank is not surprising given the GPU's nearest rivals. The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it just 1.3% above the GT 520MX, a GPU that was entry-level when it launched over a decade ago. The fact that this 3 nm, 2026-era chip with 1536 shading units and 12 ray tracing cores performs in the same league as those legacy parts underscores how far behind the curve it sits in raw rasterization throughput. The combo rank reflects this reality: a modern high-end CPU cannot compensate for a GPU that delivers roughly one-tenth the performance of contemporary discrete graphics cards.

Within the context of Evolve specifically, the rank suggests that most other tested systems — even those with much older CPUs — achieve higher frame rates because they are paired with stronger GPUs. The game's modest CPU requirements mean that even a mid-range processor from 2015 could match the 14600K's performance in this title, while a better GPU would immediately boost the frame rates. The data implies that if the same CPU were paired with a GPU at the 50th percentile, the combo rank would likely improve by over a thousand positions, as the CPU has ample headroom to support significantly higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its most playable results. Low settings produce an average of 89 FPS, Medium produces 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 79, High produces 54 FPS, and Ultra produces 37 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, from 89 to 37 FPS, which is a substantial cost for the visual improvements that Ultra brings. The Medium preset's minimum of 59 FPS is notable because it stays above 60 FPS on average, making it the only preset at 1080p that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining a safety margin above dropped frames.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings yield 60 FPS exactly, Medium yields 46 FPS with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53, High yields 36 FPS, and Ultra yields 25 FPS. The 1440p Low result is exactly 60 FPS, which is a borderline playable figure, but the Medium preset's 46 FPS average and 39 FPS minimum indicate that any increase in visual quality comes at a significant cost to smoothness. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 10 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 11 FPS — a roughly linear degradation.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playability. Low settings produce 34 FPS, Medium produces 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30, High produces 21 FPS, and Ultra produces 14 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that approaches a playable frame rate, and it is still below the 30 FPS console standard for many players. The Medium preset's minimum of 22 FPS means that even the average frame rate of 26 FPS is accompanied by drops to the low 20s, which will be noticeable as stutter in fast-paced FPS action. The Ultra preset at 14 FPS is effectively a slideshow, rendering the game unplayable at that setting.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that 1080p Medium is the optimal configuration for this system in Evolve. The 69 FPS average with a 59 FPS minimum provides a smooth experience that stays above the 60 FPS target for most of the gameplay, while the visual improvements over Low are meaningful. The 1080p High preset at 54 FPS is also acceptable for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate, but the 15 FPS drop from Medium to High is a steep price for the incremental visual gains. At 1080p Low, the 89 FPS result gives a very high frame rate, but the visual fidelity is likely too compromised for a modern gaming experience, even in a 2015 title.

For players who must use 1440p, the Low preset at 60 FPS is the only option that maintains a 60 FPS average, though it does so without any margin for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 46 FPS is playable but will feel less responsive, and the minimum of 39 FPS may lead to noticeable hitches during combat. The 1440p High and Ultra presets at 36 and 25 FPS respectively are not recommended for an FPS game, where reaction time is critical.

At 4K, the data suggests that no preset provides a satisfactory experience. The Low preset at 34 FPS is the best option, but it falls below the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin and will feel sluggish. Players with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p or 1080p, as the frame rate improvements are substantial: 34 to 60 FPS when moving from 4K Low to 1440p Low, and 34 to 89 FPS when moving from 4K Low to 1080p Low. The best overall experience per the measured rows is clearly 1080p Medium, which balances frame rate, consistency, and visual quality better than any other configuration in this dataset.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the definitive bottleneck in this system. Its specifications — 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and a boost clock of 2500 MHz — yield a theoretical FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s. However, the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710 — all parts that were considered low-end or entry-level in their respective eras. The B390 is 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GT 710, which means it barely edges out hardware that is over a decade old.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the CPU's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical limitation for Evolve, as the game's textures and geometry data must be fetched from system memory over the bus, and the bandwidth is "System Dependent." In a 2015 FPS title, this shared memory architecture can cause performance dips when large assets are streamed, particularly at higher resolutions where the framebuffer requirements increase. The measured frame rates at 4K Ultra (14 FPS) and 4K High (21 FPS) suggest that memory bandwidth constraints may compound the GPU's raw compute limitations, as the shared memory setup struggles to keep up with the data demands of 4K rendering.

The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process, with 12 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. These features are modern, but Evolve does not utilize ray tracing or advanced DX12 features, so they provide no benefit in this title. The GPU's 80 W TDP and IGP form factor indicate it is designed for integrated or low-power systems, which explains its performance class. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the GPU is producing only 89 FPS, a figure that a modest discrete GPU from the last decade could match or exceed. The Arc B390's role in this system is to be the limiting factor in every resolution and setting combination, and the benchmark results confirm that no amount of CPU power can overcome its hardware constraints.