Evolve

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14600K + GTX 1080 Ti combo rank in Evolve?

A: This combo ranks 1022 out of 1695 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The rank reflects a pairing of a top-tier CPU with an older GPU that is now in its end-of-life production status.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 181 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 112 FPS at High settings and 73.9 FPS at Ultra settings, showing a clear performance curve as visual fidelity increases.

Q: Is the GTX 1080 Ti capable of 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 42.5 FPS on High, 54.7 FPS on Medium, and 69.4 FPS on Low. Ultra settings at 4K produce only 30.6 FPS, which is below the smooth-playability threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062) and 1% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698). It trails the Intel Core i5-14600KF by 0.4% (49367) and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9% (49595).

Q: What GPU memory configuration does the GTX 1080 Ti use?

A: The GPU features 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, delivering 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 1376 MHz with 11 Gbps effective speed, which is substantial for a 2017-era card.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It belongs to the Raptor Lake-R architecture on a 10 nm process node.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the bottleneck in this pairing, as its Pascal architecture (GP102 chip) dates from 2017 and is now end-of-life. The GPU's 11 GB of GDDR5X memory and 484.4 GB/s bandwidth provide ample capacity for Evolve's textures, but the raw compute throughput — 11.34 TFLOPS FP32 — limits high-resolution performance. The card's boost clock of 1582 MHz (base 1481 MHz) and 3584 shading units are the primary drivers of frame generation.

The measured FPS data shows this GPU's ceiling clearly. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 181 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 30.6 FPS — a drop of over 83%. The GPU's pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K pushes the memory bus and ROPs (88) to their limits. The 16 nm process node and 250 W TDP indicate a power-hungry but capable design for its era.

Benchmark scores place the GTX 1080 Ti at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 19402. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, scores 19405 (0% difference), while the AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 19426 (-0.1%). The NVIDIA TITAN Xp trails by 1.1% with 19184. These near-identical scores suggest the GTX 1080 Ti sits in a competitive cluster, but its age shows in modern titles like Evolve where the CPU cannot compensate for the GPU's architectural limits.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that Medium settings at 1440p offer the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 2560x1440 Medium, the combo delivers 94.7 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. High settings at 1440p drop to 72.6 FPS, still playable but with less headroom for action-heavy scenes.

For 1080p users, High settings at 112 FPS provide an excellent experience, while Ultra at 73.9 FPS is acceptable for those prioritizing visuals. Low settings at 1080p (181 FPS) are unnecessary unless targeting extremely high refresh rates.

At 4K, the recommendation is Low settings (69.4 FPS) or Medium (54.7 FPS). High (42.5 FPS) and Ultra (30.6 FPS) are below the 60 FPS threshold and will feel sluggish in a fast-paced FPS. The GTX 1080 Ti's 11 GB VRAM is not the limiting factor at 4K — the compute and memory bandwidth are. Medium at 4K is the highest playable setting, and Low is preferred for competitive play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: Low settings produce 181 FPS, Medium drops to 139.1 FPS, High yields 112 FPS, and Ultra falls to 73.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 59.2% reduction, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint as settings increase.

2560x1440: Low delivers 118.8 FPS, Medium 94.7 FPS, High 72.6 FPS, and Ultra 54 FPS. Compared to 1080p, the resolution increase costs roughly 34-37% performance across all settings, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

3840x2160: Low achieves 69.4 FPS, Medium 54.7 FPS, High 42.5 FPS, and Ultra 30.6 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K costs another 41-43% performance, showing the GPU's bandwidth constraints at high pixel counts.

The pattern is consistent: each resolution doubling reduces FPS by roughly 35-45%, regardless of settings. This indicates the GTX 1080 Ti is the limiting component across the board, with the CPU providing ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 1022 out of 1695 combos, this pairing sits in the 60th percentile of tested configurations in Evolve. This is a modest result, especially considering the CPU's strength. The i5-14600K ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1080 Ti ranks in the 61st percentile among GPUs — the combo's ranking is dragged down by the GPU.

The rank suggests that many other GPU pairings outperform this one in Evolve, even with weaker CPUs. The GTX 1080 Ti's nearest rivals — GTX 780 (0% delta), Radeon Pro 560X (-0.1%), Tesla K40m (-0.6%), and TITAN Xp (1.1%) — all cluster within 1.1% of its average score, indicating this GPU tier performs similarly across the board. The combo's rank reflects this GPU tier's limitations in a 2015 FPS title that scales well with modern hardware.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a Raptor Lake-R architecture CPU with 14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz (base 3.50 GHz). Its 24 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) provide excellent gaming performance. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 32881, single-core 4642, and Geekbench multi-core 15846.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low (181 FPS), the CPU is not the bottleneck — the GPU is. The i5-14600K's single-thread performance (4270 in Passmark single-thread) and multi-thread capability (38682 in Passmark multi-thread) are more than sufficient for this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals confirm its strength: it outperforms the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X by 0.2% and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 1%, while trailing the i5-14600KF by 0.4% and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9%. These are marginal differences, meaning the i5-14600K is competitive with top-tier CPUs from its generation.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a GPU-bound system. At Low settings, 1080p yields 181 FPS, 1440p yields 118.8 FPS (34.4% drop), and 4K yields 69.4 FPS (41.6% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the pattern continues: 112 FPS at 1080p, 72.6 FPS at 1440p (35.2% drop), and 42.5 FPS at 4K (41.5% drop).

These consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate the GTX 1080 Ti's memory bandwidth (484.4 GB/s) and pixel fill rate (139.2 GPixel/s) are the limiting factors. The CPU's performance is unaffected by resolution, so if the CPU were the bottleneck, FPS would remain similar across resolutions. Instead, the data shows a clear GPU-bound scenario.

The implication is that users with higher refresh rate monitors should stay at 1080p or 1440p, while 4K users must accept Low or Medium settings. Upgrading the GPU would yield significant FPS gains at all resolutions, as the i5-14600K has substantial headroom — evidenced by its ability to drive 181 FPS at 1080p Low without being the limiting factor.