Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 asymmetrical FPS, places unusual demands on hardware because its monster-vs-hunters premise requires sustained high frame rates for tracking fast-moving targets across large maps. The benchmark data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 reveals a configuration that is decisively GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet shows surprising CPU headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, settings scaling, and component roles using only the provided data.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 250.2 FPS average. With Medium settings, it drops to 196.5 FPS, and with High settings, it is 152.5 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 515th out of 1695 tested combos for this game, placing it in the upper third of all configurations in the database.

Q: What is the performance difference between the i5-14600KF and its closest CPU rival?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K (49166) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062). It trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 3080 sits in the 80th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35860, a 0.2% difference.

Q: What are the RTX 3080's memory specifications?

A: The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz, with 19 Gbps effective speed.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock and core count?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080's specifications directly explain the measured frame rates in Evolve. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus delivers 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth—a figure that becomes critical when pushing high resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: at 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck. The difference between Low (97.6 FPS) and Ultra (42.6 FPS) at 4K spans 55 FPS, indicating that the GPU's shader and texture throughput is heavily taxed by higher quality settings.

The GPU's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787, places it as a strong but not top-tier part. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35860 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is 0.9% higher at 36101. The RTX 3080's FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s are the raw numbers that translate into the observed 152.5 FPS at 1080p High settings. The data suggests that for Evolve's relatively older engine, the RTX 3080 has ample compute headroom at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 42.6 FPS reveals the limits of its 10 GB frame buffer and 320-bit memory bus when handling maximum quality at high pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the Evolve experience. At 1920x1080, all settings produce playable results: Low hits 250.2 FPS, Medium 196.5 FPS, High 152.5 FPS, and Ultra 105.8 FPS. The data shows that High at 1080p offers a strong balance, delivering 152.5 FPS while presumably retaining most visual quality. For users with high-refresh 1080p monitors, Medium at 196.5 FPS is the superior choice, as it provides a 44 FPS uplift over High while still being above the 144 Hz threshold.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. High settings produce 100.4 FPS, which is smooth for most displays, while Ultra drops to 70.1 FPS. The 30 FPS gap between High and Ultra at 1440p suggests diminishing returns; High is the optimal preset here. At 3840x2160, the situation changes entirely. Medium yields 72 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS playability bar. Low produces 97.6 FPS but sacrifices significant visual fidelity, while High (55.8 FPS) and Ultra (42.6 FPS) fall below the smoothness threshold. The data implies that 4K users should stick to Medium or Low, with High being borderline acceptable only for less demanding scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results show a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 250.2 FPS on Low, 196.5 FPS on Medium, 152.5 FPS on High, and 105.8 FPS on Ultra. The step from Low to Medium costs 53.7 FPS, while Medium to High costs 44 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 46.7 FPS—a relatively uniform drop per settings tier.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers fall to 170 FPS on Low, 130.5 FPS on Medium, 100.4 FPS on High, and 70.1 FPS on Ultra. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 32% for Low (250.2 to 170), 34% for Medium (196.5 to 130.5), 34% for High (152.5 to 100.4), and 34% for Ultra (105.8 to 70.1). This consistent ~33% reduction indicates a uniform resolution scaling penalty.

At 3840x2160, the results are 97.6 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 55.8 FPS on High, and 42.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper: 43% for Low (170 to 97.6), 45% for Medium (130.5 to 72), 44% for High (100.4 to 55.8), and 39% for Ultra (70.1 to 42.6). The 4K numbers reveal that the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s becomes a limiting factor, as the 4K pixel count demands more than double the data throughput of 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 515th out of 1695 tested combinations, placing it in the 70th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the individual components have different percentile standings: the CPU is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. The combined rank of 515 suggests that the pairing is well-balanced for Evolve, but the GPU's lower percentile relative to the CPU indicates that the RTX 3080 is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The GPU's nearest rivals help contextualize this ranking. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo (avg score 35860) is 0.2% faster, while the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101) is 0.9% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435) is 1% slower. These tiny deltas mean that swapping the GPU for any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical FPS in Evolve. On the CPU side, the i5-14600KF's 0.4% advantage over the i5-14600K and 0.6% over the Ryzen 9 5950X are negligible in gaming terms. The data suggests that the 515th rank is primarily driven by the GPU's 80th percentile standing, not the CPU's superior 93rd percentile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, running at 3.50 GHz base and 5.30 GHz boost. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) provide the memory bandwidth needed to feed the RTX 3080. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive: 32889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 4643 in single-core, and 38697 in Passmark multithread. Its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average score of 49367, places it just 0.4% above the i5-14600K and 0.6% above the Ryzen 9 5950X.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is apparent from the 1080p Low result of 250.2 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU can push well over 200 FPS in this game, as the GPU is not fully saturated at Low settings. The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly relevant for a game like Evolve, which relies on single-thread performance for game logic and AI. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4273 supports this, as does its Cinebench R15 single-core score of 468. The data implies that the i5-14600KF is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested; the GPU limits performance at 1440p and 4K, while at 1080p Low, the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are sufficient to maintain 250 FPS without stuttering.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck structure of this combo. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 250.2 FPS, which is remarkably high for a 2015 game. Moving to 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 170, a 32% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 97.6, another 43% reduction. This scaling pattern—roughly 33% penalty for 1440p and an additional 43% for 4K—is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 3080's 760.3 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB VRAM are the limiting factors.

The Ultra settings tell a similar story. 1080p Ultra produces 105.8 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 70.1 (34% reduction), and 4K Ultra falls to 42.6 (39% reduction). The fact that the percentage drops are relatively stable across settings tiers (32-34% for 1440p, 39-45% for 4K) indicates that the GPU's compute resources, not its VRAM capacity, are the primary constraint. If VRAM were the issue, we would expect a more dramatic drop at 4K Ultra due to the 10 GB limit. Instead, the data shows a smooth scaling curve, suggesting that the RTX 3080's 8704 shading units and 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 performance are being fully utilized at 4K, but the game's engine scales predictably with pixel count. The 4K Ultra result of 42.6 FPS is the only data point that falls below 60 FPS, making it the sole configuration where this combo fails to maintain smooth gameplay.