Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT lands at rank 981 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it firmly in the middle of the pack. This positioning suggests a pairing that is competent but not exceptional for this title, with the CPU likely holding back the GPU’s full potential in lighter scenes. The data indicates a system that delivers playable frame rates across most settings, though the extremes of the performance envelope reveal where the bottleneck lies.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 981 out of 1695 tested configurations places it in the 58th percentile of all tested systems. This is a middling result for a GPU that individually sits at the 77th percentile among all graphics cards, signaling that the processor is dragging down the overall experience. The i5-9400’s own percentile rank is exactly 50, meaning it is an average CPU, and that mediocrity shows in the final combination ranking.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RX 6700 XT’s average benchmark score of 33721 is only 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6800, and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A5000. However, these are synthetic averages; in Evolve specifically, the measured frames tell a different story of scaling. The CPU sits nearly tied with the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% delta) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (0.2% delta), but trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%. These narrow margins in synthetic tests do not translate to a clear verdict in real gameplay, where resolution and settings dominate the outcome.

GPU Role

The RX 6700 XT brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 2321 MHz with a boost of 2581 MHz, and a game clock of 2424 MHz. The 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are backed by a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s. These specifications point to a GPU designed for high-throughput rendering, which is reflected in its strong synthetic scores: 19786 in Passmark G3D and 2435 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

In Evolve, the GPU’s influence is most visible when comparing the 1080p Low result of 190.4 FPS against the 4K Ultra result of 28.9 FPS. The massive delta of 161.5 FPS across that span shows the GPU’s raw fill-rate capabilities being stretched thin at higher resolutions and settings. The card’s FP32 throughput of 13.21 TFLOPS provides ample compute for the game’s effects, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combination is heavily GPU-limited, as the CPU has far less work to do per frame.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling pattern across resolutions reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to GPU-bound at 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 190.4 FPS; dropping to 1440p Low yields 130.6 FPS, a 31.4% reduction. Moving to 4K Low produces 70.8 FPS, which is another 45.8% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter as pixel count rises, while the CPU has more headroom.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but compressed: 115.6 FPS at 1080p, 78.4 FPS at 1440p (a 32.2% drop), and 46.2 FPS at 4K (a 41.1% drop). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, from 80.3 FPS at 1080p down to 52.3 FPS at 1440p (a 34.9% drop) and then to 28.9 FPS at 4K (a 44.7% drop). The consistent 30-45% per-resolution drops suggest that neither component is catastrophically weak, but the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce 190.4 FPS, Medium drops to 146.7 FPS, High manages 115.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 80.3 FPS. The gaps between presets are substantial: going from Low to Medium costs 43.7 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 35.3 FPS. This suggests the game’s higher presets impose significant shading and texture costs that the GPU handles well until Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable. Low yields 130.6 FPS, Medium hits 98.8 FPS, High reaches 78.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52.3 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra here is steep at 26.1 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects push the GPU harder. The 1440p results are strong enough for high-refresh monitors at Medium or High, but Ultra starts to strain.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low produces 70.8 FPS, Medium drops to 56.6 FPS, High falls to 46.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28.9 FPS. Only Low and Medium maintain playable frame rates above 55 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs 10.4 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 17.3 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset is particularly punishing at 4K with this hardware combination.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 80.3 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, since it stays above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 115.6 FPS is also excellent for high-refresh displays, and even Medium at 146.7 FPS provides headroom for competitive play. The data shows no reason to drop below High at this resolution unless targeting very high refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, High settings at 78.4 FPS offer the best experience, as they remain above 60 FPS while providing solid visuals. Medium at 98.8 FPS is the safer choice for maintaining consistent frame pacing, while Ultra at 52.3 FPS dips below the 60 FPS mark and introduces noticeable variability. Low at 130.6 FPS is overkill for most users but useful for maximum responsiveness.

For 3840x2160, Medium at 56.6 FPS is the highest preset that remains near playable, but it still falls short of 60 FPS. Low at 70.8 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for smooth 4K play. High at 46.2 FPS and Ultra at 28.9 FPS are not recommended due to the significant frame rate drops that compromise the experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s are modest by modern standards. The CPU’s synthetic scores are unremarkable: 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

In Evolve, the CPU’s limitations become apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 190.4 FPS result is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame delivery capability, as the GPU has plenty of headroom at that resolution. The fact that 1440p Low drops to 130.6 FPS — a 31.4% decrease — while 4K Low only drops to 70.8 FPS suggests the CPU is still keeping up at higher resolutions but cannot push beyond a certain frame ceiling. The six threads without hyper-threading mean the game’s multi-threaded workload is handled adequately but not exceptionally, which aligns with the CPU’s rank of 981 in the combo list.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Evolve?

A: The data shows that 1080p Ultra (80.3 FPS) and 1440p High (78.4 FPS) deliver nearly identical frame rates, making both resolutions viable. However, 1440p High offers higher visual fidelity with only a 2.4% FPS loss compared to 1080p Ultra.

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 4K?

A: Low at 70.8 FPS is the only 4K preset that consistently exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 56.6 FPS is close but dips below the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fall well short at 46.2 FPS and 28.9 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is virtually tied with the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% delta) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, 0.2% delta), and it trails the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, -0.6% delta) by a negligible margin.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 98.8 FPS, which provides a comfortable buffer above 60 FPS and is suitable for high-refresh monitors.

Q: Does the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM matter for Evolve?

A: With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory capacity for this game. The 4K Ultra result of 28.9 FPS is more likely limited by the GPU’s compute throughput (13.21 TFLOPS FP32) than by memory capacity.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Yes, the evidence suggests so. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 190.4 FPS, but the CPU’s 50th percentile ranking and 6-thread design likely cap frame rates before the GPU can reach higher values. The GPU alone sits at the 77th percentile, indicating it could deliver more frames if the CPU kept up.