Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Evolve, but the data reveals a clear imbalance: the GPU is the dominant force in this pairing. The six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake processor, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost up to 4.10 GHz, provides sufficient computational power to avoid becoming the primary bottleneck at most settings, but the benchmark results indicate that the graphics card's performance ceiling is what ultimately dictates the frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions and settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core processor with six threads, a configuration that was well-suited for the era of Evolve's release. Its 2.90 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock, alongside a 9 MB shared L3 cache, ensure that the CPU can feed the GPU with data without stalling. In this benchmark, the CPU's role is to maintain a consistent frame delivery pipeline.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 168.5 FPS, a figure that is high enough to indicate that the CPU is keeping pace. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a mid-pack performer. This is corroborated by its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i7-8809G (0.6% slower), which all have average scores clustered tightly around 2300.

However, the CPU's potential to bottleneck emerges as frame rates climb. The gap between the Low and High settings at 1080p is 67.8 FPS (from 168.5 to 100.7), which suggests that while the GPU is doing more work, the CPU is still managing. The architecture is Coffee Lake, built on Intel's 14 nm process, and it supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. For a game like Evolve, which relies on consistent physics and AI calculations, this six-core/thread setup is adequate, but it lacks the high-thread-count headroom that could push frame rates even higher in less GPU-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with High settings. This preset delivers an average of 100.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. It also provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset, which runs at 131.4 FPS, without the steep performance cost of the Ultra preset, which drops to 72.3 FPS.

For users with 2560x1440 monitors, the High preset is again the recommended choice, achieving 66.1 FPS. This is a playable frame rate that balances visual fidelity with responsiveness. The Medium preset at this resolution offers 85.8 FPS, but the jump to High is worth the 19.7 FPS loss for better image quality. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 47.7 FPS, is not recommended for competitive play as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 4K (3840x2160), the data indicates that the High preset is not viable, with an average of only 40 FPS. The Medium preset is marginal at 49.2 FPS. The Low preset is the only playable option at this resolution, yielding 64 FPS. For this combo, the best experience is clearly found at 1080p High, where the hardware is utilized effectively without compromising performance.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 100.7 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance compare to its close rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, have average benchmark scores within 0.2% of the i5-9400, indicating very similar performance.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 2560x1440?

A: No, the Ultra preset at 2560x1440 yields an average of 47.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT has a memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, using 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Low preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset achieves 168.5 FPS, which is 104.5 FPS faster than the 4K Low preset's 64 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1093 out of 1695 tested combinations for this game.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 1093 out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all systems tested. This ranking is heavily influenced by the CPU's modest standing. The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305 and sits in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, meaning half of all processors tested perform better.

The GPU, however, is a stronger component. The RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20146 and is in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (0.6% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (1.9% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 460 (0.3% slower). Despite the GPU's relative strength, the combo's rank suggests that the CPU's six cores and six threads are holding back the system from achieving higher frame rates in Evolve, preventing it from climbing into a higher percentile of tested systems.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the clear performance leader in this pairing. Based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 33 chip, it features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz provide substantial compute power, with an FP32 throughput of 22.57 TFLOPS.

The GPU's capabilities directly influence the benchmark results. At 1920x1080, the GPU is able to push frame rates from 168.5 FPS at Low to 72.3 FPS at Ultra, showcasing its ability to handle high workloads. The 16 GB VRAM is a significant asset for Evolve, ensuring that texture data does not become a limiting factor even at 4K resolutions. The data shows that at 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary constraint, with the High preset dropping to 40 FPS. This is not a memory issue but a raw processing power limitation.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is tight. It is 0.6% slower than the RX 7600 and 1.9% slower than the RTX 2060 SUPER in average benchmark scores. This indicates that the RX 7600 XT is a solid performer, but its lead is not overwhelming. Its 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are well-utilized in Evolve, as evidenced by the frame rates scaling predictably with resolution and settings changes.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the performance is strong across the board. The Low preset yields 168.5 FPS, Medium delivers 131.4 FPS, High achieves 100.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 72.3 FPS. This shows a consistent scaling pattern where each step up in visual quality costs approximately 30 FPS, but all presets remain playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease proportionally. Low settings achieve 112.2 FPS, Medium delivers 85.8 FPS, High runs at 66.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.7 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 56.3 FPS (from 168.5 to 112.2), which is a 33.4% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings yield 64 FPS, Medium achieves 49.2 FPS, High runs at 40 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35.9 FPS, highlighting the GPU's struggle at this resolution. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is nearly unplayable, while Low is the only preset that maintains a playable frame rate.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling analysis reveals the primary bottleneck in this system. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the FPS drops significantly but remains proportional. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 100.7 to 66.1, a 34.4% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 168.5 to 112.2, a 33.4% reduction. This consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the workload increases with pixel count.

The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is even more drastic. At High settings, the FPS drops from 66.1 to 40, a 39.5% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 112.2 to 64, a 43% reduction. This steeper decline at 4K confirms that the GPU is fully saturated and cannot maintain the same level of performance as the resolution increases.

The data points strongly to the GPU being the limiting component at all resolutions. The CPU's performance, while not top-tier, is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not increase with resolution. Instead, the FPS drops consistently, proving that the RX 7600 XT is the component that determines the frame rates in Evolve.