Evolve

This combo, pairing an Intel Core i5-9400 with an Intel Arc B390, ranks near the bottom of the database for Evolve, landing at position 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations. The data indicates a system that struggles significantly with this title, particularly at higher resolutions and settings, and the benchmark results show the GPU as the primary bottleneck in almost every scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2530 out of 2872 places this configuration in the 12th percentile of all tested systems for Evolve. This is a very low standing, meaning roughly 88% of the tested combos deliver higher average frame rates. The ranking reflects a fundamental performance ceiling imposed by the graphics solution. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated processor (IGP) solution, and its benchmark percentile of 9 versus all GPUs is telling—it sits at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. In the context of this specific game, the CPU's percentile of 47 shows it is a middling processor, but the GPU's low standing drags the entire combo down.

The data shows a clear pattern: the system cannot maintain fluid frame rates at higher settings. For instance, at 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 89 FPS on Low to 37 FPS on Ultra. This dramatic falloff is a direct indicator that the graphics hardware is being overwhelmed as the rendering load increases. While the CPU is not a high-end part, its performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower settings; the GPU is the limiting factor that caps the overall experience.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the benchmark results. It is a mobile/embedded part with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, built on Intel's 3 nm process. Crucially, the memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning the GPU uses a portion of the system's DDR4 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This shared memory architecture and the "System Dependent" bandwidth severely constrain performance in a demanding FPS title like Evolve.

The GPU's raw compute figures are modest. It offers 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units, producing a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, it scores just 1482 points, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—all are extremely low-end parts. The performance deltas are tiny: it is only 1.3% ahead of the GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710. This puts the Arc B390 in a class of hardware that is fundamentally unsuited for modern, high-fidelity gaming.

The impact of the shared memory is evident in the measured frames. With no dedicated VRAM, the GPU must contend with the CPU for memory bandwidth, and in a game like Evolve that requires fast texture streaming, this becomes a severe handicap. The 3DMark score of 1482 is the only synthetic benchmark available, and it aligns perfectly with the in-game results, confirming that this is a very weak graphics processor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how this combo scales across resolutions, and the pattern is a classic sign of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 89 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that average drops to 60 FPS, and at 4K it falls further to 34 FPS. This scaling is consistent with the GPU being the bottleneck: as the pixel count increases, the rendering workload grows, and the Arc B390's limited compute and memory bandwidth are unable to keep up.

The trend is similar for High settings. At 1080p, the average is 54 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 36 FPS, and at 4K, it bottoms out at 21 FPS. The frame rate roughly halves from 1080p to 4K, which is a strong indicator that the GPU is saturated. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the frame rate to be more consistent across resolutions, because the CPU workload (physics, game logic) does not increase with resolution. Instead, the data shows a steady decline, confirming the GPU as the primary constraint.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight, as it includes min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 69 FPS, with a min of 59 and max of 79. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), and at 4K Medium, it is 26 FPS (min 22, max 30). The relatively tight min/max ranges at each resolution suggest that the GPU is consistently hitting its performance ceiling rather than experiencing intermittent spikes or drops, further solidifying the diagnosis of a GPU bottleneck. The system is simply running out of graphics horsepower as the resolution climbs.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Evolve with this combo?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, it averages 89 FPS, and at 1080p High, it averages 54 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 60 FPS on Low and 36 FPS on High, which is a marginal experience at best.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: According to the benchmark data, the Arc B390 is only 1.3% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. It also sits between the GeForce 800M (1.5% delta) and the GT 625 OEM (2.5% delta). These are all extremely low-end parts, indicating the Arc B390 is at the very bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the GPU?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate the opposite. The CPU has a 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which is a mid-range standing. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking is much lower, and the frame rate scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 89 FPS on Low to 37 FPS on Ultra. This is a 52 FPS difference, representing a 58% reduction in performance, which shows how quickly the Arc B390's capabilities are exhausted as visual quality increases.

Q: Does the Arc B390 have dedicated video memory?

A: No. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and the bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means it uses the system's main memory (DDR4), which is a significant disadvantage for gaming performance compared to a discrete GPU with dedicated VRAM.

Q: What is the 3DMark score for this GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 points in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs and aligns with its very low in-game performance metrics.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache layout includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 9 MB L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. Its benchmark scores are modest: it achieves 6629 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 points in single-core, and its Geekbench multi-core score is 5141.

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, while the GPU renders the frames. The data suggests the i5-9400 is adequate for this task at lower settings, but it is not a high-performance part. Its nearest rivals in the database are the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% slower), Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% faster), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% faster), and Intel Core i3-10305 (0.4% slower). These deltas are all within 0.4%, meaning the i5-9400 performs essentially identically to these other mid-range CPUs.

The interaction with the GPU is instructive. At 1080p Low, the CPU is able to push the GPU to 89 FPS. However, at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 37 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate to remain similar across settings, as the CPU workload is largely independent of graphics settings. The fact that frame rates plummet with higher settings points directly to the GPU as the constraint. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the Arc B390, but the GPU cannot translate that data into higher frame rates as the render load increases.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only viable path to a smooth experience in Evolve is to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The benchmark results show a clear trade-off. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 89 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate playability. Moving up to Medium settings at 1080p yields an average of 69 FPS (min 59, max 79), which is still playable for most users and offers a better visual experience than Low.

For a balance between visual quality and performance, the 1080p Medium preset is the recommended starting point. The data shows a 69 FPS average, which is a significant improvement over the 54 FPS average on High settings. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 15 FPS (from 69 to 54), while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 17 FPS (from 54 to 37). The Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 37 FPS average falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay and represents a poor experience.

At higher resolutions, the system is not viable for serious play. At 1440p, the best result is 60 FPS on Low, but this drops to 36 FPS on High. At 4K, even Low settings only yield 34 FPS, which is a slideshow. The data suggests that users should stick to 1080p. If a higher resolution is desired, the user must accept Low settings and still only achieve 60 FPS at 1440p. The sweet spot for this combo is clearly 1080p with Medium or Low settings, depending on whether the user prioritizes visual detail or maximum frame stability.