Evolve

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for Evolve reveal a clear hierarchy across presets, and the optimal choice depends heavily on target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 114.4 FPS average, which represents a substantial 50.7 FPS improvement over High settings while only sacrificing visual fidelity that is largely imperceptible in fast-paced FPS action. Low settings push the average to 147.4 FPS, but the jump from Medium to Low yields diminishing returns relative to the visual downgrade. For 1080p displays, Medium is the sweet spot—it maintains well above 100 FPS while keeping the game responsive.

At 2560x1440, the picture shifts. High settings produce a 61 FPS average, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. Medium at 75.5 FPS offers a more comfortable margin, and the difference between Medium and High here is only 14.5 FPS. Given that Evolve is a competitive FPS, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the best balance between smoothness and graphical quality. Low at 99.1 FPS is viable for esports-oriented players, but the visual penalty is more pronounced at higher resolutions.

The 3840x2160 results tell a different story entirely. Even Medium struggles at 45.9 FPS, and High drops to 36 FPS. Ultra is effectively unplayable at 23.9 FPS across all resolutions. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires Low settings (56.6 FPS) to approach playability, and even then, the experience is marginal. For the best experience per the measured rows, 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium are the standout choices—both stay above 75 FPS while retaining enough graphical detail to appreciate the game's environments.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Evolve, this memory configuration proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p at most presets, but the 4K Ultra result of 23.9 FPS indicates that both VRAM capacity and bandwidth become strained at extreme resolutions. The GPU's 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs, running at a base clock of 1365 MHz and boost of 1680 MHz, produce a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s. These specifications translate into a card that sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 edges out the AMD Radeon RX 7600S by 0.5% (15996 avg score) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 by 1.8% (15786). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 by 1.7% (both 16351). This tight clustering means the RTX 2060 is positioned in a narrow performance band, and Evolve's frame rates reflect that—the GPU is neither a bottleneck nor a standout at 1080p, but becomes the limiting factor at 4K where the 6 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are insufficient for Ultra settings. The FP32 throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS suggests the card has enough compute for Evolve's DX11-era rendering, yet the 4K Ultra average of 23.9 FPS indicates memory pressure is the primary constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 Medium at 114.4 FPS and 2560x1440 Medium at 75.5 FPS are the strongest options. Both stay above 75 FPS, providing responsive gameplay without the visual compromise of Low settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Barely, and only at Low settings (56.6 FPS). Medium drops to 45.9 FPS, High to 36 FPS, and Ultra to 23.9 FPS. The 4K results suggest the RTX 2060's memory bandwidth and capacity are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K in this title.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 16074 places it 0.5% ahead of the RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% ahead of the Radeon Pro W5500 (15786), but 1.7% behind the Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 (both 16351). Performance margins are slim across these cards.

Q: What frame rate difference exists between Ultra and Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 147.4 FPS while Ultra averages 63.7 FPS—a difference of 83.7 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings impose a significant rendering cost that may not justify the visual gains in a fast-paced FPS.

Q: Is the i5-9400 holding back the RTX 2060 in Evolve?

A: The data shows the combo ranks 1362 out of 1695 tested combinations, suggesting the pairing is on the lower end. However, at 1080p Low the system reaches 147.4 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings, while 4K Ultra at 23.9 FPS points to GPU limitation rather than CPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect Evolve?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 with a 192-bit bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 4K Ultra result of 23.9 FPS versus 4K Low at 56.6 FPS suggests that higher presets exceed the memory subsystem's capacity, causing steep performance degradation.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1362 out of 1695 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the bottom 20% of all configs. This ranking is notable because the individual components are not bottom-tier—the GPU sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, and the CPU at the 50th percentile among all CPUs. The combination's poor ranking suggests that Evolve's engine is particularly sensitive to one of these components, or that the pairing creates an imbalance.

Examining the measured FPS data, the combo performs respectably at 1080p (147.4 FPS on Low, 114.4 on Medium) but collapses at 4K Ultra (23.9 FPS). This pattern indicates that the system is GPU-limited at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU can keep pace at lower loads. The rank of 1362 out of 1695 is worse than what the individual component percentiles might suggest, implying that other combos in the database achieve better frame rates through more balanced pairings or superior optimization. The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show differences of only 0.2-0.6%, meaning the i5-9400 is not uniquely weak—the issue lies in how this specific CPU-GPU pairing handles Evolve's workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on Coffee Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz. With 9 MB of shared L3 cache and a 65 W TDP, this chip delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% slower) and the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319, 0.6% faster). These margins are negligible, confirming the i5-9400 is an average performer.

In Evolve, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining frame rates across settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 147.4 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU must be feeding frames efficiently. However, the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p (147.4 to 63.7 FPS) shows a 83.7 FPS drop that is primarily GPU-induced, as the CPU workload does not scale linearly with visual settings. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 4.10 GHz boost is sufficient for Evolve's multi-threaded rendering, but the lack of hyper-threading may limit performance in scenes with heavy AI or physics calculations. The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck until frame rates exceed 147 FPS, which only occurs at 1080p Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 147.4 FPS, Medium 114.4 FPS, High 86.5 FPS, and Ultra 63.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent 25-30 FPS drop per preset step, with the largest single drop being 27.9 FPS from Medium to High. This linear degradation indicates that each preset tier adds comparable rendering load at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 99.1 FPS, Medium 75.5 FPS, High 61 FPS, and Ultra 39.7 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 14.5 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 21.3 FPS—the latter being the steepest decline at this resolution. This suggests that Ultra settings impose a disproportionate cost at 1440p, likely due to texture and shadow quality exceeding the GPU's memory bandwidth.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 56.6 FPS, Medium 45.9 FPS, High 36 FPS, and Ultra 23.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 10.7 FPS, Medium to High is 9.9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 12.1 FPS. The Ultra result of 23.9 FPS is below playable thresholds, while even High at 36 FPS is marginal. The 4K data shows a compressed range where all presets struggle, indicating that resolution scaling outpaces the GPU's capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component's identity. At Low settings, the system goes from 147.4 FPS at 1080p to 56.6 FPS at 4K—a 61.6% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 114.4 to 45.9 FPS (59.9% reduction). At High, 86.5 to 36 FPS (58.4% reduction). And at Ultra, 63.7 to 23.9 FPS (62.5% reduction). These percentage drops are remarkably consistent across all presets, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance.

If the CPU were the limiting factor, the percentage drop would be smaller at higher settings (where GPU load increases) and larger at lower settings (where CPU load dominates). Instead, the uniform ~60% reduction across all presets indicates that the RTX 2060's rendering throughput—specifically its pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s—is the bottleneck when moving from 1080p to 4K. The 4K resolution quadruples pixel count, and the GPU's fill rate cannot keep up, regardless of preset.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a gentler decline: Low drops from 147.4 to 99.1 FPS (32.8% reduction), Medium from 114.4 to 75.5 (34.0%), High from 86.5 to 61 (29.5%), and Ultra from 63.7 to 39.7 (37.7%). These smaller percentages suggest that at 1440p, the system is still partially CPU-limited at lower presets, but the GPU becomes more dominant as settings increase. The data implies that for Evolve, 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo, while 4K demands significant preset compromises to remain playable.