Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a clear picture of how Evolve’s engine scales with resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 177 FPS. Moving to Medium drops that to 137 FPS, a 22.6% reduction, while High settles at 107 FPS. The jump to Ultra is the steepest at 1080p, falling to 74 FPS, which is 58.2% below the Low preset. This pattern suggests that at lower resolutions and presets, the system has ample headroom, but the transition to Ultra introduces significant shading and geometry costs that the GPU must absorb.

Scaling to 2560x1440, the averages compress considerably. Low settings yield 118 FPS, which is 33.3% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium produces 92 FPS, and High drops to 72 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is a substantial step down at 50 FPS, representing a 57.6% drop from the Low preset at the same resolution. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 68 FPS, compared to 103 FPS at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter as pixel count rises. The data shows diminishing returns on the CPU side as resolution increases; the i5-9400’s six cores are less likely to be the bottleneck when the RTX 2070 SUPER is working harder.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. Low settings average 67 FPS, Medium falls to 52 FPS, and High drops to 41 FPS. Ultra at 4K is borderline unplayable for smooth action, averaging just 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 39 FPS, a 58.2% reduction. Notably, the difference between 1080p Low (177 FPS) and 4K Low (67 FPS) is a 62.1% performance loss, while the same comparison for High (107 FPS vs 41 FPS) shows a 61.7% loss. This consistency suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s textures, but the raw compute throughput—9.062 TFLOPS FP32—is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s also plays a role, as 4K demands four times the pixels of 1080p. For a title from 2015, the engine is not scaling efficiently beyond 1440p, where the combo remains competitive.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER achieves a rank of 2151 out of 3700 combos for Evolve. That places it in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 42% of combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The rank reflects a mid-pack standing; it is not a top-tier pairing for Evolve, but it is far from the bottom. Given the game’s release in 2015, the hardware is newer than the title, yet the ranking suggests that Evolve’s engine is not particularly well-optimized for this generation of components.

The CPU’s individual performance helps contextualize the combo rank. The i5-9400 scores 6629 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 points in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 is essentially tied with that chip. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 sits at 2246, a 0.4% advantage for the Intel part. This places the CPU at the 47th percentile among all processors, indicating it is an average performer in synthetic tests. For Evolve, which relies on a mix of single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, the six cores and six threads at a 4.10 GHz boost clock are adequate but not exceptional.

The GPU is the stronger component in this pairing. The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 18169 in Passmark G3D and 20282 as its average benchmark score, placing it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, scores 20480, a -1% delta, while the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile is -1.2% behind. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs provide substantial fill rate, but the 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS shows that even this hardware struggles with maximum settings at high pixel counts. The combo rank of 2151 suggests that while the GPU can push high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU’s modest single-thread score of 935 in Cinebench R23 may hold back the system in certain scenes, particularly those with heavy physics or AI calculations typical of a FPS like Evolve.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?

A: Based on measured data, 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides the best balance, averaging 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS. This keeps the frame rate above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality, unlike 4K Ultra which drops to 28 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a -0.2% difference, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a 0.4% difference. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is -0.4% relative to the i5-9400, making these four chips statistically indistinguishable in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER sufficient for 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 41, which is playable but not smooth. Ultra settings drop to 28 FPS, which is below the typical playability threshold. Low settings at 4K achieve 67 FPS, but that preset sacrifices visual fidelity. The GPU is capable of 4K, but only at lower presets.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 177 FPS, while Ultra averages 74 FPS. This represents a 103 FPS difference, or a 58.2% reduction in performance, indicating that Ultra settings nearly halve the frame rate compared to the lowest preset.

Q: Does the combo rank change with different settings?

A: The comboRankInGame of 2151 out of 3700 is a single aggregate metric. The measured FPS data shows that the rank would improve at 1080p Low (177 FPS) and worsen at 4K Ultra (28 FPS), but the database provides only the overall rank, not per-setting rankings.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score reflect its in-game performance?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has a Passmark G3D score of 18169 and an average benchmark score of 20282. In Evolve, this translates to 177 FPS at 1080p Low and 74 FPS at 1080p Ultra, showing that the GPU’s strong synthetic performance is realized in-game, but the 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS reveals its limits under extreme load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo show a consistent pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 177 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings reduce the average to 137 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High settings yield 107 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. The 1080p data points show a clear stepwise decline as visual fidelity increases, with the largest single-step drop occurring between High and Ultra, a 33 FPS reduction.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages scale down proportionally. Low settings produce 118 FPS, Medium averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, High reaches 72 FPS, and Ultra falls to 50 FPS. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 78, which is still above the 60 FPS target, but the Ultra preset’s 50 FPS average suggests occasional dips below playability. At this resolution, the gap between Low and Ultra is 68 FPS, a 57.6% reduction, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 67 FPS, a 62.1% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. High settings achieve 41 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 44 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, indicating that this combo cannot sustain a stable frame rate at 4K with medium quality. The 4K results show that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of VRAM is not the limiting factor, as even the Low preset at 4K (67 FPS) exceeds the Ultra preset (28 FPS) by 139%, pointing to compute limitations rather than memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience on this hardware, the data points to 2560x1440 with Medium settings as the optimal configuration. The average of 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS ensures that the frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold, even during intense combat sequences. This preset delivers a 27.5% improvement over High settings at the same resolution (72 FPS) and a 84% improvement over Ultra (50 FPS). The visual difference between Medium and High in Evolve is typically less pronounced than the frame rate gap, making Medium the sensible choice for competitive play.

At 1920x1080, High settings provide an average of 107 FPS, which is excellent for most displays. The step down to Medium (137 FPS) offers a 28% frame rate increase, but High’s 107 FPS is already sufficient for a 100 Hz or 120 Hz monitor. For players with a 144 Hz display, Medium at 137 FPS is the better choice, as it stays within the refresh window more consistently. Low at 177 FPS is only recommended for competitive players who prioritize maximum responsiveness over visual quality, as the jump from Low to Medium is a 40 FPS reduction.

For 4K users, the data suggests avoiding Ultra entirely, as the 28 FPS average is below the standard playability threshold of 30 FPS. High settings at 41 FPS are borderline, but Low at 67 FPS is the only 4K preset that provides a consistent, playable frame rate. Given that Evolve is a fast-paced FPS, the 4K Low preset is the only viable option, though it sacrifices much of the visual detail that makes 4K worthwhile. The 1440p Medium preset remains the best overall compromise, offering a 92 FPS average that is 39% higher than the 4K High preset while maintaining a reasonable level of graphical fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boosts to 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU has 9 MB of shared L3 cache, with 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core. Its memory support includes dual-channel DDR4 with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 5141 and a single-core score of 1389. These numbers place the i5-9400 at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a mid-range part in 2024 terms.

For Evolve, the CPU’s role is significant but secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 177 FPS suggests that the CPU is not the primary limiter, as the GPU can produce high frame rates. However, the single-core score of 935 in Cinebench R23 is modest, and in a game like Evolve that relies on game logic and AI, this could become a bottleneck in scenes with many entities. The six threads are sufficient for the game’s multi-threaded tasks, but they do not provide the headroom of higher-core-count processors. The 4.10 GHz boost clock helps with single-threaded performance, which is crucial for frame pacing.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 2259 on average, a -0.2% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 at 2246, a 0.4% delta. These chips are within 1% of the i5-9400’s average score of 2254, meaning the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo. The GPU, with its 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs, is the stronger component, and the measured FPS data reflects this. At 4K Ultra, the CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU’s 28 FPS result is purely a graphics compute limit. The CPU’s 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is also adequate for the game, as the GPU’s 448.0 GB/s is the more critical bandwidth for texture streaming. Overall, the i5-9400 provides enough processing power to feed the RTX 2070 SUPER in Evolve, but it does not boost the combo’s ranking beyond the mid-pack position of 2151 out of 3700.