Evolve

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Evolve with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveals a clear progression as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 91 FPS on average. Stepping up to 1440p drops that to 61 FPS, and at 4K Ultra the average falls to 35 FPS. This represents a substantial 62% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra, indicating the GPU is becoming the dominant limiting factor as pixel count increases.

Looking at the Medium preset, the scaling story is similar but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Medium, the system produces 167 FPS average, falling to 112 FPS at 1440p and 64 FPS at 4K. The Low preset shows the least dramatic scaling because the CPU has more headroom to stretch: 212 FPS at 1080p drops to 144 FPS at 1440p and 82 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 212 FPS is nearly three times the 4K Ultra figure, which strongly suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the i5-9400's six threads are keeping pace reasonably well, while the RTX 3070's rendering workload scales directly with resolution.

The High preset sits between Low and Ultra in terms of scaling behavior. At 1080p High, the average is 131 FPS; at 1440p, it is 88 FPS; and at 4K, it drops to 50 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings is roughly 62%, which mirrors the Ultra preset's scaling. This consistency across presets implies that the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are the primary constraints at 4K, rather than any CPU-side bottleneck. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are fixed resources regardless of settings, and Evolve's 4K workloads appear to saturate them.

What the data implies about the limiting component is nuanced. At 1080p Low, the 212 FPS figure is high enough that the i5-9400's 6-core, 6-thread configuration with a 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock could be nearing its practical ceiling in this game. The gap between 1080p Low (212 FPS) and 1080p Medium (167 FPS) is 45 FPS, which suggests the GPU is still handling the extra graphical load without the CPU becoming a hard wall. However, the difference between 1440p Low (144 FPS) and 1440p Medium (112 FPS) is smaller at 32 FPS, hinting that the CPU's influence diminishes as GPU load grows.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1620 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 44th percentile of all combinations. This mid-pack ranking is interesting given the individual component standings. The RTX 3070 itself sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 is at the 47th percentile among all CPUs. The combo's overall rank of 1620 is lower than what the GPU's percentile alone would suggest, indicating the CPU is holding the pairing back in Evolve's specific workload.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for this bottleneck. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average benchmark score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254 average. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. These deltas are tiny, meaning the i5-9400 is squarely in a cluster of mid-range processors with similar compute capability. None of these rivals would dramatically change the Evolve ranking picture.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering effect. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average score of 17083, just 0.7% higher than the RTX 3070's 17208. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037, 1% lower, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, 1.1% lower. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c is 1.5% higher at 17468. The tight grouping around the RTX 3070 means that swapping to any of these near-equivalent GPUs would not shift the Evolve combo rank meaningfully; the CPU-side constraint would remain.

The data shows a combo that is neither exceptional nor weak for Evolve. Being ranked 1620 of 3700 means roughly 56% of tested combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game. This is consistent with a pairing where the GPU is capable but the CPU's six threads without Hyper-Threading limit peak performance in scenes that are not GPU-bound. The rank reflects a balance that leans slightly toward the lower half of the distribution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 44.4 million per square millimeter. The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It also includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, though Evolve predates widespread ray tracing adoption in competitive FPS titles.

The memory subsystem is a critical factor for Evolve's measured results. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is listed at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective data rate. For a game released in 2015, 8 GB is ample capacity, so VRAM size is not likely the limiting factor at any resolution tested. The bandwidth, however, becomes more relevant at 4K where the frame buffer demands are higher.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz. The pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 20.31 TFLOPS, which matches the FP16 figure at a 1:1 ratio. These specifications translate into the measured FPS deltas across presets. At 4K Ultra, the 35 FPS average indicates the GPU is heavily loaded, likely pushing against its shading and memory throughput limits. Dropping to 4K High raises the average to 50 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 and maximum of 73. The 4K Low preset jumps to 82 FPS, showing that reducing settings relieves the GPU's bottleneck significantly.

The RTX 3070's benchmark scores reinforce its position. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3162, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 112821. The Passmark G3D score is 22214, while the Passmark GPU Compute score is 11195. The GPU's percentile rank is 61 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. These synthetic numbers align with the Evolve results, where the GPU shows it can push high frame rates at 1080p but falls to 35 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 57 FPS drop from 1080p Ultra's 91 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values across settings are as follows. Low preset averages 212 FPS. Medium preset averages 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 and maximum of 192. High preset averages 131 FPS. Ultra preset averages 91 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 121 FPS, which is substantial and indicates that Evolve's graphical options have a strong impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 144 FPS for Low, 112 FPS for Medium (with minimum 95 and maximum 129), 88 FPS for High, and 61 FPS for Ultra. The spread narrows to 83 FPS across presets. The Medium preset's minimum of 95 FPS is still comfortably above 60 FPS, suggesting smooth gameplay is achievable at 1440p with medium settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 82 FPS for Low, 64 FPS for Medium (with minimum 54 and maximum 73), 50 FPS for High, and 35 FPS for Ultra. The spread is 47 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 54 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold, and the Ultra preset's 35 FPS average is likely to feel sluggish in a fast-paced FPS. The 4K Low result of 82 FPS is the only 4K configuration that clears 60 FPS average with room to spare.

The data also shows how the Medium preset's min/max values scale with resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 142 to 192 FPS, a 50 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 95 to 129 FPS, a 34 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 54 to 73 FPS, only 19 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound workloads produce more consistent frame pacing, whereas CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions introduce more variance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, 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 TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. The memory support is DDR4 with a dual-channel interface and 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU uses PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes and includes integrated UHD 630 graphics, though the discrete RTX 3070 handles rendering.

The lack of Hyper-Threading means the i5-9400 has exactly six threads for Evolve's workload. The game's release in 2015 means it was designed for the era's quad-core processors, so six physical cores should be sufficient for most scenes. However, the benchmark data suggests the CPU can become a limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 212 FPS average is high, but the CPU's single-core performance in Cinebench R23 is 935, which is modest by modern standards. The multi-core score of 6629 in Cinebench R23 reflects the six physical threads working together.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. The Cinebench R15 multi-core score is 668, and the single-core score is 94. The R20 multi-core score is 2784, and the single-core is 392. The Geekbench scores are 5141 for multi-core and 1389 for single-core. These numbers indicate a processor that was mid-range at its release in 2018 and remains functional but not exceptional for modern gaming.

In Evolve, the CPU's role becomes more apparent when comparing 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra. The 212 FPS at Low suggests the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames at lower settings. But the 91 FPS at Ultra is likely GPU-limited, given the RTX 3070's workload at that preset. The question is whether the i5-9400 would bottleneck a more powerful GPU. The data cannot answer that directly, but the 47th percentile CPU rank and the small deltas to its nearest rivals suggest this processor is not leaving significant performance on the table in Evolve.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 91 FPS average, which is above 60 FPS and suitable for most displays. The High preset at 131 FPS is better for high-refresh monitors, and Medium at 167 FPS offers even more headroom. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 212 FPS average provides the highest frame rate, though it sacrifices visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 88 FPS, which is smooth for most players. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is borderline, with averages just above 60 FPS but no min/max data to confirm consistency. The Medium preset at 112 FPS is a strong choice for 1440p, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual fidelity. The Low preset at 144 FPS is the best for high-refresh 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The Low preset averages 82 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that provides a solid experience above 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS but has a minimum of 54 FPS, meaning frame drops below 60 are possible. The High preset at 50 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are likely too low for a smooth FPS experience. For 4K, the data suggests using Low settings to maintain playable frame rates, or accepting Medium with occasional dips.

The measured rows indicate that Medium settings offer the best balance of performance and visual quality across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 167 FPS average with a 142 FPS minimum ensures no drops below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, the 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum maintains smoothness. At 4K, the 64 FPS average with a 54 FPS minimum is the highest preset that stays near 60 FPS, though the minimum is below the target. For players prioritizing frame rate consistency, Low at 4K is the safer choice.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU/GPU combinations in Evolve?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1620 out of 3700 combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the distribution.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is 0.7% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is 1% lower, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M is 1.1% lower, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c is 1.5% higher.

Q: What is the best 4K setting for maintaining frame rates above 60 FPS?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 82 FPS. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS but has a minimum of 54 FPS, so Low is the only 4K setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS based on the average data.

Q: Does the i5-9400's single-core performance limit Evolve at 1080p?

A: The i5-9400 has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1389. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 212 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not severely limiting at lower settings, though the 47th percentile CPU rank indicates it is not a high-end performer.

Q: How much does the average FPS drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra?

A: The average FPS falls from 91 at 1920x1080 Ultra to 35 at 3840x2160 Ultra, a reduction of 56 FPS or approximately 62% of the 1080p value.

Q: What are the RTX 3070's memory specifications and how do they relate to Evolve's performance?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 14 Gbps effective memory clock. The 4K results show the GPU becoming the bottleneck, with the 4K Ultra average dropping to 35 FPS, indicating the memory bandwidth and shading resources are saturated at high resolutions.