Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, is tested here with a combination of Intel’s six-core Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER. This pairing sits in the 393rd position out of 1,695 tested combos in this specific game, placing it in the upper quarter of all configurations. The data shows this is a capable setup for Evolve, but the CPU’s age and the GPU’s modern architecture create a distinct performance profile that shifts depending on resolution and quality settings.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a desktop processor built on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It provides six physical cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The chip integrates a UHD 630 graphics unit and supports DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus, delivering 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. Its cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache.

This CPU’s benchmark profile places it in the 50th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 2,305. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the Intel Core i3-10305 and Core i3-1125G4, both of which score within 0.2% of the i5-9400, and the Intel Xeon E-2134, which is 0.4% ahead. The Intel Core i7-8809G is the closest competitor on the higher end, sitting 0.6% above. In multi-threaded workloads, the chip achieves 803 points in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 3,346 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, while single-thread scores are 113 and 472, respectively.

For Evolve, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The six-core, six-thread configuration is sufficient for this title’s age, but the lack of hyper-threading means background tasks and heavy physics may compete for the same execution units. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz provides solid single-thread performance, which matters for frame pacing. The measured FPS data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower settings, but as resolution increases and GPU load rises, the balance shifts.

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

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 4K?

A: The data shows High settings produce the highest average frame rate at 3840x2160, with 69.6 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 48.9 FPS, while Low yields 109.6 FPS and Medium 86.6 FPS. High balances visual quality and performance.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p compared to 1080p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 183 on Low to 84.9 on Ultra. This is a substantial drop from 1080p, where the same settings yield 212.4 FPS on Low and 125.1 FPS on Ultra, indicating the GPU becomes more stressed as pixel count rises.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Benchmark results suggest the CPU is not the primary limiter at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 212.4 FPS. The six-core i5-9400, with its 4.10 GHz boost, keeps pace with the RTX 4070 SUPER at this resolution, but the gap between Low and Ultra (87.3 FPS) shows the GPU’s rendering load dominates.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in this dataset?

A: The highest average is 212.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is followed closely by 190.8 FPS at Medium, indicating the GPU has headroom at 1080p even with this older CPU.

Q: How does the combo’s ranking reflect its overall capability in Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 393 out of 1,695 tested configurations, which places it in the top 23% of all tested combos. This suggests it outperforms the majority of setups in this game, though it is not at the extreme high end.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER’s performance vary significantly with settings at 4K?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the spread between Low (109.6 FPS) and Ultra (48.9 FPS) is 60.7 FPS. This wide range shows that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are heavily taxed by higher quality presets, especially at 4K resolution.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds the 393rd rank out of 1,695 possible combinations in Evolve. This places the setup in the 76.8th percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the configurations evaluated. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s mid-pack synthetic standing and the GPU’s strong position in the 84th percentile among all graphics cards.

In synthetic terms, the RTX 4070 SUPER scores an average of 42,576, with closest rivals being the NVIDIA RTX A6000 at 42,653 (0.2% ahead) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE at 42,723 (0.3% ahead). The GPU’s performance in DirectX 11 and 12 tests, scoring 273 and 110 respectively in Passmark, shows it is well-suited for modern rendering paths. The CPU’s lower standing, with a 50th percentile rank and an average score of 2,305, does not drag the combo down dramatically in Evolve, likely because the game is not heavily multithreaded.

The rank of 393 suggests that while the GPU is a high-end part, the older CPU prevents the combo from reaching the top tier. Combos with newer processors and similar GPUs likely occupy higher ranks, as the i5-9400’s lack of hyper-threading and older architecture may limit frame times in CPU-bound scenes. However, the data shows this pairing still delivers strong playable performance across all tested settings and resolutions.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 212.4 FPS, Medium settings reach 190.8 FPS, and High settings drop to 177.2 FPS. Ultra settings yield 125.1 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 87.3 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for maximum visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline across the board. Low settings achieve 183 FPS, Medium 148.4 FPS, and High 121.5 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 84.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 98.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is working harder as resolution increases, but still delivering playable results even at the highest quality preset.

At 3840x2160, the performance drop becomes more pronounced. Low settings average 109.6 FPS, Medium 86.6 FPS, and High 69.6 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 48.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth for action games. The spread from Low to Ultra is 60.7 FPS, showing that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the dominant factor at 4K.

The data reveals that the RTX 4070 SUPER has ample headroom at 1080p, where even Ultra settings exceed 120 FPS. At 1440p, High settings remain above 120 FPS, making this a strong resolution for the combo. At 4K, only Low and Medium settings stay above 86 FPS, while High is borderline and Ultra is not recommended for competitive play.

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

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly indicates the GPU is the primary limiting component in this configuration. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 212.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 183 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 13.8%, and then to 109.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 40.1% reduction. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly impacts pixel throughput.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper. The average drops from 125.1 FPS at 1080p to 84.9 FPS at 1440p (a 32.1% decrease) and then to 48.9 FPS at 4K (a 42.4% decrease from 1440p). The absolute drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 76.2 FPS, which is a 60.9% reduction. This steep decline at higher settings confirms that the GPU’s shading and pixel processing capabilities are being saturated.

The CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where the frame rate of 212.4 FPS is high but not unlimited. The i5-9400’s six cores and 4.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient to drive the GPU to these levels, but the lack of hyper-threading may prevent even higher frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes, as the GPU’s workload dominates and the FPS differences between settings become larger than the resolution scaling effects.

Overall, the data shows a classic GPU-limited profile for this game at higher resolutions, with the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth proving adequate for Evolve’s demands. The CPU, while not a bottleneck at 4K, does cap potential at lower resolutions, where a newer processor could unlock higher frame rates. The combo is best suited for 1440p High or 1080p Ultra, where it delivers smooth performance without excessive GPU strain.