Evolve

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a robust 1080p experience in Evolve, but the data reveals a classic case of a high-end GPU being progressively bottlenecked by a mid-range processor as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages 49 FPS, which is demanding, but the scaling pattern shows the CPU holding back the GPU's potential at lower resolutions. The combination ranks 786th out of 3700 tested configurations, placing it in the top 21.2% of all tested combos for this title, a solid result that is nevertheless limited by the i5-9400's six cores and six threads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline tells the real story about system balance. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, average FPS drops from 177 to 125, a 29.4% reduction. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even steeper, with average FPS falling from 125 to 71, a 43.2% reduction. This pattern indicates that while the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, the CPU's influence is significant at 1080p.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 212 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces this to 185 FPS, a 12.7% decrease, while 4K Low yields 117 FPS, a 36.8% drop from the 1440p figure. The relatively small penalty for moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the CPU is becoming the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly. The data indicates that the i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is likely saturating its capabilities around the 185-212 FPS range, preventing the RTX 4070 Ti from fully stretching its legs.

Ultra settings present the most demanding workload. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 129, which is 47.6% lower than the 212 FPS at 1080p Low. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p Ultra shows a drop from 129 to 87 FPS, a 32.6% reduction, and 4K Ultra falls to 49 FPS, a 43.2% drop from the 1440p figure. This shows that at Ultra settings, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor, and the resolution scaling is more linear, though the CPU still imposes a ceiling that prevents the 4K Ultra result from being higher.

The data strongly suggests that the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 4K, the RTX 4070 Ti is clearly the bottleneck, as the GPU is working hard to fill all those pixels. At 1080p, the i5-9400 becomes the constraint, as the GPU could likely produce even higher frame rates if the CPU could feed it data faster. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration of the i5-9400, with its 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clock, is sufficient for high frame rates but not exceptional ones in this title.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Ti is the star of this pairing, and its specifications explain why it handles Evolve so well at higher resolutions. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is ample for the textures and assets used in Evolve at 4K, as evidenced by the playable 71 FPS average at High settings. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 240 TMUs contribute to its ability to process pixel and texture data efficiently, which is critical for maintaining frame rates as resolution scales.

The Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, allows for high clock speeds. The base clock is 2310 MHz, with a boost clock of 2610 MHz. These clocks, combined with 7680 shading units, deliver a raw compute capability of 40.09 TFLOPS FP32. This raw power is what enables the GPU to achieve 185 FPS at 1440p Low and 117 FPS at 4K Low, showing that even at lower settings, the GPU is not the limiting factor at these resolutions. The 4K Low result of 117 FPS is particularly impressive, indicating the GPU has significant headroom.

The GPU's performance relative to its peers is strong. The RTX 4070 Ti sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44795. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, scores 45152, which is only 0.8% higher. This close margin suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is performing at a level near the top of the mobile GPU stack, though it is important to note this is a desktop card. The data shows that the GPU is capable of far more than the CPU can deliver at 1080p, reinforcing the conclusion that the processor is the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions.

In Evolve, the GPU's role becomes more prominent as settings increase. The difference between 1080p High (177 FPS) and 4K High (71 FPS) is 106 FPS, a 59.9% reduction, which is primarily due to the increased pixel workload. The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient across all tested settings, as there are no signs of memory-related stutters in the measured FPS data. The min FPS values at Medium settings (164 at 1080p, 136 at 1440p, 77 at 4K) show that the GPU maintains consistent frame delivery without major dips.

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. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, and it can boost up to 4.10 GHz. This configuration is competent for gaming, but the lack of hyper-threading means it has 6 threads total, which can be a limitation in heavily threaded workloads. The processor's L3 cache is 9 MB shared, which is moderate by modern standards but sufficient for this game.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. This is a mid-range result. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, -0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248, +0.3% delta). The i7-10710U, despite being a low-power mobile chip, performs nearly identically to the i5-9400 in synthetic benchmarks. This suggests that the i5-9400's performance is adequate but not exceptional, and it may struggle to keep up with the RTX 4070 Ti's demands in CPU-bound scenarios.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p results. The jump from 1080p Low (212 FPS) to 1440p Low (185 FPS) is only 27 FPS, a 12.7% decrease. This relatively small drop indicates that the CPU is likely limiting performance at 1080p Low, as the GPU could theoretically produce higher frame rates if the CPU could process game logic and draw calls faster. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration may saturate at around 212 FPS in this scenario, preventing further gains.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.10 GHz is crucial for single-threaded performance, which is often the bottleneck in FPS games like Evolve. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 935 and Geekbench single-core score of 1389 are decent, but they are not top-tier. The data suggests that the i5-9400 is sufficient for 4K gaming, where the GPU is the bottleneck, but it holds back performance at 1080p, where the CPU's frame rate ceiling is reached. The multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 6629 also indicates that the processor can handle moderate multi-threading, but it is not a high-end performer.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 Ti in Evolve?

A: Yes, at 1080p. The data shows that moving from 1080p Low (212 FPS) to 1440p Low (185 FPS) results in only a 12.7% drop, suggesting the CPU is limiting frame rates below 212 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU has more headroom.

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

A: 1440p offers a strong balance. At High settings, the combo averages 125 FPS, which is smooth and only 29.4% lower than the 1080p result. 4K High at 71 FPS is also playable, but 1440p provides higher frame rates with less CPU limitation.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795, which is 0.8% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (45152). It also outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384) by 1.3%, and the Intel Arc A730M (45592) by 1.7%.

Q: Does the CPU's lack of hyper-threading affect performance in Evolve?

A: The 6-core, 6-thread configuration likely contributes to the CPU bottleneck at 1080p. The data shows a frame rate ceiling around 212 FPS at 1080p Low, which suggests the processor's threads are saturated, preventing the GPU from achieving higher frame rates.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 164. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 136, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 77. These values indicate consistent frame delivery without major stutters, even at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-9400's performance compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-10710U?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is 0.3% higher than the i7-10710U's score of 2248. This indicates they perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, despite the i7-10710U being a low-power mobile chip.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 786th out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places the combo in the top 21.2% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The rank reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates at 1440p and playable performance at 4K, but it is held back by the CPU's limitations at 1080p.

The rank is influenced heavily by the GPU's high percentile (84th) and the CPU's mid-range percentile (47th). The combination leverages the GPU's strengths at higher resolutions, where it can dominate, but the CPU's weaker multi-threading performance caps the system's overall potential. The data suggests that pairing the RTX 4070 Ti with a stronger CPU would likely improve the rank, as the 1080p results would be higher, but the current configuration is still capable of a smooth gaming experience in most scenarios.

The 4K Ultra result of 49 FPS is the lowest score in the dataset, indicating that this setting is too demanding for the combo to maintain smooth gameplay. However, 4K High (71 FPS) is a playable option, and 1440p High (125 FPS) is excellent. The rank of 786th out of 3700 reflects the GPU's power, but it also highlights the CPU as the limiting factor in this particular pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the combo's performance across resolutions and settings. All numbers are average FPS unless otherwise specified.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 212 FPS
• Medium: 193 FPS (min 164, max 222)
• High: 177 FPS
• Ultra: 129 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 185 FPS
• Medium: 160 FPS (min 136, max 184)
• High: 125 FPS
• Ultra: 87 FPS

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 117 FPS
• Medium: 91 FPS (min 77, max 105)
• High: 71 FPS
• Ultra: 49 FPS

The 1080p results show the CPU's influence, with Low settings reaching 212 FPS, but the scaling from Low to Ultra is steep, with a 39.2% drop to 129 FPS. At 1440p, the GPU becomes more involved, and the results are well-balanced, with High settings delivering 125 FPS and Ultra at 87 FPS. The 4K results clearly show the GPU as the bottleneck, with a 58.1% drop from Low (117 FPS) to Ultra (49 FPS). The minimum FPS values at Medium settings show that the combo maintains stable performance, with the largest gap between min and max being 28 FPS at 1080p, indicating no severe frame time spikes.