Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, shows a fascinating performance profile when paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070. The data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, suggesting a complex interplay between a modern GPU and an older, six-core processor. The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5070 has substantial headroom, but the i5-9400 may be the limiting factor in specific scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions and higher frame rates.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected trend of declining performance as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is telling. At High settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 sees the average frame rate fall from 172.3 FPS to 114.5 FPS, a reduction of roughly 33%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 68.6 FPS, which is a 40% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 60% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep curve suggests that at 1080p, the system is not purely GPU-bound, as the RTX 5070 is capable of much higher output than what is being recorded.

The pattern becomes more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p, the system achieves 212.6 FPS, but at 1440p, it drops to 184.6 FPS, and at 4K, it settles at 106.7 FPS. The relatively small difference between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings (a 13% drop) compared to the larger 42% drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the CPU is likely the bottleneck at the two lower resolutions. The GPU is waiting on the processor to feed it data, and only when the resolution becomes heavy enough for the GPU to be the primary constraint does its performance scale more predictably. This data implies that for this combo, the CPU is the limiting component at 1080p, while the GPU starts to take over as the resolution increases to 4K.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 brings a substantial amount of hardware to this pairing, and its specifications help explain the high frame rates observed. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card offers a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. For a game like Evolve, which is from 2015, this is an enormous amount of bandwidth and capacity, meaning the game’s textures and geometry are unlikely to be constrained by memory limitations at any tested setting. The card’s boost clock of 2512 MHz, built on the 5 nm Blackwell 2.0 architecture, provides the raw compute power necessary for the high FPS numbers seen in the 1080p and 1440p tests.

The GPU’s performance is further contextualized by its benchmark scores, with a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 5070 drops to 42.8 FPS, which is a significant fall from the 68.6 FPS at 4K High. The difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K is a 38% performance penalty, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU’s shader units and ROPs (80 ROPs). The card’s 6144 shading units and 192 texture units are clearly sufficient for high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the Ultra preset at 4K appears to be the first point where the GPU’s capabilities are truly stretched.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, the data suggests a clear "sweet spot" for this combo. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the jump from High to Medium is small (172.3 FPS to 194.1 FPS), while the jump from High to Low is larger (172.3 FPS to 212.6 FPS). For a smoother experience, the Medium preset at 1080p offers a 13% improvement over High, while the visual difference is likely less significant than the performance gain. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 119.9 FPS, is still playable but represents a 30% drop from High, indicating that the preset is disproportionately demanding for the visual improvement it provides.

At 2560x1440, the High preset stands out as the most balanced option. The 114.5 FPS average is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, and it is a 43% improvement over the 80.1 FPS seen at Ultra. The Medium preset, at 148.3 FPS, provides a further 29% boost over High, but the need for higher visual fidelity might make High the preferred choice. At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below 60 FPS (42.8 FPS), making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The High preset, at 68.6 FPS, is the top recommendation for 4K, as it offers a 61% performance increase over Ultra while likely retaining most of the visual quality. Low at 4K, at 106.7 FPS, is an option for those prioritizing frame rate above all else, but the Medium preset at 87.1 FPS provides a better balance for 4K gaming.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds a rank of 399 out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve. This places the pairing in the top 24% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a CPU that is several generations old. The rank suggests that while the RTX 5070 is a powerful card, the i5-9400 is holding the combo back from reaching the upper echelons of the rankings. The data implies that many other combos with newer, higher-core-count CPUs achieve better performance, likely due to reduced CPU bottlenecks at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s percentile rank of 50 versus all other CPUs indicates it is an average performer in general synthetic tests, which aligns with its position in the combo ranking. The GPU’s percentile rank of 83 versus all other GPUs shows it is a high-performing component. The discrepancy between the GPU’s high percentile and the combo’s lower rank highlights the CPU’s role as a limiting factor. The combo rank of 399 suggests that the system is faster than the majority of tested configurations, but it is not competitive with top-tier pairings that would likely feature a more modern processor to fully utilize the RTX 5070’s capabilities.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. For a game released in 2015, this is a competent processor, but the data suggests it is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 provide a reference for its processing power. The lack of hyper-threading means the processor has 6 threads, which can be a limitation in modern titles, but for Evolve, the data points to the CPU struggling to keep up with the RTX 5070 at lower resolutions.

The evidence for the CPU bottleneck is most apparent in the scaling from 1080p to 1440p. At Low settings, the FPS only drops from 212.6 to 184.6, a modest 13% decline, despite the 78% increase in pixel count. This indicates that the CPU is maxed out and cannot deliver more frames, regardless of the GPU’s capacity. The processor’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is also a factor, as the 6-core chip may be constrained by its dual-channel memory interface when feeding the fast RTX 5070. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz is high, but the aging architecture and limited thread count prevent it from achieving the frame rates that the GPU is demonstrably capable of producing.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo’s performance across all settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low preset achieves 212.6 FPS, Medium achieves 194.1 FPS, High achieves 172.3 FPS, and Ultra achieves 119.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 44% performance drop, which is significant but still leaves all presets playable on a high-refresh-rate monitor.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: Low at 184.6 FPS, Medium at 148.3 FPS, High at 114.5 FPS, and Ultra at 80.1 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 30%, which is less severe than the 43% drop from Medium to High, indicating that the Ultra preset at this resolution is a substantial step up in graphical load. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are: Low at 106.7 FPS, Medium at 87.1 FPS, High at 68.6 FPS, and Ultra at 42.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only one that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for standard 60Hz displays. The data shows that for 4K gaming, High is the most viable preset, providing a smooth experience without the massive performance hit of Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The data shows the High preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 68.6 FPS, which is playable. The Ultra preset at the same resolution is not recommended, as it drops to 42.8 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers a good balance, achieving 194.1 FPS, which is a 13% improvement over the High preset’s 172.3 FPS. The Low preset is faster at 212.6 FPS, but the visual compromise may not be worth the 9% gain over Medium.

Q: Is the CPU limiting performance in this game?

A: Yes, the data suggests the Intel Core i5-9400 is the bottleneck at lower resolutions. For example, at Low settings, the FPS only drops by 13% from 1080p to 1440p, indicating the CPU is preventing the GPU from working harder.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. It is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 114.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 80.1 FPS. This represents a 30% performance drop for the increased visual fidelity of the Ultra preset.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 a high-performing GPU overall?

A: Yes, the GPU has a percentile rank of 83 versus all other GPUs, placing it in the top 17% of all tested graphics cards. Its Passmark G3D score is 29137, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5077.