Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, presents an interesting test case for a hardware pairing that spans generations: the 6-core Intel Core i5-9400 from 2018 and the flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 from 2025. The data shows this combination achieves playable frame rates across all settings, but the performance deltas between resolutions and presets reveal a system that is heavily constrained by its processor in certain scenarios, while the GPU flexes its muscle in others.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 in Evolve?

A: The data indicates the CPU is a significant limiting factor at lower resolutions. For instance, at 1920x1080, the average FPS only drops from 211.7 on Low to 153.2 on Ultra, a narrow 58.5 FPS spread. This suggests the CPU is capping performance, preventing the GPU from fully scaling with increased graphical load.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for maximum smoothness based on the data?

A: For the highest frame rate, the 1920x1080 Low setting is the clear winner, delivering an average of 211.7 FPS. This is the only measured row that surpasses the 200 FPS mark, indicating it offers the most headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The pairing of the Core i5-9400 and RTX 5090 ranks at number 194 out of 1695 tested combos. This places it in the top 12% of all configurations tested in the database, a strong overall position despite the CPU's age.

Q: What is the performance difference between the 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data shows a substantial drop. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 153.2, whereas at 3840x2160 Ultra, it falls to 62.9. This represents a 90.3 FPS decrease, highlighting the massive increase in GPU load at 4K resolution.

Q: Which component is more critical for achieving high frame rates at 4K in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary driver of performance. The spread between Low and Ultra settings is 85.9 FPS (148.8 to 62.9), which is much wider than at 1080p, demonstrating that the RTX 5090's capabilities are being fully utilized and are the determining factor for performance.

Q: Based on the measured data, is the RTX 5090's performance comparable to its closest rivals in the database?

A: Yes, its average benchmark score of 84306 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, 0.2% faster than the RTX 5050 Mobile, and 1.3% faster than the AMD Radeon PRO W6600. It is 1.6% slower than the NVIDIA CMP 40HX.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, running on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, and it accesses 9 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of a 2015 game like Evolve, which was designed for an era of 4-core processors, this CPU's six cores are a relevant asset. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 suggest a capable, mid-range processor for its generation.

The benchmark results reveal that this CPU is the bottleneck, particularly at 1080p. When comparing the 1920x1080 Low and Ultra presets, the difference is only 58.5 FPS (from 211.7 to 153.2). If the GPU were the sole limiting factor, this gap would likely be larger. The fact that the frame rate is squeezed into this narrower band suggests the CPU's processing power is capping the maximum output. Its 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs further supports the idea that while not a top-tier performer, it is adequate for maintaining solid frame rates, but it cannot feed the RTX 5090 enough data to reach its full potential in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database, this specific combination of CPU and GPU achieves a combo rank of 194 out of 1695 tested combos for Evolve. This is a strong result, placing it in the top 11.4% of all systems tested. This high ranking is primarily attributable to the sheer power of the RTX 5090, which can brute-force its way to high frame rates even when the CPU is not delivering optimal conditions.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 84306 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are extremely close in score, with deltas of under 2%. This indicates that the RTX 5090 is at the apex of GPU performance in the database. The combination's high rank in Evolve is therefore proof of the GPU's dominance, which can overcome the potential limitations of the older CPU, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU workload is more significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance is consistently high, starting at 211.7 FPS on Low and only dropping to 153.2 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting yields 193.6 FPS, and High produces 179.8 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU can easily render these frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very playable. The Low setting hits 188 FPS, which is a modest drop from 1080p. High and Medium settings deliver 156.7 FPS and 170.7 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 110.5 FPS, showing a more significant impact from the increased resolution and settings. This resolution represents a better balance, as the GPU is now being tasked with more work, but the CPU is still able to keep up.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the dominant factor. The Low setting still manages an impressive 148.8 FPS, but the Ultra setting drops to 62.9 FPS. The Medium and High settings produce 112.4 FPS and 89.6 FPS, respectively. This demonstrates the RTX 5090's power, as it can still produce high frame rates at 4K, but it also shows the heavy toll that Ultra settings take at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card. Built on the 5 nm Blackwell 2.0 architecture, it houses 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2407 MHz. These specifications translate to a Passmark G3D score of 39650, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

In the 4K benchmarks, the GPU's role becomes clear. The transition from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings results in a 90.3 FPS drop, from 153.2 to 62.9 FPS. This is a direct consequence of the GPU having to render four times the number of pixels. The fact that the RTX 5090 can still deliver nearly 63 FPS at 4K Ultra in a game from 2015 shows its immense rendering power. The large gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (148.8 vs 62.9 FPS) confirms that the GPU is now the bottleneck, and its performance is directly tied to the graphical workload.

Settings Recommendations

For players with a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor, the data shows that even the Ultra preset delivers an average of 153.2 FPS, which is excellent. However, for those seeking the absolute maximum frame rate, the Low preset at 1920x1080 provides an average of 211.7 FPS. Given the minimal performance difference between Medium and High at 1080p (193.6 vs 179.8 FPS), the High preset appears to be a sweet spot for visual fidelity without a major FPS penalty.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset's 110.5 FPS is still very smooth, but the High preset at 156.7 FPS offers a significant boost in frame rate with a likely minor visual difference. This makes 2560x1440 High the optimal choice for a balanced experience on a 1440p display. For 4K gaming, the choice is more critical. The Ultra preset at 62.9 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for competitive play. The High preset at 89.6 FPS provides a much smoother experience, and the Medium setting at 112.4 FPS is an excellent middle ground for 4K, offering high frame rates without sacrificing too much visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable and informative trend in performance scaling from 1080p to 4K. At the High setting, the average FPS drops from 179.8 at 1920x1080 to 156.7 at 2560x1440, and finally to 89.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 50.2% decrease from 1080p to 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 42.8%, which is a larger proportional decrease than the 12.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p.

This scaling pattern reveals the shifting bottleneck. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (23.1 FPS) suggests that the CPU is still a significant limiting factor in this range, preventing the GPU from showing its full potential. The massive drop from 1440p to 4K (67.1 FPS) indicates that the GPU has finally become the primary constraint, and its performance is now scaling directly with the pixel count. This analysis confirms that the i5-9400 is holding back the RTX 5090 at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the GPU's immense power is the definitive factor in determining the final frame rate.