Evolve

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

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries 30 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core. This CPU sits in the 89th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 46881.

For a game like Evolve, released in February 2015, the CPU's thread configuration matters less than its raw single-thread throughput. The benchmark data shows the i7-13700K scoring 1136 in 3dMark single-thread, 2262 in 3dMark 2-thread, and 4469 in 4-thread tests. These numbers indicate strong per-core performance, which is what an older FPS title typically leverages. The 16-core layout means the CPU is heavily over-provisioned for a 2015 game, but the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that the game's primary threads run as fast as possible.

The CPU's multicore headroom is substantial — Cinebench R23 multicore scores 30745, and Geekbench multicore hits 19429. However, Evolve's engine was designed when quad-core CPUs were the mainstream norm, so the game likely doesn't scale beyond a handful of threads. The relevant comparison is the 3dMark 4-thread score of 4469 versus the 8-thread score of 8193 — the latter is nearly double, but a game from this era rarely uses that many threads effectively. The PassMark single-thread score of 4333 reinforces that this CPU excels at the type of workload Evolve presents: few threads, high frequency.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark performance are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (0.2% higher average score), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (0.5% lower), and the Intel Xeon w3-2535 (0.5% lower). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the i7-13700K is squarely in the performance pack for its class. For Evolve specifically, the single-thread advantage relative to these rivals is what could tip the balance, though the measured FPS data provides the definitive picture.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1291 out of 2872 tested combos for Evolve. This places it in the 45th percentile of all tested configurations — slightly below the median. The rank reflects the whole system pairing, not just the CPU or GPU in isolation.

Given that the CPU is in the 89th percentile among all processors and the GPU is in the 58th percentile among all graphics cards, the combo rank of 1291/2872 suggests the pairing is balanced but not exceptional for this particular title. The rank indicates that many other combinations deliver higher frame rates in Evolve, which could be attributed to the GPU being the limiting factor at higher settings, or the game simply not needing the CPU's full capability.

The combo's position becomes clearer when examining the measured FPS across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 201 FPS average, which is well above playable thresholds. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 32 FPS. The spread of 169 FPS between the lowest and highest settings shows that the combo has wide dynamic range, but the upper end of that range is where the rank suffers — many combos likely sustain higher minimums at demanding settings.

The rank of 1291 out of 2872 means roughly 55% of tested combos outperform this pairing in Evolve. That is not a statement about the hardware's quality — both components are respectable — but rather about how this specific game interacts with the combination. The CPU's 89th percentile standing does not translate to a top-tier game rank because Evolve's frame rate is largely dictated by the graphics workload, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: What average FPS does this combo achieve at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 156, with a minimum of 133 and a maximum of 179.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5900 has an average benchmark score of 46971, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700K's score of 46881. This is a negligible difference.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Evolve?

A: The highest average FPS is 201, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the GPU's percentile ranking align with its performance in Evolve?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852. In Evolve, its performance ranges from 201 FPS at 1080p Low to 32 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing it can handle the game well at lower settings but struggles at the most demanding configuration.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 1291 out of 2872 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the field.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo fall below 60 FPS?

A: The combo falls below 60 FPS at 4K Ultra (32 FPS), 4K High (47 FPS), and 4K Medium (60 FPS exactly at the threshold). At 1440p Ultra, it achieves 57 FPS, also below 60.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). The full matrix reveals how the combo scales.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 201 FPS. Medium settings yield 156 FPS average, with a minimum of 133 and maximum of 179. High settings drop to 122 FPS average. Ultra settings bring the average down to 85 FPS. The 1080p progression from Low to Ultra shows a drop of 116 FPS, or roughly 58% of the Low setting's performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decrease across the board. Low settings produce 135 FPS average. Medium settings yield 105 FPS average, with a minimum of 89 and maximum of 120. High settings produce 82 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS average. The 1440p spread from Low to Ultra is 78 FPS, with the Ultra setting falling below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the combo's performance diminishes further. Low settings achieve 77 FPS average. Medium settings produce 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 68 — the minimum here dips below playable. High settings yield 47 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 32 FPS average. The 4K spread from Low to Ultra is 45 FPS.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with complete min/max data. At 1080p, the min is 133 and max is 179. At 1440p, the min is 89 and max is 120. At 4K, the min is 51 and max is 68. These ranges indicate consistent frame delivery at Medium settings, with the 4K minimum being the only concerning figure.

The data shows a clear pattern: each resolution step down (from 4K to 1440p to 1080p) increases FPS by roughly 1.6x to 1.7x at the same settings level. For example, High settings go from 47 FPS at 4K to 82 FPS at 1440p (1.74x increase) to 122 FPS at 1080p (1.49x increase from 1440p). This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the Navi 32 chip using RDNA 3.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die, with a transistor density of 81.2 million per mm². The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1900 MHz, boost clock is 2459 MHz, and game clock is 2041 MHz.

The GPU's compute resources include 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operations pipelines. It also features 40 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 236.1 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 393.4 GTexel/s. Floating point performance is rated at 25.18 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16.

In benchmark tests, the RX 7700 scores 20974 in PassMark G3D and 106028 in Geekbench OpenCL. Its percentile ranking is 58 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852. The nearest GPU rivals are the AMD Radeon R9 370X (0.1% lower score), AMD Radeon RX 9060 (1% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (1.1% lower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% higher).

The GPU's role in Evolve is central. The measured FPS data shows that the combo's performance drops significantly as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. At 1080p Low, the GPU can push 201 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it manages only 32 FPS. This 6.3x reduction in frame rate across a 4x increase in pixel count indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is ample for a 2015 title, which would not require anywhere near that amount of memory. The 624.1 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient throughput for the game's textures and geometry. The GPU's 58th percentile ranking suggests it is an average performer in the broader GPU landscape, which aligns with the combo's mid-tier ranking in Evolve.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. The primary consideration is maintaining a playable frame rate, typically 60 FPS or higher, without sacrificing visual quality unnecessarily.

At 1920x1080, all settings levels exceed 60 FPS. The lowest average is 85 FPS at Ultra, which is still smooth. The High setting at 122 FPS offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. Medium at 156 FPS is also viable for users prioritizing frame rate. Low at 201 FPS is unnecessary for most displays, which typically refresh at 60Hz, 144Hz, or 240Hz — even the Ultra setting at 85 FPS would exceed a 60Hz display's capabilities.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation narrows. Ultra settings produce 57 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings produce 82 FPS, which is comfortable. Medium produces 105 FPS, and Low produces 135 FPS. For a 1440p display, High settings at 82 FPS is the best recommendation — it stays above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Medium or Low.

At 3840x2160, the options are more limited. Medium settings produce 60 FPS average, but the minimum is 51 FPS, meaning frame drops below 60 will occur. High settings produce 47 FPS, and Ultra produces 32 FPS. Low settings produce 77 FPS, which is above 60 but sacrifices most visual features. For 4K, Medium is the recommended setting if visual quality matters, accepting that the minimum FPS of 51 will occasionally dip below 60. For a more consistent experience, Low at 77 FPS is the safer choice.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is 1080p High at 122 FPS or 1440p High at 82 FPS. Both maintain comfortable frame rates with moderate visual quality. The 4K Medium setting at 60 FPS average is technically playable but has a minimum of 51 FPS, which could cause noticeable stutter in fast-paced FPS gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings levels. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 201 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p to 77 at 4K. That is a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 43% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the progression is 122 to 82 to 47 — a 33% drop to 1440p and a 43% drop to 4K. At Medium settings, the numbers are 156, 105, and 60, with the same relative decline.

This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The pixel count increases by 1.78x from 1080p to 1440p, and by 2.25x from 1440p to 4K. The FPS decreases by roughly the same proportion, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would stay relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload remains constant while the GPU workload grows.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking does not prevent GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the CPU could theoretically push higher frame rates, but the GPU caps the output. The fact that FPS drops proportionally with pixel count confirms that the RX 7700 is the constraining factor in this pairing for Evolve.

The 4K Ultra setting at 32 FPS is the clearest evidence of GPU limitation. The CPU is not holding back the system at this setting — the GPU simply cannot render enough frames at this resolution and quality level. Similarly, the 1080p Low setting at 201 FPS shows the GPU's ceiling in this game, even with minimal graphical demands.

This scaling analysis suggests that users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p displays will get good use out of this combo, but those targeting 4K should expect to use lower settings or accept sub-60 FPS. The data shows the RX 7700 is a mid-tier GPU that handles Evolve well at mainstream resolutions but cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.