Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS built on the CryEngine, presents an interesting study in hardware scaling when paired with the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. The measured data reveals a configuration where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial resources remain largely underutilized. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics, focusing on resolution scaling, component roles, and the combo's standing within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K in Evolve demonstrates a classic GPU-bound performance curve, but with some notable nuances. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves an average of 107.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 73 FPS, a reduction of 32.2% from the 1080p figure. The most significant strain appears when pushing to 4K High, where the average plummets to 41.4 FPS, representing a 61.5% decrease compared to the 1080p High result. This steep decline indicates that the rendering workload at 4K is overwhelming the GPU, making it the definitive limiting factor.

The scaling pattern is consistent across other settings. For instance, at Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 138.5 at 1080p to 90.7 at 1440p, and further down to 52.5 at 4K. The delta between 1440p and 4K becomes more pronounced at lower settings, which is counterintuitive but typical of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the 1440p average is a very high 120.5 FPS, but the 4K Low average is 65.5 FPS. This suggests that even with reduced graphical load, the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 creates a bottleneck that the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot overcome, resulting in a performance cliff.

The data shows that 1080p is clearly the sweet spot for this combo, with all settings except Ultra staying above the 100 FPS mark. The 1440p resolution offers a playable experience, with High and Medium settings maintaining averages above 70 FPS. However, 4K is only viable for less demanding visual presets, as the High and Ultra settings struggle to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU has ample headroom, and the performance degradation is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth limitations at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a formidable processor with 16 cores, 24 threads, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505. In the context of Evolve, however, this power is largely untapped. The game, released in 2015, was not designed to leverage the massive thread counts of modern processors. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU throttling; the performance drops are directly correlated with resolution increases, which points to GPU limitations.

The CPU’s role here is to provide a stable foundation. The data indicates that even at 1080p Low, where the average FPS reaches 178, the CPU does not become a bottleneck. This reflects its high single-thread performance, which is crucial for games that rely on a few primary threads. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2262 and 4-thread score of 4469 suggest that even with limited thread utilization, the processor delivers sufficient throughput to avoid limiting frame rates. In contrast, its multi-threaded capabilities, while impressive, are not the primary driver of performance in this specific title.

The high core count and clock speeds of the i7-13700K ensure that frame pacing remains consistent, even when the GPU is under heavy load. The data shows that the minimum FPS is not reported, but the average FPS figures are stable and consistent across multiple runs. The processor's cache hierarchy, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache, helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game logic and physics calculations. However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, as the performance envelope is dictated by the GPU's ability to process frames.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds a specific position. The comboRankInGame is 1051 out of 1695 combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of all tested configurations for this title. This ranking reflects that while the CPU is a top-tier component, the GPU is a generation older and is the constraining element in this pairing.

The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 65, indicating that it performs better than 65% of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400, with a deltaPct of -0.5%, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, with a deltaPct of 0.9%. This means the RTX 2070 SUPER is very closely matched with these cards, with less than a 1% difference in average benchmark scores. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 is slightly behind, with a deltaPct of 2.5%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is slightly ahead, with a deltaPct of -2.3%.

The CPU's ranking is much stronger. The i7-13700K has a percentileVsAllCpus of 93, placing it in the top 7% of all processors. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which has a deltaPct of -0.1%, indicating they are virtually identical in performance. The AMD EPYC 4364P and Intel Core i9-12900F are also very close, with deltaPct values of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. This contrast in component tiers explains the overall combo ranking: a high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is CPU-heavy but ultimately balanced by the GPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are strong. Low settings yield an average of 178 FPS, Medium delivers 138.5 FPS, and High achieves 107.6 FPS. Even Ultra settings manage a respectable 72.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This resolution demonstrates the combo's capability to handle high refresh rates, particularly at lower graphical presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains solid but shows the expected decline. Low settings produce an average of 120.5 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium settings average 90.7 FPS, and High settings average 73 FPS. Ultra settings, however, drop to 52.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to struggle with the increased pixel count and higher fidelity effects. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 20.6 FPS, which is a significant jump in GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings yield an average of 65.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Medium settings average 52.5 FPS, and High settings drop to 41.4 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average of only 30.5 FPS, which is not suitable for a smooth experience. The data shows a clear pattern: the higher the resolution, the more the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening from 105.3 FPS at 1080p to 35 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the defining component in this configuration. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 1770 MHz, and it has 2560 shading units. The GPU's compute capability is rated at 9.062 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In Evolve, these specifications determine the performance ceiling. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K with High or Ultra settings, the memory capacity and bandwidth are pushed to their limits, contributing to the lower average FPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its PassMark G3D score is 18169, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1651. The percentileVsAllGpus of 65 indicates it is a solid performer, but not a top-tier one. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo, as the CPU is more than capable of feeding it frames. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is a direct result of the GPU’s fill rate and memory subsystem being overwhelmed by the increased resolution.

The GPU’s architecture, Turing, supports features like DirectX 12 Ultimate, but Evolve was released before these features were widely adopted. The game's engine is more sensitive to raw rasterization performance and memory bandwidth. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s specifications, such as its 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs, are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but they are insufficient for 4K Ultra settings. The measured data confirms that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users would need to lower settings to Medium or below, or consider a more powerful GPU.