Evolve

# Evolve — Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a broad performance envelope in Evolve, spanning from high-refresh 1080p play to a playable 4K experience. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads providing ample headroom while the GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth become the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, setting-by-setting, to characterize where this combo excels and where it begins to show its limits in a 2015-era FPS title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that becomes progressively more GPU-bound as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 261 FPS at 1920x1080 to 175 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 99 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU is working progressively harder relative to the CPU as resolution climbs.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 202 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 33% and 43% respectively, mirroring the Low-setting scaling almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the resolution scaling is driven primarily by pixel throughput rather than by settings-specific effects.

High settings show the same trend: 158 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33%, and from 1440p to 4K is 43%. The 4K result of 60 FPS is notable because it aligns exactly with typical display refresh rates, suggesting that at High settings, the system can hold a playable 4K experience without dipping below 60 FPS on average.

Ultra settings present the steepest curve: 110 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 33%, and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 43%, maintaining the same relative scaling. However, the 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component at this extreme.

The consistent scaling percentages across all settings strongly indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, where even Ultra settings produce 110 FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth become the dominant factor, with the 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth being taxed more heavily.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of experiences across the four preset levels. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, but the differences are stark. Low settings produce 261 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show, while Ultra produces 110 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 202 FPS offers a balanced point where visual quality improves without sacrificing frame rate headroom.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes slightly. Low settings yield 175 FPS, Medium yields 135 FPS, and High yields 106 FPS. All three are above 100 FPS, making them viable for high-refresh monitors. Ultra drops to 74 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant step down from High. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot at 1440p, offering 106 FPS average while presumably improving visual fidelity over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more constrained. Low settings produce 99 FPS, Medium produces 77 FPS, and High produces 60 FPS. All three are playable, but Ultra at 42 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K, with a minimum FPS of 66 and maximum of 89, offers a more consistent experience than High, which has no recorded minimum but averages exactly 60 FPS.

The data indicates that the best experience per the measured rows depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, Ultra at 110 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above 60. For 1440p, High at 106 FPS is the optimal balance, as it nearly matches the Ultra 1080p frame rate while offering improved resolution. For 4K, Medium at 77 FPS is the recommended preset, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining better visual quality than Low. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 42 FPS average is below the playable threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K brings 16 cores and 24 threads to this benchmark, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. The Geekbench multicore score of 19429 and single-core score of 2529 further confirm its capability.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low settings, the system produces 261 FPS, which is a frame rate that requires both high single-thread performance and adequate multi-threading to avoid bottlenecks. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and 2-thread score of 2262 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for game logic and physics calculations.

The multi-threaded performance becomes relevant when considering the game's engine. Evolve is a FPS title from 2015, and its threading model likely benefits from the CPU's 24 threads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 and max-thread score of 12412 show that the CPU scales well with parallelism, though the game may not utilize all threads fully.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881, places it in the upper tier of processors. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, scores 46971, a difference of -0.2%, which is negligible. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 and AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX are both 0.5% behind, at 46653 and 46654 respectively. This indicates that the i7-13700K is competitive with the best CPUs in its class, and in Evolve, it is unlikely to be the limiting factor at any resolution.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in Evolve at any tested setting. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU produces only 42 FPS, the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU. The 261 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the CPU can drive frame rates well beyond what the GPU can match at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo in Evolve?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 261, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the highest frame rate recorded in the measured data.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, at High settings the average FPS is exactly 60 at 3840x2160. At Medium settings, the average is 77 FPS, and at Low settings, it is 99 FPS. However, at Ultra settings, the average drops to 42 FPS, which is below 60.

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

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971) and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022). It is 0.5% higher than both the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46654 and 46653 respectively).

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 175 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 74 FPS average. This represents a reduction of 101 FPS, or approximately 58%, when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity impact performance in Evolve?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 384-bit bus and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth. The measured data shows consistent FPS scaling across settings, suggesting that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at the tested resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the best setting for a 60 Hz 4K display?

A: At 3840x2160, High settings produce an average of 60 FPS, which matches a 60 Hz display's refresh rate. Medium settings produce 77 FPS, providing a margin above 60 FPS, while Ultra produces 42 FPS, which is below the threshold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is accessed via a 384-bit bus, providing 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Evolve, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. The GPU's 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs provide substantial pixel and texture throughput. The 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 532.8 GTexel/s texture rate are key metrics for understanding the GPU's capability in this title.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 42, which is only 38% of the 110 FPS achieved at 1080p Ultra. This scaling suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are being fully utilized at 4K, with the 912.4 GB/s bandwidth becoming a constraint.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks supports this analysis. The PassMark G3D score of 26896 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 indicate strong overall performance. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 192697 and OpenCL score of 170037 show the GPU's compute capabilities, which are relevant for games that use compute shaders.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 83 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41187, places it in the upper tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 40870, a difference of 0.8%. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707, which is 1.2% higher, and the GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40377, which is 2% lower. These comparisons indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti is competitive with newer and older GPUs in synthetic benchmarks.

In Evolve specifically, the GPU's role is to maintain frame rates across the resolution spectrum. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized at Low settings (261 FPS), but becomes the bottleneck at Ultra settings (110 FPS). At 4K, the GPU is the clear limiting factor across all settings, with even Low settings producing only 99 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 261 FPS, Medium settings produce 202 FPS with a minimum of 172 and maximum of 232, High settings produce 158 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 110 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a reduction of 151 FPS, or approximately 58%.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low settings produce 175 FPS, Medium settings produce 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 156, High settings produce 106 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 74 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 101 FPS, or approximately 58%, which matches the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low settings produce 99 FPS, Medium settings produce 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 and maximum of 89, High settings produce 60 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 42 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 57 FPS, or approximately 58%, maintaining the same relative scaling as lower resolutions.

The Medium settings at each resolution are the only rows with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 172-232 FPS, with an average of 202. At 1440p, the range is 115-156 FPS, with an average of 135. At 4K, the range is 66-89 FPS, with an average of 77. These ranges indicate that the frame time variance is relatively consistent across resolutions, with the spread being approximately 30% of the average in each case.

The data shows that the FPS scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent at approximately 58% reduction, regardless of resolution. This suggests that the settings presets have a similar impact on GPU load, and that the resolution scaling is independent of the settings scaling. The RTX 3080 Ti's performance in Evolve is therefore predictable: each step from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by roughly 29% of the previous setting's value.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 960 out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the upper quartile of all tested combinations, with approximately 74% of combos ranking below it. The ranking reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while maintaining playable performance at 4K.

The rank of 960 out of 3700 is notable because it places this combo above the median, but not in the top tier. The top 25% of combos likely feature more recent GPUs with higher memory bandwidth and shading throughput, which would provide better 4K performance. However, the RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance are sufficient to rank this combo in the 74th percentile.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is significant. The i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, ensure that the GPU is not starved for data at any resolution. The CPU's average benchmark score of 46881, ranking in the 89th percentile versus all CPUs, means that it is not a limiting factor in Evolve. The GPU's average benchmark score of 41187, ranking in the 83rd percentile, is the more likely constraint.

The combo's ranking can be interpreted in the context of the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the system produces frame rates that are competitive with higher-ranked combos, with Ultra settings reaching 110 FPS. At 4K, the system's 60 FPS at High settings is playable, but the 42 FPS at Ultra settings is below what top-ranked combos would likely achieve. The rank of 960 reflects this balance: excellent at lower resolutions, but not at the absolute top tier for 4K gaming.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 3080 Ti's performance in Evolve is consistent with its synthetic benchmark scores. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which is 0.8% lower in average benchmark score, would likely perform slightly worse in Evolve. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB, which is 1.2% higher, might edge out the RTX 3080 Ti in some scenarios, though its older architecture may not support all features. The GeForce RTX 5070, which is 2% lower, would likely perform slightly worse.

Overall, the combo's rank of 960 out of 3700 indicates that it is a strong performer in Evolve, capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, and playable frame rates at 4K. The data shows that the system is well-balanced, with the CPU providing ample headroom and the GPU being the primary factor in determining final performance.