Evolve

# Evolve with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a formidable combination for Evolve, a 2015 FPS title whose engine clearly rewards both high-frequency CPU work and raw GPU throughput. The measured data shows this combo ranks 24th out of 1,695 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.4% of all systems evaluated. This pairing leverages a 16-core, 24-thread Raptor Lake processor with a 5.40 GHz boost clock alongside the AD102-based RTX 4090 with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, producing frame rates that range from a 4K Ultra floor of 62.3 FPS to a 1080p Low ceiling of 370 FPS. The benchmark results reveal a system that can dominate at lower resolutions but faces interesting scaling challenges at 4K, particularly under the heaviest preset.

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

The Core i7-13700K brings substantial processing headroom to Evolve, with 16 physical cores and 24 threads operating from a 3.40 GHz base to a 5.40 GHz boost clock. This architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 257 mm² die, delivers a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39,000 and a single-core score of 5,505, indicating strong performance across both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads. The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4,333 and multithread score of 45,887 further underscore its capability to handle the game's simulation and AI logic without becoming a bottleneck.

The benchmark data shows that Evolve's frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings, which suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 370 FPS, a figure that is unlikely to be constrained by the i7-13700K's computational throughput. The processor's 3DMark scores — 1,136 single-thread and 12,412 max-threads — indicate that even the most demanding game engine tasks are comfortably handled. When compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-13700K sits within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (which is 0.5% higher) and within 0.4% of the Intel Core i9-12900F (which is 0.4% higher), while marginally outperforming the Core i7-13700KF by 0.1%. This tight clustering suggests that Evolve's CPU demands are well within the capabilities of any high-end desktop processor from this era, and the i7-13700K's 30 MB of shared L3 cache plus 2 MB per-core L2 cache provides ample capacity for game data.

The 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with an average benchmark score of 47,282, positions the i7-13700K as a top-tier processor that will not impede frame delivery in Evolve. The presence of UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics is irrelevant for this discrete GPU setup, but the processor's support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory with dual-channel architecture gives system builders flexibility. At 1080p, where CPU overhead is most pronounced, the 224.9 FPS High and 157.1 FPS Ultra results suggest the processor's single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2,850) is more than sufficient for the game's physics and enemy AI calculations.

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

Examining the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 emerges as the standout choice for balancing visual fidelity and frame rate, delivering 190.4 FPS. This represents a 26.9% improvement over High settings at the same resolution (149.9 FPS) while still providing a substantial upgrade over Low (251.7 FPS). For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Low preset at any resolution offers extreme frame rates — 370 FPS at 1080p, 251.7 FPS at 1440p, and 142.9 FPS at 4K — but sacrifices the graphical enhancements that Evolve's environments benefit from.

At 4K, the Medium preset (108.2 FPS) provides a playable experience well above the 60 FPS threshold, whereas High (88.7 FPS) and Ultra (62.3 FPS) push the GPU harder with diminishing returns. The data suggests that Medium represents the sweet spot for 4K gaming, offering a 22.0% frame rate increase over High while maintaining respectable visual quality. At 1080p, however, the Ultra preset at 157.1 FPS is entirely viable for high-refresh-rate displays, and the 224.9 FPS High setting would satisfy even the most demanding esports monitors. The 1440p Ultra result of 107.3 FPS indicates that the RTX 4090 can handle the heaviest settings at this resolution, but the Medium preset's 190.4 FPS offers a more compelling experience for competitive play. For the best overall experience, Medium at 1440p or 4K provides the optimal balance, while High at 1080p is recommended for those with 240 Hz displays.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-13700K compare to its closest rival, the Core i7-13700KF?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47,282, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-13700KF's 47,334. This negligible difference means the two processors perform virtually identically in synthetic benchmarks, with the KF variant lacking integrated graphics but offering the same core configuration.

Q: What is the maximum 4K frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest 4K result is 142.9 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset yields 108.2 FPS, High produces 88.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 62.3 FPS. All four presets remain playable at 4K, though Ultra barely exceeds the 60 FPS baseline.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 251.7 FPS compared to Ultra's 107.3 FPS, representing a 134.6% increase in frame rate. This substantial gap indicates that Evolve's graphical settings have a significant impact on GPU workload.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM ever become a limiting factor in Evolve?

A: There is no evidence of VRAM limitations in the measured data. The game's highest preset at 4K Ultra still achieves 62.3 FPS, and since Evolve is a 2015 title, its texture and geometry requirements are unlikely to stress the 24 GB GDDR6X memory pool with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Evolve?

A: The combination ranks 24th out of 1,695 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.4% of all configurations. This high ranking reflects the exceptional capability of both the CPU and GPU for this title.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system delivers 224.9 FPS at 1080p and 88.7 FPS at 4K, representing a 60.6% reduction in frame rate. This scaling highlights the GPU-bound nature of the game at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 24 out of 1,695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 98.6th percentile of all systems evaluated. This exceptional ranking indicates that this pairing is among the most capable configurations for this game, with only 23 combinations producing higher average frame rates. The rank reflects the cumulative strength of both components: the CPU's 93rd percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 91st percentile among all graphics cards.

Given that Evolve is a 2015 title with relatively modest system requirements by modern standards, the top 1.4% ranking suggests that the primary differentiator among high-end systems is GPU performance at higher resolutions, particularly 4K Ultra where the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is heavily taxed. The CPU's contribution to this ranking is likely more pronounced at 1080p Low, where the 370 FPS result demonstrates the i7-13700K's ability to feed frames at extreme rates. The proximity of the CPU's nearest rivals — all within 0.5% average score difference — indicates that alternative processors in this class would yield similar rankings, while the GPU's nearest rivals (Tesla T4 at -0.4%, Tesla P40 at +0.5%, Radeon Pro Vega 56 at -0.9%) are workstation-class parts not typically used for gaming.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the AD102 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, provides the overwhelming majority of Evolve's rendering horsepower. With 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the GPU delivers a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, ensuring that texture streaming and frame buffer operations never become a bottleneck. The boost clock of 2520 MHz, combined with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores, makes this GPU overkill for a 2015 FPS, but the benchmark results show how this headroom translates to extreme frame rates.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its dominance: a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 317,684 demonstrate exceptional compute capability. At 1080p, the GPU is so powerful that all presets exceed 157 FPS, with Low reaching 370 FPS — likely approaching the engine's internal limits or CPU frame delivery ceiling. At 4K, the GPU's workload becomes more demanding, as evidenced by the Ultra preset's 62.3 FPS, which is 59.4% lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 157.1 FPS. The RTX 4090's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473, places it among the fastest graphics cards ever tested, and its nearest rivals — all within 1.3% — are enterprise compute cards not representative of gaming-focused hardware.

The GPU's 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate substantial power delivery, but the measured frame rates show this thermal headroom is well utilized. The 1,599 USD launch MSRP positions this as a flagship product, and its performance in Evolve justifies that positioning, particularly at 4K where the Medium preset maintains 108.2 FPS.

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

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings yield 370 FPS, Medium delivers 287.5 FPS, High achieves 224.9 FPS, and Ultra settles at 157.1 FPS. The progression from Ultra to Low represents a 135.5% increase in performance, demonstrating that Evolve's settings have a substantial impact on GPU load even at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high but show the expected scaling. Low settings produce 251.7 FPS, Medium delivers 190.4 FPS, High achieves 149.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 107.3 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each preset is consistent: Low falls by 32.0%, Medium by 33.8%, High by 33.3%, and Ultra by 31.7%. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU remains the primary bottleneck across all settings at these resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more moderate but remain playable on all presets. Low settings yield 142.9 FPS, Medium delivers 108.2 FPS, High achieves 88.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 62.3 FPS. The 4K results show a 56.4% reduction from 1440p at Low settings, 43.2% at Medium, 40.8% at High, and 41.9% at Ultra. The smaller percentage drops at higher presets suggest that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated as resolution increases, with the Ultra preset at 4K approaching the limits of what the RTX 4090 can render in this title.

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

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 370 FPS at 1080p to 251.7 FPS at 1440p (a 32.0% reduction) and then to 142.9 FPS at 4K (a 43.2% further reduction from 1440p). The total decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 61.4%, which is close to the theoretical expectation for pixel count scaling (a 4K display has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, which would suggest a 75% reduction if purely pixel-bound). The smaller observed reduction indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU or engine overhead limits frame delivery, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 157.1 FPS at 1080p drops to 107.3 FPS at 1440p (31.7% reduction) and then to 62.3 FPS at 4K (41.9% reduction from 1440p). The total decline of 60.3% from 1080p to 4K at Ultra suggests that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor at all resolutions when settings are maxed. The fact that the percentage drops at each resolution step are similar across presets (roughly 32-34% from 1080p to 1440p, and 41-43% from 1440p to 4K) indicates that the RTX 4090's rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count, while the CPU provides sufficient frame delivery overhead.

The data implies that at 1080p Low, the system is likely hitting a CPU or engine-imposed ceiling around 370 FPS, as the GPU would theoretically have significant headroom to render more frames. This is supported by the 1440p Low result of 251.7 FPS, which suggests the GPU is still not fully saturated at this resolution either. Only at 4K does the GPU become the clear bottleneck, with all presets showing frame rates that align more closely with GPU compute limitations. The 4K Ultra result of 62.3 FPS, while playable, indicates that this 2015 title's most demanding settings can still challenge even the most powerful consumer GPU available, particularly when rendering at 3840x2160 with maximum graphical fidelity.