Evolve

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 lands at rank 72 out of 1,695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it comfortably in the top 4.3% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a 2024 CPU paired with a 2025 GPU, and the data suggests the combination is well-balanced for this 2015 FPS title.

The CPU itself sits at the 94th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54,097. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54,450, a 0.6% deficit), the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54,681, a 1.1% deficit), and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53,469, a 1.2% advantage). These margins are tight — within 2% either way — which indicates the i7-14700F is delivering performance right at the top tier of desktop CPUs.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080 posts an average benchmark score of 59,188 and sits at the 89th percentile among all graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc A570M (58,239, a 1.6% advantage), the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, a 1.9% deficit), and the Intel Arc A580 (57,756, a 2.5% advantage). The RTX 5080's lead over these Intel parts is modest in synthetic tests, but the measured in-game frames tell a more nuanced story.

The combo rank of 72 suggests that while this hardware is exceptional, there are 71 other combinations that score higher in Evolve specifically. Given that Evolve launched in 2015, the game's engine may favor certain architectural traits that don't align perfectly with this modern pairing. Still, the data shows this is a top-tier setup — one that should handle the game's demands without breaking a sweat in most scenarios.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across settings presets, and the optimal choice depends heavily on your target resolution and refresh rate.

At 1080p, even the Ultra preset delivers 149.3 FPS, which is above the 144Hz threshold that many competitive players target. The Medium preset jumps to 273 FPS, and Low reaches 352.5 FPS. If you're chasing maximum frame rates for a high-refresh monitor, Low at 1080p is the clear winner. However, the gap between Medium (273 FPS) and High (218 FPS) is only 55 FPS, suggesting that High offers a reasonable balance of visual quality and speed at this resolution.

At 1440p, the story shifts. High produces 144.5 FPS, just barely clearing 144Hz, while Medium hits 181.4 FPS and Low reaches 239.2 FPS. Ultra drops to 100.9 FPS, which is still playable but below high-refresh territory. For 1440p users, Medium appears to be the sweet spot — it offers a 36.9 FPS advantage over High while maintaining solid visual fidelity.

At 4K, the data becomes more demanding. High delivers 82.4 FPS, Medium hits 103.7 FPS, and Low reaches 134.8 FPS. Ultra falls to 54.4 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Here, Medium is the recommended preset — it provides the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, staying above 100 FPS while avoiding the substantial drop to High's 82.4 FPS.

The overall recommendation: Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all three resolutions, never falling below 103.7 FPS and reaching as high as 273 FPS at 1080p. High is viable for 1440p and 4K, but Ultra should be avoided unless you're willing to accept sub-60 FPS at 4K.

# GPU Role

The RTX 5080's specifications directly explain its performance in Evolve. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is more than sufficient for a game from 2015, which was designed around much smaller memory footprints. The generous memory capacity means Evolve's textures and assets are unlikely to hit any VRAM ceiling, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Clock speeds are notably high: the base clock runs at 2,295 MHz with a boost of 2,617 MHz, while memory operates at 1,875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). These clocks contribute to the GPU's raw compute power — 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 performance from 10,752 shading units. The 112 ROPs and 336 TMUs handle pixel and texture throughput at 293.1 GPixel/s and 879.3 GTexel/s respectively.

The benchmark data shows the RTX 5080 achieving a Passmark G3D score of 36,565 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637. The OpenCL score of 264,461 and Vulkan score of 257,942 indicate strong compute and API-level performance. In Evolve, the GPU's role becomes evident in the resolution scaling — as resolution increases, the frame rate drops proportionally, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The RTX 5080's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of graphics cards in the database. Yet the measured FPS in Evolve shows that even this powerful GPU can be brought to its knees by Ultra settings at 4K, where it manages only 54.4 FPS.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive look at how this combo performs across three resolutions and four quality presets.

1080p:

• Low: 352.5 FPS
• Medium: 273 FPS
• High: 218 FPS
• Ultra: 149.3 FPS

1440p:

• Low: 239.2 FPS
• Medium: 181.4 FPS
• High: 144.5 FPS
• Ultra: 100.9 FPS

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 134.8 FPS
• Medium: 103.7 FPS
• High: 82.4 FPS
• Ultra: 54.4 FPS

The pattern is consistent: each step up in settings costs approximately 20-30% performance. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium costs 79.5 FPS, Medium to High costs 55 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 68.7 FPS. At 1440p, the corresponding drops are 57.8 FPS, 36.9 FPS, and 43.6 FPS. At 4K, the drops are 31.1 FPS, 21.3 FPS, and 28 FPS.

The absolute frame rates are remarkable. Even at 4K Low, the combo delivers 134.8 FPS, which exceeds what most systems achieve at 1080p. The 1080p Low result of 352.5 FPS is exceptional, though it also suggests that the CPU is becoming the limiting factor at this resolution — the GPU is capable of more, but the i7-14700F's frame delivery caps out around that level.

# FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium, the combo delivers 103.7 FPS, which is smooth. High drops to 82.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 54.4 FPS. For consistent 60+ FPS at 4K, Medium or High settings are recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59,188. It is 1.6% ahead of the Intel Arc A570M (58,239), 2.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A580 (57,756), and 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (57,661). It trails the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326) by 1.9%.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 144Hz gaming?

A: At 1080p, all presets exceed 144 FPS, including Ultra at 149.3 FPS. At 1440p, Medium (181.4 FPS) and Low (239.2 FPS) clear 144Hz, while High (144.5 FPS) just barely makes it. At 4K, only Low (134.8 FPS) approaches 144Hz but doesn't reach it.

Q: How does the i7-14700F perform in multi-core workloads?

A: The CPU scores 35,443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 14,886 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. In Passmark multithread, it scores 41,765. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, edges it out by 0.6% in average benchmark score.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM make a difference in Evolve?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is far more than Evolve requires. The game launched in 2015, so it was designed for much smaller memory pools. This capacity ensures no VRAM-related stuttering, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What is the single-thread performance of the i7-14700F?

A: The CPU scores 5,003 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2,101 in Cinebench R20 single-core. In Passmark single-thread, it scores 4,261. This strong single-thread performance is crucial for older games like Evolve that may not scale well across many cores.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings substantial processing power to this pairing. With 20 cores and 28 threads, it offers a blend of performance and efficiency cores that can handle both modern multi-threaded workloads and older games like Evolve.

The CPU's architecture is Raptor Lake, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, providing a wide dynamic range. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache configuration is ample for a 2015 game, which typically demands far less data locality than modern titles.

The i7-14700F's benchmark results confirm its strength. It scores 35,443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,003 in single-core. The Geekbench scores are 16,571 multi-core and 2,711 single-core. Passmark results show 41,765 in multithread and 4,261 in single-thread. The CPU sits at the 94th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54,097.

In Evolve, the CPU's role becomes most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 352.5 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame delivery limit. The 239.2 FPS at 1440p Low and 134.8 FPS at 4K Low suggest that the CPU is still keeping pace with the GPU's output. The 1.2% advantage over the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 and 1.7% over the AMD EPYC 7313P indicates this is a top-tier consumer CPU.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by approximately 32-36% across all settings. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is more severe, ranging from 43-46%. This increasing rate of decline indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the combo hits 352.5 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces this to 239.2 FPS (a 32.1% decrease), and 4K Low further reduces it to 134.8 FPS (a 43.6% decrease from 1440p). The pattern is similar for Medium: 273 FPS at 1080p, 181.4 FPS at 1440p (33.6% drop), and 103.7 FPS at 4K (42.8% drop).

The scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the i7-14700F is partially limiting performance — the GPU could render more frames if the CPU could feed it faster. At 1440p, the balance shifts toward the GPU, and at 4K, the RTX 5080 is clearly the bottleneck. This is typical behavior for high-end GPUs paired with strong CPUs: the lower the resolution, the more the CPU matters.

The data also shows that the settings preset affects scaling. At Ultra, the drop from 1080p (149.3 FPS) to 1440p (100.9 FPS) is 32.4%, and from 1440p to 4K (54.4 FPS) is 46.1%. This suggests that the most demanding settings amplify the GPU's role, making resolution scaling more pronounced. For players targeting 4K, the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are put to good use, but the frame rates still fall below what competitive players might prefer.