Evolve

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER presents a fascinating study in system bottlenecking when applied to the 2015 FPS title, Evolve. The combination of a high-end 14th Gen processor with a mid-range Turing-era graphics card creates a scenario where the performance ceiling is almost entirely dictated by the GPU. The measured data across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a consistent pattern: the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting component, and the substantial headroom provided by the i7-14700K goes largely untapped in this particular title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate behavior from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this pairing. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 122.7 FPS, which is a strong indicator of the CPU's ability to feed frames quickly. However, as resolution increases, the pixel throughput demand on the GTX 1660 SUPER grows exponentially. Moving to 2560x1440 on the same Low preset drops the average to 82.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 33%. The jump to 3840x2160 at Low settings further crushes performance to 46.8 FPS, which is a 62% decline from the 1080p figure.

This steep scaling curve is the signature of a GPU that is saturated. The i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is not the variable here; the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits. The data suggests that at 1080p, the system can maintain high framerates, but the playability drops off a cliff as resolution climbs. The difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings is particularly telling: 50.3 FPS versus 32 FPS. This 36% performance hit for a 2.25x increase in pixel count shows that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are the primary constraint, not the processor's ability to issue draw calls.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is an exceptionally powerful processor, scoring in the 96th percentile among all CPUs in the database. Its benchmark results, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2932, underscore its dominance. However, in Evolve, the CPU's role is largely relegated to maintaining a sufficient frame delivery rate so that the GPU never has to wait. The data implies that even at 1080p Low, where the average FPS is 122.7, the i7-14700K is not the bottleneck.

To understand the potential headroom, one can look at the CPU's nearest rivals. The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, a negligible 0% delta from the i7-14700K's 70074. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420, a minus 0.5% difference, and the AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69887, a 0.3% delta. These scores are all within a hair of each other, suggesting that swapping the i7-14700K for any of these would yield identical results in Evolve, as the GPU would remain the limiting factor. The CPU's 125 W TDP and 5.60 GHz boost clock are more than adequate for this game's engine, which was released in 2015 and is unlikely to leverage all 28 threads effectively. The processor's high single-thread performance is what matters most here, and it delivers it in spades.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K bottlenecking the GTX 1660 SUPER in Evolve?

A: No. The benchmark results indicate the opposite. At 1080p Low, the system produces 122.7 FPS, but this drops to 46.8 FPS at 4K Low. This severe frame rate decline with increasing resolution is a classic symptom of a GPU bottleneck, where the processor has ample headroom.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 50.3 FPS. This is a playable level for many, but it is significantly lower than the 74.1 FPS achieved at 1080p High, demonstrating the performance cost of moving to a higher resolution.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combination can achieve?

A: The highest measured average is 122.7 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is the only configuration in the data that exceeds the 120 FPS mark.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: The data shows it struggles. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is just 21.2 FPS, which is not smooth. Even at 4K Low, the average is 46.8 FPS, which is borderline. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth are insufficient for a consistent 4K experience in this title.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14314, a delta of -0.2%. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics scores 14315 (-0.2%) and the AMD Radeon Vega 11 scores 14352 (-0.5%). These are all statistically tied in raw compute, but the measured FPS in Evolve is what defines the real-world experience.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 122.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 52.8 FPS. This represents a 57% reduction in frame rate, showing the massive performance impact of the Ultra preset's visual effects on the GTX 1660 SUPER.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset of measured average frame rates for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER in Evolve is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset delivers an average of 122.7 FPS, making it the fastest configuration tested. The Medium preset follows with 95.3 FPS, High with 74.1 FPS, and Ultra with 52.8 FPS. This scaling shows a clear linear decline as visual fidelity increases.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 82.1 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 61.9 FPS, High reaches 50.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 34 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra widens here, from a 57% difference at 1080p to a 59% difference at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily strained. The Low preset manages 46.8 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to 38.9 FPS. The High preset is nearly unplayable at 32 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 21.2 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, it is not a high-refresh-rate experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of all tested combos for Evolve, this pairing of an Intel Core i7-14700K and GTX 1660 SUPER ranks at 1503 out of 1695 combinations. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested. This low ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The processor, in contrast, is in the 96th percentile. The data suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier part, the GPU holds the entire system back in this specific game, resulting in a lower overall standing than the processor alone would suggest.

The rank is a reflection of the system's absolute performance, and it is clear that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the limiting factor. The graphics card's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT, have a similar average benchmark score (14389, a -0.7% delta), indicating that any of these GPUs would likely result in a similar rank. The data implies that this combo is not designed for high-end gaming at high resolutions, but rather for 1080p gaming at medium to high settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this system is found at 1920x1080 with the High settings preset, which yields an average of 74.1 FPS. This provides a good balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. While the Low preset offers a much higher 122.7 FPS, the visual downgrade is substantial. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 52.8 FPS, is playable but may dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes, making High the safer choice for consistency.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Low preset at 82.1 FPS is the only option that provides a high-refresh-rate experience. The Medium preset at 61.9 FPS is acceptable, but the High preset at 50.3 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are less ideal for fast-paced FPS action. The data suggests that 1440p gaming is possible, but it requires compromising on visual settings to maintain fluidity. 4K gaming is not recommended, as even the Low preset at 46.8 FPS is not smooth enough for a competitive FPS title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU's base clock of 1530 MHz and boost clock of 1785 MHz are standard for this segment, but the 1408 shading units are simply not enough to handle the pixel load of 4K Ultra in Evolve, as evidenced by the 21.2 FPS result.

The performance data shows that the GPU is most comfortable at 1080p, where it can leverage its memory bandwidth effectively. The difference between the 1080p Low (122.7 FPS) and 4K Low (46.8 FPS) scores is a direct result of the GPU's fillrate limitations. The card's 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate are the physical constraints. The GPU is ranked in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics. While these rivals have similar synthetic scores, the measured FPS in Evolve confirms that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a capable 1080p card that struggles beyond that resolution. The 125 W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector indicate a modest power draw, but the performance ceiling is firmly set by its TU116 chip's compute capabilities.