Evolve

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 form a pairing that delivers a wide spectrum of performance in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The data shows that the combination is capable of extreme frame rates at lower resolutions, while higher settings and resolutions reveal the GPU as the primary bottleneck. The measured results provide a clear picture of how this specific hardware configuration handles the game across its four quality presets and three common resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It carries a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache. In Evolve, a title released in 2015, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage physics, AI, and game logic. The benchmark results indicate that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 347 FPS, a figure that is almost certainly limited by the CPU’s single-thread throughput rather than the GPU. The i7-14700K’s single-core performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160 and its Geekbench single-core score of 2569. However, the game’s engine, designed for a era of lower core counts, likely does not fully utilize the 28 threads available. The 125 W TDP and the 5.60 GHz boost clock suggest that the CPU can sustain high frequencies for gaming workloads, but the diminishing returns from 1080p Low to 1080p Medium (a drop from 347 FPS to 269 FPS) hint that the GPU is already beginning to take over as the limiting factor even at the lowest settings. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking against all CPUs underscores its capability, but in Evolve, its main job is to stay out of the way, which it does admirably until the resolution climbs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the High preset offers the most balanced experience for this combo. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 211, which is well above the typical 144 Hz monitor refresh rate. At 1440p High, the average drops to 142 FPS, still comfortably above 120 FPS. Even at 4K High, the combo delivers 81 FPS, which is smooth on a 60 Hz or 75 Hz display. The Ultra preset, however, introduces a significant performance penalty. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 56, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for many users. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 98 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 146 FPS. While Ultra provides the highest visual fidelity, the 4K result is borderline for a smooth experience. The Medium preset is a viable alternative for those seeking higher frame rates, especially at 4K where it averages 103 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 118 FPS. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates, sacrifices visual quality that may not be necessary given the hardware’s capability. For a 1440p 144 Hz monitor, the High preset is the sweet spot, offering a 142 FPS average that matches the refresh rate closely. For 4K, High is the recommended preset, as the 81 FPS average is smooth and the visual uplift over Medium is substantial. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p users who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate, as the 146 FPS average is still high.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the classic transition from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior. At Low settings, the combo achieves 347 FPS at 1080p, 233 FPS at 1440p, and 133 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 32.9% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 42.9%. This indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is still a significant factor at 1080p, but the GPU becomes the dominant limiter as resolution increases. At High settings, the scaling is more linear: 1080p High yields 211 FPS, 1440p High yields 142 FPS (a 32.7% drop), and 4K High yields 81 FPS (a 42.9% drop from 1440p). The pattern is consistent across all presets, suggesting that the RTX 5080’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed by the higher pixel counts. The 4K Ultra result of 56 FPS is the lowest measured, and it represents a 61.6% drop from the 1080p Ultra result of 146 FPS. This steep decline confirms that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K Ultra, as the CPU’s performance headroom is largely irrelevant when the GPU is struggling to render the scene. The 4K Medium result of 103 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS, shows that the combo can still deliver a smooth experience at 4K if settings are moderated. The data demonstrates that the RTX 5080 is the bottleneck at 4K, while the i7-14700K is the bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the 347 FPS figure is likely a CPU cap.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3700 tested combos in Evolve, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 177th. This places it in the top 4.8% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a high-end desktop combination. The CPU itself ranks in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 87th percentile against all GPUs, so the combo’s rank is consistent with the individual hardware strengths. The nearest rivals to the CPU in overall benchmark average are the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.7% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.9% behind). The GPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Radeon 8060S (0.6% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.7% ahead), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (2.3% ahead), and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (2.2% behind). The 177th rank out of 3700 combos indicates that while this is a very fast setup, there are 176 other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in Evolve. This is likely due to the fact that the game is older and may favor different CPU architectures or GPU configurations. The combo’s rank is still excellent, and the measured FPS data confirms that it can handle the game at high settings across all resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, is the primary driver of visual performance in Evolve. It features 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operations pipelines. The GPU has 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, though Evolve does not support ray tracing or DLSS, so these features are unused. The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game’s textures. The boost clock of 2617 MHz and the base clock of 2295 MHz allow the GPU to sustain high throughput. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 5080 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, where the average FPS drops to 56 on Ultra and 81 on High. The 4K Medium result of 103 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS, demonstrates that the GPU can handle 4K if settings are reduced. At 1080p, the GPU is less stressed, with 347 FPS on Low and 211 FPS on High. The GPU’s 87th percentile ranking against all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 56083 place it in the high-end tier. The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon 8060S, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Evolve, as the game’s textures are from 2015 and do not require large amounts of video memory. The GPU’s role in this combo is to provide high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p, and to deliver a playable experience at 4K with settings adjustments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 347 FPS, with no minimum or maximum provided. The Medium preset averages 269 FPS, with a minimum of 229 FPS and a maximum of 310 FPS. The High preset averages 211 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. The Ultra preset averages 146 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. The spread from Low to Ultra is 201 FPS, indicating that the GPU is heavily underutilized at Low settings and only moderately taxed at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high. The Low preset averages 233 FPS, the Medium preset averages 181 FPS with a minimum of 153 FPS and a maximum of 208 FPS, the High preset averages 142 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. The 1440p results show a clear step down from 1080p, but all presets except Ultra remain above 140 FPS. At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly. The Low preset averages 133 FPS, the Medium preset averages 103 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 118 FPS, the High preset averages 81 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, making it the only preset that is not consistently smooth. The 4K Medium result, with a minimum of 87 FPS, is the most consistent 4K option for a smooth experience. The data shows that the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across all presets, while 4K requires careful settings selection to maintain 60 FPS or higher.