Evolve

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER presents a striking imbalance in Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The data shows a system where the CPU’s immense processing capability—24 cores and 32 threads with a 6.00 GHz boost clock—vastly outstrips the GPU’s graphical throughput. This configuration ranks 1206th out of 1695 tested combos, placing it in the 71st percentile of all system pairings. The benchmark results consistently indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER becomes the limiting factor well before the i9-14900K’s architectural advantages can be fully expressed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a desktop processor built on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, featuring 24 cores and 32 threads. Its base clock of 3.20 GHz can reach a 6.00 GHz boost, which, combined with 36 MB of shared L3 cache, makes it a formidable component for any workload. In Evolve, a game released on 2015-02-09, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, AI, and physics simulations. Given the game’s age, the i9-14900K’s single-thread performance—evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3064—is far beyond what Evolve’s engine can utilize.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities, demonstrated by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a Passmark multithread score of 58674, are similarly overkill for this title. The data indicates that at every resolution and setting combination, the framerate is dictated by the GPU, not the CPU. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 159.4 FPS, which is a high number but still well below what the i9-14900K could theoretically push if paired with a stronger GPU. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 97 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824, underscores its top-tier status, yet in this specific game, that power remains largely untapped.

The nearest rivals to the i9-14900K, such as the AMD EPYC 7413 (0.3% lower average score) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (0.7% higher), show that this CPU sits at the apex of processing power. However, in Evolve, the bottleneck is clearly the RTX 2060 SUPER. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 16462 and its 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs place it as a mid-range performer. Therefore, the CPU’s role in this pairing is to ensure that it never becomes a limiting factor, which it does admirably, but the overall system performance is capped by the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: How does the i9-14900K compare to its closest rivals in raw processing power?

A: The i9-14900K scores an average benchmark score of 79824. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, which is 0.3% higher, while the Intel Core i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 7 265KF score 79245 and 79240 respectively, each 0.7% lower. The Core Ultra 7 265K scores 79102, 0.9% lower.

Q: What is the best framerate this combo can achieve in Evolve?

A: The highest measured average framerate is 159.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The lowest is 29.1 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 SUPER’s memory bandwidth affect performance in Evolve?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Given that performance drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, the memory bandwidth appears sufficient, but the GPU’s raw compute power (7.181 TFLOPS FP32) is the limiting factor.

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

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K + RTX 2060 SUPER combo ranks 1206th out of 1695 total tested combinations. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, indicating that many other pairings deliver higher framerates in this specific title.

Q: Is the i9-14900K’s 125W TDP a factor in gaming performance?

A: The TDP is a thermal design power specification, not a direct performance metric. In Evolve, the CPU’s vast headroom means it rarely operates at full capacity, so the TDP has no measurable impact on the game’s framerate results.

Q: What API features does the RTX 2060 SUPER support that might affect Evolve?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Evolve was released in 2015 and likely uses DirectX 11, so these newer API features do not provide any additional benefit in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured framerates reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of GPU-bound behavior. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system averages 96.6 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 62.9 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. At 3840x2160, the average further plunges to 38.1 FPS, which is a 61% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER is working progressively harder to fill more pixels, and its limitations become glaringly apparent.

The data for Low settings tells a similar story but at higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 159.4 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 106.4 FPS (a 33% decrease), and at 4K, it falls to 63.5 FPS (a 60% decrease from 1080p). The consistent ~35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~60% drop from 1080p to 4K across settings indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as a CPU bottleneck would show less variation with resolution changes.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (159.4 FPS) and Ultra (66.3 FPS) is 93.1 FPS. At 4K, the difference shrinks to 34.4 FPS (63.5 vs 29.1). This compression at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is saturated, and the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes irrelevant. The i9-14900K’s processing power is sufficient to maintain framerates far above what the GPU can render, making the resolution scaling purely a function of the RTX 2060 SUPER’s pixel throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data suggests that the optimal experience balances framerate and visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 96.6 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers 126.6 FPS, a 31% improvement over High, while the Low preset reaches 159.4 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 66.3 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter on 60Hz displays. Therefore, at 1080p, High or Medium settings provide the best experience, with Medium offering a significant framerate boost with minimal visual compromise.

At 2560x1440, the data shows that High settings produce 62.9 FPS, which is just above 60 FPS. Medium settings deliver 83.8 FPS, providing a more comfortable margin for competitive play. Low settings reach 106.4 FPS, while Ultra falls to 45.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it offers a 33% improvement over High while maintaining high visual quality.

At 3840x2160, all presets struggle to maintain high framerates. Low settings average 63.5 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 45.8 FPS and High to 38.1 FPS. Ultra is nearly unplayable at 29.1 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for consistent 60 FPS gameplay. The data indicates that users should prioritize Medium at 1080p and 1440p, and Low at 4K, to achieve the best balance of performance and visual quality from this hardware pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K + RTX 2060 SUPER combo ranks 1206th out of 1695 tested combinations in Evolve. This position in the lower 29th percentile of all combos highlights a significant mismatch. The CPU alone ranks in the 97th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile among all graphics cards. Yet, the combined system performance in this game is dragged down by the GPU’s limitations.

The ranking suggests that many other combinations—likely those with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings—deliver better results in Evolve. For example, a system with a mid-range CPU and a high-end GPU would likely rank higher, as the game’s engine is not designed to leverage 24 cores or 32 threads. The data from the measured FPS table shows that the framerate is consistently GPU-bound, so the i9-14900K’s top-tier benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 49872, Geekbench multi-core of 20370) do not translate into superior gaming performance here.

The combo’s rank of 1206/1695 indicates that while this pairing is capable of running Evolve, it does so inefficiently. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 16462 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (0.3% higher) and RTX 2070 (0.5% higher), but these are older or similarly mid-range cards. The stark contrast between the CPU’s 97th percentile and the combo’s 71st percentile ranking (1206/1695) illustrates that the processor’s power is wasted in this specific workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves the following average framerates: Low at 159.4 FPS, Medium at 126.6 FPS, High at 96.6 FPS, and Ultra at 66.3 FPS. The progression shows a clear 20-30% drop between each successive preset, with the gap from Medium to High being the largest at 30.0 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 106.4 FPS, Medium at 83.8 FPS, High at 62.9 FPS, and Ultra at 45.2 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 20.9 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 17.7 FPS. The 1440p data shows a more linear decline compared to 1080p, suggesting the GPU is approaching its limits.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 63.5 FPS, Medium at 45.8 FPS, High at 38.1 FPS, and Ultra at 29.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 17.7 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 7.7 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9.0 FPS. The compression of differences at 4K indicates the GPU is fully saturated, and even lowering settings has diminishing returns.

The data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER provides playable framerates (above 60 FPS) only at 1080p for all settings except Ultra, and at 1440p for Low and Medium. At 4K, only the Low preset achieves 63.5 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. The i9-14900K’s contribution is consistent across all these measurements, as it never bottlenecks the GPU, but the overall experience is defined by the graphics card’s mid-range capabilities.