Evolve

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an extreme performance profile in Evolve, a game from 2015 that is clearly not stressing this modern flagship hardware at most settings. The data shows a system that is massively overqualified for the title, with frame rates that remain exceptionally high even at 4K resolution. This combination ranks in the top tier of all tested configurations, confirming its status as a high-end enthusiast setup, though the results reveal that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions while the CPU has ample headroom to spare.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K in Evolve follows a predictable pattern, but the absolute numbers are remarkable. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 373 at 1920x1080 to 247.7 at 2560x1440, and further down to 144.9 at 3840x2160. This represents a performance reduction of roughly 33.6% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 41.5% drop when stepping up to 4K. The scaling is steep, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases.

At Ultra settings, the pattern shifts slightly. The average FPS goes from 154.1 at 1080p to 104.7 at 1440p, a 32.1% decrease, and then down to 60.8 at 4K, another 41.9% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets suggests that resolution is the dominant factor in performance scaling, rather than the complexity of the scene or the specific settings applied. The RTX 4090 has enough raw power to keep frame rates playable even at 4K Ultra, but the data clearly shows that Evolve becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises.

The limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K. At 1080p Low, the 373 FPS average is so high that it likely approaches the point where even the i9-14900K’s strong single-thread performance becomes a factor, but the CPU is clearly not the primary constraint. At 4K Ultra, the 60.8 FPS average is well within the GPU’s capabilities, but the sheer pixel count is what drives the performance down. The data indicates that this combo is overkill for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Evolve, with the GPU becoming the clear limiting component only at 4K with higher quality settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the centerpiece of this configuration, and its specifications explain why it handles Evolve so effortlessly. The card features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This massive memory pool is far more than Evolve requires, but it ensures that texture loading and memory bandwidth are never bottlenecks, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, delivers the kind of raw compute performance that makes short work of a 2015 title.

The RTX 4090’s memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, or 21 Gbps effective, which is more than sufficient for the game’s demands. Its shading units number 16,384, with 512 TMUs and 176 ROPs, giving it a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. These figures are far beyond anything Evolve can throw at them, which is why the frame rates remain so high across all tested configurations. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is another indicator of its overwhelming capability in this context.

The measured FPS data supports the notion that the RTX 4090 is never the limiting factor until 4K with the highest settings. At 1080p Low, the 373 FPS average confirms the GPU’s ability to push frames with minimal graphical load. At 4K Ultra, the 60.8 FPS average is still perfectly playable, but the drop from the 144.9 FPS at 4K Low shows that the GPU is working harder as settings increase. The card’s 450 W TDP and triple-slot design are the price of this performance, but for a game like Evolve, the RTX 4090 is running well within its comfort zone.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 26 out of 1695 tested configurations. This places it in the 98.5th percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of systems in Evolve. The rank is impressive, but it is not the absolute top, which suggests that there are a few other combinations that manage slightly higher frame rates in this specific game.

The CPU itself, when considered on its own merits, sits at the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,824. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7413, which scores 80,041 and is 0.3% higher, and the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which scores 79,245 and is 0.7% lower. The i9-14900K is also closely matched by the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and 265K, which are 0.7% and 0.9% below, respectively. These tiny deltas indicate that the CPU is performing at the very top of its class, but the ranking in Evolve is more likely determined by the GPU’s frame delivery.

The GPU, meanwhile, ranks at the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473. Its nearest rivals are a mix of professional and workstation cards, such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 at 66,733 (0.4% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 67,097 (0.9% higher). The fact that the RTX 4090 is ranked alongside these specialized cards, rather than consumer gaming GPUs, underscores its position as a top-tier performer. The combo’s rank of 26 out of 1695 is a strong result, but the data indicates that both components have headroom to perform even better in more demanding titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS is 373 at Low settings, 290.8 at Medium, 228.1 at High, and 154.1 at Ultra. These numbers are extraordinarily high, with even the Ultra preset delivering over 150 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, with a 58.7% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings. This suggests that Evolve’s graphical options have a significant impact on performance, but the RTX 4090 has enough power to keep everything smooth.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 247.7 at Low, 192.6 at Medium, 148.3 at High, and 104.7 at Ultra. The pattern remains consistent, with the drop from Low to Ultra being 57.7%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. The 1440p Ultra result of 104.7 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS target that most gamers consider the baseline for smooth gameplay, showing that this combo can handle high refresh rate 1440p gaming without breaking a sweat.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 144.9 at Low, 109.5 at Medium, 85.3 at High, and 60.8 at Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the 100 FPS mark, but 60.8 FPS is still perfectly playable. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 58%, which aligns with the scaling seen at other resolutions. The data shows that even at 4K with the highest settings, this combo maintains a playable frame rate, but the margin for error is thinner, and the GPU is clearly being pushed harder.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Evolve with this combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Ultra settings delivers an average of 104.7 FPS, which balances visual quality with high frame rates. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average drops to 60.8 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth.

Q: How does the i9-14900K compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79,824, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7413 and 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900KF. It is also 0.7% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and 0.9% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the limiting factor in this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates are extremely high. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 60.8 suggests the GPU is being pushed, but it still delivers playable performance.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 26th out of 1695 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the top 2% of all systems.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 373 at 1080p to 144.9 at 4K, a 61.1% reduction. At Ultra settings, it drops from 154.1 to 60.8, a 60.5% reduction.

Q: Does this CPU have enough cores for Evolve?

A: The i9-14900K has 24 cores and 32 threads, which is far more than Evolve requires. The game is not heavily multithreaded, so the CPU’s high single-thread performance is more relevant than its core count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.20 GHz, with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, making it one of the fastest consumer CPUs available. The CPU has a 36 MB shared L3 cache, along with 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This large cache hierarchy is designed to reduce memory latency, which can benefit gaming performance in scenarios where the CPU is tasked with feeding the GPU.

In Evolve, the CPU’s role is less critical than the GPU’s, as the game is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 373, which is so high that the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes a potential limiting factor. The i9-14900K scores 7,040 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,697 in Passmark single-thread, both of which are excellent scores that indicate strong per-core performance. This ensures that even at 1080p with low settings, the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s frame output.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49,872 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,370. However, these scores are less relevant for Evolve, which is not heavily threaded. The CPU’s TDP of 125 W and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile choice, but the data shows that in this game, the i9-14900K is not the bottleneck. Instead, it provides a solid foundation that allows the RTX 4090 to perform at its best, with the CPU’s high clock speeds ensuring that frame pacing remains consistent.