Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, places unusual demands on a system: it must sustain high frame rates during chaotic monster-vs-hunter battles while also handling the AI-driven wildlife and particle effects. The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combo delivers a playable but stratified experience, with performance varying dramatically based on resolution and preset. The data shows a capable 1080p machine that struggles to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K Ultra, making it a pairing best suited for high-refresh 1080p or balanced 1440p gaming.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. Its configuration includes a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a 28W TDP. The chip features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per core of L2 cache, alongside a 112 KB per-core L1 cache. This hybrid design is built for laptops, but the benchmark results indicate it provides ample headroom for Evolve’s engine, which is primarily GPU-bound at higher settings.

The processor’s raw throughput is respectable, scoring 12,804.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,647.5 in single-core. In PassMark, it achieves a multi-thread score of 21,100 and a single-thread score of 3,399. These numbers place the CPU in the 79th percentile against all tested processors, meaning it outperforms most mainstream chips. Compared to its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27,535 (a -0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-12600K scores 27,578 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X also scores 27,578 (-0.3%). The Core Ultra 5 125H’s average benchmark score is 27,507, which is effectively a dead heat with these desktop-class parts, suggesting the mobile chip does not bottleneck Evolve at any tested resolution.

In practice, this CPU prowess translates to high frame ceilings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 169 FPS average, and at 1080p Medium, it still manages 131 FPS. Even at 1080p High, it sustains 103 FPS. The fact that frame rates drop sharply when moving to Ultra (71 FPS at 1080p) rather than staying flat indicates the GPU, not the CPU, is becoming the limiting factor at higher presets. The CPU’s 18 threads and 4.5 GHz boost are sufficient to feed the RTX 4060 at 1080p, as the performance gap between Low and Medium is only 38 FPS (169 vs 131), while the gap between Medium and High is 28 FPS (131 vs 103), showing a gradual GPU-bound curve rather than a CPU-imposed ceiling.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 169 FPS average, which is exceptionally high and ideal for competitive play or high-refresh displays. However, the Medium preset at 131 FPS (with a minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 151 FPS) offers a far better visual experience while still maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 103 FPS is the sweet spot for most users, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium while remaining fluid. The Ultra preset at 71 FPS is playable but dips close to the lower boundary of what is comfortable for fast-paced FPS action.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low produces 114 FPS, which is excellent, but Medium drops to 88 FPS (75-101 range), and High falls to 69 FPS. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is marginal, bordering on unplayable for a twitch shooter. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 88 FPS is the recommended balance, as it maintains a smooth experience without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. The High preset at 69 FPS is acceptable for slower moments but may feel inconsistent during intense combat sequences.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes constrained. Low yields 65 FPS, Medium drops to 50 FPS (43-58 range), High falls to 39 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 27 FPS. None of these are ideal for a game requiring quick reflexes. The Low preset at 65 FPS is the only viable option for 4K, and even then, it is only marginally above the playable threshold. The data strongly suggests that 1080p High (103 FPS) or 1440p Medium (88 FPS) provides the best overall experience, depending on the user’s display resolution.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Examining the High preset across resolutions reveals a steep scaling curve. At 1080p, the combo averages 103 FPS. Moving to 1440p, it drops to 69 FPS, a 33% reduction. At 4K, it falls to 39 FPS, a 62% reduction from 1080p. This pattern is classic GPU-limited behavior: the RTX 4060’s rendering workload increases exponentially with pixel count, and the CPU becomes less relevant as resolution rises.

The Low preset shows a similar but less severe trend. 1080p Low hits 169 FPS, 1440p Low drops to 114 FPS (-32.5%), and 4K Low falls to 65 FPS (-61.5%). The consistency of these percentage drops—roughly one-third from 1080p to 1440p and another third from 1440p to 4K—confirms the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at all resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rates would plateau or drop more sharply at lower resolutions, but the data shows a smooth, predictable decline tied to pixel count.

The Medium preset provides additional insight. At 1080p, it averages 131 FPS, which is 27% higher than High. At 1440p, Medium hits 88 FPS, and at 4K, it reaches 50 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 50 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS indicates the GPU is barely keeping up, and any increase in scene complexity would cause stuttering. Overall, the scaling analysis shows that the RTX 4060 has enough bandwidth for 1080p and 1440p but is clearly overmatched at 4K, even on Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Evolve, this pairing ranks 1,740th out of 2,872 combos. This places it in the 39th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it is not a low-end setup, it is also far from the top tier. The rank reflects the RTX 4060’s mid-range position and the Core Ultra 5 125H’s mobile pedigree; many desktop combinations with higher-end GPUs will outperform it.

The rank is particularly telling when considering the GPU’s own percentile. The RTX 4060 sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, meaning it is above average but not exceptional. The CPU’s 79th percentile is higher, suggesting the combo’s ranking is dragged down by the GPU. In the context of Evolve, which is a 2015 title, the game’s engine is not particularly demanding by modern standards, but the 4K Ultra result of 27 FPS shows that even older games can stress a mid-range GPU at maximum settings.

The nearest rival GPUs underscore this positioning. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 scores 17,666 in the average benchmark (a -0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17,588 (+0.3%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17,551 (+0.5%). The RTX 4060’s average score is 17,639, meaning it is virtually identical to these older or integrated alternatives in synthetic tests, though its real-world Evolve performance is aided by modern drivers and features. The 1,740th rank out of 2,872 combos suggests that for users prioritizing Evolve, there are many more powerful combinations, but this one remains a balanced mid-pack option.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with memory running at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). With 3,072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, the card is capable of 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

For Evolve, the 8 GB VRAM is sufficient at all tested settings, as the game’s textures are not excessively demanding. The limiting factor is raw pixel throughput. The RTX 4060’s pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s determine how quickly it can fill frames. At 1080p Medium, the card sustains 131 FPS, but at 4K Medium, it drops to 50 FPS, a 61.8% reduction that aligns with the fourfold increase in pixel count. The GPU’s 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this non-ray-traced title, but the standard rasterization performance is what drives the results.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 17,639 places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, which is a solid mid-range showing. Its PassMark G3D score of 19,545 and DirectX 12 score of 76 indicate competent modern API support. The 115W TDP and 300W suggested PSU are modest, reflecting its efficiency. In Evolve, the GPU is the clear performance limiter at 1440p and 4K, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when increasing resolution. At 1080p, it provides headroom for high refresh rates, but users seeking 4K Ultra (27 FPS) will need to significantly lower settings or resolution to achieve playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Evolve?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 169, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 65 FPS. At Medium it drops to 50 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 27 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H compare to its closest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 27,507, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27,535) and Intel Core i5-12600K (27,578), showing a -0.1% to -0.3% delta.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p display?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 yields 88 FPS average (75-101 range), offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset at 69 FPS is also viable.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck this combo in Evolve?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with pixel count increases, while the CPU’s 79th percentile ranking indicates it is not the constraint.

Q: How many test combinations does this setup rank above?

A: It ranks 1,740th out of 2,872 tested combos, meaning it outperforms 1,132 other combinations in the database for Evolve.