Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 asymmetrical FPS, places the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination in an interesting position. The data shows a mobile CPU paired with a desktop-class GPU, creating a pairing where the performance ceiling is often dictated by the processor. This analysis examines the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings to determine where this combo excels and where it falls short.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is telling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 115 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that figure drops to 77 FPS, a 33% reduction. Pushing further to 4K, the average falls to 44 FPS, which is a 43% drop from the 1440p result and a 62% decline from the 1080p baseline. This steep curve indicates that the GPU is being increasingly taxed at higher resolutions, but the initial 1080p to 1440p gap suggests the CPU is also a limiting factor even at lower pixel counts.

The scaling from Low to Medium settings across resolutions reinforces this. At 1080p Low, the system hits 190 FPS, but at 1440p Low it drops to 127 FPS. This 33% reduction is nearly identical to the High-setting drop between the same resolutions. However, at 4K Low, the average is 72 FPS, which is a 43% decline from the 1440p Low result. The pattern shows that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, but the CPU still holds back performance at 1080p where frame rates are high enough to expose its limits.

The Ultra settings results paint a clearer picture of the GPU's workload. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 80 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 31 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it represents the most demanding scenario and shows the RTX 4070 struggling to maintain playability. The gap between High and Ultra at each resolution also widens as resolution increases, indicating that the extra graphical load at higher settings compounds with the pixel count to stress the GPU further.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it carries an 18 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700. Its Passmark multithread score is 22422, with a single-thread score of 3521.

The CPU's performance percentile sits at 81 among all tested processors, placing it in the upper tier. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, which scores 29123 in average benchmark score, a delta of -0.1% relative to this chip. The Intel Core i5-13500HX scores 29270, a -0.6% delta, meaning the Ultra 5 135H is slightly slower than both in aggregate benchmarks. This positions the CPU as capable but not top-tier, and in Evolve, this shows up in the 1080p results.

At 1080p Low, the 190 FPS average suggests the CPU is nearing its limit. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 43 FPS (190 to 147), which is substantial, but the difference between Medium and High is 32 FPS (147 to 115). These gaps are larger than what pure GPU scaling would suggest, indicating that the CPU's single-thread performance is contributing to the frame rate ceiling. The 18 threads and 14 cores help with background tasks and modern game engines, but Evolve's age means it likely doesn't utilize all cores effectively, making the 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.60 GHz boost clock more relevant for achieving high frame rates.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support provide adequate data throughput for the GPU, but the CPU's Passmark physics score of 1482 and find prime numbers score of 89 suggest moderate computational throughput that could bottleneck a powerful GPU in certain scenarios. The data shows that at 1440p, the frame rates drop in a way that suggests the GPU is becoming the primary limiter, but at 1080p, the CPU's influence is still evident.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and its memory operates at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. It comes with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 26927 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 154858. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3854. The GPU's percentile against all GPUs is 81, matching the CPU's percentile. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628 average, 0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507 average, 0.4% delta), meaning the RTX 4070 is slightly faster than those. However, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 38135, a -1.3% delta, indicating the desktop RTX 4070 is slower than that mobile part in aggregate benchmarks.

In Evolve, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient, as the game's highest settings likely use far less. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth helps at higher resolutions where texture data demands increase. The 4K results show the GPU's limits clearly. At 4K High, the 44 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, while 4K Medium hits 56 FPS, and 4K Low reaches 72 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS is barely playable, indicating the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of high pixel count and maximum settings.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are high, but Evolve's engine appears to be more dependent on raw rasterization power than compute features. The 64 ROPs and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for 1440p but struggle at 4K Ultra, where the 31 FPS result shows the pixel fill rate becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1533 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all possible pairings. This middle-of-the-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component percentiles of 81 for both CPU and GPU. The ranking suggests that while each component is individually strong, the combination doesn't synergize as well as other pairings in this specific game, likely due to the CPU's limitations at high frame rates.

The rank of 1533 out of 2872 means there are 1339 combos that perform worse and 1338 that perform better. This positions the Ultra 5 135H + RTX 4070 pairing as a solid mid-range performer for Evolve, not a top-tier combination. The data indicates that the combo is better suited for 1440p gaming than 1080p or 4K, as the 1440p results offer a balance between visual quality and frame rate.

Compared to other combos, this pairing's performance is constrained by the CPU in low-resolution scenarios and by the GPU in high-resolution scenarios. The 1080p Low result of 190 FPS shows the combo can produce high frame rates, but the 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS shows it cannot handle maximum settings at that resolution. The sweet spot appears to be 1440p with High settings, where the 77 FPS average is playable and visually appealing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 190 FPS, Medium drops to 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS and maximum of 169 FPS, High yields 115 FPS, and Ultra falls to 80 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 110 FPS, illustrating the significant impact of graphical settings at this resolution.

The 2560x1440 results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 127 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS with a range of 84 to 113 FPS, High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 54 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 73 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but a similar percentage reduction.

At 3840x2160, the results become more modest. Low settings average 72 FPS, Medium averages 56 FPS with a range of 48 to 65 FPS, High averages 44 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS, showing that at 4K, the settings have a proportionally larger impact on playability. The Medium settings at 4K provide a minimum of 48 FPS, which is the lowest recorded minimum across all resolution and setting combinations, indicating that even mid-range settings can cause frame drops at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p gaming, High settings at 115 FPS provide a smooth experience that takes advantage of the GPU's capabilities without pushing the CPU too hard. Ultra settings at 80 FPS are also viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity, but the 35 FPS drop from High may not be worth the graphical improvement.

At 1440p, High settings at 77 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a good balance between visual quality and performance. Medium settings at 99 FPS could be preferred by competitive players who value higher frame rates, while the 54 FPS at Ultra is borderline playable but may suffer from noticeable frame pacing issues. The data shows that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combo, providing a stable experience that leverages both the CPU's and GPU's strengths.

At 4K, the options are more limited. Low settings at 72 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience, while Medium at 56 FPS is acceptable for less demanding players. High settings at 44 FPS and Ultra at 31 FPS are not recommended for serious gameplay, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold and the 31 FPS Ultra result is particularly problematic. The 4K Medium minimum of 48 FPS indicates that even this setting can have significant frame drops during intense moments.

For players who have a 1440p monitor or are willing to play at that resolution, High settings provide the best overall experience. The 77 FPS average is smooth, and the visual quality is significantly better than Low settings. For 1080p players, High settings are also recommended, as the 115 FPS result provides headroom for any demanding scenes. At 4K, players should accept Low settings to maintain playability, as the visual upgrade from Medium to High is not worth the 12 FPS average drop.