Evolve

Resolution Scaling

Evolve’s performance scaling across resolutions reveals a system that is firmly GPU-bound at higher settings but becomes increasingly CPU-sensitive as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile produces an average of 39 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Ultra raises the average to 68 FPS, a substantial 74% improvement, while 1080p Ultra reaches 101 FPS, another 49% jump. This pattern—where reducing resolution yields massive gains—indicates that at Ultra settings, even at 1080p, the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, though the CPU’s role grows more pronounced at lower resolutions.

The trend is more revealing when examining the Low preset. At 4K Low, the combo averages 92 FPS. At 1440p Low, it jumps to 161 FPS (a 75% increase), and at 1080p Low, it hits 241 FPS (another 50% jump). The fact that the 1080p Low score is nearly 2.6x the 4K Low score suggests that the GPU has significant headroom at lower resolutions, but the scaling is not perfectly linear—a sign that the CPU is starting to impose limits. The Core Ultra 5 135H, with its 14 cores and 18 threads, clearly has enough throughput to feed the RTX 4080 Mobile at 1080p, but the diminishing returns from 1440p to 1080p (161 to 241 FPS) hint that the CPU is approaching its ceiling in this title.

Medium settings offer the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded. At 4K Medium, the average is 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 82. At 1440p Medium, the average climbs to 125 FPS (min 106, max 144), and at 1080p Medium, it reaches 186 FPS (min 158, max 214). The spread between minimum and maximum FPS narrows as resolution drops—from a 22 FPS spread at 4K to a 56 FPS spread at 1080p—indicating that at lower resolutions, frame pacing becomes more variable as the CPU takes on more of the workload. The 1080p Medium minimum of 158 FPS still far exceeds the 4K Medium average, demonstrating that this combo has ample performance for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming.

What this scaling data reveals about the limiting component is clear: the RTX 4080 Mobile is the dominant constraint at 4K and at Ultra settings across all resolutions. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are taxed heavily by Evolve’s higher presets. However, at 1080p Low, the system produces 241 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the CPU—with its 4.60 GHz boost clock and 18 MB of shared L3 cache—is not a significant hindrance at lower settings. The data suggests that for competitive play at high frame rates, this pairing works exceptionally well, but for maximum visual fidelity at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve if I want the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile achieves an average of 241 FPS. This is the highest measured score in the dataset, making it the optimal choice for maximum frame rates.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the average is 56 FPS, which is playable. At 4K Medium, the average is 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, suggesting a smooth experience. However, 4K Ultra drops to 39 FPS, which may feel less fluid.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 68, while at 1440p High, it is 98. This represents a 30 FPS difference, or roughly a 44% performance gain by dropping from Ultra to High. The visual difference may not justify the significant frame rate cost.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured minimum FPS is 158 and the maximum is 214, giving an average of 186 FPS. The spread of 56 FPS indicates some variability, but the minimum is still well above typical high-refresh-rate monitors (e.g., 144 Hz), so gameplay should remain smooth.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The 1080p Low average of 241 FPS is nearly 2.6x the 4K Low average of 92 FPS. While this scaling is strong, it is not perfectly linear, and the 14-core, 18-thread CPU with a 4.60 GHz boost clock is likely approaching its limit around this range, though it still delivers excellent performance.

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

A: The combo ranks 1212 out of 3700 tested combinations, placing it in the top third of all systems benchmarked in this game. This is a solid mid-to-high-tier ranking given the game’s 2015 release date and the demands of higher presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data in Evolve provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience for this hardware pairing. The sweet spot is the Medium preset at 1440p. At this resolution and settings, the combo delivers an average of 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. This ensures that frame rates never drop below 100 FPS, which is critical for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS. The 1440p Medium configuration also offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining performance that exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors.

For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, the High preset at 1440p is the best choice. It produces an average of 98 FPS, which is still highly playable and provides better image quality than Medium. The drop from Ultra to High at 1440p (68 to 98 FPS) is substantial—a 44% improvement—making High the optimal balance between aesthetics and performance. Ultra settings at any resolution are not recommended for serious play: 1080p Ultra averages 101 FPS, but the visual gain over High is minimal while costing 45 FPS compared to High at the same resolution (146 FPS).

At 4K, the recommendation shifts to Medium. The 4K Medium preset averages 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is the minimum threshold for smooth gameplay. Dropping to High at 4K (56 FPS) risks noticeable stutter, while Low (92 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality. For competitive players who prioritize frame rate above all, 1080p Low at 241 FPS is the clear choice, but this should be reserved for esports-style play where every millisecond counts.

The data also shows that the Ultra preset is disproportionately demanding. Across all resolutions, Ultra averages are roughly 30-45% lower than High. This suggests that Evolve’s Ultra settings include effects that are not well-optimized for this GPU architecture, making High the highest recommended preset for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile in Evolve spans three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160 (4K), the performance scales from 39 FPS at Ultra to 92 FPS at Low. The Medium preset at 4K provides the most balanced result: 71 FPS average, with a minimum of 60 and maximum of 82. High at 4K sits between these, averaging 56 FPS. The jump from Ultra to Medium at 4K represents an 82% improvement (39 to 71 FPS), while Medium to Low yields another 30% gain (71 to 92 FPS).

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance profile improves significantly. Low settings produce an average of 161 FPS, while Medium reaches 125 FPS (min 106, max 144). High averages 98 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p at the same settings is consistent: Low improves by 75% (92 to 161 FPS), Medium by 76% (71 to 125 FPS), High by 75% (56 to 98 FPS), and Ultra by 74% (39 to 68 FPS). This uniform scaling across settings confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p, as the relative improvements are nearly identical regardless of preset.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo reaches its peak performance. Low settings deliver 241 FPS, Medium averages 186 FPS (min 158, max 214), High averages 146 FPS, and Ultra averages 101 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is slightly less pronounced than from 4K to 1440p: Low improves by 50% (161 to 241 FPS), Medium by 49% (125 to 186 FPS), High by 49% (98 to 146 FPS), and Ultra by 49% (68 to 101 FPS). This consistent ~50% improvement indicates that the CPU is beginning to exert some influence at 1080p, but the GPU still dominates the performance equation.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most complete dataset with min/max values. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS grows as resolution drops: at 4K Medium, the spread is 22 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 38 FPS; at 1080p Medium, it is 56 FPS. This increasing variability at lower resolutions is typical when the CPU becomes more engaged, as frame-to-frame workloads become less predictable.

How This Combo Ranks

In Evolve, the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile ranks 1212 out of 3700 tested combos. This places the system in the 67th percentile of all configurations benchmarked in this game, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested systems. Given that this is a 2015 title, the ranking reflects both the age of the game and the capabilities of this modern mobile hardware.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 29093 places it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (avg score 29123, delta -0.1%), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (avg score 29245, delta -0.5%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (avg score 28940, delta +0.5%), and Intel Core i5-13500HX (avg score 29270, delta -0.6%). This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 135H is competitive with these desktop-class processors in synthetic benchmarks, though Evolve’s engine may not fully utilize its 14 cores.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 38135 places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (avg score 38299, delta -0.4%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (avg score 38349, delta -0.6%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (avg score 37648, delta +1.3%), and NVIDIA Tesla P4 (avg score 37628, delta +1.3%). The RTX 4080 Mobile’s performance in Evolve is consistent with its synthetic benchmarks, though the game’s age means it may not leverage newer features like ray tracing or DLSS.

The combo’s rank of 1212 out of 3700 suggests that while this is not a top-tier configuration for Evolve, it is far from underpowered. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Medium, the system maintains an average of 186 FPS, which would place it well above the median for most gaming setups. The ranking is likely dragged down by the fact that many tested combos use desktop-class components with higher power limits, whereas this mobile pairing operates within a 28W CPU TDP and 110W GPU TDP.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 7 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 28W TDP. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In Evolve, a game released in 2015, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates, which typically scales with single-thread performance and memory bandwidth.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore score is 11875.5, while single-core is 1700. PassMark multithread score is 22422, with a single-thread score of 3521. These numbers indicate that the Core Ultra 5 135H is well-suited for modern workloads, but Evolve’s engine, which predates the CPU by nearly a decade, may not fully utilize all 14 cores. The game likely relies more heavily on a few high-clock cores, where the 4.60 GHz boost is beneficial.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence becomes apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 241 FPS, which is a 50% improvement over 1440p Low (161 FPS). If the GPU were the sole bottleneck, we would expect a more linear scaling based on pixel count (1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, suggesting a theoretical 78% improvement). The fact that the actual improvement is only 50% indicates that the CPU is limiting performance at 1080p Low. This is consistent with the CPU’s PassMark find prime numbers score of 89, which is relatively low, suggesting that pure integer math throughput may be a constraint in certain game scenarios.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, delivered via dual-channel DDR5, is sufficient for Evolve’s requirements, but the 18 MB L3 cache is shared across all cores. In a game that benefits from high cache locality, this could be a minor limiting factor. However, the CPU’s overall performance in Evolve is strong enough to support high frame rates at 1080p, as evidenced by the 241 FPS Low result. The data suggests that for this pairing, the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at 4K or 1440p, but at 1080p with lower settings, it becomes the limiting component—though still capable of delivering frame rates well above typical monitor refresh rates.