Evolve

# Evolve: Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + AMD Radeon RX 580

This combo sits near the bottom of the tested pool for Evolve, ranking 2,614th out of 2,872 measured combinations. That places it in the lower 9% of all tested systems, which is a striking result given the CPU's strong synthetic performance. The data reveals a major imbalance: the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a modern 10-core processor with top-tier compute scores, yet the AMD Radeon RX 580 from 2017 becomes the clear bottleneck in this game. The measured frame rates tell a story of a pairing where the GPU's age limits what would otherwise be a capable gaming platform.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 2,614 out of 2,872 means this system outperforms only 258 other tested combinations in Evolve. That is a bottom-decile placement, and it directly contradicts what the CPU's synthetic benchmarks would suggest. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36,938. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (deltaPct -0.2), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (deltaPct -0.5). These are all strong processors, yet when paired with the RX 580, the gaming result falls far below what those CPU scores imply.

The GPU tells a different story. The AMD Radeon RX 580 sits in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12,928. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (deltaPct -0.4), the AMD Radeon 740M (deltaPct 0.5), and the AMD FirePro W5100 (deltaPct 0.6). This places the RX 580 in the middle of the pack for GPU performance, but Evolve appears to be particularly demanding on the graphics subsystem. The gap between CPU percentile (85th) and GPU percentile (53rd) is the root cause of this low ranking.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the best result is 86 FPS at 1080p Low settings. That is the only frame rate above 60 in the entire dataset. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 36 FPS, which is barely playable. At 4K Ultra, the system manages only 14 FPS. These numbers suggest that the RX 580 is the limiting factor across all resolutions, as the CPU's raw compute power is never the constraint. The ranking reflects this: the combo performs like a mid-range GPU paired with an overqualified CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 brings 10 cores and 10 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This is a 3 nm Arrow Lake-S part from the Core Ultra Series 2, released in January 2025 with a launch MSRP of $246. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache are substantial, and the DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for modern games.

Synthetic benchmarks confirm the CPU's strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 25,891 multi-core and 3,655 single-core. PassMark results show 30,459 for multithread and 4,412 for single-thread. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of desktop CPUs. Its nearest rivals in average score are all within 0.5% of each other, indicating that the Ultra 5 225 is right at the top of its performance tier.

However, the Evolve data shows that this CPU power is largely unused. At 1080p Low, the system hits 86 FPS average, which is the highest measured. At 1080p High, it drops to 52 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect minimal FPS variation across resolutions, as the CPU workload stays roughly constant while the GPU load increases. Instead, we see a clear pattern: FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

The CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads are more than sufficient for Evolve, a 2015 FPS title. The game's engine likely cannot utilize all 10 threads effectively, but even single-thread performance (3,655 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is strong enough to avoid limiting frame rates. The data suggests the Ultra 5 225 is never the constraint, even at 1080p Low where the GPU has the least work to do.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process, with 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1,257 MHz with a boost clock of 1,340 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory operates at 2,000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a TDP of 185 W and requires a 450 W power supply, with a launch MSRP of $229 USD from April 2017.

The RX 580's synthetic scores are modest. In PassMark, it scores 8,813 for G3D and 3,488 for GPU compute. Its DirectX 11 score is 60, while DirectX 12 score is 43, and DirectX 9 score is 124. These numbers place it in the 53rd percentile, which is solidly mid-range. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores nearly identically (deltaPct -0.1), while the GTX 1660 SUPER is slightly ahead (deltaPct -0.4).

In Evolve, the RX 580's performance is the limiting factor at every resolution. At 1080p Low, it achieves 86 FPS, which represents the GPU's maximum output in this game. By 1080p High, the average falls to 52 FPS, a 40% drop from Low. At 1440p Low, it manages 57 FPS, and at 4K Low, only 33 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each resolution increase reduces FPS substantially, indicating the GPU is saturated.

The RX 580's 8 GB VRAM is not the issue, as Evolve from 2015 likely does not require that much memory. Instead, the GPU's raw compute power (6.175 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient for higher settings. The pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are dated by modern standards. The data shows that even at Medium settings, the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1080p, achieving only 66 FPS average with minimums of 56 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Why does this combo rank so low when the CPU is in the 85th percentile?

A: The combo ranks 2,614th out of 2,872 because the GPU is the bottleneck. The RX 580 sits in the 53rd percentile, and in Evolve, its performance limits frame rates at every resolution. The CPU's strong synthetic scores (36,938 average) cannot compensate for the GPU's mid-range capabilities.

Q: What is the best FPS this system can achieve in Evolve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 86, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS in the dataset. All other settings and resolutions produce averages below 66 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score of 12,928 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12,940, deltaPct -0.1) and the GTX 1660 SUPER (12,986, deltaPct -0.4). The AMD Radeon 740M is slightly lower (12,870, deltaPct 0.5), and the FirePro W5100 is also lower (12,847, deltaPct 0.6).

Q: Is the CPU's 10-core configuration beneficial for Evolve?

A: The data suggests it is not a factor. The 10 cores and 10 threads exceed what Evolve's 2015 engine can utilize. The CPU never becomes the limiting component, as evidenced by FPS dropping consistently with resolution increases, which indicates GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 86 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce only 36 FPS average. This represents a 50 FPS drop, or approximately 58% lower performance, when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the RX 580's 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Evolve?

A: No measurable issue appears. The FPS drops from Medium to High to Ultra are consistent with compute limitations rather than memory capacity. At 4K Ultra, the 14 FPS average is far below any VRAM-related threshold, indicating the GPU's processing power is the constraint.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern across resolutions. At Low settings, the system achieves 86 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. That represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 42% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 62% (from 86 to 33 FPS).

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar: 66 FPS at 1080p, 44 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 33%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 43%. At High settings, the numbers are 52 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K, with drops of 33% and 43% respectively. At Ultra, the progression is 36 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K, representing 33% and 42% drops.

This consistent scaling pattern is revealing. The FPS drops by roughly one-third when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another one-third to 40% when moving to 4K. This is exactly what would be expected if the GPU is the limiting factor, as the pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p, and by 225% from 1080p to 4K. The FPS reductions are proportionally smaller than the pixel increases, which suggests the game is not purely fill-rate limited but is also affected by other GPU bottlenecks.

The data strongly indicates that the CPU is not the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions, since the CPU workload is the same regardless of resolution. Instead, the consistent FPS drops with each resolution increase confirm that the RX 580 is the sole performance constraint. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has ample headroom, but the GPU cannot deliver more frames regardless of CPU capability.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target frame rate and resolution. For 1080p gaming, Low settings provide the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 86 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p achieve 66 FPS average with minimums of 56 FPS, which is playable but with occasional dips below 60. High settings at 1080p drop to 52 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

For 1440p, Low settings produce 57 FPS average, which is close to 60 but not quite there. Medium settings at 1440p yield 44 FPS average with minimums of 38 FPS, which is playable for less demanding titles but may feel sluggish for fast-paced FPS gameplay. High settings at 1440p drop to 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS.

At 4K, none of the settings are recommended for competitive play. Low settings achieve 33 FPS average, Medium produces 25 FPS, High yields 20 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 14 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Evolve.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p with Medium settings. This provides 66 FPS average with minimums of 56 FPS and maximums of 76 FPS. It offers a balanced visual quality with playable performance, and the minimum FPS is only 4 frames below 60. For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 86 FPS is the clear choice. For those who want better visuals, 1080p Medium is the highest settings that maintains reasonable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset reveals the complete performance profile across all tested configurations:

At 3840x2160 (4K): Ultra settings average 14 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS. Medium settings average 25 FPS, with minimum of 22 and maximum of 29. Low settings average 33 FPS. None of these are playable for a competitive FPS, and even the best 4K result (33 FPS at Low) is well below acceptable levels.

At 2560x1440 (1440p): Ultra settings average 24 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS. Medium settings average 44 FPS, with minimum of 38 and maximum of 51. Low settings average 57 FPS. The Low setting is the only one near 60 FPS, while Medium offers a playable 44 FPS average.

At 1920x1080 (1080p): Ultra settings average 36 FPS. High settings average 52 FPS. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with minimum of 56 and maximum of 76. Low settings average 86 FPS. This is the only resolution where any setting exceeds 60 FPS, and Low is the only setting that comfortably exceeds it.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only viable resolution for this combo, with Low and Medium settings providing the best balance. The RX 580's performance ceiling in Evolve is approximately 86 FPS at 1080p Low, and every additional setting or resolution increase reduces that number substantially. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has no measurable impact on these results, as the GPU is saturated at all tested configurations.