Evolve

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT pairing delivers a playable experience in Evolve, but the data reveals a combination that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings to maintain smooth frame rates. The benchmark results show a clear narrative: at 1080p, the system excels, but 4K Ultra pushes it to the edge of playability. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and ranking data to provide a complete picture.

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

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture and the 3 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, which can boost up to 4.90 GHz. This desktop part, released on 2025-01-06, has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory via a dual-channel bus with 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The L3 cache is 20 MB shared, with 3 MB of L2 cache per core and 192 KB of L1 cache per core.

In the context of Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, this CPU has substantial headroom. The game's workload is not expected to be thread-heavy by modern standards, and the Ultra 5 225’s high boost clock of 4.90 GHz is well-suited for the single-threaded performance that older game engines often favor. The benchmark data supports this interpretation: the processor scores 3655 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4412 in Passmark single-thread tests. These scores place the CPU in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong overall capability.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 5 225 performs nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has an average score of 36945, a delta of 0%. It is also essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (delta of -0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (delta of -0.4%). This suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the Ultra 5 225 will not be the limiting factor in Evolve, as its performance profile is statistically indistinguishable from its direct competitors. The CPU’s 10 threads are more than sufficient for the game's logic, AI, and physics, allowing the system to rely on the GPU for rendering performance.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the primary rendering component here. It is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and the Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process. The GPU has a base clock of 1968 MHz, a game clock of 2359 MHz, and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a peak FP32 throughput of 10.60 TFLOPS.

For Evolve, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. At higher resolutions and setting presets, texture data and geometry can consume significant memory. The measured FPS data shows a steep decline as resolution scales, which is typical for a GPU with this memory configuration. The GPU’s performance percentile is 70, and its average benchmark score is 24442, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (delta of 0.7%), the Intel Arc A350M (delta of -0.8%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (delta of 0.8%). The most interesting rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which has an average score of 24170, a delta of 1.1%, meaning the RX 6600 XT is actually slightly ahead in these aggregate benchmarks, despite being from a lower tier. This suggests the RX 6600 XT provides solid rasterization performance for its class, but the data indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K in Evolve, where frame rates drop to the 26-61 range depending on settings.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938. This makes it statistically tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2% delta). It is also within 0.5% of the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112).

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a smooth 60+ FPS experience?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, all settings presets achieve an average FPS above 60. Even the most demanding Ultra preset averages 67 FPS. At 1440p, the Low and Medium presets stay above 60 FPS, but High drops to 65 FPS and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset averages above 60 FPS.

*Q: Is this combo more limited by the CPU or the GPU in Evolve?*

A: The GPU is the primary limiting component, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU has a high single-core score (3655 in Cinebench R23) and is ranked in the 85th percentile, indicating it is not a bottleneck. The GPU's performance percentile is only 70, and the measured FPS drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: What are the FPS numbers for the 1440p Medium preset?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average FPS of 83, with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96.

*Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Evolve?*

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured data shows playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra preset averages only 26 FPS. This indicates that the 8 GB capacity and memory bandwidth are sufficient for lower resolutions, but the GPU's compute power is strained at 4K, rather than VRAM alone being the issue.

*Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested system configurations for Evolve?*

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 2044 out of 2872 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum, suggesting that many other configurations will deliver higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The data indicates that this CPU+GPU pairing ranks 2044th out of 2872 total tested combinations for Evolve. This places it in the 29th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that roughly 71% of tested configurations are faster. This ranking is influenced by the RX 6600 XT’s position in the GPU hierarchy, which is only in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. While the CPU is in the 85th percentile, the GPU drags the overall combo rank down.

This rank is logical given the measured FPS data. While the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, its performance at 1440p and 4K is more modest. The ranking suggests that users with this hardware should target 1080p for the most consistent experience, as the system is not positioned to compete with high-end configurations at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is close to its rivals, but the GPU’s aggregate benchmark score (24442) is similar to the RTX 2080 SUPER (24170), indicating a mid-range graphics solution that defines the system's overall standing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This pattern is critical for understanding the balance between the CPU and GPU.

At 1080p, the system is likely not fully GPU-bound. The average FPS for the High preset is 97, and for Low it jumps to 160. This high frame rate ceiling suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately. Moving to 1440p, the High preset drops to 65 FPS, and the Low preset drops to 107 FPS. This is a significant reduction, indicating that the GPU is starting to work harder.

The most dramatic drop occurs at 4K. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages only 37 FPS, and the Low preset averages 61 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to a very low 26 FPS. This steep decline from 160 FPS at 1080p Low to 61 FPS at 4K Low shows that the RX 6600 XT is the decisive limiting factor at higher resolutions. The pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are insufficient to maintain the same frame rate. This scaling behavior confirms that while the CPU has headroom, the GPU is the component that determines playability at 1440p and 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data points are the exact measured results for this combo in Evolve.

1920x1080

• Ultra: Average FPS 67.
• High: Average FPS 97.
• Medium: Average FPS 124, with a minimum of 105 and a maximum of 143.
• Low: Average FPS 160.

2560x1440

• Ultra: Average FPS 45.
• High: Average FPS 65.
• Medium: Average FPS 83, with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96.
• Low: Average FPS 107.

3840x2160

• Ultra: Average FPS 26.
• High: Average FPS 37.
• Medium: Average FPS 47, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54.
• Low: Average FPS 61.

These numbers illustrate the performance envelope of the hardware. The 1080p Medium preset provides a high average of 124 FPS with only a 105 FPS minimum, indicating a very stable experience. The 1440p Medium preset is also solid, averaging 83 FPS. The 4K results are the weakest, with every preset failing to reach 60 FPS on average except for Low, which just hits 61 FPS. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 40 FPS, which could lead to noticeable stutters in a fast-paced FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the user's target resolution and preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset is viable, averaging 67 FPS. This offers the best visual quality while staying above the 60 FPS threshold. However, for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the High preset at 97 FPS or the Medium preset at 124 FPS are excellent choices, providing a significant boost in smoothness. The Low preset at 160 FPS is available for maximum performance but sacrifices visual detail.

For 1440p, the High preset is the highest setting that maintains a playable average frame rate of 65 FPS. The Medium preset is the recommended sweet spot, delivering 83 FPS on average with a minimum of 71 FPS, which ensures a fluid experience without major dips. The Ultra preset at 45 FPS is likely too inconsistent for a competitive FPS title.

For 4K, the data strongly suggests that this combo is not suited for high or ultra settings. The Low preset averages 61 FPS, which is barely playable, but the visual quality will be significantly reduced. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 37 and 26 FPS respectively, which are not recommended for a game requiring quick reactions. If 4K is a requirement, the user must accept the Low preset, but the 1440p Medium setting provides a much better balance of performance and image quality. The benchmark results indicate that 1440p Medium is the overall best experience for this hardware, offering a high average frame rate and a solid minimum FPS.