Evolve

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a compelling 1440p experience in Evolve, and remains very capable at 4K with settings adjustments. The data shows this combo ranks 515th out of 2872 tested combinations, placing it firmly in the top 18% of all systems tested for this game. This pairing leverages a 14-core, 14-thread Arrow Lake processor with a 5.00 GHz boost clock alongside a 20 GB RDNA 3 GPU, producing frame rates that range from a playable 45 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 282 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured results indicate that the GPU is the primary driver of performance scaling across resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking even at lower settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combination in Evolve?

A: The combo ranks 515th out of 2872 tested combinations, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all systems tested for this game. This indicates a strong, above-average configuration that should handle the game with ease at most settings.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and is it sufficient for Evolve at 4K?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This is more than adequate for Evolve, even at 3840x2160 resolution, where the measured data shows playable frame rates at High settings.

Q: What is the boost clock of the CPU, and how does it affect gameplay?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz and a base clock of 3.40 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for maintaining high frame rates in Evolve, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU performance can become a limiting factor; the data shows 282 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating minimal CPU bottleneck.

Q: Which settings preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 115 FPS average, which is an excellent balance. The Medium preset offers 147 FPS, but the High preset provides a substantial visual upgrade while still staying well above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for most users.

Q: Is the GPU considered a high-performing part relative to other GPUs in the database?

A: The Radeon RX 7900 XT has a percentile rank of 55 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13745. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, scores 13543, a delta of 1.5%, indicating that the RX 7900 XT is a competitive, mid-to-high-tier graphics card.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming with high settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 66 FPS. While Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS, the High preset provides a smooth, playable experience at 4K, demonstrating the GPU's substantial memory bandwidth and compute power.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT achieves a rank of 515 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places the system in the 82nd percentile of all tested configurations, which is a very strong result. To contextualize this, consider that the CPU alone has a percentile rank of 89 among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at a 55th percentile rank among all GPUs. The combined result is better than the GPU's individual percentile would suggest, which indicates that Evolve is not heavily GPU-bound in a way that punishes this particular card; instead, the CPU's high single-thread performance helps push frame rates higher.

When looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 scores an average benchmark of 46062. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030, a delta of 0.1%, meaning the two are effectively tied. The Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098, just 0.1% higher, again a negligible difference. This suggests that the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, and any variance in game performance is primarily due to the GPU. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which scores 13543 versus the RX 7900 XT's 13745, a delta of 1.5% in favor of the RX 7900 XT. Other rivals like the AMD Radeon 660M (13812, -0.5%) and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821, -0.5%) are also very close, showing that while the RX 7900 XT is not a top-tier card by average benchmark score, it is within a very tight competitive band.

The practical implication of this ranking is that the combo is in the top fifth of all systems tested, which means it will run Evolve smoothly at high refresh rates. The 1080p Medium preset achieves 219 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. Even at 1440p Ultra, the system produces 80 FPS, which is excellent for a demanding preset. The rank of 515 is impressive given that the GPU's own percentile is only 55, and it suggests that the CPU is doing a lot of heavy lifting to keep frame rates high.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The GPU has 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 render output units. Its base clock is 1387 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz and a boost clock of 2394 MHz. Memory runs at 2500 MHz, translating to 20 Gbps effective on 20 GB of GDDR6 across a 320-bit bus. This configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s, which is a critical factor for high-resolution gaming.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant when moving from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 282 FPS, while the High preset drops to 172 FPS. This scaling shows that even at 1080p, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU is capable of feeding it enough data to hit very high frame rates. At 2560x1440, the Low preset gives 189 FPS, a 33% drop from 1080p, while High drops to 115 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 108 FPS, and High falls to 66 FPS. The linear scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU.

The 20 GB of VRAM is a significant asset. Even at 4K Ultra, the game loads a large amount of texture data, and the 800.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that this data can be streamed efficiently. The measured 4K Ultra average of 45 FPS is low, but that is due to the compute demands of the preset, not memory capacity. The 4K Medium preset, which has min/max FPS of 71/96 and an average of 84 FPS, shows that the GPU has ample headroom in memory-bound scenarios. The GPU's FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS and texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s provide the raw compute power needed for Evolve's particle effects and shader work, and the pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s ensures that even at 4K, the rasterization pipeline is not unduly stressed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings presets to use for different resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 119 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the Medium preset offers 219 FPS, which is a massive 84% improvement over Ultra. For competitive play, the Low preset at 282 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest possible frame rate. For most users at 1080p, the High preset at 172 FPS is a strong recommendation, as it balances visual quality with a frame rate that exceeds most 144Hz displays' capabilities.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset produces 80 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced FPS action. The High preset at 115 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a 44% improvement over Ultra while still maintaining high visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 147 FPS is also excellent, with min/max FPS of 125/169, ensuring smooth gameplay even in intense moments. The Low preset at 189 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize frame rate above all else, as the visual downgrade is significant. For a 144Hz 1440p monitor, the High preset is the best choice.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 66 FPS is the minimum recommended setting for a playable experience, though it may dip below 60 FPS in heavy scenes. The Medium preset at 84 FPS is the best option for 4K, as it provides a 27% improvement over High while still looking good. The min/max FPS of 71/96 for Medium indicates that it rarely drops below 60 FPS, making it the most reliable choice for 4K. The Low preset at 108 FPS is available for those who want to maximize frame rate at 4K, but the visual compromise is substantial.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most balanced across all resolutions, as it provides the best combination of visual quality and frame rate stability. At 1440p and 4K, the Medium preset offers frame rates that are well above 60 FPS, making it the recommended setting for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression from Low to Ultra. The Low preset achieves an average of 282 FPS, which is the highest of any resolution and settings combination. The Medium preset delivers 219 FPS, with a minimum of 186 FPS and a maximum of 252 FPS, showing excellent consistency. The High preset drops to 172 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 119 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving very high refresh rates, even at Ultra settings. The difference between Low and Ultra is a factor of 2.37, demonstrating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 189 FPS, a 33% reduction from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS, which is still very smooth. The High preset delivers 115 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 80 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly linear, with each preset seeing a 25-35% drop in frame rate. The Medium preset's min FPS of 125 ensures that even in heavy combat, the frame rate stays above 120 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 108 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K, thanks to the GPU's memory bandwidth. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. This is the first resolution where the Medium preset dips below 60 FPS, but only in the minimum case. The High preset averages 66 FPS, which is still playable, but the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, which is not recommended for fast-paced gameplay. The transition from 1440p to 4K causes a 43% drop in frame rate for the Low preset (189 to 108 FPS), and a 44% drop for the High preset (115 to 66 FPS), indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the most stable across all resolutions, with the smallest percentage difference between average and minimum FPS. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 85% of the average, at 1440p it is 85%, and at 4K it is 84%. This consistency suggests that the Medium preset is well-optimized for this hardware combination, avoiding the frame time spikes that can occur at higher settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture built on TSMC's 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The L3 cache is 24 MB shared, with 3 MB of L2 cache per core and 192 KB of L1 cache per core. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. It has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes and is unlocked, though it is not multiplier unlocked, meaning overclocking is not possible.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. The benchmark results show that the CPU's single-thread performance is excellent, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4516. This is crucial for a game like Evolve, which relies on a single main game thread for physics and game logic. The multi-core performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a Passmark multithread score of 37816. These scores indicate that the CPU can handle background tasks without impacting game performance.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% delta), Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, -0.1% delta), and AMD EPYC 4364P (45970, 0.2% delta). All of these are within 0.2% of the Ultra 5 235's score of 46062, showing that the CPU is performing at the expected level for its class. The high boost clock of 5.00 GHz is particularly beneficial for Evolve, as the game's frame rate at 1080p Low (282 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads (no hyperthreading) are sufficient for Evolve, which is not heavily multi-threaded. The L3 cache of 24 MB helps reduce memory latency, and the 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that the GPU can quickly access textures and geometry data. The Passmark data compression score of 390711 and data encryption score of 29293 show that the CPU is capable of handling data-intensive tasks, but these are not directly relevant to gaming. The CPU's integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 24EU) are not used when a discrete GPU is present, but they do not interfere with performance.

The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in Evolve, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is a GPU-bound pattern. At 1080p Low, the 282 FPS average is high enough that even a faster CPU would likely not produce significantly more frames. The CPU's percentile rank of 89 against all CPUs further confirms that it is a high-performing part, well-suited to pair with the RX 7900 XT for this game.