Evolve

# FAQ

Q: What is the comboRankInGame for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B390 in Evolve?

A: This combo ranks 2530 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve, placing it in the lower portion of the database. The rank indicates that the pair sits below the vast majority of tested systems for this title, with only 342 combinations ranking lower.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, which is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710 (1443). The GPU sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 89 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all tested resolutions and settings. The Medium preset delivers 69 FPS average, High delivers 54 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, sitting at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% ahead), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, 0.1% behind), the AMD EPYC 4364P (45970, 0.2% ahead), and the AMD EPYC 7303 (45960, 0.2% ahead).

Q: What frame time data is available for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only setting tier that includes minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p the range is 59 to 79 FPS, at 1440p it is 39 to 53 FPS, and at 4K it is 22 to 30 FPS, with averages of 69, 46, and 26 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses System Shared memory with a System Shared bus width and System Dependent bandwidth. This means the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory subsystem, which is dual-channel with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, rather than having dedicated VRAM. This configuration likely contributes to the low performance tier observed in Evolve.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution built on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, containing 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operations units. The GPU has 12 ray tracing cores and delivers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The GPU's TDP is 80 W, and it uses no power connectors, being classified as an IGP with a bus interface of IGP.

Critically, the memory configuration is System Shared across all parameters — size, type, and bus width — with bandwidth listed as System Dependent. This means the Arc B390 has no dedicated VRAM pool and instead draws from the system's DDR5 memory, which the Core Ultra 5 235 supports in dual-channel mode with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. In Evolve, a game from 2015, the lack of dedicated graphics memory places a hard ceiling on performance, particularly at higher resolutions where texture data and frame buffers demand more memory bandwidth than the shared subsystem can efficiently provide.

The GPU's benchmark results confirm its modest standing. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 1482, placing it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710, with delta percentages ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%. This clustering indicates that the Arc B390 performs at a level comparable to entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which directly explains the measured frame rates in Evolve.

The clock behavior matters here: the 300 MHz base clock is extremely low, and while the boost reaches 2500 MHz, sustained performance in a game like Evolve depends on thermal and power headroom within the integrated design. The 80 W TDP for the entire GPU block suggests the architecture can reach reasonable clocks, but the shared memory interface remains the limiting factor, as evidenced by the steep performance drops when resolution increases.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2530 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve, placing it in the 12th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a decidedly low ranking, consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, creating a stark imbalance: the processor is a high-performing desktop part, while the integrated GPU anchors the system's gaming capability to the bottom tier.

The rank suggests that in Evolve, this combo will struggle to deliver playable frame rates at higher settings, and even the best measured result — 89 FPS at 1080p Low — is only achievable by dropping visual quality substantially. The gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is notable: the Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, placing it within 0.2% of several strong server and mobile parts like the AMD EPYC 4364P and the Intel Core i9-13900HX. Yet the combo rank reflects the GPU bottleneck almost entirely.

Given that Evolve is a competitive FPS, the low rank means users of this configuration would be at a significant disadvantage in multiplayer scenarios, where frame rates below 60 FPS at medium-to-high settings are common based on the measured data. The only path to acceptable performance is the Low preset, which still only achieves 89 FPS at 1080p and drops to 60 FPS at 1440p and 34 FPS at 4K.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers four settings tiers — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — across three resolutions: 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. At 1080p, the combo delivers 89 FPS on Low, 69 FPS on Medium (with a min-max range of 59 to 79), 54 FPS on High, and 37 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with full frame time data, indicating a variance of 20 FPS between minimum and maximum.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop to 60 FPS on Low, 46 FPS on Medium (min 39, max 53), 36 FPS on High, and 25 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the results are 34 FPS on Low, 26 FPS on Medium (min 22, max 30), 21 FPS on High, and 14 FPS on Ultra. The pattern is consistent: each settings tier reduces performance by roughly 25-30% compared to the tier below, and each resolution step imposes an additional 30-40% penalty.

The 4K Ultra result of 14 FPS is effectively unplayable, while 4K High at 21 FPS and 4K Medium at 26 FPS remain below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Even 4K Low at 34 FPS is marginal. At 1440p, the Low preset achieves exactly 60 FPS, which is the minimum for smooth motion in most FPS titles, while High and Ultra fall well short. The 1080p results are the only ones where multiple presets cross the 60 FPS line: Low (89) and Medium (69). High at 54 FPS is close but not quite there, and Ultra at 37 FPS is a significant step down.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a system that is heavily GPU-limited. Taking the Medium preset as the most complete dataset, the average FPS goes from 69 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 26 at 4K (a 62% drop from 1080p). The scaling is roughly linear with pixel count: 1080p has 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has 3.69 million, and 4K has 8.29 million. If the system were perfectly compute-bound, the frame rate would scale inversely with pixel count, but the observed drops are steeper than pixel count alone would predict.

This steeper-than-expected scaling points to the shared memory subsystem as a critical bottleneck. As resolution increases, the demand for memory bandwidth grows, and the Arc B390's System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth cannot keep pace. The 102.4 GB/s available from the CPU's dual-channel DDR5 is shared with the entire system, and the integrated GPU must compete with CPU workloads for the same bandwidth. The result is that 4K performance collapses to 14-34 FPS depending on settings, with even the Low preset unable to break 35 FPS.

The implication is clear: the limiting component at all resolutions is the GPU, not the CPU. The Core Ultra 5 235 has ample processing power — its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085 indicate strong performance — but the integrated GPU cannot translate that into high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 89 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed the GPU enough to hit near-90 FPS, but the GPU's ceiling is reached quickly as either resolution or settings increase.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes.

Benchmark results place this CPU firmly in the upper tier of processors. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 14769 and single-core is 2085, while Cinebench R20 scores are 6202 and 875 respectively. PassMark results show a multi-thread score of 37816 and a single-thread score of 4516, with the CPU achieving an average benchmark score of 46062 and an 89th percentile standing among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% ahead), Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% behind), AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% ahead), and AMD EPYC 7303 (0.2% ahead).

In the context of Evolve, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic. With 14 cores and a 5.00 GHz boost clock, the Core Ultra 5 235 has more than enough throughput to handle a 2015 FPS title. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for older games like Evolve, which often rely on a few primary threads. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 indicates strong per-thread performance, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck in this configuration.

The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 89 FPS, which is likely near the GPU's maximum output in this title. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates plateau regardless of resolution, but the steep drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K indicate the GPU is the constraint. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 9th percentile ranking creates a massive imbalance, with the processor operating well below its potential in this gaming scenario.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and whether the user prioritizes frame rate or visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 89 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Medium achieves 69 FPS with a min-max range of 59 to 79, meaning the lowest frame rate is just shy of 60. High dips to 54 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a competitive FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS, which is borderline for single-player but problematic for multiplayer.

At 1440p, the options narrow considerably. The Low preset hits exactly 60 FPS, which is the minimum acceptable for competitive play. Medium averages 46 FPS with a range of 39 to 53, meaning the user will experience frequent dips below 60. High (36 FPS) and Ultra (25 FPS) are not recommended for any gameplay scenario, as they fall well below smoothness thresholds. For 4K, no preset achieves playable frame rates: Low is 34 FPS, Medium is 26 FPS, High is 21 FPS, and Ultra is 14 FPS. The 4K resolution is effectively unusable for Evolve with this hardware.

The best experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1080p. At 69 FPS average with a 59-79 FPS range, it offers the best balance between visual quality and performance, staying above 60 FPS for most of the session while providing better textures and effects than Low. The Low preset at 1080p offers higher headroom at 89 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity. For users who prioritize competitive performance above all, 1080p Low is the safest choice, ensuring frame rates remain high even in demanding scenes. For those who want a more visually appealing experience, 1080p Medium is the highest settings tier that maintains near-60 FPS minimums. At 1440p, users must accept the Low preset to stay at 60 FPS, and any resolution above that requires significant compromises that the data shows are not worthwhile for this title.