Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric multiplayer FPS, presents a demanding workload that quickly exposes the limitations of this particular hardware pairing. The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti produces a frame rate profile that is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom. The measured data indicates a system that is capable of playable performance only at the lowest settings and 1080p resolution, with any increase in graphical fidelity or pixel count resulting in a precipitous drop in frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 62 FPS. Stepping up to 1440p at the same Low settings reduces the average to 42 FPS, a 32% decrease. Moving to 4K at Low settings yields just 24 FPS, a 61% drop from the 1080p result. This steep decline, where quadrupling the pixel count from 1080p to 4K more than halves the frame rate, is classic behavior for a GPU-bound scenario.

The trend is consistent across all settings. At Medium quality, the average frame rate falls from 48 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 1440p (a 33% reduction) and further to 18 FPS at 4K (a 63% reduction from 1080p). The High preset shows a similar pattern: 38 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. This consistent proportional scaling across different presets suggests that the game is not hitting a CPU core limit at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate at 1080p would be much closer to the frame rate at 4K, as the CPU's workload would be more constant.

The data points to the GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB of VRAM and 112.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth as the critical constraint. The substantial frame rate penalties at higher resolutions are consistent with the GPU struggling to manage larger textures and frame buffers. The 128-bit memory bus becomes a significant liability at 4K, where the demand for texture data far exceeds what the card can deliver. The 10 FPS average at 4K Ultra is a stark indication of the GPU being completely overwhelmed, rendering the resolution essentially unplayable for this title. The CPU, with its high single-thread performance as evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 4516, is not the constraining factor here.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is achieved at 1080p with the Low preset. This is the only configuration that consistently delivers a frame rate above 60 FPS, with an average of 62 FPS. This provides a playable, smooth experience that is suitable for a fast-paced FPS title. The jump to Medium at 1080p brings the average down to 48 FPS, which is a significant reduction in smoothness but may still be acceptable to some users if they prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The minimum FPS recorded for Medium at 1080p is 41, which is still within the range of playability for many.

At 1440p, even the Low preset can only manage an average of 42 FPS. This is a substantial drop and may feel less responsive. The High preset at 1440p yields an average of 25 FPS, which is generally considered too low for a smooth action game. The 4K resolution is not a viable option for this combination. Even at Low settings, the average frame rate is only 24 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to a cinematic but unplayable 10 FPS. The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution and settings to achieve a target frame rate of at least 60 FPS, which only the 1080p Low preset accomplishes.

For users who find 60 FPS non-essential, the 1080p Medium preset with its 48 FPS average might be a worthwhile trade-off for improved visual fidelity. The measured minimum of 41 FPS for this preset indicates that frame pacing will be relatively stable. However, any preset above Medium, or any resolution above 1080p, pushes the system into a performance regime where the frame rate becomes too erratic and low to provide a competitive or visually fluid experience in a game like Evolve.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Evolve?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with the Low preset is the only configuration that achieves an average frame rate above 60 FPS, reaching 62 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K resolution?

A: While the game will launch, performance is too low for practical play. The highest average FPS recorded at 4K is 24 FPS on the Low preset. At the High and Ultra presets, the average drops to 14 FPS and 10 FPS, respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 or the GTX 1050 Ti the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. This is evident from the significant frame rate drops when increasing resolution, a classic sign of a graphics card that is overwhelmed, while the CPU has sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 62 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 26 FPS. This represents a 36 FPS difference, or a 58% reduction in performance when moving to the highest quality settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the benchmarks for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 16 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Medium preset.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration impact performance at higher resolutions?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has 4 GB of VRAM and a memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. The substantial performance drops at 1440p and 4K suggest that this memory configuration is a major limiting factor, as higher resolutions demand more memory capacity and bandwidth than the card can provide.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is taken directly from the measured FPS rows, detailing the average frame rates for each resolution and settings combination.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset delivers an average of 62 FPS. Moving to Medium reduces the average to 48 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS. The High preset achieves an average of 38 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of 26 FPS. This resolution provides a range of options, from smooth playability at Low to a more visually rich but less fluid experience at higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly across the board. The Low preset averages 42 FPS. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. The High preset lowers the average to 25 FPS. The Ultra preset results in an average of 17 FPS. None of these settings at 1440p achieve the 60 FPS target, and the experience would be noticeably less smooth than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely constrained. The Low preset manages an average of 24 FPS. The Medium preset averages 18 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 21 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 14 FPS. Finally, the Ultra preset produces an average of just 10 FPS. This resolution is not playable with this hardware, as even the lowest settings fail to provide a smooth frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti ranks 2833 out of 2872 tested combos for Evolve. This places it in the bottom 1.4% of all systems benchmarked for this game, indicating that it is an exceptionally weak configuration for this specific title. This low rank is a direct consequence of the GTX 1050 Ti's performance limitations, which are the primary bottleneck in this pairing.

The CPU itself is a strong performer, ranking in the 89th percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 46062 puts it in a class with processors like the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and the Intel Core i9-13900HX, which it trails or leads by less than a percentage point. However, this CPU strength is rendered largely irrelevant in Evolve due to the GPU's inability to keep up. The GPU, in contrast, only ranks in the 25th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 4193, which is comparable to the AMD Radeon R5 M330 and the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M.

The massive disparity between the CPU's high percentile ranking and the combo's low in-game rank highlights a severe imbalance. The system is built around a processor that is far more capable than the graphics card it is paired with. In Evolve, this means the game's frame rate is almost entirely dependent on the GPU, and the powerful CPU sits mostly idle, waiting for the graphics card to finish its work. This results in a performance profile that is typical of a bottlenecked system, where the weakest link dictates the overall experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and can boost up to 5.00 GHz. For a game like Evolve, which is an older title from 2015, the high single-thread performance is often more critical than the multi-core capabilities. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4516 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 indicate strong per-core performance, which is sufficient to handle the game's main game logic and physics threads.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is also robust, as shown by a Passmark multi-thread score of 37816 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769. However, this level of multi-threading is unlikely to be fully utilized by Evolve, which was released before the widespread adoption of many-core processors. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for the game's data sets. The data suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this configuration, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution, a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario.

The processor's 65W TDP and modern 3nm process node mean it runs efficiently, but this does not directly translate to higher game performance when paired with a weak GPU. The data shows that the CPU has the potential to drive much higher frame rates, but it is held back by the GTX 1050 Ti. In essence, the CPU's role in this pairing is to provide a stable platform that is more than capable of handling the game's computational requirements, ensuring that the GPU remains the sole bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the definitive limiting factor in this system for Evolve. The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. Its base clock is 1291 MHz with a boost clock of 1392 MHz. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and the benchmark results reflect this. Its Passmark G3D score is 6340, placing it in the 25th percentile of all GPUs, and its performance is comparable to integrated graphics solutions like the AMD Radeon Vega 3.

The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical weakness. At 1080p, the game can function, but as the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the demand for video memory grows. The data shows a sharp performance cliff at these higher resolutions, which is consistent with the GPU running out of memory or having to use its limited bandwidth to swap data. The 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth is simply not enough to feed the rendering pipeline at high resolutions, resulting in the very low average frame rates of 25 FPS at 1440p High and 14 FPS at 4K High.

The GPU's 768 shading units and 32 ROPs are also insufficient for the demands of Evolve at higher settings. The FP32 performance of 2.138 TFLOPS is a clear indicator of its limited compute power. The measured frame rates show that the card can only handle the lowest graphical settings at 1080p for a smooth experience. Any attempt to increase the preset to Medium or High at 1080p results in a significant drop below 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 1080p yields only 26 FPS. The GPU's end-of-life production status and its performance relative to other cards, such as being 1.8% slower than the AMD Radeon Vega 3, confirm its position as the primary bottleneck in this configuration.