Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS title, exhibits a pronounced dependency on GPU throughput when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT. The measured frame rates across the three tested resolutions reveal a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck, particularly as resolution increases, while the 14-core processor provides ample headroom to avoid limiting performance.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic and consistent drop in average frame rates across all settings presets, clearly identifying the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT as the limiting component in this configuration. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 172 FPS at 1920x1080 to 115 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 33%, and then further down to 66 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 62% loss compared to the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increasing pixel count directly translates to higher rendering loads that the graphics card must process.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at the Low settings preset. The average frame rate at 1080p is 282 FPS, which drops to 189 FPS at 1440p and then to 108 FPS at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 4K is approximately 62%, nearly identical to the High preset's scaling. This consistency across settings suggests that even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the RX 7900 XT is still the primary constraint; the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck that would flatten the scaling curve at lower resolutions.

Medium settings follow the same trajectory, with average frame rates of 219 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, shows the steepest absolute decline, starting at 119 FPS at 1080p, falling to 80 FPS at 1440p, and dropping to 45 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset's 4K result of 45 FPS is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combination is not suitable for maximum quality at the highest resolution.

The data indicates that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe than from 1440p to 4K for most presets, which is typical for a GPU with a high memory bandwidth. The RX 7900 XT's 800.0 GB/s bandwidth and 20 GB of GDDR6 memory are likely sufficient to handle the increased data throughput, but the raw shading power, measured at 51.48 TFLOPS FP32, becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s are substantial, yet the 4K results show that the card is nearing its practical limits for sustained high-refresh-rate gameplay in Evolve.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 provides a robust foundation for this gaming workload, with its performance far exceeding the demands of Evolve. The processor features 14 cores and 14 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration, based on the Arrow Lake architecture on a 3 nm process node from TSMC, delivers strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 points. For a game released in 2015, this level of single-thread performance is more than sufficient to handle game logic and physics simulation without becoming a bottleneck.

The multi-threaded capabilities are equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 points. This is supported by a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core, which helps reduce memory latency for frequently accessed data. The processor's Passmark single-thread score of 4394 and multithread score of 38706 further confirm its high level of performance. In the context of Evolve, which is not known for requiring extensive multi-threading, the CPU is likely idle for significant portions of the frame rendering time, waiting for the GPU to complete its work.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is adequate for feeding the GPU with draw calls and vertex data. The fact that frame rates scale so significantly with resolution changes, rather than remaining flat, is conclusive evidence that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested setting. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 282 FPS, which would require the CPU to process a high number of draw calls per second. The Core Ultra 5 245 handles this without issue, as there is no sudden drop in performance that would indicate a CPU ceiling being hit.

In terms of its standing among other processors, the Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and AMD Ryzen 9 7900, with the Core Ultra 5 245 trailing them by just 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. Conversely, it outperforms the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.6% and 0.8%. This data confirms that the CPU is a high-end part that will not hold back the RX 7900 XT in Evolve.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is unequivocally the dominant component in this system for Evolve, and its specifications align perfectly with the observed performance scaling. The GPU is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, codenamed Plum Bonito, and features the Navi 31 chip on a 5 nm process node. It contains 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 raster operation pipelines, all operating at a boost clock of 2394 MHz and a game clock of 2025 MHz. This hardware configuration results in a peak FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS, which is the primary driver for pixel and vertex processing in the game.

The memory subsystem is a critical asset for high-resolution gaming. The RX 7900 XT is equipped with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. This vast memory pool and bandwidth prevent texture thrashing and geometry starvation at 4K, where the data requirements are significantly higher. The 4K High preset achieves an average of 66 FPS, which is a playable frame rate, but the 4K Ultra preset's 45 FPS suggests that the GPU's compute resources are saturated. The 192 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s, which is a high number, yet the Ultra preset at 4K still falls short of the 60 FPS target, illustrating the immense load of that quality level.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its position in the market. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 29009, which places it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 13745, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which it trails by 1.5%, and the AMD Radeon 660M, which it leads by 0.5%. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 indicates solid DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for Evolve's rendering pipeline. The GPU's 84 ray accelerators are present, but Evolve does not utilize ray tracing, so they do not impact these results.

The GPU's power characteristics are notable, with a TDP of 300 W and a suggested PSU rating of 700 W. Its dual-slot design and 2x 8-pin power connectors are standard for this performance class. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern rendering APIs. The data clearly shows that the RX 7900 XT is the deciding factor in this benchmark, as its performance directly dictates the frame rates at each resolution and settings combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance, with an average of 282 FPS at Low settings, 219 FPS at Medium, 172 FPS at High, and 119 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset also recorded a min FPS of 186 and a max FPS of 252, indicating a stable frame pacing. These results show that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors even at the highest quality settings, with the Ultra preset still well above the 100 FPS mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates remain strong: 189 FPS at Low, 147 FPS at Medium, 115 FPS at High, and 80 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's min FPS of 125 and max FPS of 169 demonstrate consistent performance. The High preset at 1440p is particularly noteworthy, as it offers a smooth experience for competitive play. The Ultra preset at this resolution, with 80 FPS, is also fully playable, providing a high-fidelity experience without significant compromises.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 108 FPS, which is excellent for 4K. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS, with a min of 71 and max of 96, maintaining playability. The High preset drops to 66 FPS, which is still within a reasonable range for a 60 Hz display. The Ultra preset, however, averages just 45 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on standard displays. This breakdown shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p for maximum frame rates, 1440p for a balance of quality and speed, and 4K for high-fidelity gaming with adjusted settings.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution is substantial. At 1080p, the difference is 163 FPS (282 vs 119); at 1440p, it is 109 FPS (189 vs 80); and at 4K, it is 63 FPS (108 vs 45). This indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant performance cost, likely due to advanced shading and post-processing effects, which the RX 7900 XT can handle at lower resolutions but struggles with at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in Evolve?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 282 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K resolution with a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that the High settings preset at 4K averages 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Ultra preset at 4K averages only 45 FPS, so a smooth experience is possible with adjusted settings, but not at maximum quality.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a limiting factor. The frame rates scale significantly with resolution changes, which is a clear sign of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's high single-threaded performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 score of 4648 points, is ample for Evolve.

Q: How does the system's 1440p performance compare to its 1080p performance?

A: At 1440p, frame rates are lower than 1080p but remain high. For example, the High preset averages 172 FPS at 1080p and drops to 115 FPS at 1440p. The Medium preset averages 219 FPS at 1080p and 147 FPS at 1440p, showing a consistent reduction that tracks with the increased pixel count.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra settings preset on performance?

A: The Ultra preset has a significant performance cost. At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 119 FPS, which is 45% lower than the High preset's 172 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, making it the only tested configuration that falls below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 7900 XT's memory configuration influence these results?

A: The GPU's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is likely a key factor in preventing performance degradation at higher resolutions. This is reflected in the 4K Medium preset maintaining an average of 84 FPS, which is a strong result for that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's resolution and performance priorities. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers an average of 119 FPS. This provides a high level of visual fidelity while still maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS standard, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays up to 120 Hz. The High preset at 1080p, which averages 172 FPS, is an alternative for those seeking even higher frame rates for competitive play, though the visual difference from Ultra may be minimal.

At 2560x1440, the High preset offers the best balance, averaging 115 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with a high level of graphical detail. The Medium preset, at 147 FPS, is a better choice for gamers with 144 Hz monitors who prioritize frame rate over absolute visual quality. The Ultra preset at 80 FPS is also viable for those who prefer maximum quality, but it does not offer the same headroom for refresh rates above 75 Hz.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point, as it averages 84 FPS and provides a playable experience with good visual quality. The High preset, at 66 FPS, is also acceptable for 60 Hz displays, offering higher fidelity at the cost of some performance headroom. The Low preset, at 108 FPS, is the best option for those who want to maintain a high refresh rate at 4K, though it sacrifices visual effects. The Ultra preset at 4K, averaging 45 FPS, should be avoided due to its sub-60 FPS performance, unless the user is willing to accept a less fluid experience for maximum visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 515th out of 2872 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the top 18% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's strong overall performance, demonstrating that it is a high-tier setup for this particular game. The rank is indicative of the GPU's dominant role, as the RX 7900 XT's high specifications are well-suited to the game's graphical demands.

The ranking is particularly impressive when considering the GPU's overall market position. The RX 7900 XT has a 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, yet in the context of Evolve, it performs well above that level. This suggests that the game is well-optimized for the RDNA 3.0 architecture, or that the specific combination of CPU and GPU works harmoniously. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs also contributes to the combo's high placement, as it ensures no bottleneck is present.

Given the data, this combo's 515th rank out of 2872 is a strong result. It indicates that the system is capable of delivering high frame rates across most settings and resolutions, with the only notable weakness being the 4K Ultra preset. The ranking also implies that there are many other tested combos that perform worse, but relatively few that perform significantly better in Evolve. This places the system in a competitive position for gamers targeting high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p gameplay, as well as solid 4K gaming with adjusted settings.