Evolve

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti pairing lands in the middle of the pack for Evolve, a game that launched in early 2015. This combination of a modern Arrow Lake processor with an older Ampere graphics card produces a balanced platform, though the data indicates the GPU is the primary factor limiting performance at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show this combo achieving solid, playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with a significant drop-off only when pushing to 4K on the most demanding preset.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 2,872 tested combos for Evolve, this specific pairing of the Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 3060 Ti ranks at 1,398. That places it almost exactly in the 50th percentile of all tested systems, which is a reasonable result for a mid-range pairing. The rank suggests that while this combo is not a top-tier performer for this title, it is far from a weak setup. The data shows a system capable of delivering a comfortable gaming experience at mainstream resolutions without pushing the upper echelon of performance.

Looking at the individual components helps contextualize this mid-pack ranking. The CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all processors, indicating that it is not the bottleneck in this configuration. In contrast, the GPU is in the 59th percentile among all graphics cards. This discrepancy is telling: the processor has significant headroom, while the graphics card is the more modest part of the equation. The average benchmark scores reflect this, with the CPU scoring 48,995 and the GPU scoring 16,129. The performance of this combo in Evolve is therefore more representative of the GPU’s tier than the CPU’s, as the frame rates are largely governed by the graphics card's output.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 120 FPS, which is a strong, competitive frame rate. Moving to 1440p High drops it to 80 FPS, still very playable. The system truly struggles only at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS falls to 32. These numbers paint a picture of a system that is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and capable of handling 1440p, but which falls behind at 4K. The ranking of 1,398 out of 2,872 accurately reflects a system that performs well in the most common gaming scenarios but does not excel at the extreme high end.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive component in this combo’s performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is substantial for a card of its class. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 4,864 shading units are the primary drivers of its rendering capabilities. The card’s pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s give it the raw throughput needed to handle the effects and geometry in a title like Evolve.

The benchmark data shows that this GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 197 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 75 FPS. This scaling behavior is characteristic of a system where the GPU is working harder to fill more pixels, and the performance degradation is directly tied to the card’s fillrate and memory bandwidth limits. The RTX 3060 Ti’s performance in Evolve is consistent with its overall benchmark standing, where it ranks in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, which scores 16,361 with a delta of -1.4%, and the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 16,014 with a delta of 0.7%. These close scores confirm that the RTX 3060 Ti is a solid mid-range performer, not a high-end part.

The GPU’s memory capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for this game, but the data suggests that at 4K Ultra, the card is being pushed to its limits. The FPS drops from 46 at 4K High to 32 at 4K Ultra, a reduction that indicates the card is struggling with the increased graphical load. While the RTX 3060 Ti is capable of running Evolve well at lower resolutions, its performance ceiling is clearly defined by its 8 GB frame buffer and the computational power of the GA104 chip.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of settings for this combo. The best balance of visual quality and performance is found at the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 153 FPS with a minimum of 130 FPS, which is ideal for smooth, responsive gameplay. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still delivers an excellent average of 103 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS, ensuring the experience remains fluid. This preset offers a significant visual upgrade over Low settings while maintaining frame rates that are well above the threshold for competitive play.

The High preset is also viable, but it comes with a noticeable performance cost. At 1080p, High produces 120 FPS, which is still excellent, but it is a 22% reduction from Medium. At 1440p, the gap widens, with High delivering 80 FPS compared to Medium’s 103 FPS. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Medium preset is the safer choice to ensure frame rates stay consistently high.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo. At 1080p, it manages 83 FPS, which is playable, but at 1440p it drops to 56 FPS, and at 4K it falls to a stuttery 32 FPS. The performance hit from Medium to Ultra is substantial, with a 46% drop at 1080p (from 153 to 83 FPS). Given that the visual differences between Medium and Ultra are often less noticeable in fast-paced action, the data strongly suggests that the Medium preset provides the best overall experience. It offers the highest frame rates that remain consistently smooth, making it the optimal choice for this hardware combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Evolve with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are the most suitable resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 153 FPS, and at 1440p Medium, it achieves 103 FPS. The performance at 4K is significantly lower, with the Ultra preset only reaching an average of 32 FPS, which is not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the RTX 3060 Ti in this game?

A: No, the benchmark data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Core Ultra 5 245 ranks in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 3060 Ti ranks in the 59th percentile of GPUs. The FPS scaling across resolutions shows the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU has more performance headroom than the graphics card can utilize.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its closest rivals in terms of raw performance?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 16,129. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060, scores 16,014, which is 0.7% slower. Another close competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, scores 16,361, which is 1.4% faster. This places the RTX 3060 Ti in a tightly contested mid-range performance bracket.

Q: Can this combo handle high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data confirms it can. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 197 FPS. Even at the more demanding High preset, it averages 120 FPS. The Medium preset offers a strong 153 FPS average with a minimum of 130 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a 144Hz monitor.

Q: What is the most demanding setting for this GPU in Evolve?

A: The Ultra preset is the most demanding. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 32, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Even at 1080p, the Ultra preset reduces performance to 83 FPS, a significant drop from the 153 FPS seen at Medium, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the card.

Q: Does the combo have enough performance for 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, it is well-suited for 1440p. At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 103, with a minimum of 87 FPS, providing a smooth experience. The High preset at 1440p also remains playable at 80 FPS. Only the Ultra preset at 1440p falls below 60 FPS, averaging 56 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 153 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 1440p Medium, the frame rate drops to 103 FPS, a reduction of 33%. Moving to 4K Medium, the average falls to 58 FPS, which is a 62% drop from the 1080p result. This consistent and significant decline with each resolution step is a clear indicator that the graphics card is the limiting component.

The scaling at Low settings further confirms this. The combo achieves 197 FPS at 1080p Low, which drops to 132 FPS at 1440p Low (a 33% reduction) and then to 75 FPS at 4K Low (a 62% reduction from 1080p). The proportional decreases are nearly identical to those seen at Medium settings, which suggests that the rendering pipeline is bottlenecked by the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth rather than any CPU limitation. The CPU, with its high percentile ranking, is able to feed the GPU with data faster than the card can process it at higher resolutions.

The most telling data point is the 4K Ultra result, which averages only 32 FPS. This is a 61% drop from the 4K High setting of 46 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset’s additional graphical effects are too demanding for the GPU at this resolution. The pattern across all settings and resolutions points to a system where the CPU has ample headroom, and the GPU is the primary factor determining final performance. The RTX 3060 Ti simply does not have the computational resources to maintain high frame rates at 4K, making this combo best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of Evolve, a game released in 2015, this processor provides far more computational power than the title requires. The CPU's performance metrics support this, as it ranks in the 90th percentile of all processors, with a single-thread score of 4,394 in Passmark and a multi-thread score of 38,706.

The CPU's role in this combo is to ensure the GPU is fully fed with data. Its high single-thread performance is crucial for game logic and physics, while the 14 cores provide ample multi-threading capacity for background tasks and any modern game engine overhead. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as it is significantly more powerful than the GPU relative to their respective market positions. The average CPU benchmark score of 48,995 is nearly three times higher than the GPU's score of 16,129, highlighting the disparity in their capabilities.

The nearest rivals to the Core Ultra 5 245 in terms of average score include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49,228 with a delta of -0.5%, and the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 48,618 with a delta of 0.8%. This places the Ultra 5 245 in the company of high-end desktop processors, confirming that its performance is more than adequate for Evolve. In this pairing, the CPU is effectively a non-issue for performance; the frame rates are dictated almost entirely by the RTX 3060 Ti. The data shows that even at 1080p Low with 197 FPS, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU is still able to produce those frames without being held back. This combo is a clear case of a modern, powerful CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, resulting in a system where the graphics card is the definitive performance ceiling.