Evolve

Evolve, a 2015 FPS, presents an interesting case study when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is overwhelmingly powerful for this title, with the data suggesting that the game's engine and CPU, rather than the GPU, become the primary limiting factors at lower resolutions. The benchmark results paint a picture of a combination that can handle the game with extreme ease, yet the scaling patterns indicate where the bottlenecks lie.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation in the data is the dramatic scaling of performance as resolution decreases. At the 3840x2160 (4K) resolution, the average frame rates range from 61 FPS at Ultra settings to 145 FPS at Low settings. Dropping to 2560x1440 (1440p) sees a massive jump, with the Low preset achieving 254 FPS and High reaching 155 FPS. Finally, at 1920x1080 (1080p), the performance becomes astronomical, with the Low preset hitting 379 FPS and even the demanding Ultra preset maintaining a solid 160 FPS.

This scaling pattern is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies. From 4K to 1440p, the frame rate nearly doubles for the Low preset (145 to 254 FPS, a 75% increase). This suggests that at 4K, the RTX 5090 is still doing significant work, but the engine's overhead is becoming more apparent. The jump from 1440p to 1080p is even more telling. The Low preset goes from 254 FPS to 379 FPS, a 49% increase, while the High preset jumps from 155 to 231 FPS, a 49% increase as well. This consistent percentage improvement, despite the massive pixel count reduction, strongly implies that the CPU or the game's engine is now the limiting factor. The GPU is capable of rendering far more frames than the CPU can feed it, so reducing the resolution further doesn't unlock proportional gains.

The data shows that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the RTX 5090 is being held back. The 379 FPS at Low reflects the GPU's raw power, but the fact that it doesn't scale higher when the pixel count is reduced suggests the CPU's single-threaded performance or the game's engine logic is the ceiling. This is a common scenario for older games on modern, high-end hardware. The game was released in 2015, and its engine was not designed for the sheer throughput of a 2025 flagship GPU. The Ultra preset at 1080p (160 FPS) versus Low (379 FPS) shows a 2.3x difference, which is a larger gap than what is seen at 4K (61 vs 145 FPS, a 2.4x difference). The relative consistency of this gap across resolutions suggests that the GPU is still handling the increased visual complexity, but the absolute frame rates are capped by the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved in Evolve with this hardware?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 379 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the main bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: No. The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rate improvement from 1440p to 1080p is roughly proportional (e.g., 254 to 379 FPS on Low), indicating the GPU is not being fully utilized and the CPU is capping performance.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 4K averages 61 FPS, while the Medium preset at 1440p averages 197 FPS. This shows a significant performance difference, with the 1440p Medium setting being more than three times faster.

Q: What is the performance range for the Medium settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 197 FPS, with a minimum of 168 FPS and a maximum of 227 FPS.

Q: Does the game ever dip below 60 FPS in the measured configurations?

A: Yes. The only configuration that dips below 60 FPS is the Ultra preset at 3840x2160, which has an average of 61 FPS. All other measured presets at all resolutions average above 88 FPS.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245's benchmark performance compare to its listed rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245's average benchmark score is 48,995. This is virtually identical to its nearest rivals, with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G being 0.4% slower and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 being 0.5% slower. It is also 0.6% faster than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% faster than the Intel Core i5-14600K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In the context of Evolve, the data suggests that its high boost clock is more critical than its core count. The game, being from 2015, likely does not effectively utilize 14 cores, but its single-threaded performance is crucial for the game's logic and draw call processing.

The benchmark results for the CPU show a strong single-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,648 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4,394. These scores are high, but the measured FPS in Evolve at 1080p suggests that even this performance is a limiting factor. The fact that the frame rate scales almost linearly with resolution reduction points to a CPU bottleneck. The game engine's main thread is likely saturated, preventing the GPU from reaching its true potential.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache is also a relevant factor. While it's a large pool, the game's data sets may not be large enough to benefit significantly from it, but the high clock speed helps in reducing latency for the game's core logic. The data implies that for this specific title, the Core Ultra 5 245 is a capable but not necessarily perfect match. It provides enough performance to keep the game well above playable frame rates, but it is the component that prevents the system from achieving even higher FPS numbers at lower resolutions. The CPU is the ceiling, and the GPU is waiting for more instructions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 46th out of 2,872 tested combos for Evolve. This places it in the top 1.6% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a very high-performing combination for this game. While it doesn't take the top spot, its ranking is exceptionally strong.

This high ranking is a direct result of the RTX 5090's immense power, which can brute-force its way through Evolve's graphics settings. However, the ranking also reveals the CPU's influence. If the CPU were not a bottleneck, this combination might rank even higher. The fact that it sits at 46th, rather than 1st, suggests that there are other combos with CPUs that can feed the GPU more effectively at lower resolutions. The data indicates that the combo is slightly held back by the CPU's performance in this specific game, even though it is still far above the average system. The ranking confirms the GPU's strength, but the CPU's role in capping the top-end FPS is evident when looking at the resolution scaling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 379 FPS for Low, 294 FPS for Medium, 231 FPS for High, and 160 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 338 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average frame rates drop to 254 FPS for Low, 197 FPS for Medium, 155 FPS for High, and 107 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum and maximum at this resolution are 168 FPS and 227 FPS, respectively. Finally, at 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 145 FPS for Low, 112 FPS for Medium, 88 FPS for High, and 61 FPS for Ultra. The only measured minimum and maximum at this resolution are for the Medium preset, which are 95 FPS and 129 FPS.

These numbers tell a clear story. The jump from 1080p to 1440p results in a 33% decrease in FPS for the Low preset (379 to 254 FPS), but a 33% decrease for the Medium preset (294 to 197 FPS) as well. This consistent percentage drop is a hallmark of a CPU bottleneck. When the resolution is increased, the GPU has to do more work, but if the CPU is already the limiting factor, the additional GPU load only becomes the new bottleneck at a certain point. The fact that the FPS still drops by a third suggests that the GPU is starting to become more of a factor at 1440p, but the CPU is still heavily influential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend heavily on the target resolution. For 4K gaming, the High preset provides an excellent experience with an average of 88 FPS. The Ultra preset, while visually superior, drops to 61 FPS, which might be less desirable for a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers a good middle ground at 112 FPS. However, the data suggests that the High preset is the best balance for 4K, providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS.

For 1440p gaming, the High preset is the clear winner, offering 155 FPS. This is a phenomenal experience for a competitive shooter, and the visual quality is high. The Ultra preset at 107 FPS is also very playable and would be a good choice for those prioritizing visuals over raw frame rate. The Low preset at 254 FPS is excessive for most displays and would only be useful for extreme competitive play. At 1080p, the High preset at 231 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a perfect balance of high visual fidelity and an incredibly high frame rate that far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The Ultra preset at 160 FPS is also an excellent choice, and the data shows that the GPU has enough headroom to handle it without issue. The Medium and Low presets at 1080p are overkill and don't offer a practical advantage over High.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a monstrous GPU, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2407 MHz, and it has a staggering 21,760 shading units. In the context of Evolve, this GPU is overkill. The data shows that it is capable of producing hundreds of frames per second at 1080p, and it only begins to show significant strain at the 4K Ultra preset.

The GPU's role in this pairing is to provide an unshakeable foundation of performance. At 4K, it is the primary driver of performance, as the CPU is less of a bottleneck due to the increased GPU workload. The difference between the Low (145 FPS) and Ultra (61 FPS) at 4K is a 2.4x factor, showing the GPU is doing a lot of work. However, at 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized. The fact that the frame rate doesn't double when the resolution is halved from 1440p to 1080p is proof that the GPU is waiting on the CPU. The RTX 5090's vast resources are effectively idle at lower resolutions in this game, as the CPU cannot generate enough draw calls to keep it busy.

The GPU's 32 GB of VRAM is also far more than Evolve requires, ensuring that there are no memory-related stutters or texture pop-ins at any setting. The data indicates that the GPU's immense power is best showcased at higher resolutions, where it can flex its muscle. At 4K High, it delivers a smooth 88 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it hits 112 FPS, demonstrating that it can handle the game's most demanding settings with ease. The GPU is the star of the show, but only when the resolution is high enough to let it perform.