Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 multiplayer FPS from Turtle Rock Studios, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination. The measured data shows this pairing achieves a combo rank of 1740 out of 2872 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The results across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is clearly capable of playable frame rates, yet the performance scaling patterns suggest a nuanced relationship between the 16-core, 22-thread Meteor Lake processor and the Ada Lovelace-based GPU.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor built on Intel's Meteor Lake architecture using a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, drawing 28 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and a single-core score of 1743, with PassMark single-thread performance at 3468 and multi-thread at 24873. The processor sits at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32697.

For Evolve, the CPU's role is particularly relevant given the game's 2015 release date. The title relies on physics simulations, AI-driven monster behavior, and dynamic environmental interactions, all of which can be sensitive to single-thread performance. The Core Ultra 7 155H's single-core score of 1743 in Cinebench R23 suggests solid per-thread capability, which should help maintain consistent frame pacing in scenarios with multiple hunters and a large monster on screen. The multi-core performance, with a PassMark physics score of 1727 and floating point math score of 63703, provides headroom for background tasks and any game engine threads that scale beyond four cores.

The nearest rivals to the Core Ultra 7 155H in overall CPU benchmark scores include the Intel Core i5-14600T with an average score of 32707 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 at 32662 (0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F at 32750 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H at 32812 (-0.4% delta). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the CPU is statistically tied with these alternatives in aggregate performance. However, the actual gameplay experience in Evolve will depend on how the game's engine utilizes the specific core configuration and clock behavior of the 155H, which the measured FPS data reveals more directly.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 achieves a rank of 1740 out of 2872 tested combos in Evolve. This places the pairing in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 60% of all CPU-GPU combos tested in this game perform better. The data indicates this is not a top-tier combination for Evolve, but it is also far from the bottom of the list. The rank suggests that while the RTX 4060 is a competent GPU for its class, the overall system performance in this particular game is constrained by factors that prevent it from climbing higher.

The GPU itself, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, is based on the AD107 chip with 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. It has 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores, with a boost clock of 2460 MHz and a base clock of 1830 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2125 MHz with a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 19545, placing it at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with a score of 17666 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17588 (0.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17551 (0.5% delta). These deltas are small, but the RTX 4060's raw score is notably higher than these rivals, indicating its performance class is above integrated graphics and older discrete offerings.

The combo rank of 1740 reflects more than just the GPU's standalone capability. It accounts for how the CPU and GPU interact in Evolve specifically. Given that the CPU sits at the 83rd percentile and the GPU at the 61st percentile, the combined rank being near the 60th percentile suggests the GPU is the more limiting factor in this pairing for this game. The CPU has more headroom relative to its peers than the GPU does, which becomes apparent when examining the resolution scaling patterns.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across three resolutions reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 169 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 114 FPS, a reduction of 55 FPS or roughly 33%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 65 FPS, which is a further drop of 49 FPS from 1440p. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the total loss is 104 FPS, representing a 62% decrease.

This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU, allowing it to reach high frame rates. As resolution increases, the GPU's pixel and memory bandwidth demands grow, and the RTX 4060 becomes the bottleneck. The 8 GB memory capacity and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely stressed at 4K, particularly with the game's texture and shading requirements. The fact that Low settings at 4K still yields 65 FPS suggests the GPU can handle the workload at reduced visual fidelity, but the performance cliff from 1080p to 4K indicates the GPU's limits are the primary constraint.

However, the settings also matter. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 71 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 27 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is a 62% reduction, matching the Low settings scaling almost exactly. This proportional drop across settings reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU's performance impact would be more pronounced at lower resolutions and higher frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 169 FPS result shows the CPU can push well beyond 144 Hz, but the GPU cannot maintain that pace as the pixel count quadruples moving from 1080p to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete set of measured FPS values provides a detailed picture of this combo's performance in Evolve. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 169 FPS, Medium settings yield 131 FPS with a minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 151 FPS, High settings deliver 103 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 71 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 98 FPS, showing that visual quality settings have a substantial impact on frame rate at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases across all settings. Low settings average 114 FPS, Medium settings average 88 FPS with a range of 75 to 101 FPS, High settings produce 69 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 48 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low seeing a 55 FPS reduction, Medium a 43 FPS reduction, High a 34 FPS reduction, and Ultra a 23 FPS reduction. Interestingly, the absolute FPS loss is larger at lower settings, but the percentage loss is more uniform.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 65 FPS, Medium settings average 50 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS, High settings produce 39 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 27 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium settings maintain average frame rates above 30 FPS, with High being borderline at 39 FPS and Ultra falling below 30 FPS. The minimum FPS data, only available for Medium settings at each resolution, shows 112 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. These minimums indicate that even during demanding scenes, the frame rate stays relatively stable, though the 43 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is close to the edge of playability.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Evolve?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p provides the most consistent performance, with all settings from Low to Ultra averaging above 71 FPS. At 1440p, High settings drop to 69 FPS and Ultra to 48 FPS, while at 4K, only Low and Medium settings exceed 50 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rival GPUs?

A: The RTX 4060 has a PassMark G3D score of 19545, which is slightly above the AMD Radeon HD 7790's 17666 score (-0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon 780M's 17588 score (0.3% delta). The deltas are small, but the RTX 4060's raw score is higher than all three listed rivals.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system for Evolve?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. From 1080p to 4K at Low settings, frame rates drop from 169 FPS to 65 FPS, a 62% reduction that aligns with the GPU's pixel throughput limits. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking versus the GPU's 61st percentile also suggests the GPU is more constrained.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 88, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for most players, though the minimum may dip during intense combat sequences.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Evolve?

A: At 4K, Low settings average 65 FPS and Medium settings average 50 FPS, which are playable. However, High settings drop to 39 FPS and Ultra to 27 FPS, making those presets difficult to play smoothly. The GPU's 8 GB memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely limiting factors at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect Evolve?

A: The Core Ultra 7 155H has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743 and a PassMark single-thread score of 3468. For a 2015 game like Evolve, which relies on single-threaded game logic, this level of performance is sufficient to avoid being a bottleneck, as evidenced by the high 169 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings to use for different priorities. For players targeting 60 FPS at 1080p, all settings from Low through Ultra achieve this, with Low at 169 FPS, Medium at 131 FPS, High at 103 FPS, and Ultra at 71 FPS. The Ultra preset offers the best visual quality while still maintaining a 71 FPS average, making it the recommended choice for 1080p displays with 60 Hz or 144 Hz refresh rates.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Low settings average 114 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh monitors. Medium settings at 88 FPS also provide smooth gameplay, with the minimum of 75 FPS ensuring no major dips. High settings at 69 FPS are borderline for 60-75 Hz displays but may be acceptable for players who prefer visual fidelity. Ultra settings at 48 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold and may cause noticeable stuttering or input lag for competitive play. As such, Medium is the recommended preset for 1440p, balancing visual quality with a comfortable frame rate margin.

For 4K, the options are limited. Low settings at 65 FPS are the only preset that clearly exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium at 50 FPS is playable but not ideal. High at 39 FPS and Ultra at 27 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay. Players with 4K displays should select Low or Medium settings, with Medium providing better visuals at a 50 FPS average that remains above the minimum FPS of 43. Given the data, the best overall experience across all resolutions is achieved by using Medium settings, which delivers 131 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K, with minimums of 112, 75, and 43 FPS respectively.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 plays a decisive role in Evolve's performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2125 MHz, which translates to 17 Gbps effective. The core operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with 3072 shading units processing data at a theoretical FP32 throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS. The texture rate is 236.2 GTexel/s and the pixel rate is 118.1 GPixel/s.

For a game released in 2015, Evolve's texture and geometry requirements are modest by modern standards, but the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM capacity is still a relevant factor. At 4K with High settings, the average FPS drops to 39, and at Ultra it falls to 27, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering. The 128-bit memory bus, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, becomes a bottleneck at 4K where the pixel fill rate demands are quadrupled compared to 1080p. The 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate means the GPU can theoretically fill over 118 million pixels per second, but at 4K (approximately 8.3 million pixels per frame), this translates to roughly 14 frames per millisecond of pixel work, which aligns with the observed 27 FPS at Ultra settings.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2302, and the Geekbench OpenCL score is 95057, with a Vulkan score of 48643. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 175 and DirectX 12 score of 76 indicate that the GPU performs better in legacy APIs, which is relevant for Evolve given its 2015 release date likely using DirectX 11. The GPU's overall percentile ranking at 61% among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639, places it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with a delta of -0.2% and the AMD Radeon 780M at 0.3% delta, show that the RTX 4060 is closely matched with older or integrated solutions in aggregate scores, though its real-world performance in Evolve is more nuanced.

The GPU's 115 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate it is a mobile-focused part, and its 240 mm length suggests it can fit in larger laptops. The 1x 12-pin power connector and 300 W suggested PSU are relevant for system builders, but the measured FPS data shows that this GPU is capable of delivering playable frame rates in Evolve at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises. The GPU's performance at 1080p Low (169 FPS) demonstrates that it has enough headroom for high refresh rate gaming at lower resolutions, but the sharp drop to 27 FPS at 4K Ultra reveals its limitations in pixel-bound scenarios. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is well-suited for mainstream gaming but not for high-resolution, high-fidelity workloads.