Evolve

The AMD Radeon 8060S paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H delivers a highly resolution-dependent experience in Evolve, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured data shows a dramatic FPS drop as resolution increases, yet the system still provides playable frame rates across most settings, with the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K falling to 28 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 176 FPS, but this drops to 118 FPS at 1440p and further to 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and a 62% loss from 1080p to 4K. The scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput, rather than CPU limitations, is the constraining factor as pixel count increases.

Looking at High settings, the trend continues: 107 FPS at 1080p falls to 72 FPS at 1440p and then to 41 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep at 43%, suggesting that the Radeon 8060S struggles to maintain its performance advantage once the pixel count approaches 8.3 million. The 4K High result of 41 FPS is borderline playable, while 4K Ultra at 28 FPS is effectively a slideshow for competitive play.

The scaling behavior implies that the Radeon 8060S has sufficient raw horsepower for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the jump to 4K overwhelms its memory bandwidth and shading capacity. The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling pattern, with 137 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K, each step down representing roughly a 33-43% reduction. This linear degradation suggests no unexpected bottlenecks or thermal throttling, just straightforward GPU workload scaling.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8060S is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process from TSMC, featuring a die size of 308 mm². It operates with a base clock of 1295 MHz and can boost up to 2900 MHz, with its memory being system-shared, meaning bandwidth is dependent on the host system's configuration. The GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 40 ray tracing cores.

In the context of Evolve's results, the GPU's 14.85 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s provide the foundation for the measured frame rates. The 64 ROPs are particularly relevant for the 4K results, as fill-rate limitations often manifest at higher resolutions. The system-shared memory arrangement is a crucial factor here, unlike dedicated VRAM, this configuration relies on system memory bandwidth, which explains why the 4K Ultra preset drops to 28 FPS while 1080p Low achieves 176 FPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 55757. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.1% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (0.6% higher), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.7% lower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (2.8% lower). This positioning suggests the 8060S is competitive with desktop discrete GPUs from previous generations, yet the Evolve results show it cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, indicating the game's demands exceed what this integrated solution can deliver at maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This particular combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and AMD Radeon 8060S ranks 1664 out of 2872 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all tested systems. Given that the GPU sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs and the CPU in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, this combo rank is notably lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest.

The discrepancy between component-level percentiles and the game-specific combo rank indicates that Evolve presents specific challenges that this hardware configuration does not fully overcome. The 8060S's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the RTX 4080 (2.8% higher average score), yet the 4K Ultra result of 28 FPS suggests the integrated GPU's shared memory architecture may be limiting performance in ways that synthetic benchmarks do not fully capture.

The combo rank of 1664 out of 2872 means roughly 42% of tested configurations perform better in this specific title. This is a middle-of-the-pack result that aligns with the GPU being the limiting factor, systems with more powerful discrete GPUs would naturally achieve higher frame rates at 4K, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance is largely underutilized in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 176 FPS on Low, 137 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 116 and maximum of 157), 107 FPS on High, and 74 FPS on Ultra. These results show that 1080p gaming is thoroughly covered, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 118 FPS on Low, 92 FPS on Medium (minimum 78, maximum 105), 72 FPS on High, and 50 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results indicate that High settings remain viable for smooth gameplay, while Ultra dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset's minimum of 78 FPS suggests some frame time variance, but the average remains solid.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more constrained: 67 FPS on Low, 52 FPS on Medium (minimum 44, maximum 60), 41 FPS on High, and 28 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium result shows a minimum of 44 FPS, which could cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced FPS action. The gap between Low (67 FPS) and Ultra (28 FPS) at 4K demonstrates the significant impact of quality settings at high resolutions.

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently offers the best balance, with the only preset providing both minimum and maximum FPS measurements at every resolution. This suggests the developers optimized this preset for consistent frame pacing across different hardware configurations.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p is the most comfortable resolution, with all presets exceeding 74 FPS. The 1440p High preset at 72 FPS is also viable, while 4K only becomes playable at Low settings (67 FPS).

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at different resolutions?

A: Ultra settings yield 74 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K. This represents a 62% performance drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that Ultra is only recommended for 1080p gaming.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The resolution scaling pattern clearly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The FPS drops proportionally with pixel count, while the CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom for this title.

Q: How does the Radeon 8060S compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 55757 is 0.1% lower than the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, 0.6% lower than the RTX 5080, 1.7% higher than the Radeon Pro W5700X, and 2.8% higher than the RTX 4080.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 92 FPS average, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 105 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with minimal frame dips.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: Yes, but only at low-to-medium settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 67 FPS, while Medium drops to 52 FPS. High and Ultra settings fall below 41 FPS, which is not ideal for a fast-paced FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Built on Intel's 7 nm Meteor Lake architecture, this mobile processor has a 28 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's L3 cache is 24 MB shared, with L1 and L2 caches of 112 KB and 2 MB per core respectively.

In Evolve, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low where the GPU is least stressed, the system reaches 176 FPS, a frame rate that does not appear CPU-limited based on the processor's capabilities. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551 and single-core score of 1759 indicate strong performance that should not bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios.

The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 25933 and single-thread score of 3509 place it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (0.3% higher average score), AMD EPYC 4244P (0.4% lower), AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.4% lower), and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (0.5% lower). This positioning suggests the CPU provides sufficient processing power for Evolve's demands, with the game's performance scaling pattern pointing to GPU, not CPU, limitations.

The 5.00 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for gaming, as single-threaded performance often dictates minimum frame rates in FPS titles. The PassMark single-thread score of 3509 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1759 indicate the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics calculations without becoming the performance bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on optimal settings for this hardware combination. For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset at 74 FPS offers the best visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay, though players prioritizing competitive frame rates may prefer High at 107 FPS or Medium at 137 FPS. The Low preset at 176 FPS is unnecessary for most scenarios but could benefit esports-oriented play.

At 1440p, the High preset at 72 FPS represents the sweet spot, delivering near-60 FPS gameplay with enhanced visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 92 FPS provides additional headroom for demanding scenes, while Ultra at 50 FPS may cause occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 118 FPS is available for players who prioritize frame rate above all else.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset at 67 FPS is the only configuration that consistently maintains playable frame rates. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 44 FPS that could be problematic during intense combat sequences. The High preset at 41 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are not recommended for a FPS title where quick reactions are essential.

The Medium preset deserves special attention, as it is the only setting level that provides both minimum and maximum FPS measurements across all three resolutions. This data suggests the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame pacing, with the 1080p Medium result (137 FPS average, 116 minimum) providing an excellent balance of visual quality and smooth performance. Based on the measured results, the recommended configurations are 1080p Ultra for maximum quality, 1440p High for balanced performance, and 4K Low for resolution-conscious players.