Evolve

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT achieves a combo rank of 852 out of 2872 tested combinations in Evolve. This places the pairing in the 70th percentile of all tested systems, a solidly above-average position that reflects a balanced mid-to-high-tier configuration. The ranking indicates that roughly 70% of tested combos deliver lower frame rates in this game, while the top 30% outperform this specific pairing.

The CPU's standalone standing reinforces this interpretation. The Core Ultra 7 265 sits in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its nearest rivals in aggregate CPU performance are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 4464P scores 64823 (0.3% higher), the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104 (0.7% higher), while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64438 (0.3% lower) and the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202 (0.7% lower). This tight grouping shows the processor is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no anomalous swings in either direction.

On the GPU side, the RX 6800 XT holds an 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48477. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile at 47743 (1.5% lower), the Intel Arc A550M at 49737 (2.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 49957 (3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 at 50001 (3% higher). The GPU is therefore positioned slightly below some modern competitors in raw synthetic benchmarks, yet the in-game ranking of 852/2872 suggests that Evolve's specific engine characteristics play to this card's strengths.

The gap between the CPU's 93rd percentile and the GPU's 85th percentile, combined with the combo's 70th percentile in-game rank, indicates that Evolve is not purely CPU-bound for this pairing. The game's demands fall somewhere between the two components' relative strengths, with the GPU acting as the more significant constraint on overall frame rates. This interpretation is supported by the measured FPS data, which shows the system scaling predictably with resolution and settings changes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory operates at 2000 MHz with 16 Gbps effective transfer. The GPU's clock profile shows a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. These specifications place the card firmly in the high-end tier of the Radeon RX 6000 series, built on the Navi 21 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture at a 7 nm process node.

The card's compute resources include 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines. It also features 72 ray tracing cores, though Evolve's 2015 release predates widespread ray tracing implementation in games, making this hardware largely dormant for this title. The GPU's pixel rate of 288.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 648.0 GTexel/s provide ample fill rate for the game's resolution scaling demands.

In Evolve specifically, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity proves more than sufficient even at 4K Ultra settings. The game's texture and geometry demands from 2015 are modest by modern standards, so VRAM capacity never becomes a limiting factor in any measured configuration. The bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s similarly provides headroom, as the game's data streaming requirements are well within this card's capabilities.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU's performance envelope across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the card delivers 244 FPS average, indicating that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. The frame rate drops to 103 FPS at 1080p Ultra, showing a 58% reduction from Low to Ultra at the same resolution. This scaling pattern continues at higher resolutions, with the GPU becoming progressively more dominant as the rendering load increases. The boost clock of 2250 MHz allows the card to maintain high utilization during intense combat sequences, though the game's dated engine does not fully stress the modern architecture's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Evolve?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 with AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 852nd out of 2872 tested combinations, placing it in the 70th percentile of all systems tested in this game.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 244 FPS average. The lowest measured average is 39 FPS at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU's aggregate performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 scores 64640 on average, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P (64823), 0.7% lower than the AMD EPYC 9124 (65104), 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64438), and 0.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7343 (64202).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking and how close are its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6800 XT ranks in the 85th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 48477. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile, scores 47743 (1.5% lower), while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49737 (2.5% higher).

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K Medium, the combo averages 72 FPS with minimums of 61 FPS and maximums of 83 FPS. At 4K High, it averages 57 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 39 FPS. 4K Low achieves 93 FPS.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) for a total of 12 distinct configurations.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce 244 FPS average, while Medium settings yield 189 FPS with minimums of 161 and maximums of 217. High settings drop to 148 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 103 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a consistent step-down of roughly 55-60 FPS per settings tier, with the Ultra preset still maintaining triple-digit frame rates.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 163 FPS, Medium settings average 127 FPS with minimums of 108 and maximums of 146, High settings average 99 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 69 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 1440p at each settings level ranges from 81 FPS at Low (244 vs 163) to 34 FPS at Ultra (103 vs 69).

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings still manage a respectable 93 FPS average, but Medium settings drop to 72 FPS with minimums of 61 and maximums of 83. High settings average 57 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 39 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that dips below the 40 FPS threshold, making it marginal for smooth gameplay.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones that include minimum and maximum frame rate data. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 161 to 217 FPS, a 56 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 108 to 146 FPS, a 38 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range tightens further to 61 to 83 FPS, a 22 FPS spread. This narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU's workload becomes more consistent as it becomes the dominant bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Low settings, the progression from 244 FPS at 1080p to 163 FPS at 1440p to 93 FPS at 4K shows a 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the progression from 189 to 127 to 72 FPS represents a 62% reduction as well. High settings scale from 148 to 99 to 57 FPS, a 61% reduction. Ultra settings scale from 103 to 69 to 39 FPS, a 62% reduction.

The consistency of this ~62% scaling across all settings levels is notable. It indicates that the resolution transition imposes a similar relative cost regardless of the graphical preset, which points to the GPU being the primary scaling factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be less pronounced at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do.

The absolute frame rate drops between resolutions are also informative. From 1080p to 1440p, the average reduction across all settings is approximately 42 FPS. From 1440p to 4K, the average reduction is approximately 57 FPS. The larger absolute drop at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU's rendering throughput becomes increasingly taxed as pixel count grows, which is expected given the card's 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 288.0 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The 4K results particularly highlight the GPU's role. At 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS average is less than half of the 103 FPS achieved at 1080p Ultra. This dramatic scaling indicates that Evolve's visual effects at Ultra settings, combined with 4K's 8.3 million pixel count, push the RX 6800 XT to its practical limits. The card's 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high frame rates, but 4K Ultra demands more than the aging architecture can deliver for this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1080p displays, all settings levels provide playable performance. Ultra settings deliver 103 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings at 148 FPS offer a substantial boost over Ultra with minimal visual compromise, making High the recommended preset for 1080p. Medium at 189 FPS and Low at 244 FPS are options for competitive play where maximum frame rates take priority over visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. Ultra settings drop to 69 FPS, which is still playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at 99 FPS provide a more comfortable margin while maintaining most visual quality. Medium at 127 FPS offers the best balance for players who prioritize frame rate stability, as the 108 to 146 FPS range indicates consistent performance. For most users, High at 1440p is the recommended preset, as it delivers nearly 100 FPS average while retaining the majority of the game's visual features.

At 4K, the settings choices become more consequential. Ultra at 39 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and will feel sluggish during fast-paced combat. High at 57 FPS is close to but still under 60 FPS, making it marginal. Medium at 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS provides a playable experience that stays above the 60 FPS floor in the measured data. Low at 93 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience but sacrifices significant visual quality. For 4K, Medium is the recommended preset, as it maintains an average of 72 FPS with minimums that stay above 60 FPS, ensuring consistent gameplay.

The Medium preset's inclusion of minimum and maximum frame rate data across all three resolutions provides additional confidence in its stability. At 1080p Medium, the 161 to 217 FPS range shows consistent high performance. At 1440p Medium, the 108 to 146 FPS range demonstrates reliable frame pacing. At 4K Medium, the 61 to 83 FPS range confirms that even the lowest measured frame rate remains playable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 brings 20 cores and 20 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The processor is built on Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides substantial compute resources for Evolve's CPU-bound scenarios.

Evolve's 2015 release date means the game was designed for much older CPU architectures. The game's engine does not fully utilize 20 cores, but the Core Ultra 7 265's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The processor's Cinebench R23 results show 42216 points in multi-core and 5960 points in single-core, indicating robust performance across both workload types. The Passmark single-thread score of 4689 further confirms the CPU's capability in lightly-threaded scenarios.

The CPU's role in this combo is evident from the FPS data at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 244 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The 1080p Ultra result of 103 FPS versus the 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS demonstrates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's headroom allows the GPU to run at its maximum potential, while at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload dominates.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support provides sufficient data throughput for the game's asset streaming. The processor's PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes ensures the GPU has ample bandwidth for data transfer, though the RX 6800 XT's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface operates well within the available lanes. The CPU's 65W TDP indicates efficient operation, which is notable given the performance it delivers in Evolve's CPU-bound scenes.

The Core Ultra 7 265's position relative to its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks shows it performs as expected for its class. The 0.3% delta versus the 265F variant and the 0.7% delta versus the EPYC 7343 indicate consistent performance within its tier. This CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database, ensuring that for Evolve, the processor is rarely the limiting component in the pairing.