Evolve

# Evolve — Intel Core Ultra 9 185H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

This mobile combination pairs Intel's 16-core Meteor Lake flagship with NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace RTX 4070 GPU, delivering a benchmark profile that ranges from highly playable at 1080p to demanding at 4K in this 2015 FPS title. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the CPU holding its own in compute-heavy scenes while the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H brings 16 cores and 22 threads to the table, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This Meteor Lake processor, built on Intel's 7 nm process, features a 24 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. In the context of Evolve, a game released in 2015, this CPU provides ample headroom for the game's physics and AI systems, which were designed for far less capable hardware.

The CPU's benchmark positioning reinforces this assessment. It scores 17,984.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,810.5 in single-core, placing it at the 85th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 35,670 sits nearly even with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35,719, just 0.1% behind) and the Intel Core 7 250H (35,728, 0.2% behind). The gap widens slightly against the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35,802, 0.4% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (35,909, 0.7% ahead), but these deltas are minimal — the Ultra 9 185H is effectively in the same performance tier as these rivals.

For Evolve specifically, the CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock is the more relevant specification. The game's single-threaded performance demands are modest by modern standards, and the high boost clock ensures that the primary game thread — typically responsible for player movement, monster AI, and collision detection — has access to peak frequency when needed. The 24 MB L3 cache also helps with the game's asset streaming, reducing the frequency of memory stalls that could cause frame hitches.

The PassMark physics score of 1,956 and floating-point math score of 73,270 indicate that the CPU can handle the game's particle effects and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the GPU is comparatively less stressed, the measured 190 FPS average suggests the CPU is not limiting performance — the frame rate ceiling is high enough to keep pace with the RTX 4070's output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured performance deltas across resolutions. Built on the AD104 chip with 5 nm TSMC process, this GPU features 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The RTX 4070's clock behavior is notable: a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. In Evolve, which is not a particularly demanding title by modern standards, the GPU can sustain high clocks without thermal throttling, which partially explains the strong frame rates at 1080p. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26,927 places it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 37,648 is closely matched by the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628, just 0.1% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507, 0.4% behind). The RTX 4080 Mobile leads by a modest 1.3% (38,135), while the Radeon PRO W6400 trails by 1.3% (37,157).

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Evolve, which was released in 2015 and designed around far smaller memory footprints. Even at 4K Ultra settings, the game is unlikely to approach the RTX 4070's memory ceiling, meaning the GPU's compute throughput — not VRAM capacity — is the limiting factor at high resolutions. The 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provides ample data throughput for texture streaming and geometry processing, which is evident in the smooth scaling from Medium to High settings at each resolution.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ultra 9 185H compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ultra 9 185H's average benchmark score of 35,670 is within 0.7% of all four nearest rivals. It trails the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 by 0.1% (35,719), the Intel Core 7 250H by 0.2% (35,728), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by 0.4% (35,802), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X by 0.7% (35,909). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS drops from 190 on Low to 80 on Ultra, a reduction of 110 FPS or approximately 58%. The Medium preset delivers 147 FPS, and High produces 115 FPS. This steep drop indicates that Ultra settings impose a significant rendering load on the RTX 4070.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's benchmark score compare to the RTX 4080 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,648 is 1.3% lower than the RTX 4080 Mobile's 38,135. The RTX 4070 also outperforms the Radeon RX Vega 56 by 0.4% (37,507) and the Radeon PRO W6400 by 1.3% (37,157), while the Tesla P4 is nearly identical at 37,628 (0.1% difference).

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary constraint. The average FPS ranges from 31 on Ultra to 72 on Low, showing that the RTX 4070's rendering throughput governs performance. The CPU's compute capabilities, as evidenced by its high PassMark scores, are sufficient to feed the GPU even at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher.

Q: What is the largest FPS drop between consecutive settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the largest drop occurs when moving from High (77 FPS) to Ultra (54 FPS), a decrease of 23 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 99 FPS, and Low produces 127 FPS. This pattern indicates that Ultra settings at 1440p push the GPU into a less efficient performance range.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Evolve?

A: This combination ranks 1,533 out of 2,872 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the benchmark database. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 85th percentile and the GPU's 81st percentile positions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 produces its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 190 FPS, which drops to 147 FPS on Medium. The High preset delivers 115 FPS, while Ultra falls to 80 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing with only modest variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low produces 127 FPS, Medium delivers 99 FPS (with a minimum of 84 and maximum of 113), High reaches 77 FPS, and Ultra drops to 54 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution — 23 FPS — is the largest single-preset drop in the measured data, suggesting that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately impact the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 is clearly pushed to its limits. Low settings yield 72 FPS, Medium delivers 56 FPS (with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65), High produces 44 FPS, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. These numbers place 4K Ultra just below the playability threshold of 60 FPS, while 4K Low remains comfortably playable.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 190 at 1080p to 127 at 1440p (a 33% reduction) and then to 72 at 4K (a 43% reduction from 1440p). The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 147 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p (33% drop), and 56 FPS at 4K (43% drop). High settings follow with 115 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p (33% drop), and 44 FPS at 4K (43% drop). Ultra settings produce 80 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p (33% drop), and 31 FPS at 4K (43% drop).

This consistent scaling pattern — a 33% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 43% reduction from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by 125% from 1440p to 4K, and the FPS drops track closely with these pixel-count increases. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not scale so directly with resolution — we would expect to see larger relative drops at lower resolutions where the CPU is more heavily utilized.

The fact that the scaling ratios are nearly identical across all four settings presets reinforces that the RTX 4070's fill rate and shading throughput are the decisive factors. The CPU's role remains consistent regardless of resolution, providing stable frame pacing without introducing additional overhead at higher pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS or higher, the measured data supports specific settings choices at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with even Ultra delivering 80 FPS. This makes 1080p Ultra a viable option for players who prioritize visual fidelity, while the Medium preset at 147 FPS is the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, making it the optimal balance between visual quality and frame rate. High settings at 77 FPS are also playable, but Ultra at 54 FPS dips below the 60 FPS threshold. Players with 144 Hz displays should consider the Low preset at 127 FPS, though the visual trade-off may not be worth the frame rate gain for most users.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings (72 FPS) and Medium settings (56 FPS) approach playable frame rates. High at 44 FPS and Ultra at 31 FPS are best avoided for competitive play, though they may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay. The Medium preset's minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS indicate that frame pacing remains consistent even when average FPS falls below 60.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most favorable trade-off between visual quality and performance. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High costs roughly 22-27% of average FPS at every resolution, while the jump from High to Ultra costs an additional 30-41%. The Medium preset's measured minimum and maximum values also show the tightest frame pacing, suggesting more consistent performance during intense combat sequences.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1,533 out of 2,872 tested combos for Evolve, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all tested configurations. This middle-tier ranking reflects the fact that Evolve is a 2015 title with modest system requirements, meaning even mid-range modern hardware can achieve high frame rates. The combo's ranking is likely constrained more by the GPU's 81st percentile position than the CPU's 85th percentile, as the game's graphics load scales more aggressively with resolution than its CPU demands.

The CPU's benchmark performance, which sits within 0.7% of four nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, indicates that the Ultra 9 185H is not a limiting factor in this configuration. The GPU's position, with the RTX 4080 Mobile leading by only 1.3% in average benchmark score, suggests that the RTX 4070 is well-matched to the CPU's capabilities. The measured frame rates at 1080p — exceeding 100 FPS on Medium and High settings — confirm that this pairing is sufficient for smooth gameplay, while the 4K results demonstrate the expected performance ceiling for this GPU tier.

The ranking of 1,533 out of 2,872 means that roughly 47% of tested combos achieve better performance in Evolve. Given the game's age and the hardware's modern specifications, this positioning is consistent with expectations — the combination excels at high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gameplay but falls short of the top tier at 4K Ultra, where more powerful desktop GPUs would naturally dominate.