Evolve

Evolve, the 2015 asymmetric FPS, presents an interesting stress profile for the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows surprising headroom in CPU-bound scenarios at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics, focusing on resolution scaling, component roles, and practical settings for this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate trajectory from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck shifts. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 258 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 173 FPS, a 33% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 98 FPS, representing a 62% decline from the 1080p baseline. This aggressive scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor almost immediately as pixel count increases.

For High settings, the scaling is similar but starts from a lower base. The 1080p High result is 157 FPS, dropping to 105 FPS at 1440p (a 33% decrease) and then to 60 FPS at 4K (a 62% decrease from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest a predictable GPU-bound curve rather than any unexpected CPU limitation emerging at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset shows the most complete data with min and max frame times. At 1080p Medium, the average is 200 FPS with a minimum of 170 FPS and maximum of 230 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 FPS and maximum of 154 FPS. The 4K Medium result is 76 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 88 FPS. The gap between min and max frames widens proportionally with resolution, indicating that the RTX 5080's frame pacing remains consistent even when pushed harder.

Ultra settings tell a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 109 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 73 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 41 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered acceptable for smooth gameplay. This suggests that Ultra settings at 4K exceed what this GPU can sustain for this title, despite its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The scaling behavior indicates that Evolve is not particularly sensitive to CPU performance at higher resolutions. The Core Ultra 9 275HX, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, provides ample processing power that remains underutilized once the resolution increases. The data shows a classic GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 performance becomes the determining factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest recorded average is 258 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 200 FPS average, High delivers 157 FPS, and Ultra delivers 109 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with all settings maxed?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 41, which falls below the 60 FPS target. To achieve 60 FPS at 4K, you must use High settings, which produce an average of 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 9 275HX has an average benchmark score of 67469. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon w5-3525, scores 67673, putting the Ultra 9 0.3% behind. The AMD EPYC 4484PX scores 67822 (0.5% behind), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX scores 67868 (0.6% behind). The Intel Xeon 6515P scores 67006, which is 0.7% ahead of the Ultra 9.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 134, with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS. This represents a 20 FPS spread between minimum and average, indicating moderate frame pacing variance.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark standing reflect its gaming performance in Evolve?

A: The RTX 5080 ranks in the 87th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 8060S, scores 55757 (0.6% behind), while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367 (2.2% ahead). The gaming data shows the RTX 5080 performing well within this expected range.

Q: How does the 1080p Low result compare to the 4K Ultra result?

A: The 1080p Low average of 258 FPS is 6.3 times higher than the 4K Ultra average of 41 FPS. This dramatic difference underscores the GPU's workload scaling with resolution and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture. It operates with a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. The CPU's L3 cache is 36 MB shared, with L1 and L2 caches of 192 KB and 3 MB per core, respectively. This configuration places it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs tested.

In Evolve, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at most settings. The 1080p Low result of 258 FPS suggests the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them, but the scalability from Low to Ultra at the same resolution shows the GPU is the primary constraint. The 258 FPS at Low versus 109 FPS at Ultra (1080p) represents a 58% reduction, which is entirely attributable to GPU workload.

The CPU's benchmark results provide context for its capability. In Cinebench R23 multi-core, it scores 35589, with a single-core score of 2204. In Geekbench, the multi-core score is 20795 and single-core is 2458. These numbers indicate strong multi-threaded performance, but Evolve does not appear to be a heavily threaded title based on the frame rate scaling.

The 24 threads present no advantage in this game over a processor with fewer cores, as the measured FPS at 1080p Low (258) is not constrained by CPU throughput. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that single-threaded performance is more than adequate for the game's logic and physics calculations. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support is sufficient to keep the GPU fed, as no stutter or unusual frame drops appear in the measured data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 5080 ranks 1001st out of 3700 tested combos in Evolve. This places it in the top 27% of all configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 94th percentile standing and the GPU's 87th percentile standing, with the GPU being the more limiting factor.

The combo's position in the rankings is influenced by the game's age and the hardware's modern capabilities. Evolve was released in 2015, and the RTX 5080 is designed for contemporary titles with ray tracing and advanced effects. For this older FPS, the GPU's raw rasterization performance is what matters, and the 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is substantial.

The CPU's rank among its peers shows it is competitive with workstation-class processors. The nearest rival, the Intel Xeon w5-3525, has an average score of 67673, which is only 0.3% higher than the Ultra 9's 67469. This indicates that the Ultra 9 275HX is positioned at the upper echelon of CPU performance, even if Evolve does not fully utilize its capabilities.

The 1001st rank out of 3700 suggests that many combos achieve higher FPS in Evolve, likely due to more powerful GPUs or configurations optimized for this specific game. However, the measured data shows this combo delivers playable frame rates across all resolutions except 4K Ultra, which is a reasonable expectation for a 2015 title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 98 FPScars. Medium settings yield an average of 76 FPS with a minimum of 65 and maximum of 88. High settings deliver an average of 60 FPS. Ultra settings drop to an average of 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58% reduction in frame rate, with each settings tier costing approximately 20-25% performance.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), Low settings achieve 173 FPS average. Medium settings produce 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 and maximum of 154. High settings deliver 105 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 73 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution is a 58% drop, consistent with the 4K pattern.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), Low settings reach 258 FPS average. Medium settings produce 200 FPS average with a minimum of 170 and maximum of 230. High settings deliver 157 FPS average. Ultra settings result in 109 FPS average. The Low to Ultra reduction is 58% here as well, showing a consistent performance penalty for each settings tier across all resolutions.

The Medium settings provide the only complete min/max data, which allows for frame pacing analysis. At 1080p Medium, the spread between minimum (170) and maximum (230) is 60 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 40 FPS (114 to 154). At 4K Medium, the spread narrows to 23 FPS (65 to 88). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working closer to its limits, reducing the variance between frames.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the most compelling experience. The 134 FPS average with a minimum of 114 FPS ensures smooth gameplay on high refresh rate monitors. The 114 FPS minimum is well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing consistent frame delivery even during intense combat sequences.

At 4K, the High preset is the only option that maintains a 60 FPS average. The 60 FPS result at 3840x2160 High is playable, but it leaves no headroom for drops. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 76 FPS average with a 65 FPS minimum, which is a safer choice for maintaining smoothness. Given the 65 FPS minimum, Medium at 4K is the recommended configuration for 4K displays.

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 258 FPS average provides maximum responsiveness. The Medium preset at 200 FPS is also viable for high refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 1080p (109 FPS) is acceptable but does not offer a significant visual improvement over High (157 FPS) to justify the 31% performance penalty.

The 1440p Ultra setting at 73 FPS is a middle ground for those wanting higher visual fidelity without dropping to 4K. The 73 FPS average is above the 60 FPS threshold, but the lack of min/max data for Ultra settings makes it difficult to assess frame consistency. Given the data, Medium at 1440p is the most robust choice, offering 134 FPS average with a confirmed minimum of 114 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, with 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2617 MHz, with memory running at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Evolve, the GPU's role is dominant. The measured FPS at all resolutions and settings scales directly with GPU workload. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this 2015 title, which does not require the high memory capacities of modern games. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is not a bottleneck, even at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark results show it ranks in the 87th percentile among all GPUs. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 8637. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 255450, and in OpenCL, 235901. The Passmark G3D score is 36565, with a GPU compute score of 21789. These numbers place it above the average but not at the very top of the GPU hierarchy.

The nearest rival data shows the RTX 5080's position. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 0.6% behind the RTX 5080's 56083 average. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (0.7% behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (2.3% behind). The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% ahead. This indicates the RTX 5080 sits in a competitive mid-to-high range.

The 4K Ultra result of 41 FPS is the clearest indicator of GPU limitation. Even with the powerful RTX 5080, Evolve's Ultra settings at 4K require more than 56.28 TFLOPS to sustain 60 FPS. The GPU's pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are substantial, but the game's effects at Ultra push beyond these capabilities. The 112 ROPs may also limit fill-rate-bound scenarios at 4K Ultra, contributing to the sub-60 FPS result.