Evolve

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a clear bottleneck picture in Evolve. The data shows a massive performance cliff as resolution increases, pointing directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. This combination is playable at 1080p and 1440p with the right settings, but 4K demands significant compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across the three resolutions tells a consistent story: this combo is GPU-bound at every setting above Low. At 1080p Low, the system pushes 177 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 118 FPS, a 33% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 67 FPS, another 43% cut from the 1440p figure. That scaling pattern is typical of a GPU struggling to feed pixels to the display, while the CPU sits with headroom to spare.

The gap between resolutions narrows as settings increase, which is another sign of GPU limitation. At High settings, the 1080p average is 107 FPS, 1440p is 72 FPS, and 4K is 41 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p (33%) and from 1440p to 4K (43%) are nearly identical to the Low preset pattern. With Medium settings, the numbers are 137 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The consistent proportional losses across all settings confirm that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering throughput, not the CPU's compute capability, is the wall.

At Ultra settings, the frame rates become marginal. The 1080p Ultra average is 74 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 50 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 28 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling: it is less than half the 1080p Ultra figure. This is the behavior of a GPU running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth, not a CPU bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is far beyond what Evolve requires for logic and draw call processing at these frame rates.

The measured Medium preset data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which add context. At 1080p Medium, the range is 116 to 157 FPS around a 137 average. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 78 to 106 FPS around a 92 average. At 4K Medium, the range is 44 to 60 FPS around a 52 average. The shrinking spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the sole determinant of performance, with less variance from scene complexity or CPU hiccups. The 4K Medium minimum of 44 FPS shows that even the mid preset can stutter into the low 40s on this hardware.

FAQ

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

A: 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and playability. At High settings, the average is 72 FPS, which is smooth for a fast-paced FPS. 1080p High reaches 107 FPS, but 4K High drops to 41 FPS, which is below the threshold for competitive play.

Q: Can this system run Evolve at 4K?

A: Yes, but only with significant setting reductions. The 4K Low preset averages 67 FPS, and 4K Medium averages 52 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset averages just 28 FPS, which is not a playable experience. The 4K Medium minimum of 44 FPS suggests occasional dips that could be distracting.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20282. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, scores 20480, which is 1% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (1.2% higher), the Intel Arc B570 scores 20556 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (1.5% higher). All four rivals are within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER, making them effectively equal in raw compute terms.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in Evolve?

A: No. The resolution scaling data shows that FPS drops sharply as resolution increases, which is the signature of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's benchmark percentile of 96 versus all CPUs indicates it is a top-tier processor. The GPU's percentile of 65 versus all GPUs shows it is a mid-range part. The weaker component is clearly the GPU.

Q: What is the expected FPS at 1080p Medium?

A: The measured average is 137 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. This makes 1080p Medium the highest preset that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS average. It is the recommended target for high-refresh-rate monitors.

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

A: The combo ranks 2151 out of 3700 tested combinations. This puts it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is consistent with the RTX 2070 SUPER being a several-generation-old mid-range GPU paired with a current flagship CPU.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing for Evolve. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The measured frame rates at 4K, where memory bandwidth becomes critical, suggest that this capacity is sufficient for the game's textures but the bandwidth is barely adequate. The 4K High average of 41 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 28 FPS indicate the GPU is hitting its memory throughput ceiling.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. These are modest by modern standards, and the Turing architecture's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the fundamental limit. The 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are the hardware that must process every pixel in Evolve's scenes. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU can keep up with the CPU's draw calls, producing 107 FPS at High. But as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, the per-pixel workload becomes too heavy for the 64 ROPs to rasterize.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark results reinforce its mid-range status. Its Passmark G3D score is 18169, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1651. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 83358 and Vulkan score of 90637 show compute capabilities that are respectable but not exceptional. In Evolve, which is a DirectX 11-era title, the Passmark DirectX 11 score of 151 is the most relevant metric. This is not a high score, and it correlates with the 4K performance being poor.

The GPU's 215 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are typical for this class. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Evolve at all settings, as the game's 2015 release date means it was designed for GPUs with far less memory. The bottleneck is purely in raw shading and texture throughput. The RTX 2070 SUPER's production status is end-of-life, and its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all within 1.5% of its average score, confirming that it sits in a crowded performance tier. None of those rivals would meaningfully change the Evolve results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2151 out of 3700 tested combinations places this system in the 42nd percentile of all tested hardware pairs for Evolve. This is a below-median result, which makes sense given the GPU's age and tier. The CPU is a top-tier part with an average benchmark score of 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 20282 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU yields a mid-pack gaming result.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 1.3% of its average score. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K scores 83807 (0.2% lower), the AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090 (1.1% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980 (1.2% lower). The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher. Any of these CPUs would produce identical Evolve results when paired with the RTX 2070 SUPER, because the GPU is the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals are similarly tight. The Quadro M4000M is 1% slower, the RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% slower, the Arc B570 is 1.3% slower, and the Arc A750 is 1.5% slower. All of these GPUs would land at essentially the same frame rates in Evolve. The ranking position of 2151 is therefore not a reflection of a bad pairing, but rather a reflection of the GPU's absolute performance level. Swapping in a stronger GPU would move the combo up the ranks dramatically, while swapping the CPU would change almost nothing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a wide spread across presets. Low preset averages 177 FPS. Medium preset averages 137 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High preset averages 107 FPS. Ultra preset averages 74 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 103 FPS, which is a 58% reduction. This suggests that Evolve's Ultra settings add substantial GPU work, likely through shadows, post-processing, and particle effects that hammer the Turing architecture.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop predictably. Low preset averages 118 FPS. Medium preset averages 92 FPS, with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. High preset averages 72 FPS. Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 33% across all presets. The 1440p Medium minimum of 78 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but the Ultra preset's 50 FPS average is starting to feel sluggish.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low preset averages 67 FPS. Medium preset averages 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. High preset averages 41 FPS. Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is effectively unplayable for an FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 44 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum in the entire dataset, indicating that even the mid preset has moments of noticeable stutter.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. The 1080p range of 116-157 FPS shows a tight distribution. The 1440p range of 78-106 FPS is also tight. The 4K range of 44-60 FPS is tighter still, but the absolute values are low. This pattern indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated at 4K, with no headroom for scene complexity spikes.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to 1080p Medium as the best experience for this combo. The 137 FPS average with a 116 FPS minimum provides a smooth, responsive experience that takes full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors. The 1080p High preset at 107 FPS is also excellent, and the 20% FPS cost for the visual upgrade may be worth it for players who prioritize image quality over raw speed. The 1080p Ultra preset at 74 FPS is playable but sacrifices the headroom that competitive FPS players need.

For 1440p users, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. The 92 FPS average with a 78 FPS minimum is smooth, and the visual quality at 1440p Medium is often comparable to 1080p High due to the higher pixel density. The 1440p High preset at 72 FPS is acceptable for casual play, but the 50 FPS Ultra preset should be avoided. The 1440p Low preset at 118 FPS is viable for esports-focused players, but the visual downgrade is significant.

For 4K users, the choice is between Low and Medium. The 4K Low preset at 67 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The 4K Medium preset at 52 FPS is playable but the 44 FPS minimum will cause noticeable hitches in busy scenes. The 4K High preset at 41 FPS and 4K Ultra at 28 FPS are not recommended for any scenario. Given that the game is from 2015, its 4K textures are not demanding by modern standards, so the Low preset at 4K will still look reasonably sharp.

The overarching recommendation is to target 1080p Medium or High for the best balance of smoothness and fidelity. The RTX 2070 SUPER is simply not powerful enough to drive Evolve at 4K with high settings, and the CPU's massive compute headroom cannot compensate for the GPU's rendering limits. Players with 1440p monitors should lock in Medium settings and enjoy a stable 90+ FPS experience. This combo is a classic example of a CPU that will last for years paired with a GPU that is showing its age in newer, more demanding titles.