Evolve

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is an extremely lopsided combination for Evolve, and the measured frames per second data reflects that imbalance clearly. This pairing pits a 24-core desktop flagship CPU against a GPU that sits at the 50th percentile of all graphics cards, and the result is a config that is almost entirely bound by the graphics card at every resolution and quality setting tested. The measured FPS values range from a playable 113 FPS average at 1080p Low down to a slideshow-like 18 FPS average at 4K Ultra, which means the experience you get depends almost entirely on how aggressively you are willing to lower the graphical load. This is a system where the CPU has enormous headroom, but the GPU simply cannot translate that processing power into high frame rates in this 2015 FPS title.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on Arrow Lake Refresh at a 3 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, and it carries 36 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU’s benchmark data shows it is a top-tier part for compute-heavy workloads, scoring 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core. In PassMark’s multithread test it reaches 60,860, and its single-thread score is 4,823. The processor’s percentile versus all CPUs is 96, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of desktop processors in synthetic tests.

However, in Evolve, those CPU figures are almost irrelevant. Looking at the measured FPS data, the bottleneck is clearly elsewhere. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 113 FPS average. When you move to 1080p Ultra, that number drops to 48 FPS average. If the CPU were the limiting factor, you would expect a much smaller delta between Low and Ultra at the same resolution, because the CPU workload does not scale as dramatically with graphics settings as the GPU workload does. The fact that the average FPS falls by more than half when going from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a classic sign that the GPU is saturated.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals further confirms that this processor is not the constraint. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K scores an average of 83,807, which is just 0.2% behind the 290K Plus’s 84,003. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83,090 (1.1% behind), and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82,980 (1.2% behind). Only the AMD EPYC 7F72 is ahead, with 85,072, a 1.3% lead. These are all server-class or high-end desktop chips, and the differences between them are tiny. In a game like Evolve, which is not known for heavy multi-threaded CPU demands, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates when paired with the same GPU. The data strongly suggests that the 290K Plus is doing its job and waiting for the GPU to catch up.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the measured FPS rows, the best experience for this combo depends on your target resolution and your tolerance for frame rate dips. The only preset that consistently delivers frame rates above 60 FPS average is Low. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 113 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it drops to 76 FPS average. At 4K Low, it falls to 43 FPS average. If you are playing at 1080p, Low is the only setting that guarantees a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, and even then you have plenty of headroom for action-heavy scenes.

Medium is a viable option only at 1080p, where it produces 88 FPS average with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. That minimum of 75 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold, so Medium at 1080p is a defensible choice if you want better visuals without sacrificing smoothness. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS, which means you will experience noticeable stutter during intense moments. At 4K Medium, the average is 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a fast-paced FPS.

High settings are only recommended at 1080p, where the combo averages 69 FPS. That is playable, but it is close to the edge, and any heavy combat could push it lower. At 1440p High, the average is 46 FPS, which is borderline. At 4K High, the average is 26 FPS, which is not acceptable for a competitive shooter. Ultra is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 48 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it is 32 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it is 18 FPS. None of these provide a consistent, fluid experience.

The practical advice is straightforward: at 1080p, use Medium for a balance of visuals and performance, or Low if you prioritize maximum frame rate. At 1440p, stick to Low, as Medium’s 59 FPS average and 50 FPS minimum are too risky. At 4K, even Low will not give you a smooth experience, so you should either drop to 1440p or accept that this GPU cannot handle 4K in Evolve with playable frame rates.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions is a textbook demonstration of a GPU-bound scenario. Starting at 1080p Low, the combo produces 113 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 76 FPS, which is a 32.7% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 43 FPS, which is a 61.9% reduction from the 1080p figure. For Medium settings, the progression is 88 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. That is a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 62.5% drop from 1080p to 4K. High settings show 69 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K, with drops of 33.3% and 62.3% respectively. Ultra settings follow the same pattern: 48 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, representing a 33.3% and 62.5% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is the key insight. Whether you are on Low or Ultra, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly one-third of your performance, and moving to 4K costs roughly two-thirds. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The RTX 3050 4 GB has 2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a 128-bit memory bus and 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Those are modest specifications for 4K rendering, and the data confirms that the card is overwhelmed when pixel count rises.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, you would expect the FPS to stay relatively flat as you lower resolution, because the CPU would still have to process the same game logic and draw calls. Instead, we see FPS nearly triple from 4K Ultra (18 FPS) to 1080p Low (113 FPS). That is the signature of a GPU that is being fed progressively less work as resolution drops, allowing it to run faster. The CPU is not the issue here; the RTX 3050 4 GB is.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 2,505 out of 2,872 combos for Evolve. That places it in the bottom 12.8% of all tested systems. The rank reflects the actual measured performance in this specific game, and it is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limitations. The CPU is one of the fastest available, but the combo rank is dragged down by the graphics card.

To contextualize this rank, consider that the RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, meaning half of all graphics cards are faster. When you pair a 50th-percentile GPU with a 96th-percentile CPU, the resulting system performance is ultimately capped by the GPU. The combo rank of 2,505 out of 2,872 is a clear warning that this is not a balanced gaming system for Evolve. If you were to swap the GPU for a higher-tier card, the rank would improve dramatically, because the CPU has abundant headroom. Conversely, if you were to pair this CPU with a much weaker GPU, the rank might not change much, because the GPU would still be the limiting factor.

The data shows that the combo rank is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003 and a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, which puts it in the same league as server-grade EPYC processors. In a game like Evolve, which likely does not scale perfectly across 24 cores, the CPU’s advantages are largely irrelevant. The measured FPS values are what matter, and they are low enough that this combo ranks near the bottom of the database.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the clear performance limiter in this pairing. It uses the GA107 chip on Samsung’s 8 nm process, with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The GPU has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with memory running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Its 4 GB of GDDR6 memory sits on a 128-bit bus, providing 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, 16 ray tracing cores, and 64 tensor cores, yielding 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its pixel rate is 55.68 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 111.4 GTexel/s.

These specifications are adequate for 1080p gaming in many titles, but Evolve’s measured results show that the 4 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit bus are severe handicaps at higher resolutions. At 4K, the GPU must process four times as many pixels as at 1080p, and the 192.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 18 FPS average, which is unplayable. Even at 4K Low, the average is only 43 FPS. The 4 GB VRAM is also likely insufficient for 4K textures in Evolve, which can cause stuttering or texture pop-in, though the measured data does not include min FPS for most rows.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 50 among all GPUs is a useful reference point. It means this card is exactly average in the broader GPU landscape. However, in 2025, an average GPU from the GeForce 30-series is not well-suited for demanding titles at high resolutions. The RTX 3050 4 GB was released on 2022-01-26, and its production status is end-of-life. The measured FPS data in Evolve confirms that it is best treated as a 1080p card, and even then, only at Medium or Low settings for this particular game.

The GPU’s lack of any benchmark scores in the fact pack further emphasizes that this is a budget-oriented part. Its launch MSRP is 199 USD, and it has a TDP of 90 W with a suggested PSU of 250 W. Those are low-power, entry-level figures, and they align with the measured performance. The card simply does not have the raw throughput to drive Evolve at high frame rates beyond 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of what to expect from this combo across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combo delivers its best results. On Low settings, the average FPS is 113, with no min or max values recorded. On Medium settings, the average is 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. This is the only setting at this resolution where min FPS is reported, and it shows that even in the worst moments, the frame rate stays above 75 FPS. On High settings, the average drops to 69 FPS, with no min or max values. On Ultra settings, the average falls to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The progression from 113 FPS on Low to 48 FPS on Ultra represents a 57.5% performance loss, which is substantial but expected given the GPU’s limited power.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance drops noticeably. On Low settings, the average FPS is 76, which is still playable but no longer has the headroom seen at 1080p. On Medium settings, the average is 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. The minimum of 50 FPS means you will experience dips below 60 FPS during heavy action, which can be disruptive in a fast-paced FPS. On High settings, the average is 46 FPS, which is borderline and likely to feel stuttery. On Ultra settings, the average is 32 FPS, which is not smooth enough for competitive play. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly one-third of the average FPS at every settings tier.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combo is effectively unusable for Evolve. On Low settings, the average FPS is 43, which is below the 60 FPS minimum for a good experience. On Medium settings, the average is 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 FPS and a maximum of 39 FPS. The minimum of 28 FPS indicates severe stuttering. On High settings, the average is 26 FPS, which is a slideshow. On Ultra settings, the average is 18 FPS, which is unplayable. The data at 4K consistently shows that the RTX 3050 4 GB cannot handle this resolution in Evolve, regardless of settings.

Looking at the full dataset, the only configurations that provide a consistently smooth experience are 1080p Low (113 FPS), 1080p Medium (88 FPS), and 1080p High (69 FPS). At 1440p, only Low (76 FPS) and Medium (59 FPS) are worth considering, and even Medium has a 50 FPS minimum. At 4K, no setting delivers acceptable performance. The measured FPS values across all 12 rows paint a clear picture: this combo is a 1080p gaming system, and pushing it to higher resolutions will result in a poor experience. The CPU has no trouble keeping up, but the GPU’s 4 GB VRAM, 128-bit bus, and modest compute throughput are the decisive factors.