Notebookcheck Logo

Evolve Benchmarked

Exciting idea. After Left 4 Dead, Turtle Rock Studios published their next multimedia experiment. This time they use the CryEngine from the shooter expert Crytek instead of Valve's Source engine. Our benchmark test will reveal how this impacts hardware requirements.
Evolve Logo

For the original German article, see here.

Technology

Unlike Crysis 3Evolve is based on the fourth generation instead of the third generation of the CryEngine, which, for example, shows its muscles in Ryse: Son of Rome. Compared to the previous big project of the developers, graphics improved tremendously.

Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve

While textures and polygon count are rather adequate in Left 4 Dead, Evolve is much more hardware-intensive. Apart from the sharpness of objects, the quality of the effects, including smoke, fire, light, or other particles (energy rays, etc.) is particularly convincing. The characters appear more detailed and more lovingly designed, too. The level of Battlefield 4 or Crysis 3 is not completely reached, but the performance is very good for a game designed for multi-player fights. Points of critique are only the level design and the color choice, which is slightly too monotonous or dull over time.

Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve

We appreciate that changing the graphics settings does not require restarting the game (not all settings can be changed when a game is running). Speaking about settings: The video menu has just three options. Apart from the display mode, you can only change resolution, gamma value and the overall quality (four presets). The advanced graphics menu offers more options, including five detail or quality controls, vertical synchronization, and various anti-aliasing modes. Those owning an Nvidia notebook can select the significantly better TXAA instead of SMAA, SMAA 1TX or FXAA.

Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve
Evolve

We were not completely satisfied with Evolve in terms of technology. For example, the frame rate sometimes falls by above 50% during effect-intensive fights. Many systems generally suffered from stuttering, although their performance was sufficient on paper (especially with low and medium settings). In addition, loading and game starts should be bit faster. Hence, the developers should spend a little more time on optimization. So far, the title does not run completely smoothly.

Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings
Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings

Benchmark

We use the beginning of the monster tutorial as the benchmark sequence. After a short camera movement, "Goliath" runs, jumps and climbs through quite a linear jungle. As soon as the monster reaches a higher plateau, we stop recording with the Fraps tool and record minimum and average fps. The latter roughly corresponds to what you can expect from the game. The sequence is neither undemanding nor particularly computationally intensive. Comfortable gameplay should be possible with a benchmark result of 35+.

Results

Since the graphics quality can only be reduced to some extent (even the low preset still looks acceptable), the hardware requirements are steep. Entry-level or older mid-range GPUs like the HD Graphics 4600 or the GeForce GT 740M are generally too weak for the title. At least a GeForce GT 750M is required for low details and a resolution of 1024x768 pixels. If you want to enjoy medium settings and 1366x768 to 1600x900 pixels, you'll have to own a powerful all-round chip like the GeForce GTX 850M. 1920x1080 pixels and the (very) high preset won't run smoothly with weaker graphics cards than a GeForce GTX 780M or GTX 870M.

Unfortunately, we could not test the Radeon R9 M290X, since the driver installation was messed up and not even a system restore could resolve this problem. In the coming weeks, the results from other AMD chips will follow (most of them low-end and mid-range). All benchmarks considered, Evolve is very demanding and definitely calls for a real gaming notebook with higher settings.

Evolve
    1920x1080 Very High Graphics Quality AA:1TX SM     1920x1080 High Graphics Quality AA:FX     1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality     1024x768 Low Graphics Quality
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 3770K
Desktop-PC
87.1 (67min) fps ∼49%
97.6 (70min) fps ∼49%
97.8 (60min) fps ∼43%
104.3 (65min) fps ∼38%
AMD Radeon R9 290X, 4790K
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC
103 (32min) fps ∼58%
125 (0min) fps ∼63%
AMD Radeon R9 280X, 3770K
Desktop-PC
75.1 (65min) fps ∼42%
85.9 (68min) fps ∼43%
97.1 (69min) fps ∼43%
106.1 (66min) fps ∼39%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
61.9 (44min) fps ∼35%
67.1 (51min) fps ∼34%
87.7 (64min) fps ∼39%
93.6 (65min) fps ∼34%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
51.4 (41min) fps ∼29%
57.5 (47min) fps ∼29%
86.9 (60min) fps ∼39%
94.9 (59min) fps ∼35%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
48.6 (42min) fps ∼27%
55.7 (48min) fps ∼28%
83.2 (57min) fps ∼37%
91.3 (59min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
45.2 (40min) fps ∼25%
50.9 (44min) fps ∼26%
81.8 (59min) fps ∼36%
89.9 (62min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
40 (35min) fps ∼22%
46 (40min) fps ∼23%
78 (57min) fps ∼35%
88 (62min) fps ∼32%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
28.8 (25min) fps ∼16%
32.8 (28min) fps ∼16%
60.4 (55min) fps ∼27%
74.7 (63min) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
27.6 (24min) fps ∼16%
32.4 (28min) fps ∼16%
61.1 (55min) fps ∼27%
82.4 (72min) fps ∼30%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, 4340M
Schenker M504
23 (20min) fps ∼13%
26.9 (22min) fps ∼14%
51.3 (46min) fps ∼23%
69 (60min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
21.8 (19min) fps ∼12%
24.9 (21min) fps ∼13%
46.1 (41min) fps ∼20%
62.1 (56min) fps ∼23%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 4702MQ
Schenker M503
12.2 (9min) fps ∼7%
14.3 (12min) fps ∼7%
27.2 (22min) fps ∼12%
35.9 (29min) fps ∼13%
AMD Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop), A10-7850K
A10-7850K Asus A88-XM-PLUS
13 (11min) fps ∼7%
15.7 (14min) fps ∼8%
27.5 (22min) fps ∼12%
35.7 (29min) fps ∼13%
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, 4750HQ
SCHENKER S413
12 (10min) fps ∼6%
21 (11min) fps ∼9%
28 (20min) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, 2637M
Acer Aspire M3-581TG
9.2 (4min) fps ∼5%
20.2 (18min) fps ∼9%
26.3 (23min) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M, 4200M
HP Envy 15-j011sg
8.4 (5min) fps ∼5%
10.1 (7min) fps ∼5%
19.8 (13min) fps ∼9%
26.5 (17min) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M, 4200M
MSI CX61-i572M
7.1 (0min) fps ∼4%
13.7 (0min) fps ∼6%
18.7 (0min) fps ∼7%
AMD Radeon HD 8650G, A10-5750M
Pumori Test Platform (A10-5750M)
18.5 (15min) fps ∼7%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M, 3720QM
Asus N56VM
6.3 (3min) fps ∼3%
12 (10min) fps ∼5%
16.2 (14min) fps ∼6%
Intel HD Graphics 4600, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
11 (9min) fps ∼5%
14.7 (12min) fps ∼5%
Intel Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
14.4 (8min) fps ∼6%
19.1 (15min) fps ∼7%

Test Systems

Four of our test devices stem from Schenker Technologies (mysn.de):

  • W504 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 860M, GTX 870M, GTX 880M, GTX 970M, GTX 980M, Radeon R9 M290X)
  • W503 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 765M, GTX 770M, GTX 780M)
  • M504 (Core i5-4340M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 850M)
  • M503 (Core i7-4702MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 750M)

Each of these notebooks has Windows 7 64-bit installed.

Nvidia provided us with further test devices:

In addition, Intel provided us with the:

  • Schenker S413 (Core i7-4750HQ, 8 GB DDR3, Iris Pro Graphics 5200)

The desktop computers house CPUs/APUs from Intel and AMD, SSDs from Micron, Intel, and Samsung, motherboards from Intel and Asus and graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.

Used GPU driver: Nvidia 347.52, AMD 14.12, Intel 15.36.14.64.4080

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
 Evolve (2015)
low
1024x768
Low Graphics Quality
med.
1366x768
Medium Graphics Quality
high
1920x1080
High Graphics Quality
FXAA
ultra
1920x1080
Very High Graphics Quality
1TX SMAA
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
Qualcomm Adreno 220
AMD Radeon Pro 555
Qualcomm Adreno 205
AMD Radeon HD 6790
AMD Radeon HD 6775G2
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6250
AMD Radeon HD 6290
AMD Radeon 760M
AMD Radeon 680M
AMD Radeon HD 6760G2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
222.8n2
190.55n2
114.65n2
101.3n2
NVIDIA RTX A4500 Laptop GPU
AMD Radeon PRO W6600M
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
AMD Radeon HD 6640G2
AMD Radeon Pro 460
AMD Radeon Pro 455
AMD Radeon HD 6645G2
AMD Radeon HD 6650M
AMD Radeon HD 6470M
AMD Radeon 890M
AMD FirePro W5130M
AMD Radeon HD 7400G
AMD Radeon HD 7310
AMD Radeon HD 7340
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 7290
AMD Radeon HD 6990M
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q
Intel UHD Graphics 617
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX SLI
NVIDIA Titan RTX
Intel UHD Graphics 615
NVIDIA GeForce 9100M G
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 435M
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
NVIDIA GeForce Go 6100
NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q
NVIDIA Quadro T2000 (Laptop)
NVIDIA Quadro T1000 Max-Q
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA Quadro T1000 (Laptop)
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 (Laptop)
PowerVR SGX535
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M SLI
PowerVR GXA6850
NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA T600 Laptop GPU
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6690G2
Qualcomm Adreno 203
AMD Radeon HD 6380G
AMD Radeon HD 6450M
AMD Radeon 880M
AMD Radeon 780M
AMD Radeon 630
AMD Radeon 625
AMD FirePro M8900
AMD FirePro W5170M
AMD Radeon 520
AMD Radeon HD 6620G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 7480D
10.7
AMD Radeon HD 6430M
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000)
AMD Radeon 740M
AMD FirePro W4190M
AMD Radeon 540X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
91.3
83.2
55.7
48.6
NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
AMD Radeon Pro 450
AMD Radeon HD 6520G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6530M
AMD Radeon HD 6850M
AMD Radeon HD 6520G
AMD Radeon HD 7620G
AMD Radeon HD 6870
60
52
29.2
25.7
AMD Radeon HD 7630M
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6545G2
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA T500 Laptop GPU
NVIDIA GeForce 910M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
NVIDIA Quadro P3200
AMD Radeon HD 6620G
AMD Radeon HD 6515G2
AMD Radeon HD 6540G2
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
AMD Radeon Pro 555X
AMD Radeon Pro 560
AMD Radeon Pro 5600M
AMD Radeon Pro 560X
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56
AMD Radeon Pro W6800
NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
AMD Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
AMD Radeon HD 6970M
AMD Radeon HD 6950M
AMD Radeon HD 6870M
AMD Radeon HD 6970
ATI Radeon HD 4350
AMD Radeon HD 7660D
ATI Mobility Radeon X600
ATI Radeon HD 5850
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
ATI Mobility Radeon X300
ATI Radeon HD 5770
NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 415M
NVIDIA GeForce 820M
NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M
NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA GeForce 7190M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA GeForce GT 325M
NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
18.7
13.7
7.1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M SLI
189.3
178.3
130.7
117.2
NVIDIA GeForce GT 710
NVIDIA Quadro P4000 Max-Q
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
NVIDIA Quadro P2000 Max-Q
AMD Radeon HD 6680G2
AMD Radeon HD 6490M
AMD Radeon HD 6480G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
PowerVR G6400
NVIDIA Quadro P620
PowerVR SGX554MP4
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 (Laptop)
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA Tegra K1 Kepler GPU
NVIDIA Quadro P600
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PowerVR GM9446
PowerVR GE8322 / IMG8322
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PowerVR GE8300
PowerVR GE8100
PowerVR SGX543MP2
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon R5 M330
20.1
15
8.3
AMD Radeon HD 6510G2
AMD Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5
AMD Radeon HD 6730M
AMD Radeon HD 6480G
AMD Radeon 660M
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD FirePro W4170M
AMD FirePro W2100
AMD Radeon HD 6330M
AMD Radeon HD 6320
AMD Radeon HD 6310
AMD Radeon 620
AMD Radeon 610
AMD Radeon 610M
AMD FirePro W4100
AMD FirePro M5950
AMD FirePro M4000
AMD FirePro M6100
AMD FirePro M3900
AMD FirePro M4100
AMD Radeon 530
AMD FirePro M2000
AMD Radeon HD 6755G2
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6770M
AMD FirePro M6000
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA RTX A2000 Laptop GPU
AMD FirePro M5100
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M SLI
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
AMD Radeon HD 6750M
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT SLI
ATI Radeon HD 5670
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
126.35n2
102.65n2
62.9n3
55.6n3
NVIDIA Quadro P2000
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
211.4
176.4
94.6
85.7
AMD Radeon HD 6830M
AMD FirePro W7170M
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6370M
AMD Radeon HD 6350M
AMD Radeon R5 M430
AMD Radeon R5 M420
AMD Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
159.4
117.9
65.6
57.1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
67.45n2
48.7n3
26n3
23.05n2
AMD Radeon HD 6570M
AMD Radeon R5 M320
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >Evolve
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 8970M
AMD Radeon R5 M335
22.2
14.5
8.5
5.2
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 130M
AMD Radeon HD 8870M
PowerVR SGX543MP4
AMD Radeon HD 8850M
AMD Radeon HD 6620G + HD 7670M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
AMD Radeon HD 6550M
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200
28
21
12
(-) * Smaller values are better. / n123 Number of benchmarks for this median value / * Approximate position

 

Legend
5Stutters – This game is very likely to stutter and have poor frame rates. Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, average frame rates are expected to fall below 25fps
May Stutter – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, stutters and poor frame rates are expected.
30Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 25fps
40Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 35fps
60Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 58fps
May Run Fluently – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, fluent frame rates are expected.
?Uncertain – This graphics card experienced unexpected performance issues during testing for this game. A slower card may be able to achieve better and more consistent frame rates than this particular GPU running the same benchmark scene.
Uncertain – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game and no reliable interpolation can be made based on the performances of surrounding cards of the same class or family.
The value in the fields displays the average frame rate of all values in the database. Move your cursor over the value to see individual results.
Read all 1 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Florian Glaser, 2015-02-25 (Update: 2021-05-18)