Minecraft

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2136 out of 3710 tested combinations for Minecraft. This places the combo in the 43rd percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid mid-pack position for a game that is notoriously light on hardware demands. The ranking reflects that while this setup is far from the top of the charts, it sits comfortably above the median performer.

The CPU itself holds the 68th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Xeon 6756E at 14163 (a 0.2% gap), the Intel Core 7 160UL at 14232 (0.3% behind), the AMD EPYC 7552 at 14115 (0.5% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C at 14277 (0.6% behind). These are all within a rounding error of each other, meaning the i5-10400F sits in an extremely tight cluster of comparable CPUs.

The GPU, meanwhile, holds the 65th percentile among all graphics cards with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (1% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (1.2% ahead), the Intel Arc B570 at 20556 (1.3% ahead), and the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (1.5% ahead). The RTX 2070 SUPER is effectively neck-and-neck with these cards, trailing by only a single-digit percentage.

The combination of a mid-tier CPU and a slightly-above-mid-tier GPU creates a system that is well balanced for a game like Minecraft, where neither component becomes an obvious bottleneck. The data indicates this combo sits in the upper-middle range of what the database has recorded for this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

Minecraft is a game where the CPU often carries more weight than the GPU, particularly at lower resolutions. The measured FPS data illustrates this clearly. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 429 FPS on average. Dropping the resolution to 2560x1440 at Low settings yields 271 FPS, and at 3840x2160 at Low settings it still produces 141 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 37% reduction, while moving from 1440p to 4K is a 48% reduction. This pattern suggests that as resolution climbs, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility, but even at 4K Low the frame rates remain far above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

At the other end of the preset spectrum, the Ultra settings tell a different story. At 1920x1080 Ultra the combo averages 169 FPS, at 2560x1440 Ultra it averages 106 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra it drops to 56 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is a 37% decrease, but the jump from 1440p to 4K is a 47% decrease. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, marking the only configuration in the recorded data where this combo fails to maintain playable frame rates.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution shows how much headroom the GPU has. At 1080p, the difference between Low (429 FPS) and Ultra (169 FPS) is 260 FPS. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 165 FPS. At 4K, the gap is just 85 FPS. This narrowing indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution increases, but the CPU remains capable of feeding it throughout.

For most of the preset and resolution combinations, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, since Minecraft's engine is heavily single-threaded. The i5-10400F has a single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark and a Passmark single-thread score of 2541, which are respectable numbers for a CPU in this class. The GPU, with its 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, has ample bandwidth and compute for this title at all but the most demanding settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides average FPS figures for most configurations, with minimum and maximum values available only for the Medium preset at each resolution.

1920x1080: At Low settings, the combo averages 429 FPS. At Medium settings, it averages 340 FPS with a minimum of 289 FPS and a maximum of 391 FPS. At High settings, the average drops to 270 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average is 169 FPS. Every configuration at this resolution clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin.

2560x1440: At Low settings, the average is 271 FPS. Medium settings produce 214 FPS on average, with a minimum of 182 FPS and a maximum of 247 FPS. High settings yield 170 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 106 FPS. All four presets remain comfortably above 60 FPS.

3840x2160: At Low settings, the average is 141 FPS. Medium settings deliver 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. High settings average 89 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 56 FPS, which is the only recorded configuration below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

The Medium preset data is the most complete, showing consistent frame times across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 289 FPS indicates the combo rarely dips below triple-digit frame rates. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 182 FPS still leaves substantial headroom. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 95 FPS remains well above the playability line.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows diminishing returns in terms of visual fidelity versus frame rate cost. The largest percentage drop occurs when moving from High to Ultra at 4K, where the average falls from 89 FPS to 56 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 1080p, the same transition costs 101 FPS, a 37% drop. At 1440p, the High to Ultra transition costs 64 FPS, also a 37% decline.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Minecraft at 60 FPS on a 4K display?

A: Yes, but not at the highest settings. The recorded data shows 4K High averages 89 FPS, 4K Medium averages 112 FPS, and 4K Low averages 141 FPS. Only 4K Ultra falls below the threshold at 56 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 Ultra averages 106 FPS, making it the highest quality preset that remains comfortably above 60 FPS at a resolution above 1080p. The 4K Ultra preset is the only configuration in the database that fails to reach 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The average FPS drops by roughly 37% across all presets. At Low settings, the drop is from 429 FPS to 271 FPS. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 169 FPS to 106 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The scaling data suggests the GPU becomes more relevant at higher resolutions. At 4K Low, the combo still produces 141 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 56 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at the most demanding settings. At 1080p, even Ultra settings produce 169 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS in the database is 95 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is still well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Minimum FPS values are not recorded for the other presets.

Q: How does this combo compare to its closest rivals?

A: The CPU is within 0.6% of its nearest rivals in the database, trailing the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C by 0.6% and the Intel Core 7 160UL by 0.3%, while leading the Intel Xeon 6756E by 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 7552 by 0.5%. The GPU trails its nearest rivals by 1% to 1.5%, with the Intel Arc A750 being the closest competitor.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, which averages 89 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 56 FPS, failing the playability threshold. Low and Medium also clear the bar at 141 FPS and 112 FPS respectively, but High offers the highest visual quality while maintaining playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, all four presets clear the 60 FPS threshold. The most demanding preset that remains playable is Ultra, which averages 106 FPS. This leaves significant headroom above the 60 FPS minimum, with the lowest recorded minimum FPS at this resolution being 182 FPS on the Medium preset.

At 1920x1080, every preset is far above the 60 FPS line. The most demanding preset, Ultra, averages 169 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 289 FPS, indicating that even the most demanding settings never approach the playability threshold.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minecraft at 60 FPS in nearly every configuration tested. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets are playable with Ultra averaging 169 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable with Ultra averaging 106 FPS. At 3840x2160, three of the four presets are playable, with High being the best playable setting at 89 FPS.

The only failure case is 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which averages 56 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. This is a single data point in an otherwise overwhelmingly positive result. The combo handles Minecraft with substantial headroom at every resolution below 4K, and even at 4K it only struggles with the absolute highest preset.

The benchmark results indicate that this system is more than capable for this title. Players seeking maximum visual fidelity should stick to 1440p Ultra or 1080p Ultra, both of which deliver frame rates well above what most displays can show. Those with 4K displays can run High settings confidently, or accept the slight dip below 60 FPS at Ultra if they prioritize image quality over frame rate consistency. The i5-10400F and RTX 2070 SUPER combination is a strong performer for Minecraft, with the only caveat being the single 4K Ultra configuration that falls just short of the playability line.