Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 850th out of 3,712 tested combos for Minimum. This places the configuration in the top 23% of all recorded system pairings, a strong result for a third-person shooter from 2014. The percentile data reinforces this: the CPU sits at the 71st percentile against all tested processors, while the GPU reaches the 83rd percentile against all tested graphics cards. The combination of a mid-range six-core processor with a high-end Ampere GPU produces frame rates that are consistently playable across all tested resolutions, which is what pushes this combo into the upper quartile of the database.

The rank itself reflects the balance of the pairing. The i5-11400F is not a flagship processor, but its 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz deliver enough throughput for a game like Minimum, which does not appear to demand extreme multi-core performance. The RTX 3080 Ti, with 10,240 shading units and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, provides the dominant contribution to the measured frame rates. The recorded data shows that at 1080p, the combo exceeds 200 FPS on medium settings and approaches 280 FPS on low, indicating that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions. At 4K, the frame rates drop but remain above the 60 FPS threshold on high settings, which is a notable achievement for this resolution.

Compared to the broader database, the combo's rank of 850 is influenced by the fact that many tested configurations use newer or higher-core-count CPUs. However, the measured results show that for Minimum specifically, the i5-11400F is sufficient to keep the RTX 3080 Ti fed, and the GPU's raw power carries the system. The 71st percentile CPU ranking and 83rd percentile GPU ranking both support the conclusion that this is a well-matched pair for this title, with neither component dragging the other down to a degree that would make the combo underperform.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database lists several processors that perform nearly identically to the Intel Core i5-11400F based on average benchmark scores. The AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17,120, which is just 0.3% lower than the i5-11400F's average of 17,177. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239, a 0.4% advantage over the i5-11400F. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17,278, 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17,074, 0.6% lower. These four CPUs all sit within a 1.2% performance band around the i5-11400F, meaning that in a CPU-bound scenario, swapping to any of these would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Minimum. For a game like this, where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, the choice among these processors would have no practical impact on playability.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3080 Ti has similar average benchmark scores to several other cards. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40,870, which is 0.8% lower than the RTX 3080 Ti's 41,187. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41,707, 1.2% higher, and the standard NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41,897, 1.7% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40,377, 2% lower. These delta values are all within a 3.7% range, so any of these GPUs would deliver similar average frame rates in the database's measured results. However, the RTX 3080 Ti's advantage in features like DirectX 12 Ultimate support and ray tracing cores would not matter for Minimum, which is a 2014 title that does not leverage those capabilities. What matters is raw rasterization throughput, and the data shows these cards would be interchangeable in practice.

For a user considering alternatives, the practical takeaway is that the i5-11400F can be swapped for any of the listed CPUs without changing the outcome, and the RTX 3080 Ti can be swapped for any of the listed GPUs without significantly altering the experience. The frame rates in Minimum would remain within the same general range, since the game's engine is not built to exploit the differences between these components.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions and presets clarifies which component dominates in Minimum. At 1920x1080, the low preset delivers 279.2 FPS, while the high preset delivers 178.9 FPS. The gap between low and high at 1080p is 100.3 FPS, which is a 56% reduction. At 2560x1440, the low preset drops to 179.1 FPS and high to 114.8 FPS, a 64.3 FPS difference. At 3840x2160, low produces 95 FPS and high produces 63.7 FPS, a 31.3 FPS difference. The absolute FPS values fall as resolution increases, which indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 3080 Ti's bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s and pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s are being stressed more at 4K, and the frame rates reflect that.

The CPU's role becomes clearer when looking at the scaling from 1080p to 1440p. The low preset drops from 279.2 FPS to 179.1 FPS, a 35.9% reduction, while the high preset drops from 178.9 to 114.8, a 35.8% reduction. This proportional scaling suggests that at these two resolutions, the GPU is the primary constraint. The jump from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced: low goes from 179.1 to 95 FPS, a 47% reduction, and high goes from 114.8 to 63.7, a 44.5% reduction. The GPU is clearly the dominant component across all settings.

However, the CPU is not irrelevant. The i5-11400F's single-thread score of 868 in 3dmark and 2,024 in Cinebench R23 single-core indicate that it can handle the game's logic and draw call processing without becoming a bottleneck at 60 FPS, which is the playable threshold. The fact that 4K high still clears 60 FPS at 63.7 FPS shows that the CPU can maintain the minimum frame pacing required for a smooth experience even when the GPU is heavily loaded. If the CPU were weaker, the 4K high result would likely dip below the threshold, but the data shows it does not. At 1080p, where the GPU has excess capacity, the CPU's limits never surface because the frame rates remain far above any playability concern.

The preset scaling also reveals that the GPU handles the graphical load with headroom. The difference between medium and high at 4K is 12.9 FPS (76.6 to 63.7), while the difference between ultra and high at 4K is 19.1 FPS (44.6 to 63.7). The ultra preset at 4K falls below 60 FPS, which means the GPU cannot handle the most demanding settings at that resolution, but the CPU is not the reason. The bottleneck is entirely the GPU's shading and memory throughput.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum with strong results. The verdict data from the database shows that at 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with the best settings being High at an average of 63.7 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS threshold by a narrow but sufficient margin. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, including Ultra at 90.1 FPS, which is well above the threshold. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering 138.5 FPS, nearly 2.3 times the playable threshold.

The only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS is 4K with the Ultra preset, which averages 44.6 FPS. This is the single recorded instance where the combo does not meet the playability bar. For every other combination of resolution and preset in the measurements, the system clears 60 FPS. The verdict is clear: this is a high-performance combo for Minimum, capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings, and at 4K with high settings. Users who prioritize 4K should avoid the Ultra preset, but they can still enjoy the game at high quality with a playable frame rate.

The data also indicates that the combo has substantial headroom at lower resolutions. The 1080p ultra result of 138.5 FPS means the system can handle demanding future scenarios or background tasks without dropping below the threshold. The 4K high result of 63.7 FPS is closer to the edge, so users at that resolution should monitor settings if they want a consistent frame rate, but the recorded average is playable.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 44.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 63.7 FPS.

Q: What is the fastest recorded frame rate for this combo in Minimum?

A: The highest average FPS is 279.2, recorded at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next fastest is 214.6 at 1080p Medium, and 178.9 at 1080p High.

Q: Which resolution provides the best experience for a 60 FPS target?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 90.1 FPS, which is 50% above the threshold. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 138.5 FPS, which is more than double the threshold. Both resolutions allow maximum settings while staying well above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiter at 4K. The frame rate drops from 95 FPS on Low to 44.6 FPS on Ultra at 3840x2160, and the difference between presets grows as resolution increases. The CPU's single-thread and multi-thread scores are sufficient to keep the game playable, as evidenced by the 4K High result of 63.7 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 850th out of 3,712 tested combinations for Minimum, placing it in the top 23% of the database. The CPU is at the 71st percentile and the GPU at the 83rd percentile among all tested components.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti's performance close to any other GPU in the database?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41,187 is within 2% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (40,377, 2% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870, 0.8% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (41,707, 1.2% higher). These GPUs would produce similar results in Minimum.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 138.5 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available in the measurements, so there is no further headroom to push beyond it. The system delivers more than double the playable threshold, making 1080p the resolution with the most performance margin.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS is also Ultra, averaging 90.1 FPS. This is 30 FPS above the threshold, leaving room for fluctuations or additional background load. The 1440p Ultra result is 47.5 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra result, showing the GPU's load increase with resolution, but the performance remains comfortably playable.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, averaging 63.7 FPS. This is just 3.7 FPS above the threshold, so the margin is slim. The Medium preset averages 76.6 FPS and Low averages 95 FPS, but High is the highest quality that still meets the playability bar. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 44.6 FPS, which fails the threshold, so users at this resolution must cap their settings at High to maintain a playable experience.