Minimum

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a wide spread of performance in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Measured frame rates show the pair is capable of smooth play at most common settings, but the demands of 4K resolution push the hardware to its limits. The data indicates that at 1920x1080, the system is highly capable, while at 3840x2160, only the lowest preset consistently clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the combo offers a solid middle ground, with multiple playable presets available.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this CPU and GPU handle Minimum across three resolutions and four quality presets. The frame rate scaling between settings is consistent, with each step up in quality producing a significant cost in average FPS.

At 1920x1080, the system is never strained. With Low settings, the average FPS is 167.3. Moving to Medium drops performance to 129.5, a reduction of approximately 23% from Low. High settings yield an average of 109.3, and Ultra, the most demanding preset, still maintains a strong 84.6 average. The delta between Low and Ultra is substantial, but even the lowest figure is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating the CPU and GPU have ample headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the increased pixel count begins to tax the GPU more noticeably. Low settings produce an average of 110 FPS, which is still very high. Medium settings average 85.8 FPS, and High settings drop to 69.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but begins to show the GPU working harder. Ultra settings, however, push the average down to 53.7 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold. The scaling from Low to Ultra here is a 51% performance cost, demonstrating that the GPU is becoming a limiting factor at higher quality settings in this resolution.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the story changes dramatically. The GPU is heavily burdened by the pixel count. Low settings are the only preset that averages above 60 FPS, hitting exactly 61.3 FPS. Medium settings drop to 47.2 FPS, High settings to 36.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32.1 FPS. The performance degradation is steep, with Ultra delivering less than half the frame rate of Low. This data confirms that 4K gaming with this hardware requires significant compromises in visual quality to achieve playable frame rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data for both the CPU and GPU, several other hardware combinations would produce benchmark results similar to this pair. The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K, which scores 27872 (a 0.3% difference), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U at 27887 (0.3% difference), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D at 27896 (0.3% difference). The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% lower. These CPUs are all within a fraction of a percent of the i5-12600KF's performance, meaning a system built with any of them would likely show nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, assuming the GPU remains the same.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442 and sits in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 with a score of 24277 (0.7% lower), the Intel Arc A350M at 24647 (0.8% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 24236 (0.8% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER at 24170 (1.1% lower). The RTX 2080 SUPER being this close in average score to the RX 6600 XT is notable, as it suggests that in this specific benchmark context, the newer Radeon card holds its own against a much higher-tier product from a previous generation. A system pairing the i5-12600KF with any of these GPUs would produce frame rates in Minimum that are within a few percentage points of the configuration tested here.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data provides a clear directive for the optimal settings at each resolution to maintain an average FPS at or above 60.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 84.6 FPS. This is the best possible visual quality available at this resolution while maintaining smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the best preset that meets the 60 FPS threshold is High, with an average of 69.7 FPS. While this is a solid result, the data shows that Ultra settings at 53.7 FPS are not playable, so High is the maximum quality option here.

At 3840x2160, the only preset that stays above 60 FPS is Low, which produces an average of 61.3 FPS. This is a marginal pass, and any increase in visual quality will drop the frame rate below the playable threshold.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, but only with Low settings. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Low settings is 61.3, which is just above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings drop to 47.2 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: What is the best quality setting for 1080p gaming?

A: The system can run Minimum at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, achieving an average of 84.6 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available and it maintains a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799. Its closest competitor, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27872, which is a 0.3% difference. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also a 0.3% difference. These scores indicate a near-identical level of performance for multi-threaded workloads.

Q: Is the GPU better than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER?

A: In terms of average benchmark score, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT scores 24442, while the RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170. This puts the RX 6600 XT 1.1% higher, suggesting slightly better overall performance in the tested benchmarks.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS for 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 85.8. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance.

Q: What frame rate does the system achieve at 1080p with Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves a very high average of 167.3 FPS. This indicates the hardware is not heavily utilized at this resolution and settings combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions and presets reveals the distinct roles the CPU and GPU play in Minimum. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is a drop from 167.3 to 84.6 FPS. This significant scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as increasing the graphical workload directly reduces the frame rate. The CPU, with its strong single-thread score of 3302 in Cinebench R23, is likely providing frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower settings, hence the very high FPS numbers.

As the resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU's workload grows. The frame rate at Low settings drops from 167.3 to 110, and at Ultra from 84.6 to 53.7. This shows the GPU is becoming increasingly strained. The CPU's role remains consistent, as it is not typically limited by resolution but by the number of draw calls and game logic updates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. The frame rate at Low is only 61.3, and it drops to 32.1 at Ultra. The GPU's rendering pipeline is saturated by the sheer number of pixels. The CPU, in contrast, is likely underutilized at this resolution. The scaling between presets is steep, with a 47% drop in FPS from Low to Ultra, clearly demonstrating that the Radeon RX 6600 XT's pixel throughput is the determining factor for performance at 4K. The data indicates that the i5-12600KF provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck, as the frame rate consistently scales with GPU load across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2543 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places the system in the lower half of the performance distribution. Given the game's age and the hardware's specifications, this ranking is expected. The CPU is in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, but the combination's overall rank is influenced by the specific demands of the game and the presence of many higher-end configurations in the database. The rank indicates that while this system is far from the top performers, it is also not at the bottom, and it is capable of playable frame rates at most settings below 4K.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear. This PC can run Minimum successfully at all resolutions, but with varying degrees of visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold with all presets, including Ultra at 84.6 FPS. The best settings are Ultra. At 2560x1440, High, Medium, and Low settings all stay above 60 FPS, with High being the best at 69.7 FPS. Ultra is not playable at this resolution, as it averages 53.7 FPS. At 3840x2160, the only playable setting is Low, which averages 61.3 FPS. For a definitive answer: this hardware is fully capable of running Minimum at 1080p with maximum settings, and at 1440p with high settings, but 4K gaming requires dropping to the lowest quality preset to maintain a playable frame rate.