Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 877th out of 3,712 tested combinations for Minimum, placing it in the top 24% of all systems evaluated. This is a strong position for a third-person shooter that launched in 2014, and the measured frame rates confirm that this combo has substantial headroom across most resolutions and presets. The data shows a system that is not merely playable but consistently exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, with the only exception appearing at 4K Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 877 out of 3,712 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper quartile of all hardware pairings tested for Minimum. This is a notable achievement given that the CPU and GPU individually sit at the 83rd and 81st percentiles against all comparable processors and graphics cards, respectively. The combination of a high-end midrange CPU with a strong upper-midrange GPU produces a synergistic result that outperforms what either component might suggest independently.

The Intel Core i5-14400F achieves an average benchmark score of 32,279, which puts it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% of the Intel Core i9-11900. It also trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by just 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i7-12800H by 0.5%. These margins are essentially negligible, meaning the CPU's compute performance is tightly clustered with several other processors from different generations and market segments.

On the graphics side, the RTX 4070 posts an average benchmark score of 37,648, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37,628 (0.1% difference). The gap to the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is also narrow at 0.4%, while the RTX 4080 Mobile sits 1.3% higher and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 sits 1.3% lower. This clustering suggests that for Minimum, the GPU's raw compute capabilities are broadly comparable to several other cards, though the measured in-game FPS tells a more definitive story about actual performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary performance driver for Minimum, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is substantial — the RTX 4070 delivers 277.8 FPS on Low but drops to 133.7 FPS on Ultra, a reduction of 51.9%. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where increasing graphical fidelity directly impacts frame rate.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the same pattern persists but with proportionally lower absolute numbers. The Low preset yields 180.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 90.8 FPS, a 49.8% reduction from Low. At 3840x2160, the trend continues: Low produces 95.6 FPS, Medium 76.7 FPS, High 60.7 FPS, and Ultra falls below the playable threshold at 47.8 FPS. The fact that the frame rate scales so predictably with resolution and settings indicates that the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor at higher loads, while the i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads provide more than enough processing power for this title.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,645 and single-core score of 3,055, along with a PassMark multi-thread score of 25,470, show a processor that can easily handle the game's logic and physics calculations. The game's 2014 release date further suggests that its CPU demands are modest by modern standards, so the i5-14400F is unlikely to be stressed even at high frame rates.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest performance equivalents are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher average score), the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). These processors span different architectures and market segments — from mobile-focused chips to older desktop parts — but all deliver effectively identical compute performance. In practical terms, swapping the i5-14400F for any of these would produce nearly indistinguishable results in Minimum.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3% lower). The RTX 4080 Mobile is particularly interesting because it outperforms the RTX 4070 in synthetic benchmarks, yet the desktop card's dedicated 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth likely provide better sustained performance in real gaming workloads. The Tesla P4 and RX Vega 56 are older or specialized parts that happen to score similarly in aggregate benchmarks but may lack the feature set of the RTX 4070.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows that this PC can run Minimum at all tested resolutions except for one specific configuration. At 1920x1080, every preset — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — delivers well above 60 FPS, with the lowest average being 133.7 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the same is true: all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 90.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, the situation is slightly more nuanced. The Low, Medium, and High presets all clear the 60 FPS threshold, with High averaging exactly 60.7 FPS. However, the Ultra preset falls short at 47.8 FPS, making it the only non-playable configuration in the entire test matrix.

The verdict is straightforward: this system is fully capable of running Minimum at 1080p and 1440p with maximum settings, and at 4K with High settings. The only scenario that fails to maintain 60 FPS is 4K Ultra, which is an extreme configuration for a game of this era.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low delivers 277.8 FPS, Medium drops to 210.7 FPS, High produces 177.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 133.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent degradation in performance, with each preset tier costing roughly 40-70 FPS. The spread between the fastest and slowest settings is 144.1 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 4070 has enormous headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 180.9 FPS on Low, 139.8 FPS on Medium, 114.7 FPS on High, and 90.8 FPS on Ultra. The relative pattern mirrors 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower by roughly 30-40% across the board. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 90.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are 95.6 FPS on Low, 76.7 FPS on Medium, 60.7 FPS on High, and 47.8 FPS on Ultra. This is the only resolution where any preset fails to reach 60 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 12.9 FPS, which is the largest single-tier penalty across all resolutions, suggesting that the Ultra preset at 4K introduces a significant load increase. No minimum or maximum frame rate data is available for any resolution or preset, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 133.7 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and the frame rate remains more than double the playable threshold, leaving substantial room for frame time variance or background tasks.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, averaging 90.8 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and represents the maximum visual fidelity the game offers at this resolution. The 30.8 FPS cushion over the threshold provides a stable experience without any risk of dropping below playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are High, which averages 60.7 FPS. This is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, so while it is technically playable, it leaves minimal headroom. The Low and Medium presets also clear 60 FPS with averages of 95.6 FPS and 76.7 FPS respectively, offering more safety margin if frame rate consistency is a concern. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as it falls to 47.8 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but not at the highest settings. At 3840x2160, the Low, Medium, and High presets all exceed 60 FPS, with High averaging 60.7 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 47.8 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers 90.8 FPS, which is the highest quality option that remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at this resolution are playable.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 37,648 on average. The NVIDIA Tesla P4 is 0.1% higher, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% lower.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this game?

A: No. The i5-14400F's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21,645 and a PassMark single-thread score of 3,701, indicate it has ample processing power. The frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher loads.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average at 1920x1080 on Ultra is 133.7 FPS. This is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold, indicating excellent performance even at maximum settings.

Q: Which components are most similar in performance to this CPU and GPU?

A: The CPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher score), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% higher), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% higher), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (1.3% lower).