Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a clear performance profile for Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The benchmark data shows a system that is firmly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but which falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K across all tested settings. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS, optimal settings, and component roles based strictly on the provided data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). All figures are average FPS, as no minimum or maximum values were recorded.

At 1920x1080, the combination performs strongly across the board. The Low preset produces an average of 170.2 FPS. Moving to Medium drops the average to 131.2 FPS, a reduction of 39 FPS from Low. The High preset yields 110.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 80.8 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a total drop of 89.4 FPS, but even the most demanding preset remains well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. The Low preset averages 110 FPS. Medium follows at 86.3 FPS. High drops to 73 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 51.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The step from High to Ultra is particularly steep, a 21.1 FPS loss, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1440p is too demanding for this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. The Low preset averages 59.6 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line. Medium drops to 42.4 FPS, High to 37.7 FPS, and Ultra to 29.5 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the playable threshold. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 17.2 FPS, showing that even modest quality increases carry a heavy cost at this resolution.

The data shows consistent scaling: each resolution step down from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs roughly 30-40% performance at the same preset. For example, High at 1080p runs at 110.2 FPS, while High at 1440p runs at 73 FPS, and High at 4K runs at 37.7 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS average. The best settings are the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best playable setting. It averages 80.8 FPS, which is 20.8 FPS above the threshold. All four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best playable setting. It averages 73 FPS, which is 13 FPS above the threshold. The Ultra preset at 51.9 FPS is not playable, so High is the ceiling. The playable settings at 1440p are High, Medium, and Low.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 59.6 FPS, which misses the threshold by 0.4 FPS. Therefore, the verdict for 4K is that no settings are playable. The system cannot run Minimum at 4K with a 60 FPS average.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: for 60 FPS gaming, use Ultra at 1080p and High at 1440p. The 4K resolution is not viable for this combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions. The Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-end desktop processor with 14 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a mid-range GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit bus. The benchmark results show the GPU becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases.

At 1920x1080, the CPU has more headroom relative to the GPU. The average FPS at Low is 170.2, which is far above what the GPU alone would typically sustain in a demanding title. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 89.4 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU is handling the increased pixel work. The CPU's single-thread and multi-thread performance — as seen in its Cinebench R23 scores of 2064 single-core and 24491 multi-core — is sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU load increases significantly. The High preset drops to 73 FPS from 110.2 FPS at 1080p, a 37.2 FPS reduction. The Ultra preset falls below 60 FPS. This pattern suggests the GPU is nearing its limits. The CPU is still not the bottleneck, as the frame rate is primarily determined by the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s).

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The Low preset only reaches 59.6 FPS, and all other presets fall well below 60 FPS. The GPU's 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 165.7 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K at playable frame rates in this game. The CPU's role diminishes; even with a strong processor, the frame rate cannot rise above what the GPU can render.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this: the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU is adequate at all tested resolutions. The i5-14600K's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is not the weak link. The RX 6600 XT's 70th percentile among all GPUs shows it is a mid-pack performer, and the 4K results reflect that.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618. The nearest rivals are close in performance. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470, 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287, 0.7% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995, 0.8% higher. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minimum when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 at 24277, which is 0.7% lower. The Intel Arc A350M scores 24647, 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236, 0.8% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, 1.1% lower. All four rivals are within 1.1% of the RX 6600 XT's score, so swapping to any of them would produce nearly the same measured FPS in this game.

A user with a GTX 1630 or RTX 2080 SUPER would see almost identical performance to the RX 6600 XT, based on these aggregate scores. The same applies to the CPU alternatives: the Xeon Gold 5318H or Core Ultra 5 245 would not meaningfully change the FPS results.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?*

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 80.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All presets at 1080p are playable.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset is the best playable setting at 1440p, averaging 73 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p only reaches 51.9 FPS, which is below 60 FPS.

Q: Is 4K resolution playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets (Medium 42.4, High 37.7, Ultra 29.5) are also below 60 FPS. No 4K settings are playable.

Q: Which component limits performance at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The RX 6600 XT cannot sustain 60 FPS even at Low settings. The CPU's performance is sufficient, as indicated by its high benchmark scores, but the GPU's rendering capacity caps the frame rate.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 is 0.7% lower, the Intel Arc A350M is 0.8% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti is 0.8% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is 1.1% lower. All are within a narrow performance band.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 170.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 80.8 FPS. The difference is 89.4 FPS, showing a significant but acceptable drop for higher visual quality.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160. At 1080p, the system clears 60 FPS on all four presets, with the Ultra preset achieving 80.8 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset is the highest playable option, delivering 73 FPS. The 4K resolution fails the 60 FPS test on every preset, with the best result being 59.6 FPS at Low settings.

For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the recommended configuration is Ultra at 1080p or High at 1440p. The system cannot handle 4K at any quality level. The data shows a clear ceiling: the GPU's performance is sufficient for high-refresh 1080p and solid 1440p, but it is not a 4K-capable card for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2597 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, at roughly the 30th percentile of all tested systems. The rank reflects the GPU's mid-range standing (70th percentile among all GPUs) combined with the CPU's high-end position (90th percentile among all CPUs).

The ranking is consistent with the measured FPS results: the system is competent at mainstream resolutions but not exceptional. Many other tested combinations will outperform it at 4K, but the 1080p and 1440p results are respectable for the hardware class. The rank of 2597 out of 3712 suggests that while this combo is not a top performer, it sits above the majority of tested systems, aligning with its ability to clear 60 FPS at 1440p High.