Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a robust experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014, with the data showing 1080p Ultra at 105 FPS and 1440p Ultra at 68 FPS, but 4K requires dropping to Low settings to hold a playable frame rate. The measured results place this combo at rank 1717 out of 3712 tested combinations, indicating a solidly above-average configuration for this title. At 4K, the system is playable only at Low settings with an average of 74 FPS, while Medium drops below the 60 FPS threshold to 57 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS, showing a clear performance ceiling at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination spans three resolutions and four quality presets, revealing a predictable pattern of scaling. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally strong: Low settings produce an average of 214 FPS, Medium averages 164 FPS with a minimum of 139 and maximum of 188, High averages 137 FPS, and Ultra still maintains 105 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is approximately 109 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest preset with this older title.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains highly playable across all presets. Low settings average 138 FPS, Medium averages 106 FPS with a 90 FPS minimum and 121 FPS maximum, High averages 89 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 35-40% across presets, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a tight frame time distribution (90-121 FPS), suggesting consistent delivery without major hitches.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 74 FPS, which clears the playable threshold, but Medium drops to 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65, High falls to 48 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 36 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 38 FPS, and the data shows that only the Low preset maintains an average above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (48) is notably below the playable threshold, indicating that even the "average" 57 FPS would experience noticeable dips below 60.

The scaling pattern across resolutions shows that the RX 7700 is the primary constraint at 4K, while the i5-14600K's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064, Geekbench single-core of 2491) keeps the lower resolutions well above refresh-rate territory. At 1080p Low, the 214 FPS average suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck, as even the most demanding preset at 1080p (Ultra) yields 105 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 105 FPS. This is the clear recommendation for maximum visual quality without compromising playability. The data shows no preset at 1080p falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so users can freely select Ultra.

At 2560x1440, Ultra remains the best playable setting, averaging 68 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS bar with a modest 8 FPS margin, making it the optimal choice for high-resolution gaming. All four presets at 1440p exceed 60 FPS, but Ultra provides the highest visual fidelity while staying playable.

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 74 FPS. Medium drops to 57 FPS, which is below the playable threshold, so Low is the only viable option for 4K. The data indicates that 4K Ultra (36 FPS) and High (48 FPS) are not playable with this hardware combination.

The verdict data confirms these choices: 1080p and 1440p list all four presets as playable, while 4K lists only Low. The best settings per resolution are therefore Ultra, Ultra, and Low for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its closest competitor is the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which scores 48698 — a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i5-14600K is essentially tied with that Xeon. The AMD EPYC 4345P scores 48470 (0.3% slower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX scores 48287 (0.7% slower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (0.8% faster). All four rivals are within 1% of the i5-14600K's performance, so any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 has an average benchmark score of 15852, sitting at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862 (-0.1% delta), making them statistically indistinguishable. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014 (-1%), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679 (+1.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129 (-1.7%). All four GPUs are within 2% of the RX 7700's average score, meaning any of these would deliver nearly the same measured FPS in Minimum. A system with the i5-14600K and any of these rival GPUs would behave similarly, with differences of only a few frames per second at most.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum with strong results at 1080p and 1440p, but 4K requires significant settings compromises. At 1920x1080, all presets from Low (214 FPS) to Ultra (105 FPS) clear the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution fully playable at maximum quality. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 68 FPS, which is above the playable threshold, so the full preset range is available. At 3840x2160, only Low (74 FPS) maintains 60+ FPS; Medium (57 FPS), High (48 FPS), and Ultra (36 FPS) all fall short.

For users targeting 1080p or 1440p, this combination delivers a flawless experience with no settings restrictions. The 105 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 68 FPS at 1440p Ultra provide smooth gameplay with headroom for high refresh-rate monitors. For 4K, the recommendation is strictly Low settings, which still yields 74 FPS — playable but with reduced visual fidelity. The data does not support 4K Medium or higher with this hardware.

The overall ranking of 1717 out of 3712 combos places this system in the upper half of tested configurations for Minimum, and the measured data confirms it is more than capable for this game's demands at mainstream resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The CPU and GPU roles shift noticeably across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the high frame rates (214 FPS on Low, 164 FPS on Medium) indicate that the Intel Core i5-14600K's strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064, PassMark single-thread score of 4270) is sufficient to feed the RX 7700 without bottlenecking. The 109 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is entirely GPU-driven, showing that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth handles the higher pixel count, but the frame rate drops by roughly 35-40% compared to 1080p across all presets. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads (with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz) are not the constraint.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor. The RX 7700's 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient to maintain 60 FPS above Low settings. The 38 FPS difference between Low (74 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) at 4K shows the GPU's limits under extreme load. The CPU's contribution at 4K is minimal — even the weakest preset (Low) achieves 74 FPS, and the bottleneck is clearly the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput.

The scaling data shows that the CPU matters most at lower resolutions where frame rates are high, while the GPU dominates at higher resolutions and higher presets. For Minimum, the i5-14600K's percentile rank (90th) and the RX 7700's rank (58th) suggest that the CPU is relatively stronger for this title, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K with high settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160, High settings average only 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only Low settings at 4K achieve playable performance with an average of 74 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 68 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at 1440p are playable, but Ultra offers the highest visual quality.

Q: How does the RX 7700 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The RX 7700's average benchmark score (15852) is within 1.7% of its closest rivals: the AMD Radeon R9 370X (-0.1%), AMD Radeon RX 9060 (-1%), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (+1.1%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (-1.7%). All would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum.

Q: Is the i5-14600K a bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: No. At 1920x1080, even Low settings achieve 214 FPS, and Ultra stays at 105 FPS. The CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064) is more than adequate, and the frame rate scaling between presets indicates the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What minimum FPS can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 90, with an average of 106 and maximum of 121. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does this system rank highly for Minimum compared to other hardware combos?

A: The combination ranks 1717 out of 3712 tested configurations, placing it in the upper half of all combos. The CPU ranks at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 58th percentile among all GPUs.