Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is an exceptionally strong combination for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that remains demanding at high settings and resolutions. Measured data shows this system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at 4K High, and it delivers well over 120 FPS at 1440p and 1080p on maximum settings. The only configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS is 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 42.5 FPS. This is a high-end setup that offers headroom for high-refresh monitors at lower resolutions, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck only at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. All figures are average FPS, with no minimum or maximum values recorded in the data.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: The system achieves an average of 269 FPS. This is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset, indicating a heavily CPU-bound scenario where the RTX 3080 is not stressed.
• Medium: Average FPS drops to 201.9, still a massive margin above the 60 FPS threshold.
• High: The average is 169.1 FPS. This represents a 16% decrease from Medium, showing the scaling impact of higher-quality textures and effects.
• Ultra: The average is 131.4 FPS. This is the most demanding 1080p preset, yet it remains more than double the playable threshold, confirming excellent headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average FPS is 173.9, which is 35% lower than the 1080p Low result, reflecting the increased pixel count.
• Medium: The average is 130.1 FPS, a 36% reduction from the 1080p Medium score.
• High: Average FPS is 111.4. This is the first preset where the system still stays well above 100 FPS, but the gap from 1080p High (169.1 FPS) is 34%.
• Ultra: The average is 84.1 FPS. This is the most demanding 1440p preset, and it clears the 60 FPS threshold by a comfortable 40%.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average FPS is 93.8. This is the only 4K preset that stays above 90 FPS, indicating that even at this resolution, the GPU has enough headroom when settings are minimized.
• Medium: The average is 72.3 FPS, a 23% drop from Low, showing the cost of enabling medium-quality shadows and post-processing.
• High: Average FPS is 62.1. This narrowly clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, making it the highest playable preset at 4K.
• Ultra: The average is 42.5 FPS, which falls well below the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that is not playable, representing a 32% drop from High.

The data consistently shows that resolution scaling has a linear impact on performance: moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by roughly 34-36% across presets, while moving from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by another 44-47%. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU has more influence at 1080p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals the division of labor between the Intel Core i5-14600K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. At 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role because the GPU can render frames quickly, but the processor must feed it with draw calls and game logic. The 269 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate is exceptionally high but still limited by the processor’s single-thread performance.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility. The 173.9 FPS at Low is 35% lower than at 1080p, which is a larger drop than the pixel-count increase would suggest. This indicates that the RTX 3080 is becoming the limiting factor, but the CPU still has enough headroom to push high frame rates. The 84.1 FPS at Ultra is a clear sign that the GPU is stressed, as the preset increase from Low to Ultra cuts performance by more than half.

At 4K, the GPU is unambiguously the dominant component. The RTX 3080 has to process 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the data shows that the CPU is no longer a constraint. The 42.5 FPS at Ultra is a pure GPU limitation, as the i5-14600K is capable of far higher frame rates in less demanding scenarios. The 62.1 FPS at High versus 93.8 FPS at Low shows that the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth are the deciding factors, not the CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support this interpretation. The i5-14600K scores 24,491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,064 in single-core, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. These scores indicate ample processing power for a 2014 title, which does not utilize modern multi-threading heavily. The RTX 3080, with a Passmark G3D score of 25,086 and a 68th percentile ranking, is a strong GPU but not top-tier by current standards, making it the natural bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the goal is to find the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS. The data provides a clear answer for each case.

3840x2160 (4K): The best playable setting is High, with an average of 62.1 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that clears the threshold while offering substantial visual quality. Ultra is not playable (42.5 FPS), and Medium (72.3 FPS) is less visually demanding. Choosing High gives the optimal balance of fidelity and performance.

2560x1440 (1440p): The best playable setting is Ultra, with an average of 84.1 FPS. This is the highest preset available, and it stays 40% above the 60 FPS threshold. There is no reason to lower settings at this resolution, as even the most demanding option leaves significant headroom.

1920x1080 (1080p): The best playable setting is Ultra, with an average of 131.4 FPS. This is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, making it ideal for 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. The system has so much headroom that even the most demanding preset cannot bring the frame rate near the playable floor.

The verdict data confirms these choices: the 4K High preset is listed as the best setting, while 1440p and 1080p both support Ultra as the best setting. All presets except 4K Ultra are marked as playable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how other hardware would behave in this system. These comparisons are based on average benchmark scores, not in-game FPS, but they indicate similar performance tiers.

Intel Core i5-14600K Rivals:

• Intel Xeon Gold 5318H: This CPU has an average benchmark score of 48,698, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-14600K’s 48,618. In Minimum, this would translate to nearly identical frame rates, with the Xeon potentially matching the i5’s performance within a rounding error.
• Intel Core Ultra 5 245: With an average score of 48,995, this is 0.8% higher than the i5-14600K. This would result in slightly higher CPU-bound frame rates at 1080p, but the difference would be imperceptible in practice.
• AMD EPYC 4345P: This CPU scores 48,470, which is 0.3% lower than the i5-14600K. The performance gap is negligible, so this system would deliver the same experience in Minimum.
• Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX: Scoring 48,287, this is 0.7% lower than the i5-14600K. Again, the difference is minimal, and the gaming experience would be virtually identical.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Rivals:

• NVIDIA P106-100: This GPU has an average score of 23,249, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 3080’s 23,172. In Minimum, this would produce nearly identical frame rates, meaning the P106-100 would also struggle at 4K Ultra but handle 4K High.
• AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16: With a score of 23,250, this is 0.3% higher than the RTX 3080. The performance is essentially the same, so this GPU would also clear 60 FPS at 4K High.
• AMD Radeon RX 6600M: Scoring 23,273, this is 0.4% higher than the RTX 3080. This laptop-oriented GPU would deliver comparable performance, though thermal and power constraints could affect sustained frame rates.
• AMD Radeon R9 M290X: This GPU scores 23,276, which is 0.4% higher than the RTX 3080. The results would be nearly identical, meaning this older GPU would also hit 62 FPS at 4K High.

These comparisons show that the RTX 3080’s nearest rivals are a mixed bag of older and newer hardware, but all within 0.4% of its average score. In practice, any of these GPUs would produce the same FPS numbers in Minimum as the RTX 3080.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 42.5, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable 4K setting is High, which averages 62.1 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra is the highest playable preset at 1440p, with an average of 84.1 FPS. This is the most demanding setting and still maintains a 40% margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the system perform at 1080p on Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 269. This is the highest frame rate in the dataset, indicating that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution and settings combination.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The GPU is the main bottleneck at 4K, as shown by the large FPS drops when increasing resolution. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, with frame rates exceeding 200 FPS on most presets, but the GPU still handles the majority of the workload at higher settings.

Q: What is the system’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: This CPU-GPU combo ranks 1047 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of all systems for Minimum performance.

Q: Does the system ever drop below 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 4K Ultra, where the average is 42.5 FPS. Every other preset and resolution combination in the dataset maintains an average of at least 62.1 FPS.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 can run Minimum at playable frame rates in the vast majority of configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 131.4 FPS, making this an excellent choice for high-refresh monitors. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, with Ultra hitting 84.1 FPS, providing a smooth experience on standard 60Hz and 144Hz displays alike. At 3840x2160, the system can handle High settings at 62.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold, but Ultra falls short at 42.5 FPS.

The data indicates that this system is well-suited for Minimum at 1080p and 1440p, offering maximum settings with substantial headroom. For 4K gaming, users should stick to High settings to maintain playable frame rates. The RTX 3080 is the limiting factor at 4K, but the i5-14600K provides ample CPU performance across all resolutions. The 90th percentile CPU ranking and 68th percentile GPU ranking confirm that this is a high-tier combination, capable of delivering a smooth experience in this 2014 title except for the most extreme 4K Ultra preset.