Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a highly capable experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Benchmark data shows the pairing clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested resolution, though the margin shrinks considerably at 4K. At 3840x2160, the combo averages 69.4 FPS on Low settings, 54.1 FPS on Medium, 42.7 FPS on High, and 34.7 FPS on Ultra. Dropping to 2560x1440 yields 130.4 FPS on Low, 102.2 FPS on Medium, 86.4 FPS on High, and 63.1 FPS on Ultra. At 1920x1080, performance is overwhelmingly smooth: 203.8 FPS on Low, 156.3 FPS on Medium, 128 FPS on High, and 99.2 FPS on Ultra. The data indicates a system that is fundamentally overqualified for 1080p gaming, comfortably capable at 1440p, and only constrained at 4K by the most demanding presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 paired with the i5-14600K produces frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest average at this resolution, 99.2 FPS on Ultra settings, still provides a substantial cushion. Medium settings reach 156.3 FPS, High hits 128 FPS, and Low peaks at 203.8 FPS. These figures suggest that at 1080p, the system is rarely the limiting factor; the game runs so fast that the bottleneck likely shifts to other system components or engine-level frame caps.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows more differentiation between presets. Low settings deliver 130.4 FPS, which is still remarkably high. Medium settings drop to 102.2 FPS, a 21.6% reduction from Low. High settings average 86.4 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 63.1 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 15.8 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 23.3 FPS. This pattern indicates that the Ultra preset introduces significant rendering overhead, likely from increased shadow quality, post-processing effects, or texture filtering that disproportionately impacts the GPU.

The 3840x2160 results show the most dramatic scaling. Low settings average 69.4 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings fall to 54.1 FPS, a 22.0% decline. High settings drop further to 42.7 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 34.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 50.0% reduction in average frame rate. Notably, the delta between Medium and High at 4K (11.4 FPS) is smaller than at 1440p (15.8 FPS), suggesting that at 4K, the GPU is becoming saturated and additional settings changes yield diminishing returns as pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint.

Across all resolutions, the min and max FPS values are not provided in the data, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. The absence of 1% lows or 0.1% lows means stutter behavior cannot be assessed, but the consistently high averages imply a generally smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1993rd out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 46.3rd percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the strong absolute FPS numbers, but it reflects the fact that many higher-end GPUs—such as the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX—can push far higher frame rates in this older title, especially at lower resolutions. The combo's rank is likely dragged down by the RTX 4060's position as a 60th-percentile GPU (61st percentile vs all GPUs) rather than the CPU, which sits in the 90th percentile vs all CPUs.

The i5-14600K's nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (0.2% higher average score), the AMD EPYC 4345P (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% higher). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these processors would produce virtually identical performance in Minimum when paired with the same GPU. The RTX 4060's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% higher), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% lower), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% lower), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7% lower). Again, the sub-1% deltas indicate that swapping the GPU for any of these would yield nearly indistinguishable frame rates.

Given that the combo ranks 1993rd, the data implies that roughly 48% of tested configurations outperform it. This is expected for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU; the CPU is not the limiting factor, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus constrain performance in a title that can be GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Minimum?*

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 69.4. At Medium, the average drops to 54.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra settings average 42.7 and 34.7 FPS, respectively.

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

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 63.1 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48618 is within 0.8% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995), 0.7% of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287), 0.3% of the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470), and 0.2% of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698). Performance differences are negligible.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows 99.2 FPS at Ultra settings and 203.8 FPS at Low settings, suggesting the GPU is not a significant bottleneck at 1080p. The CPU, with a 90th-percentile ranking, is likely the limiting factor only at very high frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 4K?

A: Medium averages 54.1 FPS, while High averages 42.7 FPS, a difference of 11.4 FPS. This is smaller than the 15.8 FPS difference at 1440p, indicating GPU saturation at 4K.

Q: How many tested combos does this pairing outperform?

A: The combo ranks 1993rd out of 3712, meaning it performs better than 1719 other configurations tested in Minimum.

The Verdict

The verdict is clear: this PC can run Minimum at 60 FPS or above at every resolution tested, but with caveats at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—average between 99.2 and 203.8 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. At 2560x1440, all presets also clear the threshold, with Ultra averaging 63.1 FPS and Low reaching 130.4 FPS. The 4K resolution is the only area where the system struggles: Low settings average 69.4 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 54.1 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 42.7 and 34.7 FPS respectively. The data supports a verdict that 1080p and 1440p are fully playable at maximum settings, while 4K requires reducing settings to Low for a stable 60 FPS experience.

The playable settings list from the data confirms this: at 3840x2160, only Low is marked as playable; at 2560x1440, all settings are playable; at 1920x1080, all settings are playable. The best settings per resolution are Low at 4K (69.4 FPS), Ultra at 1440p (63.1 FPS), and Ultra at 1080p (99.2 FPS).

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU share the workload. At 1920x1080, the CPU's role is more pronounced. The i5-14600K, with a 90th-percentile CPU ranking and a PassMark multithread score of 38682, can feed the GPU at high frame rates. The 203.8 FPS at Low settings suggests the CPU is capable of pushing well over 200 FPS, while the GPU scales down to 99.2 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU becomes the primary limiter as settings increase, but the CPU is never the bottleneck.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's load increases. The average FPS at Low is 130.4, which is 36.0% lower than at 1080p Low (203.8). This drop is far larger than the 33.3% increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million pixels), suggesting that the GPU is becoming more stressed. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 63.1 FPS, which is 36.4% lower than Ultra at 1080p (99.2). This pattern confirms that the RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM are increasingly taxed as resolution rises.

At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates the performance picture. The pixel count is 8.29 million, which is 4 times that of 1080p. Low settings average 69.4 FPS, which is 65.9% lower than Low at 1080p. Ultra settings average 34.7 FPS, a 65.0% reduction. The CPU's influence at 4K is minimal; the i5-14600K's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064) is more than sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output. The data suggests that at 4K, the RTX 4060 is the sole bottleneck, and settings changes have a direct, predictable impact on frame rate.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is the optimal choice. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings average 99.2 FPS, making it the best choice. The 39.2 FPS headroom above the 60 FPS threshold provides a comfortable buffer for demanding scenes, though the lack of min FPS data means occasional dips are not captured.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings average 63.1 FPS, which is just 3.1 FPS above the threshold. This is the most demanding playable preset, but the margin is thin. If the min FPS values were available, they might reveal occasional drops below 60 FPS. Medium settings average 102.2 FPS, offering a safer alternative with a 42.2 FPS buffer.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 69.4 FPS, narrowly clearing the threshold. Medium settings at 54.1 FPS are not playable according to the data. The 9.4 FPS margin at Low is sufficient, but it leaves no room for error. For a more consistent experience, dropping to 1440p Ultra would provide better visual quality while still averaging 63.1 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide insight into what other hardware would behave similarly in Minimum. For the Intel Core i5-14600K, the closest alternatives are the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (average benchmark score 48698, 0.2% higher), the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470, 0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287, 0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995, 0.8% higher). Any of these processors paired with the RTX 4060 would produce nearly identical frame rates, as the sub-1% differences in CPU scores are unlikely to manifest in a GPU-bound title like Minimum.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (average benchmark score 17666, 0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M (17588, 0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, 0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, 0.7% lower). These GPUs have average scores within 1% of the RTX 4060's 17639, meaning they would deliver virtually the same performance in Minimum. The AMD Radeon 780M is particularly interesting as an integrated GPU that matches a discrete card, though its memory bandwidth and VRAM allocation would likely differ in practice. The RTX 4060's 61st-percentile GPU ranking and its position among these rivals suggest that users seeking similar performance could consider any of these alternatives, though the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth provide a baseline that the older Radeon HD 7790 may not match in other games.