Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an overwhelmingly capable combination for Minimum, delivering playable frame rates at every tested resolution and settings preset. The data confirms this system clears the 60 FPS threshold with substantial headroom, even under the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K. This pairing ranks in the top tier of tested configurations, and the primary hardware consideration is not whether it can run the game, but how much performance headroom is left on the table.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at 4K with this combo?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 runs at an average of 68.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This makes Ultra the most demanding playable setting at 4K.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p compared to 4K on the same settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 191.4 FPS, which is roughly 2.8 times higher than the 68.4 FPS recorded at 3840x2160 on the same preset. The scaling shows significant performance gains as resolution drops.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at lower resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extremely high across all presets, ranging from 191.4 FPS on Ultra to 393.8 FPS on Low. These numbers indicate the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU effectively, with no evidence of a bottleneck at this resolution.

*Q: What is the total rank of this CPU and GPU combination among all tested combos for Minimum?*

A: The combo ranks 122nd out of 3712 tested configurations, placing it in the top 3.3% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Are there any settings at 1440p that drop below the 60 FPS threshold?

A: No. All four presets at 2560x1440 exceed 60 FPS, with the lowest being Ultra at 125.4 FPS and the highest being Low at 255 FPS. Every setting is comfortably playable.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's nearest rival compare in raw benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc Pro A60 has an average benchmark score of 60326, which is essentially identical to the RTX 4090's 60347, showing a delta of 0%. However, the Arc Pro A60 is a professional workstation card, not a gaming equivalent.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data for Minimum shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes more influential as resolution increases, while the CPU's role is primarily to deliver high frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra presets is 202.4 FPS (393.8 versus 191.4), which represents a 51% drop in performance. This substantial gap indicates that even at 1080p, the graphics card is doing significant work, but the CPU's strong single-core performance (2,064 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that frame rates remain exceptionally high regardless of visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scalability narrows slightly. The Low preset delivers 255 FPS, while Ultra drops to 125.4 FPS, a gap of 129.6 FPS or about 51%. The proportional drop is similar to 1080p, suggesting the system is still largely GPU-bound at this resolution. The i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample processing power, with a Passmark multithread score of 38,682, meaning the CPU is unlikely to constrain performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's dominance becomes pronounced. The RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are heavily utilized, with Ultra settings producing 68.4 FPS and Low producing 135.1 FPS. The performance gap between presets is 66.7 FPS, or 49%, which is slightly less than at lower resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary driver of performance, and the CPU's role diminishes to providing consistent frame pacing rather than pushing maximum throughput.

The verdict is straightforward: at 1080p and 1440p, this combo is so powerful that neither component becomes a clear bottleneck, with both contributing to the high frame rates. At 4K, the RTX 4090 becomes the definitive limiting factor, though it still maintains playable performance on every preset. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate that this is a balanced, high-end pairing.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, running at an average of 68.4 FPS. This is the highest quality option available, and the 8.4 FPS headroom above the playable threshold means slight variations in scene complexity should not cause dips below 60 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, Ultra is the clear choice at 4K.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings run at an average of 125.4 FPS, more than double the 60 FPS threshold. This provides substantial headroom, making Ultra the obvious recommendation. The performance is so strong that even the most demanding preset leaves significant margin, and there is no reason to consider lower settings unless targeting a very high refresh rate display.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver an average of 191.4 FPS, which is over three times the playable threshold. This is the best setting for image quality, and the frame rate is high enough to take full advantage of 144Hz or even 165Hz monitors. The data shows that this resolution is effectively a showcase for the combo's raw power, with the Low preset reaching 393.8 FPS for players who prioritize maximum competitive responsiveness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 122nd out of 3,712 tested configurations for Minimum, placing it in the top 3.3% of all systems. This is a strong result, though not the absolute top, which is expected given that some configurations pair even higher-end CPUs with the same or more powerful GPUs.

The ranking reflects the CPU's 90th percentile position among all CPUs and the GPU's 88th percentile position among all GPUs. The i5-14600K's average benchmark score of 48,618 places it just 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P. Similarly, the RTX 4090's average score of 60,347 is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48.

The rank of 122 out of 3,712 demonstrates that this system is exceptionally well-suited for Minimum. The measured FPS data confirms this, as every resolution and preset combination tested exceeds the 60 FPS threshold, with the lowest result being 68.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. This is a top-tier performance profile that will handle the game with ease.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in benchmark score are the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, AMD EPYC 4345P, Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, and Intel Core Ultra 5 245. The Xeon Gold 5318H and Core Ultra 5 245 are both slightly ahead of the i5-14600K, with deltas of -0.2% and -0.8% respectively, meaning the i5-14600K is marginally behind. The EPYC 4345P and Core Ultra 5 245HX are slightly behind the i5-14600K, with deltas of 0.3% and 0.7% respectively. In practical terms, all four alternatives would deliver nearly identical performance in Minimum, with differences well under 1% in synthetic benchmarks.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, and AMD Radeon PRO V710. The Arc Pro A60 matches the RTX 4090's average score exactly (0% delta), while the Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% behind. The Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead, and the Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% behind. These are all professional-grade cards, and their similar benchmark scores suggest they would produce comparable frame rates in Minimum, though the RTX 4090's gaming-oriented features and driver optimizations make it the more practical choice for this title.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum exceptionally well at all tested resolutions and presets. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with Ultra delivering 68.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same holds true, with Ultra reaching 125.4 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra runs at 191.4 FPS, and even the most demanding settings are far above the 60 FPS threshold.

The data shows that this system is overqualified for Minimum, a game released in 2014. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and the i5-14600K's strong multi-threaded capabilities (24,491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) combine to produce frame rates that are multiples of the playable threshold. Players can comfortably enable the highest settings at any resolution, and the performance headroom suggests the system would maintain high frame rates even in graphically intensive scenes. The only caveat is that the RTX 4090 is end-of-life, but this does not affect its current performance in this title.