Minimum

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a compelling 1080p and 1440p gaming combination for Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Benchmark data shows that this combo delivers playable frame rates across most settings at those resolutions, but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K. The measured results indicate a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming, with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor only at the highest resolution. The data confirms that 1080p Ultra is achievable, while 1440p requires a slight settings reduction from Ultra to maintain smooth performance.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the data shows no playable settings for this combination. The highest average frame rate recorded at 4K is 57 FPS on Low settings, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Medium preset at this resolution delivers an average of 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS, confirming that even mid-range settings cannot sustain playable performance. High settings at 4K yield only 37 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS. Therefore, there is no recommended setting for 4K, as all presets fail to meet the 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves significantly. The verdict data lists High, Low, and Medium as playable settings, with High being the best settings option. At High settings, the system achieves an average of 68 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a modest margin. Low settings at 1440p produce 106 FPS average, and Medium delivers 81 FPS average with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 52 FPS average, making it unplayable. The best settings for 1440p are therefore High, delivering 68 FPS, which provides both visual quality and smooth performance.

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable according to the verdict data. The best settings option is Ultra, which achieves an average of 81 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at this resolution. High settings at 1080p deliver 106 FPS average, Medium provides 126 FPS average with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS, and Low reaches 165 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 81 FPS offers the highest visual fidelity while maintaining comfortable headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low at 165 FPS is available, but Ultra remains the best balance of quality and performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the CPU and GPU roles shift across resolutions. At 1080p, the system demonstrates high frame rates across all settings, from 81 FPS at Ultra to 165 FPS at Low. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a reduction from 165 FPS to 81 FPS, a drop of approximately 51% as settings increase. This indicates that the GPU is handling the increased graphical load, while the Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, has sufficient headroom to feed the Arc B580 at these frame rates. The CPU's 3DMark max threads score of 9979 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 suggest strong multi-threaded performance that is not a bottleneck at 1080p.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates decrease across all settings compared to 1080p. Low settings drop from 165 FPS to 106 FPS, a 36% reduction, while Ultra drops from 81 FPS to 52 FPS, a 36% reduction as well. This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases, but the CPU still maintains adequate performance. The fact that High settings at 1440p still achieve 68 FPS indicates that the CPU can handle the frame pacing at this resolution without becoming a constraint.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck. The frame rates across all settings are significantly lower: Low at 57 FPS, Medium at 44 FPS, High at 37 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 51% reduction, similar to the 1080p scaling, but the absolute numbers are far below playable levels. This indicates that the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 456.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for 4K gaming in this title. The CPU's role at 4K is diminished because the GPU simply cannot produce enough frames to stress the processor. The data shows that the i7-12700K is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as even at 1080p Low with 165 FPS, the system maintains performance. The GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates at 1440p and 4K, while at 1080p, both components are adequate with the GPU still being the main scaling factor when settings change.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear progression across presets. Low settings deliver an average of 165 FPS, the highest recorded for this combination. Medium settings produce an average of 126 FPS, with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS, indicating consistent performance with some variance. High settings achieve an average of 106 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver an average of 81 FPS. The minimum and maximum values are only provided for Medium settings at this resolution, showing a range of 38 FPS between the lowest and highest frame times. This suggests that Medium has the most variable performance, while other presets likely have similar or tighter ranges based on the average values.

At 2560x1440, the measured data shows a similar pattern but with lower overall numbers. Low settings produce an average of 106 FPS, matching the High preset at 1080p. Medium settings deliver an average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. This 24 FPS range between minimum and maximum is narrower than at 1080p Medium, indicating that the GPU workload at 1440p creates more consistent frame times. High settings achieve an average of 68 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to an average of 52 FPS. The data shows that Medium at 1440p stays above the 60 FPS threshold even at its minimum of 69 FPS, providing a comfortable margin for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the measured frame rates are substantially lower. Low settings produce an average of 57 FPS, just below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings deliver an average of 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS. This 13 FPS range is the narrowest among all Medium presets across resolutions, but the average is far below playable. High settings achieve an average of 37 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to an average of 28 FPS. The 4K results show that even the lowest settings cannot maintain 60 FPS, with the best case being 57 FPS on Low. The data indicates that this resolution is not viable for this game with this hardware combination.

The Verdict

Based on the verdictByResolution data, this system can run Minimum at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with the best settings being Ultra at 81 FPS average. This means users can enjoy the highest visual quality at 1080p with comfortable frame rates above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1080p performance is strong, with even the most demanding preset clearing the playable threshold by 21 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the system is also capable of running the game, with High, Low, and Medium listed as playable settings. The best settings at this resolution are High, delivering an average of 68 FPS. This provides good visual fidelity while maintaining smooth performance. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls short at 52 FPS, so users should avoid this setting if they require 60 FPS. Medium at 1440p is a solid option with 81 FPS average and a minimum of 69 FPS, offering a buffer against frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is clear: there are no playable settings. The best average frame rate is 57 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS target. The other presets—Medium at 44 FPS, High at 37 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS—are all significantly below the playable threshold. This system is not suitable for 4K gaming in Minimum, and users with a 4K display would need to lower the resolution to 1440p or below to achieve playable performance. Overall, the combo confidently handles 1080p at all settings and 1440p at up to High settings, making it a capable 1080p and entry-level 1440p machine for this title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-12700K, several CPUs offer nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i5-13600T has an average score of 35305, which is 0.1% lower than the i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35287. This means the i5-13600T would perform almost exactly the same in this game, with a negligible 0.1% difference in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average score of 35365, which is 0.2% higher than the i7-12700K, making it a slightly faster alternative. The Intel Core i7-13700T has an average score of 35403, 0.3% higher, and the Intel Core 5 213PE has an average score of 35428, 0.4% higher. These differences are all within 0.4% of the i7-12700K, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

For the Intel Arc B580, the nearest rivals show a wider range of performance deltas. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average score of 23061, which is 0.2% lower than the Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021, indicating nearly identical performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 has an average score of 22895, which is 0.6% higher than the Arc B580, making it a slightly faster alternative. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 has an average score of 23172, 0.7% lower than the Arc B580, which is a surprising result given the RTX 3080's typically higher tier, but the data shows they perform within 1% of each other in these benchmarks. The NVIDIA P106-100 has an average score of 23249, 1% lower than the Arc B580. These delta values indicate that any of these GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in Minimum, with the RTX 2080 being the fastest option by a small margin and the P106-100 being the slowest by 1%. In practice, users with any of these GPUs paired with the i7-12700K would see nearly identical performance to the Arc B580, with differences of less than 1% in most cases.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2790 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 75th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the overall performance of the combo across all resolutions and settings, with the 1080p results being strong and the 4K results dragging down the overall position. The percentileVsAllCpus of 84 for the i7-12700K indicates that the CPU is well above average in general performance, while the percentileVsAllGpus of 68 for the Arc B580 shows that the GPU is slightly above average but not exceptional. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU results in a rank that is solidly above the median but not in the top tier.

The rank of 2790 out of 3712 means that approximately 922 combos perform better in this game, while 2790 perform worse. This places the combo in the upper half of all tested systems, which is a reasonable result for a 1080p-focused gaming setup. The data shows that the i7-12700K's high CPU benchmark scores, such as its Passmark multithread score of 34404 and Geekbench multicore score of 15790, contribute to a strong foundation, but the Arc B580's GPU performance, with a Passmark G3D score of 15748, limits the combo from ranking higher. In games where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, this combo would perform similarly to other systems with GPUs in the same performance class, such as the RTX 2080 or RX 580 2048SP, as indicated by the nearest rivals data. The rank suggests that for Minimum, users should expect good 1080p and acceptable 1440p performance, but not top-tier results compared to the full range of tested combinations.