Minimum

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a performance profile that is thoroughly dominated by the GPU, with the processor providing ample headroom at every tested setting. Measured data for Minimum shows that this combo ranks 961st out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the 74th percentile of all systems evaluated. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1440p and 1080p, while 4K Ultra remains the only configuration that fails to clear the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with full min/max data only captured for the Medium preset at each resolution.

1920x1080: At Low settings, the combo produces an average of 277 FPS. High settings yield 178 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 136 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 212 FPS average, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS.

2560x1440: Low settings achieve 179 FPS average. High settings produce 115 FPS average. Ultra settings maintain 87 FPS average. Medium settings show 137 FPS average, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS.

3840x2160: Low settings result in 96 FPS average. High settings produce 62 FPS average, which is the only 4K preset that remains above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings deliver 74 FPS average, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 47 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold.

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K is consistent: each resolution step up reduces average FPS by roughly 35-45% across all presets. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, from a 141 FPS difference at 1080p to a 49 FPS difference at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 47, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The best playable 4K setting is High, which achieves 62 FPS average.

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

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce 87 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the Medium preset's frame time consistency look at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 212, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. The 64 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates a stable frame delivery with no significant dips.

Q: Is the 4K Medium preset playable despite being below the Ultra preset?

A: Yes, 3840x2160 with Medium settings shows 74 FPS average, with a minimum of 63 FPS that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum frame rate confirms that even the worst-case frame times remain playable.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1920x1080 produces 178 FPS average, while 2560x1440 produces 115 FPS average. This represents a 35% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 60 FPS at any tested configuration?

A: Only at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 47. All other tested resolution and preset combinations maintain average FPS above 60, with the lowest minimum recorded being 63 FPS at 4K Medium.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear GPU-bound scenario at every resolution and preset combination. The Intel Core i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, demonstrates benchmark scores that far exceed what Minimum requires; the processor's single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark and multi-thread score of 9979 indicate headroom that is not exercised by this title.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU as the limiting factor. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings reduces FPS from 212 to 137, a 35% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings reduces FPS from 137 to 74, a 46% drop. These reductions align with the pixel count increase, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound rendering.

The preset scaling further supports this interpretation. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 141 FPS (277 vs 136), while at 4K, the same preset range shows only a 49 FPS difference (96 vs 47). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU reaches its output ceiling before the CPU becomes a constraint, even at the lowest settings where CPU workload would be proportionally higher.

The RTX 3080 Ti's raw compute capabilities — 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 and a 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth — are the determining factors for this game's performance. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck, and the data shows no scenario where CPU limits are apparent; even the most CPU-intensive low-resolution, high-FPS configurations (277 FPS at 1080p Low) do not approach the processor's ceiling based on its synthetic benchmark performance.

The Verdict

This system can run Minimum at all tested resolutions with playable performance, with one exception. The verdict data confirms that at 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best setting at 62 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 4K is not playable, falling to 47 FPS.

At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 87 FPS average. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 136 FPS average. The 60 FPS threshold is cleared by a substantial margin at all playable configurations, and the only non-playable scenario is 4K Ultra.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 62 FPS. This preset provides the best visual quality while maintaining playability, though the margin above the threshold is slim.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding playable preset is Ultra, with an average of 87 FPS. This provides a comfortable 27 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for consistent frame delivery.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding playable preset is Ultra, with an average of 136 FPS. This is more than double the playability threshold, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 961st out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 26% of all systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's position in the broader hardware landscape; the RTX 3080 Ti scores in the 83rd percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 84th percentile against all CPUs.

The combo's ranking is consistent with what the FPS data shows: a high-end system from the previous generation that remains competitive for this title. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked systems likely comes from newer GPUs with higher raw throughput, but the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p shows that this gap does not translate into a playability difference at standard resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores are the Intel Core i5-13600T (0.1% lower score), Intel Core i7-12700KF (0.2% lower), Intel Core i7-13700T (0.3% lower), and Intel Core 5 213PE (0.4% lower). These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Minimum, with the i7-12700KF being the closest direct equivalent since it shares the same Alder Lake architecture and core configuration.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.8% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (2.0% higher), NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB (1.2% lower), and NVIDIA Tesla M40 (1.7% lower). The RTX 5070 is the only consumer gaming card in this group and would provide a modest performance uplift in GPU-bound scenarios. The Radeon Pro 5300 and Tesla variants are professional/compute cards that would behave similarly in raw throughput but may lack the gaming-specific optimizations of the RTX 3080 Ti.

In practical terms for Minimum, swapping the CPU for any of its nearest rivals would produce FPS changes of less than 1%, given the game's GPU-bound nature. Swapping the GPU for the RTX 5070 would yield the largest measurable improvement, while the Tesla M40 options would show a slight reduction in frame rates.