Minimum

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Minimum covers four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. All measurements are average FPS values; the database does not include minimum or maximum frame times for this combination. The overall pattern is consistent with a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom to push playable frame rates at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly below playable thresholds. The Low preset delivers an average of 25.4 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium follows at 19.8 FPS, High drops to 20.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16.1 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is approximately 9.3 FPS, which indicates that even the most aggressive settings reduction cannot bridge the gap to 60 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is entirely out of reach for this pairing, regardless of how much graphical detail is sacrificed.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset reaches 51.3 FPS, which is the closest this combination comes to playability at this resolution. Medium drops to 39.7 FPS, High to 35.9 FPS, and Ultra to 26.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 11.6 FPS, which is a significant jump, indicating that the Medium preset introduces a substantial rendering load increase. Even at Low settings, the average falls nearly 9 FPS short of the playable threshold, meaning that 1440p requires either a stronger GPU or a lower internal resolution.

At 1920x1080, the data finally shows playable territory. The Low preset achieves 80.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium delivers 63.5 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. High drops to 53.1 FPS, which is below the threshold, and Ultra falls to 38.9 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a reduction of 17.1 FPS, while Medium to High costs another 10.4 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is the most punishing, losing 14.2 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset carries a disproportionately heavy load for this GPU, likely due to shadow quality, draw distance, or post-processing effects that tax the Polaris architecture.

The recorded data contains no min or max FPS values, so conclusions about frame pacing or stutter behavior cannot be drawn. However, the average FPS at 1080p Medium suggests that the system can maintain a consistent experience around 60 FPS, though users sensitive to drops may prefer the Low preset for a larger safety margin.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K resolution?

A: No. The best result at 3840x2160 is 25.4 FPS on the Low preset, which is far below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets at this resolution score between 16.1 and 20.2 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 63.5 FPS average, which is the most demanding setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Low runs at 80.6 FPS, but Medium is the best visual quality option that remains playable.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset?

A: At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 80.6 at 1080p to 51.3 at 1440p, a reduction of 29.3 FPS. At Medium, the drop is from 63.5 to 39.7, a loss of 23.8 FPS. This indicates a strong GPU-bound scaling penalty.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable at any resolution?

A: No. The best Ultra result is 38.9 FPS at 1080p, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Ultra drops to 26.9 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 16.1 FPS.

Q: Which resolution and preset combination has the highest average FPS?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset records 80.6 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire data set. The next best is 1080p Medium at 63.5 FPS.

Q: Does lowering settings from High to Low at 1440p make the game playable?

A: No. At 1440p, High delivers 35.9 FPS and Low improves to 51.3 FPS. While the gain is substantial, the final value is still below the 60 FPS threshold, so no settings change at this resolution achieves playability.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 20 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its benchmark scores place it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with a strong multi-threaded presence. The AMD Radeon RX 570, by contrast, is an older Polaris GPU with 2048 shading units and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, sitting in the 74th percentile among all GPUs. The measured FPS data clearly shows that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck for Minimum, particularly at higher resolutions.

Evidence for this comes from the resolution scaling behavior. At 1080p Low, the system produces 80.6 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces this to 51.3 FPS, a 36% decrease in performance for a 78% increase in pixel count. At 4K Low, the result is 25.4 FPS, another 50% drop. These steep declines are characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering pipeline is saturated by pixel fill and memory bandwidth demands. The RX 570 has a 256-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards, and the data suggests that this becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs.

The CPU's role is more evident at 1080p, where the processor has enough headroom to feed the GPU effectively. The i7-12700KF scores 28838 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4071 in single-core, both of which are far above what a 2014 game like Minimum would require. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 80.6 FPS indicates that the CPU is not a constraint at this resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar FPS across different resolutions, but the data shows a clear resolution-dependent decline, which points to GPU limitation.

The preset scaling also supports this interpretation. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 41.7 FPS (from 80.6 to 38.9), a 52% reduction. This is a large penalty for graphical settings, which are primarily GPU workloads. At 1440p, the same preset change costs 24.4 FPS (from 51.3 to 26.9), and at 4K it costs 9.3 FPS (from 25.4 to 16.1). The diminishing absolute impact at higher resolutions is consistent with a GPU that is already saturated and cannot translate additional settings reductions into proportionally higher frame rates.

One notable observation is the anomaly at 4K, where High (20.2 FPS) slightly outperforms Medium (19.8 FPS). This is a small difference of 0.4 FPS, which could be within measurement variance, but it also suggests that the Medium preset at 4K may trigger a specific memory or shader behavior that the High preset does not. The database does not include frame time data, so this cannot be explored further, but it hints at driver-level optimizations or uneven workload distribution at extreme resolutions.

In summary, the i7-12700KF is more than capable of driving Minimum at any resolution, but the RX 570 becomes the limiting factor starting at 1440p. At 1080p, the CPU and GPU are reasonably balanced, with the GPU still carrying most of the load but not to the point of making the game unplayable. At 1440p and above, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, and no CPU upgrade would meaningfully change the results.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear from the recorded data. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best case is Low at 25.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16.1 FPS. This combination cannot run Minimum at 4K under any settings configuration.

At 2560x1440, the outcome is the same: no playable settings exist. The closest result is Low at 51.3 FPS, which is 8.7 FPS short of the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all land well below 60 FPS, with values of 39.7, 35.9, and 26.9 respectively. Even with the lowest preset, the system does not deliver a smooth experience at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system is playable on two presets. Low achieves 80.6 FPS, which provides ample headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium achieves 63.5 FPS, which clears the threshold but with less margin. High (53.1 FPS) and Ultra (38.9 FPS) are not playable. The best settings for 1080p are Medium, as it offers the highest visual quality while maintaining an average above 60 FPS.

Can this PC run the game? Yes, but only at 1080p with Low or Medium settings. The system is not viable at 1440p or 4K, regardless of preset. For a game released in 2014, this is a modest result, but it is consistent with the RX 570's age and 4 GB memory capacity. Users with a 1080p monitor can expect a playable experience, while those with higher-resolution displays will need to consider a GPU upgrade.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3577 out of 3712 tested combinations for Minimum. This places it in the bottom 4% of all tested systems, which is a very low position. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities, as the i7-12700KF is a strong processor that ranks in the 85th percentile among CPUs.

The low combo rank is surprising given the CPU's performance. The i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365, which is within 0.2% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403, -0.1% delta), Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.2% delta), and Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, +0.2% delta). The CPU is clearly not the weak link. The RX 570, however, has an average benchmark score of 28766, which places it near the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (28874, -0.4% delta), AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996, -0.8% delta), and AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28580, +0.7% delta). These are all mid-range or older GPUs, and none of them would be expected to drive a modern game at high resolutions.

The rank of 3577 out of 3712 indicates that most tested combinations outperform this pairing in Minimum. This is largely because the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates in this game, and the RX 570 is simply not competitive with more recent graphics cards. The CPU's high percentile ranking does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in a GPU-bound title.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. The database records no best settings or FPS value for this resolution, as every preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Users at 4K should not expect a playable experience with this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the situation is identical: no playable settings exist. The best possible average is 51.3 FPS at Low, which is still below the threshold. The database does not assign a best setting for this resolution because no preset clears 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Medium, with an average FPS of 63.5. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. Low is also playable at 80.6 FPS, offering a smoother experience but with reduced visual fidelity. High and Ultra are not playable at 1080p, with averages of 53.1 and 38.9 FPS respectively.

For users who prioritize frame rate stability, Low at 1080p provides a 17.1 FPS buffer over Medium. For those who want better visuals without dropping below 60 FPS, Medium is the recommended choice. The data does not support any settings above Medium at 1080p, as the GPU cannot maintain the threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-12700KF are all Intel processors with very similar average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403, which is 0.1% higher than the i7-12700KF's 35365. The Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305, 0.2% lower, and the Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35287, 0.2% lower. In practical terms, these CPUs would behave nearly identically in Minimum, as the game is not CPU-bound at any resolution in the measured data. Swapping the i7-12700KF for any of these would result in no meaningful FPS change.

The nearest rivals for the AMD Radeon RX 570 are more varied. The AMD Radeon RX 6800M scores 28874, which is 0.4% higher than the RX 570's 28766. The AMD Radeon RX 470 scores 28996, 0.8% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M295X scores 28580, 0.7% lower, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 scores 28421, 1.2% lower. These deltas are all within 1.2% of each other, meaning that any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum. The RX 470 is particularly relevant, as it shares the same Polaris architecture and would likely match the RX 570's performance within a few FPS. The Quadro RTX 8000 and R9 M295X are less common in gaming systems, but the data suggests they would not offer a meaningful advantage.

For users considering an upgrade, the CPU is not the limiting factor. Replacing the i7-12700KF with any of its nearest rivals would not change the playable resolutions or presets. The GPU, however, is the bottleneck, and moving to a significantly faster card would be required to unlock 1440p or 4K playability. The nearest GPU rivals would only provide marginal gains, so a substantial step up in GPU class would be necessary for higher-resolution gaming.