Minimum

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an extreme combination for a 2014 third-person shooter like Minimum. Benchmark data shows this system completely overwhelms the game’s demands, delivering playable frame rates at every resolution and preset tested. The only meaningful question is not whether it can run the game, but how much headroom remains before the frame rate becomes a bottleneck for the display.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution but maintains an enormous performance cushion across all settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the average frame rate ranges from 191.1 FPS at Ultra settings to 393.1 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 304.9 FPS, while High settings produce 255 FPS. These numbers indicate that even the most demanding preset at 1080p leaves the RTX 4090 far from its limits, with the Low preset approaching four times the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are consistent but still leave massive headroom. Ultra settings average 124.8 FPS, High settings reach 165.1 FPS, Medium delivers 195.5 FPS, and Low jumps to 254.1 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of roughly 35% at Ultra (from 191.1 to 124.8 FPS) and about 35% at Low (from 393.1 to 254.1 FPS), which is typical for a GPU-bound workload as pixel count increases by 78%.

At 3840x2160, the system remains fully playable at every preset. Ultra settings average 68.1 FPS, High settings hit 87.1 FPS, Medium reaches 103.5 FPS, and Low produces 134.1 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K is steep — Ultra drops by 45% (from 124.8 to 68.1 FPS) and Low drops by 47% (from 254.1 to 134.1 FPS) — but even the worst case at 4K Ultra stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Notably, the data includes no minimum or maximum FPS values, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates, which likely understate the consistency of this powerful combo.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 68.1 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data confirms all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 4K.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Minimum?

A: The highest recorded average is 393.1 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Even at 4K with Low settings, the average remains high at 134.1 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 191.1 at 1920x1080 to 124.8 at 2560x1440, then to 68.1 at 3840x2160. This represents a total reduction of 64% from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 or the i7-13700K the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes more relevant at higher resolutions. The FPS drop from 1440p to 4K (45% at Ultra) is larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (35% at Ultra), indicating increased GPU load at 4K. The CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample processing power for this title.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 60 FPS in the measured scenarios?

A: No. The lowest average FPS recorded across all resolutions and presets is 68.1 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. Every other combination exceeds this value.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 124th out of 3712 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 3.3% of all configurations. This is consistent with the CPU’s 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate a system where the GPU dominates performance scaling, but the CPU provides a solid foundation that never becomes a bottleneck. The i7-13700K, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, delivers strong synthetic scores including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. Its PassMark multithread score of 45887 places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (deltaPct -0.2) and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (deltaPct -0.3) showing nearly identical average scores.

The RTX 4090, meanwhile, posts a PassMark G3D score of 38194 and an average benchmark score of 60347, putting it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (deltaPct 0) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (deltaPct 0.3), though these comparisons reflect synthetic workloads rather than game-specific performance.

In Minimum, the scaling between resolutions reveals the GPU’s role. At 1920x1080, the average FPS across all presets ranges from 191.1 to 393.1, indicating that even the Low preset is far from CPU-limited — the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to exceed 300 FPS. As resolution increases to 3840x2160, the FPS drops consistently, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. The RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game’s textures and geometry, so the frame rate decline is purely a function of pixel shading load.

The settings presets also tell a story. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 51% (from 393.1 to 191.1), while at 4K the same preset change reduces FPS by 49% (from 134.1 to 68.1). This proportional drop suggests the GPU is handling additional effects and draw calls uniformly across resolutions, rather than hitting a memory or bandwidth ceiling. The CPU’s role is supportive but not limiting; the i7-13700K’s 3.40 GHz base and 5.40 GHz boost clocks, combined with its 30 MB of shared L3 cache, ensure that frame pacing remains stable even at very high frame rates.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum without any compromises. The verdict data classifies all four settings presets as playable at every resolution tested, meaning the average FPS always exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, the worst-case scenario (Ultra) averages 191.1 FPS, which is more than triple the threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 124.8 FPS, still double the threshold. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 68.1 FPS, clearing the threshold by 8.1 FPS.

The only scenario where the system approaches the 60 FPS line is 4K Ultra, which produces 68.1 FPS. This leaves a narrow margin of 13.5% above the playable threshold, meaning that any additional in-game load or background process could theoretically push it below 60 FPS. However, given that the game released in 2014 and the GPU is a 2022 flagship with 24 GB of VRAM, this remains a safe margin for a title of this era. The data confirms that every resolution and preset combination is playable, with the best settings at each resolution being Ultra.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 191.1 FPS. This is the highest visual quality available and still provides a frame rate suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. Lower presets offer diminishing returns — Low achieves 393.1 FPS, but the visual trade-off is unnecessary given the headroom.

At 2560x1440, Ultra remains the best choice, averaging 124.8 FPS. This comfortably exceeds 60 FPS and leaves room for V-Sync or G-Sync to cap the frame rate without stutter. The drop from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra is 35%, but the absolute performance is still excellent for a 1440p panel.

At 3840x2160, Ultra is again the best setting, averaging 68.1 FPS. This is the only configuration where the frame rate dips below 70 FPS, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing a rock-solid 60 FPS lock, High settings at 87.1 FPS would provide a larger buffer, but the data shows Ultra is playable. The recommendation is to run Ultra at all three resolutions, with the understanding that 4K Ultra offers the smallest safety margin above the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 124th out of 3712 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 the game is nearly a decade old and the database includes more specialized or overclocked configurations. The CPU’s percentile rank of 89 and the GPU’s percentile rank of 88 are both high, but the game’s age means that many mid-range modern components can also achieve high frame rates, narrowing the relative advantage of this flagship pairing.

The nearest CPU rivals — the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (deltaPct -0.2) and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (deltaPct -0.3) — have nearly identical average benchmark scores, indicating that the i7-13700K is not uniquely positioned for this game. The nearest GPU rivals, including the Intel Arc Pro A60 (deltaPct 0) and AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (deltaPct -2.5), show similar synthetic performance, but the RTX 4090’s real-world advantage in Minimum is apparent from the measured FPS data. The combination of a top-tier CPU and GPU ensures that this system will not be the bottleneck in any scenario, and the rank reflects that capability. For a game like Minimum, this combo is overkill in the best possible way, delivering playable frame rates at every setting with enough headroom for future titles.