Minimum

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a combination that leans heavily on the CPU’s strength, but the GPU dictates the experience in this 2014 third-person shooter. Benchmark data shows a system that handles 1080p and 1440p well, but 4K remains out of reach for smooth play. The measured FPS figures come from actual testing, and the results are clear: this is a 1440p-capable machine with headroom at lower resolutions, though the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU’s overall position in the 70th percentile among all GPUs limit its ceiling at higher pixel counts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 6600 XT produces strong frame rates across all presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 169.2 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium drops to 130.6 FPS, while High sits at 108.6 FPS. Ultra, the most demanding preset, still maintains a solid 83.6 FPS average. These numbers show that the GPU has ample headroom at 1080p, and the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are never a limiting factor here. The scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly a 50% reduction in average FPS, which is typical for a title of this era with increasing shadow and texture demands.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but the gap between presets widens. Low produces 111.2 FPS, Medium 86.7 FPS, and High 71.2 FPS. Ultra falls to 55.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is about 50%, similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower because the GPU must render more pixels. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset shows a clear cost: High goes from 108.6 FPS to 71.2 FPS, a 34% reduction, indicating that pixel throughput is the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals a card that is out of its depth. Low settings yield an average of 57.9 FPS, just under the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 43.2 FPS, High to 40.8 FPS, and Ultra to 31.4 FPS. None of these presets achieve playable frame rates. The jump from 1440p to 4K is punishing: High at 1440p delivers 71.2 FPS, but at 4K it falls to 40.8 FPS, a 43% decline. This pattern confirms that the RX 6600 XT lacks the raw horsepower and memory bandwidth—256.0 GB/s on a 128-bit bus—to handle 4K rendering in this game.

The data does not include minimum or maximum FPS values, so only averages are available for analysis. The absence of min/max figures means stutter and frame-time consistency cannot be assessed, but the averages alone are sufficient to determine playability at the standard 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the best settings that maintain 60 FPS or higher are Ultra, with an average of 83.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it clears the threshold by a comfortable margin. There is no reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution, as even the heaviest settings leave over 20 FPS of headroom. The data confirms that all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, but Ultra offers the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is High, which averages 71.2 FPS. Medium (86.7 FPS) and Low (111.2 FPS) are also playable, but High provides the highest visual fidelity while staying above 60 FPS. Ultra at 55.5 FPS is not playable per the 60 FPS threshold, so users must accept a slight visual compromise to maintain smooth gameplay. The choice between High and Medium depends on preference, but the data shows High is viable.

For 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. Low comes closest at 57.9 FPS, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium (43.2 FPS), High (40.8 FPS), and Ultra (31.4 FPS) are all well below playable levels. The verdict for 4K is unambiguous: this combo cannot run the game smoothly at any preset. Users targeting 4K would need to reduce resolution or upgrade the GPU.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a high-end processor, ranking in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 indicate massive headroom for gaming. In this title, the CPU is never the bottleneck. The evidence is in the frame rate scaling: at 1080p Low, the system produces 169.2 FPS, which would stress most CPUs, but the 20-core, 28-thread processor handles it without issue. The GPU, however, is the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The RX 6600 XT ranks in the 70th percentile among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 16461. Its performance is modest compared to the CPU’s dominance. The data shows that frame rates drop consistently as resolution rises, regardless of preset. At 1080p, the GPU can push high frame rates, but at 4K, even Low settings fail to hit 60 FPS. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario where the processor’s capabilities are irrelevant to the final frame rate.

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals the GPU’s role. From 1080p Low (169.2 FPS) to 1440p Low (111.2 FPS), the drop is 34%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (57.9 FPS), the drop is another 48%. These reductions are far larger than any CPU-related variance, confirming that the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are the deciding factors. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and the i7-14700KF does this effortlessly, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limits at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the CPU’s single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235) helps maintain high frame rates, but even a weaker CPU would likely suffice. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the sole constraint, and the CPU’s high multi-core scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 44167) provide no benefit because the game’s workload is primarily graphics-bound. In practical terms, users should focus on GPU settings rather than CPU settings when optimizing for this title.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Minimum? Yes, but only at 1080p and 1440p, and only up to specific presets. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with Ultra averaging 83.6 FPS. This is a definitive yes; the system runs the game smoothly with maximum settings. At 2560x1440, High is the best playable preset at 71.2 FPS, while Medium and Low also clear 60 FPS. Ultra at 55.5 FPS is not playable, so users must dial back to High for a stable experience.

At 3840x2160, the answer is no. The best average FPS is 57.9 on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra are all significantly lower, with Ultra at 31.4 FPS. The data is clear: 4K is not viable with this combination. Users with 4K displays should either run the game at a lower resolution or consider a more powerful GPU.

The verdict by resolution is straightforward. 1080p offers full playability with headroom to spare. 1440p offers good playability but requires a compromise on Ultra settings. 4K is not playable at any setting. This system is well-suited for 1080p and acceptable for 1440p, but it is not a 4K gaming rig for this title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996 on average benchmarks, which is 0.2% lower than the i7-14700KF’s average of 70163. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875, a 0.4% difference, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, a 0.9% difference. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, which is 1% higher. These processors would behave nearly identically in this game, as the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. Swapping the i7-14700KF for any of these would yield frame rates within a fraction of a percent, assuming the same GPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 with an average score of 24277, which is 0.7% higher than the RX 6600 XT’s 24442 average. The Intel Arc A350M scores 24647, a 0.8% difference, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236, a 0.8% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, which is 1.1% lower. These GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Minimum, meaning users with any of these cards can expect roughly the same performance profile: playable at 1080p and 1440p, not at 4K. The differences are small enough that the choice between them would come down to other factors like driver support or feature set, not raw FPS in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in Minimum is 2521 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places it in the lower-middle range of all tested systems. The percentile data tells a clearer story: the CPU is in the 94th percentile, but the GPU is in the 70th percentile. The combination’s rank reflects the GPU’s limitations more than the CPU’s strengths. Out of 3712 combos, 2521 perform better in this game, meaning this setup is not a top-tier performer despite its strong processor.

The rank is driven by the GPU’s inability to sustain high frame rates at 4K. Many combinations with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would rank higher because Minimum is a GPU-bound title at higher resolutions. The i7-14700KF’s high benchmark scores do not translate to better FPS when the GPU is the limiting factor. Users should interpret this rank as an indicator that the system is adequate for mainstream gaming but not exceptional for this specific game, particularly at high resolutions.

In practical terms, this combo ranks below the majority of tested systems, but the actual gaming experience at 1080p is very good, and at 1440p it is solid. The rank is a relative measure that includes many 4K-capable systems, which this one is not. For the resolutions where this system is playable, the performance is competitive, but the overall rank is dragged down by the 4K results.