Minimum

This is a hardware analysis of the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER for the game Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. The data provided is measured directly from this specific combination, and the analysis below interprets those results across resolutions and presets, with a focus on the 60 FPS playability threshold. The combination ranks 311th out of 3712 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top percentile of available hardware configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this CPU/GPU pairing show a clear pattern: performance scales downward as resolution increases, but the system remains exceptionally fast even at the most demanding settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the average frame rates range from 354 FPS at Low settings down to 173 FPS at Ultra. The only preset with min/max data at this resolution is Medium, which delivers an average of 271 FPS, with a minimum of 230 FPS and a maximum of 312 FPS. High settings produce an average of 228 FPS, while Ultra drops to 173 FPS, still nearly three times the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages remain very high but show a noticeable step down from 1080p. Low settings hit 228 FPS, High reaches 147 FPS, and Medium averages 175 FPS. The Medium preset again provides the only min/max data, showing a minimum of 149 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS. Ultra at 1440p averages 112 FPS, which is a 35% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result of 173 FPS, but still comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to feel the strain of 4K rendering, though it never falls below the playable threshold. Low settings produce an average of 123 FPS, Medium averages 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS and maximum of 108 FPS, and High averages 79 FPS. Ultra at 4K is the most demanding configuration tested, delivering an average of exactly 60 FPS, which matches the playable threshold precisely. The data shows that at 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS, a 51% drop, whereas at 1440p the same preset gap is 116 FPS, and at 1080p it is 181 FPS. This indicates that the performance penalty for higher settings grows disproportionately at lower resolutions, where the CPU and GPU have more headroom to render additional effects.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The evidence lies in the scaling between presets and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (354 FPS) and Ultra (173 FPS) is 181 FPS, a 51% reduction. This large gap suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with frames far faster than the GPU can render them at higher settings, making the GPU the primary limiter even at Low settings. However, the sheer magnitude of the Low preset average—354 FPS—indicates that the i7-14700KF’s 20 cores and 28 threads are not a bottleneck at this resolution; the GPU is simply working harder as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the preset scaling narrows slightly. Low averages 228 FPS, while Ultra averages 112 FPS, a difference of 116 FPS or 51%. The consistency of this percentage drop across 1080p and 1440p suggests that the GPU’s workload scales linearly with pixel count and settings, while the CPU maintains a stable frame delivery rate. The 1440p Ultra result of 112 FPS is 35% lower than the 1080p Ultra result, which aligns with the 1.78x increase in pixel count (2,073,600 vs 3,686,400 pixels), implying the GPU is the dominant factor.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. The pixel count jumps to 8,294,400, which is 2.25x the 1440p count and 4x the 1080p count. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 60 FPS, exactly half of the 1440p Ultra average of 112 FPS. This halving aligns perfectly with the 2.25x pixel increase, confirming that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU’s role diminishes further at 4K because the GPU is spending so much time on pixel shading that the CPU’s frame preparation time is hidden. The Low preset at 4K still achieves 123 FPS, which is 45% lower than the 1440p Low result of 228 FPS, again tracking the pixel count increase. The data indicates that for this game, the i7-14700KF is more than sufficient at all resolutions, and the RTX 4080 SUPER determines frame rates at 4K, while at 1080p the combination is so fast that even the Ultra preset leaves massive headroom above the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS. The data shows that this system clears that bar at every resolution, even on the highest preset.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 173 FPS. This is 113 FPS above the playable threshold, meaning there is substantial headroom for future driver updates or background tasks. The Medium preset, which has the only min/max data at this resolution, shows a minimum of 230 FPS, indicating that even in the most demanding scenes, the system never drops below 4x the threshold. High settings average 228 FPS, but Ultra is recommended because the performance cost is minimal relative to the visual gain.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best setting, with an average of 112 FPS. This is 52 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable margin for competitive play or high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 149 FPS, which is still more than double the threshold, so even the most demanding moments at Ultra are unlikely to dip below 60 FPS. The data does not provide min/max values for Ultra at this resolution, but the average of 112 FPS suggests that drops below 60 FPS would require an extreme scene.

At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best setting, but it exactly hits the threshold with an average of 60 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system does not have significant headroom at the highest preset. The Medium preset at 4K averages 94 FPS, which is 34 FPS above the threshold and offers a safer margin for those who prefer consistent frame pacing. However, since the Ultra average is exactly 60 FPS, it meets the playable definition, though users sensitive to frame drops may prefer Medium for its higher average and the known minimum of 80 FPS. The Low preset at 4K averages 123 FPS, which is viable for high refresh rate 4K displays, but Ultra is the most visually demanding option that still clears the threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700KF, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, which scores 69,996 against the i7’s 70,163, a difference of only 0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69,875, which is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69,515, a 0.9% deficit. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70,879, which is 1% higher than the i7-14700KF. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, assuming the GPU remains the same. The i7-14700KF’s percentile ranking of 94 out of 100 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs, so users with any of these rivals should expect no measurable difference in this game.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 54,247 against the SUPER’s 54,209, a difference of -0.1%, meaning the non-SUPER version is marginally faster in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, which is 1.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, a 2.7% advantage. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55,757, which is 2.8% higher. These deltas are small enough that all of these GPUs would deliver similar FPS in Minimum, though the differences would be more noticeable at 4K Ultra where the system is GPU-bound. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s percentile ranking of 86 places it well above average, but the nearest rivals are all within 3% of its score, suggesting that swapping to any of them would not change the verdict at any resolution.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 60 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which exactly meets the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system also runs 4K High at 79 FPS and 4K Medium at 94 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is the best preset at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 112 FPS. This is 52 FPS above the playable threshold, so there is significant headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70,163 in average benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is 0.2% slower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.4% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.9% slower. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% faster.

Q: Is the GPU likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 354 FPS, which is extremely high. The Ultra preset averages 173 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor as settings increase, but the CPU is not holding back performance at any preset.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 271 FPS, with a minimum of 230 FPS and a maximum of 312 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors.

Q: Does the system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with lower settings?

A: Yes, all tested presets at 3840x2160 exceed 60 FPS. Low averages 123 FPS, Medium averages 94 FPS, and High averages 79 FPS. Only Ultra exactly hits the 60 FPS threshold.

The Verdict

The data confirms that the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER can run Minimum at all tested resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 173 FPS, which is 113 FPS above the playable threshold, making this an excellent pairing for high refresh rate 1080p monitors. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 112 FPS, offering a 52 FPS margin over the 60 FPS threshold, ideal for 1440p gaming with room to spare. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages exactly 60 FPS, meeting the playable threshold precisely; users who want more headroom at 4K can drop to Medium for 94 FPS or High for 79 FPS. The verdict by resolution is clear: this system clears 60 FPS at every resolution and preset combination tested, with the only caveat being that 4K Ultra leaves no performance buffer. The combination ranks 311st out of 3712 tested combos, and its nearest CPU and GPU rivals are all within 3% of its benchmark scores, meaning similar hardware would produce nearly identical results. For a game from 2014, this hardware is far more than sufficient, and the data shows it is capable of delivering playable frame rates even at the most demanding settings and resolution.