Minimum

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 sits in a tight cluster of processors based on aggregate benchmark scores. The closest rival is the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64,823 versus the Core Ultra 7 265's 64,640 average, a negligible 0.3% gap. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F trails by a similar margin at 64,438, or 0.3% behind. On the other side, the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64,202 (0.7% lower), while the AMD EPYC 9124 leads the group at 65,104, which is 0.7% ahead of the reviewed CPU. For practical gaming purposes, any of these processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable frame rates in a CPU-bound scenario. The Core Ultra 7 265 ranks in the 93rd percentile among all tested CPUs, putting it firmly in the upper tier of desktop processors.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the nearest rivals are remarkably close in aggregate GPU benchmarks. The GeForce GTX 580 matches almost exactly, with a 0% delta and a score of 15,283 versus 15,290. The AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% behind at 15,270, while the RTX 3050 OEM sits 0.6% lower at 15,199. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 rounds out the group at 15,171, a 0.8% deficit. The RTX 2060's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits just above the midpoint of the tested GPU pool. In practical terms, a system with any of these four GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, with differences well within run-to-run variance. The RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are the defining characteristics that separate it from the older GTX 580, but the aggregate scores tell the story of comparable overall throughput.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data for Minimum shows a clear pattern of GPU dominance at higher resolutions, with the CPU becoming more relevant as resolution drops. At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor: average frame rates range from 26 FPS at Ultra to 54 FPS at Low. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 28 FPS, a 108% difference that points squarely at GPU rendering load. The Core Ultra 7 265's substantial single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,960 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4,689, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution, but the GPU simply cannot keep pace.

At 2560x1440, the picture shifts slightly. Low settings produce 100 FPS, Medium drops to 77 FPS, High to 64 FPS, and Ultra to 49 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 51 FPS difference (51%), still strongly GPU-bound but with more headroom. The RTX 2060's 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being taxed, while the CPU's 20 cores and 30 MB shared L3 cache remain underutilized. The game's genre as a Third-Person Shooter from 2014 suggests modest CPU requirements, and the data confirms the Core Ultra 7 265 is never the bottleneck.

At 1920x1080, the CPU and GPU work in better balance. Low settings hit 155 FPS, Medium 119 FPS, High 100 FPS, and Ultra 76 FPS. The 79 FPS spread between Low and Ultra (a 104% increase) still indicates GPU-bound behavior, but the higher absolute frame rates mean the CPU's per-core performance is being exercised more. The Core Ultra 7 265's boost clock of 5.30 GHz and strong IPC from the Arrow Lake architecture help maintain these high frame rates without dipping below playable thresholds. The verdict data confirms this: at 1080p, all four settings are playable (above 60 FPS), while at 1440p, Ultra falls below the threshold at 49 FPS, and at 4K, no setting reaches 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2,929 out of 3,712 tested combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the lower 21% of all possible CPU-GPU combinations in the database. The ranking reflects the significant mismatch between the high-end CPU (93rd percentile) and the mid-range GPU (58th percentile). In a game like Minimum where GPU load dominates at higher resolutions, the RTX 2060 drags the overall ranking down despite the CPU's strength.

The rank of 2,929 suggests that most of the 3,711 other combos in the database achieve better performance in this specific title. The Core Ultra 7 265's 20 threads and multi-core might (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216) are largely irrelevant to Minimum's frame rates, which depend on the GPU. The data shows that pairing this CPU with a more capable GPU would likely move the combo significantly higher in the rankings, while the current GPU holds the system back. The 1080p results (76 FPS at Ultra) are respectable, but the 4K results (26 FPS at Ultra) demonstrate that the GPU is the binding constraint.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes. All four settings at 1920x1080 exceed 60 FPS: Low averages 155 FPS, Medium 119 FPS, High 100 FPS, and Ultra 76 FPS. The playable settings list confirms all four are above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for smooth gameplay at 1440p?

A: High is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, delivering 64 FPS average. Medium runs at 77 FPS and Low at 100 FPS, but High offers the best visual quality while staying above 60 FPS. Ultra drops to 49 FPS, which is below the threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No setting at 3840x2160 reaches 60 FPS. The highest average is 54 FPS at Low, followed by 41 FPS at Medium, 35 FPS at High, and 26 FPS at Ultra. The playable settings list for 4K is empty, meaning no setting meets the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rival, the GTX 580?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15,290, while the GTX 580 scores 15,283, a 0% delta. In practical terms, they perform identically in aggregate tests, though the RTX 2060 supports modern APIs including DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and has 30 RT cores for ray tracing workloads.

Q: Is the CPU overkill for this GPU?

A: The data suggests yes. The Core Ultra 7 265 ranks in the 93rd percentile among CPUs, while the RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile among GPUs. In Minimum, the GPU limits performance at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU's 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are not fully utilized in this title.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium averages 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 77 FPS with a range of 65 to 88 FPS. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 155 FPS. Medium settings average 119 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS. High settings drop to 100 FPS average. Ultra settings maintain 76 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 79 FPS, and all settings clear the 60 FPS playable threshold comfortably.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down noticeably. Low settings average 100 FPS. Medium settings average 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 88 FPS. High settings average 64 FPS, just above the playable threshold. Ultra settings fall to 49 FPS average, which is below 60 FPS and therefore not classified as playable. The delta between Low and Ultra is 51 FPS, and the Medium minimum of 65 FPS shows some frame-time variance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely strained. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS. Ultra settings average 26 FPS. No setting at 4K achieves playable frame rates. The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings shows a drop from 119 FPS to 41 FPS, a 65% reduction that highlights the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute limitations at high pixel counts.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Ultra, which averages 76 FPS. This is the highest visual quality preset that remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The recorded data shows no frame minimum for Ultra at 1080p, but the average of 76 FPS provides a 16 FPS margin above the playable cutoff.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is High, averaging 64 FPS. This provides a slim 4 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium offers more headroom at 77 FPS, but High is the most demanding preset that stays playable. The 49 FPS average at Ultra confirms that stepping up to the highest preset would break the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, there is no playable setting. The best average is 54 FPS at Low, which falls 6 FPS short of the 60 FPS requirement. The verdict data confirms an empty playable settings list and no best settings recommendation for 4K. Users seeking 4K performance would need to reduce resolution or accept sub-60 FPS gameplay. The measured data shows that this CPU-GPU combination is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p High as a viable secondary option.