Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Minimum, a 2014-era Third-Person Shooter. Benchmark results indicate that this pairing is not merely capable of running the game but does so with substantial headroom across all tested resolutions and presets. The measured data shows a system that consistently exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold, often by a wide margin, making it a formidable choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a linear scaling of performance across resolutions, with the RTX 5080 providing ample compute headroom even at 4K. At 1920x1080, the lowest tested resolution, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The Low preset produces an average of 369 FPS, which is the highest average recorded in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 283 FPS, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS. The High preset averages 237 FPS, while the Ultra preset, the most demanding, still averages 181 FPS. These figures indicate that at 1080p, the system is almost certainly bound by the CPU's single-thread performance or the game engine's draw call submission rate, as the GPU is far from saturated.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains stellar but begins to show a more pronounced GPU influence. The Low preset averages 238 FPS, which is a 131 FPS drop compared to 1080p Low, suggesting the GPU is now handling a significantly larger pixel workload. The Medium preset averages 182 FPS, with a minimum of 155 FPS and a maximum of 210 FPS. High settings produce an average of 153 FPS, and Ultra settings still deliver a robust 117 FPS average. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with roughly a 35% reduction in frame rate across most presets, which aligns with the 1.78x increase in pixel count, confirming that the RTX 5080 is the primary performance driver at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers a highly playable experience, though the performance ceiling is noticeably lower. The Low preset averages 128 FPS, a significant drop from the 238 FPS at 1440p. Medium settings average 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS. The High preset averages 82 FPS, and the Ultra preset, which is the most graphically intensive configuration, still maintains an average of 63 FPS. The data shows a clear trend: the gap between presets widens as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are becoming limiting factors at 4K, but the RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate ensure that even the heaviest settings remain fluid.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playability threshold for this analysis is 60 FPS, and the measured data indicates that every preset at every resolution clears this mark. For 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which yields an average of 181 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and the system achieves nearly three times the playable threshold, making it ideal for 144Hz or 165Hz monitors. The minimum FPS for Ultra at this resolution is not listed, but the average of 181 FPS provides substantial buffer against frame dips.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset remains the best choice, delivering an average of 117 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves ample headroom for future driver optimizations or additional background tasks. The 117 FPS average also suggests that a 120Hz display could be fully utilized in most scenes, although the lack of a listed minimum FPS for Ultra means consistency cannot be perfectly quantified.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset still achieves playable performance, averaging 63 FPS. This is the only resolution where the average FPS at Ultra drops below 100, and it sits just 3 FPS above the playable threshold. While the average is acceptable, the lack of a minimum FPS value for Ultra means there is potential for occasional dips below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 98 FPS and a minimum of 83 FPS, provides a more consistent experience for users who prioritize frame stability over maximum visual fidelity. However, for the strict "best settings" definition, Ultra is technically the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS on average.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance data clearly delineates the roles of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the RTX 5080 across different resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU is the dominant factor. The Core Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock, demonstrates its strength, as evidenced by the high frame rates. The difference between the Low preset (369 FPS) and Ultra preset (181 FPS) is substantial, but the absolute values are so high that they suggest the GPU is not the bottleneck. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4689 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for older game engines like Minimum that may rely heavily on a single main thread.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role. The measured FPS at Low settings drops from 369 to 238, a 35.5% reduction, which is nearly proportional to the pixel count increase. This indicates that the RTX 5080's fill rate and shading throughput are now the primary constraints. The GPU's FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are being exercised more heavily, but the Core Ultra 7 265 still provides enough data to keep the GPU fed, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a further drop, with Low settings falling from 238 FPS to 128 FPS, a 46.2% reduction. This steep decline is consistent with the 2.25x pixel increase, confirming that the RTX 5080's rasterization capabilities are fully saturated. The CPU's role diminishes to that of a data provider, and its PassMark multithread score of 49682 ensures that it can handle the game's background simulation tasks without becoming a bottleneck. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, the RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS are the ceiling, while at 1080p, the Core Ultra 7 265's single-core speed is the gatekeeper.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores provide a context for the Core Ultra 7 265's positioning. The AMD EPYC 4464P has an average score of 64823, which is 0.3% higher than the Core Ultra 7 265's 64640. This indicates that the EPYC 4464P would deliver virtually identical CPU-bound performance in Minimum. Similarly, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, with an average score of 64438, is 0.3% lower, making it an indistinguishable alternative. The AMD EPYC 7343 (64202, 0.7% lower) and AMD EPYC 9124 (65104, 0.7% higher) also fall within a negligible performance delta, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates at 1080p where the CPU is the primary bottleneck.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The AMD Radeon 8060S has an average score of 55757, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 5080's 56083, suggesting it would perform nearly identically in GPU-bound scenarios at 4K. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, 0.7% higher) is also a close match, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, 2.3% higher) and AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE (57367, 2.2% lower) represent slightly larger deltas. In practical terms, the RX 9070 GRE would be about 2% slower, which could translate to a 1-2 FPS difference at 4K Ultra, while the Pro W5700X would be about 2% faster, yielding a marginal improvement. None of these alternatives would change the fundamental assessment that the system is highly capable of running Minimum at maximum settings.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 63 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system is playable, though the margin is slim.

Q: What is the highest resolution and preset combination that stays above 60 FPS?

A: All tested combinations stay above 60 FPS on average. The most demanding is 3840x2160 Ultra, which averages 63 FPS, while 2560x1440 Ultra averages 117 FPS and 1920x1080 Ultra averages 181 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU is the primary driver, as evidenced by the massive frame rates (369 FPS on Low) that suggest the GPU is not saturated. The Core Ultra 7 265's strong single-thread performance is critical here.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a substantial drop. For the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 369 at 1080p to 128 at 4K, a 65.3% reduction. For the Ultra preset, it falls from 181 to 63, a 65.2% reduction.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory provide enough bandwidth for 4K?

A: Yes. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 256-bit bus are sufficient to maintain an average of 63 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating no memory bandwidth bottleneck in this title.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 153 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings, providing a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors.

The Verdict

The data unequivocally confirms that this PC can run Minimum with exceptional performance. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 181 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 117 FPS. At 3840x2160, all presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 63 FPS. Every single tested configuration clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, which is a remarkable result for a game released in 2014. The best settings for each resolution are always the Ultra preset, as the system maintains an average above 60 FPS even at the highest load. At 4K, the 63 FPS average is close to the threshold, so users prioritizing absolute consistency might prefer the Medium preset, which offers a 98 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS. However, for the majority of users, the Ultra preset at 4K will be perfectly playable, and at lower resolutions, the frame rates are so high that the system is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of the full benchmark database, this combination ranks 209 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the top 5.6% of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the exceptional balance between the Core Ultra 7 265 and the RTX 5080. The CPU's 93rd percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 87th percentile among all GPUs combine to create a system that is well above average for this game. The rank of 209 indicates that while there are more powerful combinations available, the majority of systems tested will not achieve the same level of performance in Minimum. For a game that is over a decade old, this hardware is overkill, but the ranking confirms that the Core Ultra 7 265 and RTX 5080 are both in the upper echelon of their respective categories, making this a top-tier configuration for any title, old or new.