Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a high-performance baseline for Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The measured data shows this combination handles the game decisively at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires a slight settings compromise. The following analysis breaks down the optimal configurations, component scaling, and comparative positioning based strictly on the provided benchmark results.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is High, producing an average of 69.5 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold at 54.8 FPS, making it unsuitable for a locked 60 FPS experience. Medium and Low presets also remain playable at this resolution, with averages of 81.1 FPS and 107.7 FPS respectively, but High offers the best visual fidelity while staying above the 60 FPS line.

For 2560x1440, the data shows that Ultra is fully playable, achieving an average of 99.4 FPS. This is the most demanding preset and clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. The other presets at this resolution are all comfortably playable: High at 126.4 FPS, Medium at 154.3 FPS, and Low at 196.8 FPS. There is no need to drop below Ultra at 1440p.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, with an average of 153.6 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the lower presets deliver even higher frame rates—High at 200.4 FPS, Medium at 237.3 FPS, and Low at 311.7 FPS—but they sacrifice visual quality for headroom that is unnecessary at this resolution. The verdict data confirms that Ultra is the best playable setting at both 1440p and 1080p.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the workload shifts between the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the RTX 4070 SUPER. The CPU, with 20 cores and 20 threads, a base clock of 3.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, provides a strong foundation. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and a single-core score of 2020, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 7168 shading units and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets—from 153.6 FPS at Ultra to 311.7 FPS at Low. This suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently at lower resolutions, and the GPU has ample headroom. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a reduction of approximately 50% in average FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary driver of performance scaling with settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with a noticeable compression. The spread from Low at 196.8 FPS to Ultra at 99.4 FPS is a roughly 50% drop, similar to 1080p. However, the absolute numbers are lower, which points to the GPU becoming more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases. The CPU’s role remains consistent, as the frame rates are still high enough that no CPU bottleneck is evident.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant component. The Ultra preset drops to 54.8 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold, while High manages 69.5 FPS. The gap between Low at 107.7 FPS and Ultra at 54.8 FPS is a 49% reduction, similar to the other resolutions, but the starting point is much lower. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario: the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance are being taxed heavily at 4K, while the CPU’s 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and high single-thread performance are sufficient to keep up.

The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU matters more for settings scaling, but the CPU provides enough raw throughput to avoid limiting frame rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck, as evidenced by the Ultra preset falling below 60 FPS. The CPU’s percentile rank of 94 versus the GPU’s 83 suggests the processor is overqualified for this game, but the combination still delivers a playable experience at all resolutions with appropriate settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 70879. The closest competitor is the Intel Xeon 6511P, with an average score of 71051, which is -0.2% different. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71370, also -0.7% from the 265K. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163, which is 1% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, 1.3% slower. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, as the performance deltas are under 2%.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER has an average score of 43223. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43262 (-0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at 43268 (-0.1%), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 at 43301 (-0.2%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile at 43667 (-1%). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning users with any of these GPUs would see essentially the same frame rates in Minimum. The RTX 4090 Mobile, despite being a higher-tier part, is only 1% ahead in the aggregate benchmark, so the gaming experience would be indistinguishable.

When considering a swap of either component, the data suggests that replacing the CPU with any of the listed rivals would not change the measured FPS in any meaningful way, as the game is not CPU-bound at the tested resolutions. Similarly, swapping the GPU for a Quadro M6000 or a mobile RTX card would produce similar results, though the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB VRAM and 220 W TDP give it a theoretical edge in other workloads.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 54.8, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The High preset is the best option at 4K, averaging 69.5 FPS.

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

A: Ultra at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 99.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. All presets at this resolution are playable, but Ultra offers the highest fidelity without any performance concerns.

Q: How much faster is Low versus Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 311.7 FPS while Ultra averages 153.6 FPS. That is a difference of roughly 158 FPS, making Low more than twice as fast, though both are far above the playable threshold.

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

A: The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where Ultra drops to 54.8 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU provides enough headroom, but the GPU still drives the scaling between presets, as seen by the consistent 50% FPS drop from Low to Ultra.

Q: What are the playable settings at each resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Medium, and Low, with High being the best. At 2560x1440 and 1920x1080, all settings including Ultra are playable, with Ultra being the best.

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

A: The combination ranks 635th out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top ~17% of all systems tested.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured average FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with no min or max frame data provided. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 311.7 FPS, Medium averages 237.3 FPS, High averages 200.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 153.6 FPS. The progression is consistent, with each preset step reducing performance by roughly 20-25%.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 196.8 FPS, Medium at 154.3 FPS, High at 126.4 FPS, and Ultra at 99.4 FPS. The relative gaps between presets are similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower, reflecting the increased pixel workload. The drop from Low to Ultra here is about 50%, matching the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 107.7 FPS, Medium at 81.1 FPS, High at 69.5 FPS, and Ultra at 54.8 FPS. This is the only resolution where a preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra just missing the mark. The scaling from Low to Ultra is again roughly 50%, but the starting point is much lower, confirming the GPU-bound nature at 4K.

Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: doubling the resolution from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 35-40% at the same preset, and moving from 1440p to 4K reduces frame rates by another 45-50%. This is typical for a GPU-heavy title, and the RTX 4070 SUPER’s performance curve aligns with its memory bandwidth and compute capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 635th out of 3712 total combos. This places the system in the top 17.1% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given the game’s age and the hardware’s modern specifications.

The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that both components are above average, but the GPU is the weaker link. This is reflected in the 4K results, where the Ultra preset fails to hit 60 FPS. However, the combo’s overall rank of 635 indicates that many other systems—likely with higher-end GPUs—perform better, but the vast majority of tested combos (over 3000) fall below this configuration.

The data also shows that the CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 1.3% in aggregate benchmark scores, meaning that swapping the 265K for a Xeon or i7-14700KF would not meaningfully change the ranking. Similarly, the GPU’s nearest rivals are within 1%, so the RTX 4070 SUPER’s position is stable relative to its immediate competitors. For a game like Minimum, which is not particularly demanding by modern standards, this combo ranks highly due to the CPU’s exceptional multi-threaded performance and the GPU’s solid 1080p and 1440p capabilities.