Minecraft: Java Edition

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average frame rate for this combo at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers an average of 185.7 FPS at 1920x1080 on High settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER's average benchmark score is 14286, which is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (score 14314) and 0.2% behind the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (score 14315). It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT by 0.7%.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K sits in the 96th percentile when compared to all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of desktop processors in aggregate benchmark scores.

Q: Is the measured FPS data considered reliable?

A: Yes, the data is marked as "dataIsMeasured": true, meaning the frame rates come from actual testing rather than estimates or projections.

Q: What is the best average frame rate recorded for this combo at any resolution?

A: The highest average frame rate is 302.2 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is in the 55th percentile among all GPUs, placing it slightly above the median performer in the database.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU116 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place the card in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14286.

The data shows a clear scaling pattern tied to the GPU's capabilities. At 3840x2160, the GTX 1660 SUPER manages 63.9 FPS on High settings, but this drops to 37.3 FPS on Ultra — a substantial 41.6% reduction in frame rate as the render load increases. The card's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory interface appear sufficient for this game at lower presets, but Ultra settings at 4K push the hardware to its limits. The texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s provide enough throughput for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the GPU delivers 120.3 FPS on High and 73.3 FPS on Ultra, showing that the card remains viable at this resolution for all but the most demanding preset. The shift from High to Ultra at 1440p costs 47.0 FPS, a pattern mirrored at 1080p where the drop is 70.0 FPS (from 185.7 to 115.7). This consistent penalty suggests that Ultra settings introduce rendering features that heavily tax the TU116 chip's 1408 shading units and 48 ROPs.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.7% of its average score, indicating that this GPU sits in a tightly contested performance tier. Its passmark G3D score of 12699 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1278 reflect a card designed for 1080p gaming rather than high-resolution enthusiast workloads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and includes Intel UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics. Its launch MSRP is $409.

Benchmark results show this processor is exceptionally strong in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 44534 in multi-core and 6287 in single-core; in Geekbench, it reaches 18896 multi-core and 2932 single-core. The Passmark multithread score of 52392 and single-thread score of 4472 reinforce its position in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 70074, placing it essentially even with the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70104, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% delta).

For Minecraft: Java Edition, the CPU's role is substantial because the game's engine is heavily dependent on single-thread performance for world generation and entity updates. The boost clock of 5.60 GHz provides the raw single-core speed needed to maintain high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. The data confirms this: at 1920x1080 Low, the combo reaches 302.2 FPS, which is far beyond what the GPU alone could drive — this indicates the CPU's strong single-threaded performance is enabling the frame rates to scale.

The 20 cores and 28 threads also help with background tasks and chunk loading, though the game's Java-based architecture typically does not scale perfectly across many cores. The 33 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the game's frequent cache misses during world access patterns. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-14700K is within 1.4% of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, making it one of the top consumer processors for this workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings deliver 115.7 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings improve this to 185.7 FPS, while Medium reaches 234.9 FPS and Low hits 302.2 FPS. For players with 60 Hz or 144 Hz monitors, High settings offer the best balance of visual quality and frame rate headroom.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. High settings produce 120.3 FPS, which remains excellent, but Ultra drops to 73.3 FPS — still playable but with less margin. Medium at 151.9 FPS provides a comfortable buffer for 144 Hz displays. Low settings reach 190.6 FPS, which may exceed the refresh rate of most monitors. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot at 1440p, offering strong visuals while staying above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Ultra settings fall to 37.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and will result in noticeable stutter. High settings at 63.9 FPS just barely clear 60 FPS, while Medium at 77.5 FPS provides a more comfortable margin. Low settings at 99 FPS offer the smoothest experience at 4K. For 4K gaming, the recommendation is to use Medium or High, depending on whether visual fidelity or frame rate consistency is prioritized.

The most significant frame rate penalty occurs when moving from High to Ultra at all resolutions: 47.0 FPS at 1440p, 70.0 FPS at 1080p, and 26.6 FPS at 4K. This indicates that Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU. For this hardware combination, High settings provide the best overall experience across all resolutions, with Medium as a fallback for 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 1530 out of 1727 tested combinations in this game's database. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested combos, which is surprising given the strong CPU performance. The explanation lies in the GPU's modest capabilities relative to the high-end processors in the database.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs contrasts sharply with the GPU's 55th percentile ranking. This imbalance means the GTX 1660 SUPER acts as the limiting factor in most scenarios, preventing the i7-14700K from fully expressing its potential. In games that are more GPU-bound, this combo would perform closer to the GPU's tier, but in Minecraft: Java Edition, the CPU's strong single-thread performance does help boost frame rates beyond what the GPU alone could achieve at lower settings.

The combo's rank of 1530 suggests that most other tested combinations include either more powerful GPUs or more balanced pairings. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 302.2 FPS, which is competitive with higher-end GPUs, but at 4K Ultra, the 37.3 FPS result reflects the GPU's limitations. This combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming at High settings, where it delivers frame rates well above playable thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 302.2 FPS, Medium produces 234.9 FPS, High produces 185.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 115.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline of roughly 50-70 FPS per step, with the largest single drop (70.0 FPS) occurring between High and Ultra. All settings at 1080p exceed 100 FPS, making this resolution fully playable at any preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 190.6 FPS, Medium at 151.9 FPS, High at 120.3 FPS, and Ultra at 73.3 FPS. The transition from High to Ultra costs 47.0 FPS, which is the largest drop at this resolution. Every setting except Ultra remains above 100 FPS, providing smooth gameplay for most display refresh rates.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 99 FPS, Medium at 77.5 FPS, High at 63.9 FPS, and Ultra at 37.3 FPS. This resolution pushes the GPU to its limits, with only Low settings exceeding 100 FPS. High settings barely clear the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls well below it. The data indicates that 4K gaming is only viable at Medium or High settings for this combo, with Low providing the most consistent performance.

The overall pattern across all resolutions shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER's performance degrades predictably as resolution increases, while the i7-14700K's single-thread strength allows Low settings at 1080p to reach over 300 FPS. The measured data confirms that this combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with High settings, where the balance between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's limits produces the most favorable results.