Minecraft

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers an average of 250 FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings. This is the most demanding preset tested, and it still produces frame rates far above what most displays can show.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, which places it within a tight band around its nearest rivals. It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, while trailing the Intel Core i5-12450H by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G by 0.6%.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4070 comes with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, which translates to 21 Gbps effective.

Q: At which resolution does the combo achieve its highest measured FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 560, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Even at 4K with Low settings, the combo still manages an average of 210 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations for Minecraft?

A: The combo ranks 984th out of 3710 tested combinations. This places it in the top 27% of all tested combos for this game, indicating a strong overall pairing.

Q: Is there a measurable FPS range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 318 FPS, with a minimum of 270 FPS and a maximum of 366 FPS. This shows the frame time consistency at this setting.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features an L3 cache of 12 MB shared across all cores, and it supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

In Minecraft, the CPU's role is substantial because the game's world generation and entity logic can be heavily single-threaded. The single-thread benchmark results are telling: the CPU scores 868 in 3dmark_single_thread, 204 in Cinebench R15 single-core, and 2981 in Passmark single-thread. These numbers indicate a solid single-core performer, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates when the game's main thread becomes the bottleneck.

The multi-threaded scores are also relevant. The CPU achieves 14340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5652 in 3dmark_max_threads. While Minecraft may not use all 12 threads efficiently, having 6 physical cores helps with background tasks, chunk loading, and modded environments that can spread work across threads. The Passmark multithread score of 16908 and the Geekbench multi-core score of 7737 suggest that the processor has ample headroom for tasks beyond the main game loop.

The data shows a clear pattern: the CPU's single-thread strength is what allows the combo to reach 560 FPS at 1080p Low. At that resolution, the GPU is not the limiting factor, and the CPU's ability to feed frames quickly becomes the primary constraint. The 4.40 GHz boost clock is crucial here, as higher clocks directly translate to higher frame generation rates in a game that is often clock-bound rather than core-bound.

Comparing to rivals, the Core i5-11400F sits in a performance band where the deltaPct values are all within 0.6% of its average score. This means that for Minecraft's CPU-bound scenarios, swapping to any of these rivals would yield negligible differences in frame rates. The CPU's percentile rank of 71 among all CPUs further contextualizes its position; it is better than roughly 71% of all processors in the database, which is a strong showing for a mid-range desktop part.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how settings impact performance. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low (560 FPS) to High (400 FPS) is a 28.6% drop, while the jump from High to Ultra (250 FPS) is a 37.5% drop. The Medium preset at 504 FPS offers a balanced middle ground, with only an 11% reduction from Low but a 26% improvement over High.

At 2560x1440, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. Low delivers 402 FPS, Medium drops to 318 FPS, High to 253 FPS, and Ultra to 158 FPS. The relative penalty from High to Ultra is 37.5%, identical to the 1080p scaling, which suggests that the GPU is becoming more involved at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the settings scaling becomes more pronounced. Low delivers 210 FPS, Medium 166 FPS, High 132 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is a 37.9% reduction, and from Medium to High is 20.5%. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that drops below 100 FPS, which may feel less smooth on high-refresh displays.

For the best experience, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. At 1080p, it delivers 504 FPS with a measured minimum of 428 FPS, ensuring frame times are consistent. At 1440p, it provides 318 FPS with a minimum of 270 FPS, which is still far above the refresh rate of most monitors. Even at 4K, Medium manages 166 FPS with a minimum of 141 FPS, making it the only preset that stays above 140 FPS at that resolution.

The Ultra preset, while visually demanding, offers diminishing returns. The 250 FPS at 1080p and 82 FPS at 4K are still playable, but the frame rate reduction from High to Ultra is steep. The data suggests that players seeking a competitive edge or maximum smoothness should favor Medium or High, while Ultra is only advisable for those with high-refresh displays at 1080p or 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 984th out of 3710 tested combinations for Minecraft, which places it in the 73.5th percentile of all combos. This means it outperforms roughly 73% of the tested CPU-GPU pairs in this game, a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

The rank is influenced by both components. The CPU's percentile rank of 71 among all CPUs suggests it is above average, while the GPU's percentile rank of 81 among all GPUs is even stronger. The combination of an above-average CPU and a well-above-average GPU results in a pairing that sits comfortably in the upper quartile of all tested combos.

The nearest rivals in the CPU database show how close the processor is to other options. The deltaPct values of 0.3%, -0.4%, -0.6%, and 0.6% indicate that the Core i5-11400F is effectively indistinguishable in average benchmark score from the AMD EPYC 7H12, Intel Core i5-12450H, AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G, and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U. This suggests that for Minecraft, the ranking would not change dramatically if the CPU were swapped for one of these rivals, as the game's frame rates are more sensitive to the GPU at higher resolutions.

The GPU's nearest rivals tell a similar story. The RTX 4070's average score of 37648 is within 1.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile and 1.3% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400. This tight grouping means that the combo's rank is not heavily dependent on which of these GPUs is used, but rather on the overall balance of the pairing.

The data implies that the combo's rank is a function of the GPU's ability to drive high resolutions and settings, while the CPU ensures that frame rates remain high even in CPU-bound scenarios. For a game like Minecraft, which can be both CPU- and GPU-bound depending on settings and resolution, this combination provides a robust balance that justifies its rank.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with a TDP of 200 W.

The GPU's memory subsystem is a key factor in Minecraft's performance. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the game's texture streaming and chunk rendering. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) ensures that the GPU is not starved for data, even at 4K resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s indicate that the GPU can handle complex shaders and rendering effects. In Minecraft, this translates to smooth performance with heavy mods, shader packs, and high render distances, which are common in the game's community.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its position. The Passmark G3D score of 26927 and the 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 highlight its DirectX 12 performance, while the Geekbench Vulkan score of 174152 shows strong API flexibility. The GPU's percentile rank of 81 among all GPUs means it outperforms 81% of the tested graphics cards.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is often the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 560 FPS at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor, with the Ultra preset dropping to 82 FPS. The 4K Medium preset's 166 FPS with a minimum of 141 FPS shows that the GPU can maintain high frame rates when settings are balanced.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is a forward-looking feature, as it allows for high-resolution textures and modded content without exceeding memory limits. This is particularly relevant for Minecraft with resource packs that can consume several gigabytes of VRAM. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures that this memory is accessed efficiently, reducing stutter and frame drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 560 FPS. The Medium preset produces 504 FPS with a minimum of 428 FPS and a maximum of 580 FPS. High settings yield 400 FPS, and Ultra drops to 250 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 310 FPS, a 55.4% reduction.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 402 FPS. Medium delivers 318 FPS with a minimum of 270 FPS and a maximum of 366 FPS. High settings produce 253 FPS, and Ultra averages 158 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 244 FPS, a 60.7% drop.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 210 FPS. Medium delivers 166 FPS with a minimum of 141 FPS and a maximum of 191 FPS. High settings produce 132 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 128 FPS, a 61% drop.

The Medium preset is the only configuration that provides min/max FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 428 FPS and maximum of 580 FPS indicate a tight frame time distribution. At 1440p, the range is 270 to 366 FPS, and at 4K, it is 141 to 191 FPS. This consistency suggests that Medium settings provide a stable experience without significant frame pacing issues.

The data shows that the combo is capable of high frame rates at all tested resolutions, with even the most demanding Ultra 4K configuration maintaining an average of 82 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 4070 is well-suited for high-refresh gaming at 1080p and 1440p, and still provides playable frame rates at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 560 at 1080p to 210 at 4K, a 62.5% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 504 to 166, a 67.1% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 400 to 132, a 67% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 250 to 82, a 67.2% reduction.

The consistency of the percentage drop across Medium, High, and Ultra settings (around 67%) suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at these settings. The GPU's rendering workload scales with pixel count, and the RTX 4070's performance is being constrained by its compute and memory bandwidth as resolution increases.

The Low setting shows a slightly smaller drop (62.5%), which indicates that the CPU is more involved at this setting. At 1080p Low, the CPU's single-thread performance is the bottleneck, allowing the GPU to render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and it eventually becomes the limiting factor even at Low settings.

The 1440p data provides a midpoint. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p is 28.2% (from 560 to 402 FPS), while at Ultra settings the drop is 36.8% (from 250 to 158 FPS). This shows that the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as settings increase, with the CPU's influence waning at higher visual quality.

The data implies that for players targeting maximum frame rates, reducing settings at 1080p will yield the highest returns, but the CPU will cap performance around 560 FPS. For players at 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, and settings adjustments have a more predictable impact on frame rates. The 67% scaling factor across Medium, High, and Ultra suggests that the RTX 4070's performance at 4K is limited by its raw throughput, not by any specific bottleneck in the memory subsystem or shader units.