Minecraft

Minecraft’s frame rate on the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination shows a clear progression from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a GPU-bound state at 4K. The measured data indicates that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 300 FPS, which is the ceiling for this pairing and suggests the CPU is doing the heavy lifting. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with average frame rates dropping by roughly 37% from 1080p to 1440p and another 48% from 1440p to 4K at the High preset. This pattern is typical of a game where the graphical load scales significantly with pixel count, and the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are sufficient for 1080p but start to strain at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a predictable shift in bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the combo is heavily CPU-limited; the i5-13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads are capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render, resulting in an impressive 189 FPS at High settings. The gap between Low (300 FPS) and High (189 FPS) at 1080p is 111 FPS, which is substantial, but the absolute numbers indicate the CPU has headroom even at the High preset. Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rate at High drops to 119 FPS, a 37% reduction from 1080p. This is a significant decline, but the combo still delivers a playable experience, and the Low preset at 189 FPS shows the GPU is not yet fully saturated. At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more pronounced: High settings yield 62 FPS, which is a 48% drop from 1440p and a 67% drop from 1080p. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 39 FPS, indicating the GPU is the clear limiting factor, as the pixel throughput demands exceed the GTX 1660 SUPER’s capabilities.

The data suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary constraint at 4K, as the frame rate differences between Low (99 FPS) and High (62 FPS) at this resolution are relatively modest compared to the 1080p spread. At 1080p, the CPU’s performance is the differentiator, as evidenced by the 300 FPS Low result, which is far above what the GPU could sustain if it were the bottleneck. The 4K Low result of 99 FPS versus 1080p Low of 300 FPS shows a 67% reduction, which aligns with the GPU’s fill rate limitations rather than the CPU’s processing power. In short, 1080p is a CPU-bound scenario for this combo, while 1440p is a balanced middle ground, and 4K is firmly GPU-bound.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo in Minecraft?

A: The highest recorded average is 300 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, indicating a CPU-bound ceiling at this resolution.

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

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and the AMD Radeon RX 580, and 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon 740M.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F a strong performer relative to other CPUs?

A: The i5-13400F ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292, placing it just 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 39 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 4K with Low settings, the average is 99 FPS, and at Medium it is 78 FPS, but High drops to 62 FPS and Ultra falls to 39 FPS, so only Low and Medium presets sustain 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance factor into Minecraft’s results?

A: The i5-13400F scores 3191 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 960 in 3DMark single-thread, which are strong results that support high frame rates at 1080p, where the game is often CPU-bound.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data indicates that 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the sweet spot for this combo. The Medium preset delivers 238 FPS on average, with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 273 FPS, providing a smooth and consistent frame rate that far exceeds the 60 FPS standard. The High preset at 1080p still delivers 189 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High yields a 49 FPS reduction, which is a noticeable trade-off for marginal visual gains. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it achieves 150 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS, keeping gameplay fluid. The High preset at 1440p, at 119 FPS, is also acceptable, but the Ultra preset at 74 FPS is approaching the lower bound for competitive play. For 3840x2160, the Low preset at 99 FPS is the only setting that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS; Medium at 78 FPS is playable but the High preset at 62 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 39 FPS is not recommended for any serious gameplay. The measured data shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity across all resolutions, as it consistently produces the highest minimum frame rates relative to its average.

How This Combo Ranks

In Minecraft, this specific combo of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 3085 out of 3710 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 17% of all combos, which is a modest standing for a pairing that excels at 1080p performance. The ranking suggests that while the combo is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, it is not a top-tier configuration for Minecraft, likely because the game is so well-optimized that many mid-range GPUs can achieve similar results. The i5-13400F’s 77th percentile CPU ranking is strong, but the GTX 1660 SUPER’s 53rd percentile GPU ranking drags the overall combo down. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580, have nearly identical average scores, which means this combo’s 4K performance is not exceptional. The rank of 3085 indicates that there are 625 other combos that perform better, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or newer architectures. However, the data shows that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, this combo is more than adequate, and the ranking is skewed by the 4K results where the GPU’s 6 GB memory capacity and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the highest settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a critical role in this combo’s performance, particularly at 1080p where the game is CPU-bound. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the CPU provides ample parallel processing power, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and PassMark multi-thread score of 25032. The base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz allow for strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for Minecraft’s primary game logic thread. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 3191 and Geekbench single-core score of 1996 are high enough to sustain the 300 FPS result at 1080p Low. The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for a game that relies heavily on chunk loading and entity updates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 is notable, as it suggests the CPU can handle the game’s physics and simulation tasks without bottlenecking the GPU. In contrast, at 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes, as the GTX 1660 SUPER becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The i5-13400F’s 16 threads ensure that background processes do not interfere with game performance, and its 65 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and 8-thread score of 5591 further confirm that the CPU has sufficient headroom for Minecraft’s moderate multi-threading.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 300 FPS, Medium produces 238 FPS with a minimum of 202 and a maximum of 273, High produces 189 FPS, and Ultra produces 118 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 61% reduction in frame rate, which is significant but still leaves playable numbers at all settings. The Medium preset’s minimum of 202 FPS is particularly strong, ensuring no noticeable stutter. At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 189 FPS, Medium at 150 FPS with a minimum of 127 and a maximum of 172, High at 119 FPS, and Ultra at 74 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with an average reduction of about 37%. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 74 FPS, is the first setting that falls below the 100 FPS mark, but it remains fluid. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low at 99 FPS, Medium at 78 FPS with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 90, High at 62 FPS, and Ultra at 39 FPS. The 4K results show a substantial performance cliff, with the Ultra preset dropping below 40 FPS, which is not ideal for a game that benefits from high refresh rates. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 67 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but the High and Ultra presets are not recommended for a consistent experience. The data clearly shows that the combo is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K reserved for lower settings.