Minecraft

Minecraft, a sandbox title from 2011, behaves differently from most modern games when paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. The measured FPS data reveals a configuration that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the CPU often playing a more significant role than the GPU. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to understand where the bottlenecks lie and how to optimize the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a shift in the limiting component. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 300 FPS, which is a hard cap often associated with the game's engine or VSync. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average drops to 189 FPS, a significant 37% decrease. At 3840x2160, the Low preset yields 99 FPS, another 47.6% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower settings, the frame rate is likely being constrained by the CPU's single-thread performance, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly.

However, when we look at the Ultra preset, the trend changes. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 118, which drops to 74 at 1440p (a 37.3% decrease) and then to 39 at 4K (a 47.3% decrease from 1440p). The percentage drops are similar across presets, but the absolute numbers tell a different story. At 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS average suggests the GPU is now the primary bottleneck, as the increased pixel count and graphical load overwhelm the GTX 1660 SUPER. The data implies that at 1080p, the i5-9400 is the limiting factor, while at 4K, the GTX 1660 SUPER becomes the constraint, especially on higher presets. The transition point appears to be somewhere between 1440p and 4K, where the GPU's workload becomes heavy enough to shift the balance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for different priorities. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers an excellent 300 FPS average, but this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a more balanced experience, with an average of 238 FPS and a minimum of 202 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. This is likely the best "sweet spot" for competitive or high-refresh-rate monitors, as it keeps the frame rate well above the 144Hz threshold while improving visual quality over Low.

For those prioritizing visual quality, the High preset at 1080p still delivers a very playable 189 FPS average. At 1440p, the High preset drops to 119 FPS, which is still smooth for most players and offers a significant resolution upgrade. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, is not recommended for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p (74 FPS) and becomes nearly unplayable at 4K (39 FPS). The data suggests that High settings at 1440p is the best compromise for a visual and performance balance, while Medium at 1080p is the best choice for maximizing frame rates without sacrificing too much detail. At 4K, only the Low preset (99 FPS) provides a consistently smooth experience, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it for most users.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows the highest average FPS is 300, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only measured configuration that hits this cap, indicating it is the best for maximum frame rates.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minecraft?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 99 on Low settings to 39 on Ultra settings. The Medium preset at 4K yields 78 FPS, which is playable, but the Ultra preset is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The performance at 1080p, especially on lower settings, suggests a CPU bottleneck. For instance, the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p only reduces the average FPS from 300 to 118, which is a large drop, but the high frame rates on Low indicate the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output at that resolution.

Q: Is the GTX 1660 SUPER more of a limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests this. The average FPS at 4K Ultra is 39, which is a substantial drop from the 74 FPS at 1440p Ultra. This large decrease indicates the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count, making it the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The measured data includes minimum FPS for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 202 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum drops to 127 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is 67 FPS.

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

A: The combo rank for this game is 3085 out of 3710 tested combos. This places it in the lower percentile, suggesting that while it can play the game, many other hardware combinations offer better performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 300 FPS. This is the peak performance, likely hitting a frame rate cap.
• Medium: Average 238 FPS, with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 273 FPS. This shows a stable and high-performance range.
• High: Average 189 FPS. A significant drop from Medium, but still very smooth.
• Ultra: Average 118 FPS. This is nearly half the High preset's frame rate, indicating a heavy load.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 189 FPS. This matches the 1080p High preset, showing the resolution's impact.
• Medium: Average 150 FPS, with a minimum of 127 FPS and a maximum of 172 FPS. This is a solid performance for 1440p.
• High: Average 119 FPS. This is a good target for 1440p gaming on a 120Hz monitor.
• Ultra: Average 74 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but not ideal for competitive play.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 99 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that approaches high refresh rates.
• Medium: Average 78 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. This shows a playable, but not smooth, experience.
• High: Average 62 FPS. This is borderline for 60Hz displays.
• Ultra: Average 39 FPS. This is not a smooth experience and is best avoided.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame times, as evidenced by the recorded minimum and maximum values. The Low and High presets do not have min/max data, but the averages suggest they are less stable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER plays a critical role in this system's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for Minecraft's textures, even at higher settings, but the GPU's compute power is the limiting factor at 4K. The GPU has 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Its FP32 performance is 5.027 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's general capabilities. Its Passmark G3D score is 12699, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278. These scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, scores 12940, a 0.4% difference, showing the GTX 1660 SUPER is closely matched with a mobile RTX card. In Minecraft, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The drop from 1440p to 4K on the Ultra preset (74 to 39 FPS) is a direct result of the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel fill rate. The texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s is likely the bottleneck, as rendering more pixels requires more texture fetches.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The CPU's benchmark scores are modest, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 5141, and its single-core score is 1389. These scores place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, which is average.

In Minecraft, the CPU's single-thread performance is often more critical than multi-thread performance, as the game's main game logic and chunk updates are often single-threaded. The i5-9400's boost clock of 4.10 GHz is decent, but its single-core Cinebench R23 score of 935 is not exceptional. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor. The fact that the Low preset at 1080p hits 300 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 118 FPS, indicates that the CPU can push high frame rates, but the GPU is not fast enough to maintain them at higher settings. However, the CPU's performance is close to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which has an average score of 2259 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% higher). This suggests that the i5-9400 is not a significant bottleneck compared to other CPUs in its class, but its overall performance ceiling limits the maximum frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combo ranks 3085 out of 3710 tested combos for Minecraft. This rank places it in the bottom 17% of all configurations tested. This is a surprisingly low rank for a system that can achieve 300 FPS at 1080p Low. The ranking is likely influenced by the performance at higher resolutions and settings, where the combo struggles. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS average is a poor result compared to many other combos that can handle this game more effectively.

The rank suggests that while the system is capable of playing Minecraft, it is far from optimal. Many other hardware combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs or CPUs, achieve higher frame rates at higher settings. The combo's percentile rankings for the individual components (47th for CPU, 53rd for GPU) do not translate into a high combined rank for this specific game. This indicates that Minecraft's performance is heavily dependent on a balanced system, and the i5-9400 and GTX 1660 SUPER, while individually average, are not a great match for pushing the game to its limits. The data implies that a stronger GPU would yield better results at 4K, while a stronger CPU might improve the already high frame rates at 1080p.