Minecraft

Minecraft is a sandbox title where the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination produces a wide spread of results, depending entirely on the resolution and graphics preset selected. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of extreme frame rates at lower resolutions, but the performance curve flattens considerably as the workload shifts toward the GPU at 4K. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows, the scaling between resolutions, and the distinct roles each component plays in shaping the final experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear shift in the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 389 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 246 FPS, a 36.8% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 128 FPS, which is 67.1% below the 1080p Low figure. This pattern—where each resolution step roughly halves the frame rate—is classic GPU-limited behavior, as the RTX 2060 SUPER’s rendering workload scales with pixel count.

The High preset tells a similar story. At 1080p High, the average is 245 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 154 FPS, a 37.1% decrease. At 4K High, the average is 81 FPS, which is 66.9% lower than the 1080p High result. The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and High settings indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution; if the i7-14700KF were holding things back, the scaling would be more erratic, with smaller drops at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset includes min and max FPS data, providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 308 FPS with a min of 262 and max of 355. At 1440p Medium, the average is 195 FPS (min 165, max 224). At 4K Medium, the average is 102 FPS (min 86, max 117). The gap between min and max FPS narrows as resolution increases: 93 FPS delta at 1080p, 59 at 1440p, and 31 at 4K. This tightening spread suggests that at lower resolutions, frame times are more variable—likely due to CPU-driven scene complexity—while at 4K, the GPU becomes so saturated that frame pacing evens out.

Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 153 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, 97 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, 50 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p Ultra is a 36.6% drop, and from 1440p to 4K Ultra is a 48.5% drop. This shows that Ultra settings amplify the GPU load disproportionately at higher resolutions, making the RTX 2060 SUPER the clear limiting component in the 4K Ultra case.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Minecraft?

A: The highest measured average is 389 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Medium, the average FPS is 102, with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 117.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: The data shows 389 FPS at 1080p Low, which is well above typical display refresh rates; the i7-14700KF’s 20 cores and 28 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 2060 SUPER, so the GPU is likely the primary limiter even at this resolution.

Q: What is the lowest measured average FPS?

A: The lowest is 50 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How much faster is 1080p High compared to 4K High?

A: 1080p High averages 245 FPS, while 4K High averages 81 FPS, making the 1080p result roughly three times higher.

Q: Does the combo provide smooth gameplay at 4K Ultra?

A: At 50 FPS average, the 4K Ultra result is playable but below the 60 FPS threshold often considered smooth; the 4K Medium setting, at 102 FPS average, is a better choice for 4K play.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranking for Minecraft places this pairing at 2556 out of 3710 tested combinations. This position is in the lower third of all combos, which is notable given the high absolute FPS numbers the combo produces. The ranking reflects not just raw performance but also the balance between CPU and GPU. A combo that delivers 389 FPS at 1080p Low might rank lower than expected because many other pairings—likely with more powerful GPUs—achieve even higher frame rates or more consistent scaling across all settings.

The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 94, meaning the i7-14700KF outperforms 94% of all CPUs in the database. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 62, indicating the RTX 2060 SUPER is mid-pack. This mismatch suggests the combo is CPU-heavy relative to the GPU, which aligns with the resolution scaling data showing the GPU becoming the limiting factor at 4K. The combo rank of 2556 out of 3710 implies that while this pairing is capable, it is not optimized for Minecraft’s specific demands, where GPU throughput at high resolutions matters more than extreme CPU multi-core scores.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (deltaPct 0.2) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (deltaPct 0.9), showing the i7-14700KF is closely matched with these parts in synthetic benchmarks. For the GPU, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (deltaPct -0.4), which is slightly slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 (deltaPct -1.5), which is a much older part. These rival scores highlight that the combo’s rank is more about the GPU’s mid-tier position than the CPU’s high-end status.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows suggest that the best experience depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Low setting at 389 FPS is excessive for most displays, and High at 245 FPS provides a better visual quality with still very high frame rates. Medium at 308 FPS splits the difference but the min FPS of 262 indicates some frame timing variance. For 1080p, High is the recommended preset because it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds 240 Hz displays.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 154 FPS average, which is smooth for 144 Hz monitors. Medium at 195 FPS is also viable, with a min of 165 FPS ensuring no drops below that threshold. Ultra at 97 FPS is playable but cuts the headroom significantly. The recommendation for 1440p is Medium, as the 195 FPS average with a 165 FPS minimum provides a more stable experience than High’s 154 FPS, and the visual difference between Medium and High is often less pronounced in Minecraft’s blocky aesthetic.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. Ultra at 50 FPS is borderline, while High at 81 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast movement. Medium at 102 FPS (min 86) is the best balance, offering a frame rate that stays above 85 FPS even in demanding scenes. Low at 128 FPS is the smoothest, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it. For 4K, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a 102 FPS average with a minimum that stays comfortably above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Resolution by resolution, the data is as follows. At 1920x1080, Low averages 389 FPS, Medium averages 308 FPS (min 262, max 355), High averages 245 FPS, and Ultra averages 153 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 236 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on visual quality.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 246 FPS, Medium averages 195 FPS (min 165, max 224), High averages 154 FPS, and Ultra averages 97 FPS. The spread here is 149 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, reflecting the increased GPU load at higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 128 FPS, Medium averages 102 FPS (min 86, max 117), High averages 81 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The spread is 78 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that the RTX 2060 SUPER is increasingly constrained as resolution rises.

The Medium preset is the only one with min and max data for all three resolutions. At 1080p, the min is 262 and max is 355, a 93 FPS range. At 1440p, min 165 and max 224, a 59 FPS range. At 4K, min 86 and max 117, a 31 FPS range. This trend of tightening ranges at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing when the GPU is the bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6235 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21462 and single-core of 2578. Its percentile versus all CPUs is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of all CPUs.

In Minecraft, the CPU’s role is primarily to handle game logic, world generation, and entity updates, which are heavily single-threaded in many cases. The high single-core boost of 5.60 GHz and the strong single-core Cinebench score of 6235 contribute to the high frame rates at 1080p Low, where the CPU has more headroom. However, the resolution scaling data shows that the CPU is not the primary limiter at 4K, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior.

The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, has an average score of 69996 compared to the i7-14700KF’s 70163, a delta of 0.2%. This close margin indicates that in CPU-heavy scenarios, the i7-14700KF is essentially on par with its nearest competitor. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.9% slower in average score, showing the i7-14700KF holds a slight edge. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% faster, which is a small but measurable advantage.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost of 1650 MHz, and it features 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GPU’s percentile versus all GPUs is 62, placing it in the upper-middle tier, and its average benchmark score is 18093.

In Minecraft, the GPU’s role becomes dominant at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for most scenes, as Minecraft’s textures are relatively modest, but the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and the 256-bit bus are important for handling the draw calls and chunk rendering. The GPU’s TFLOPS figure of 7.181 FP32 is modest by modern standards, which explains why the 4K Ultra setting drops to 50 FPS.

The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, has an average score of 18159, which is 0.4% faster than the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 18093. This shows the desktop RTX 2060 SUPER is nearly identical in performance to a mobile RTX 3060, which is a notable comparison. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 is 1.5% slower, confirming the RTX 2060 SUPER sits in a tight performance band with these parts. The GPU’s mid-tier ranking aligns with the combo’s overall rank of 2556 out of 3710, as the CPU is far more capable than the GPU, creating a bottleneck that limits the pairing’s overall standing.