Minecraft

Minecraft with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 produces a wide spread of frame rates across resolutions and settings. The data shows a combination that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions but shifts toward GPU limitation at 4K, with the measured average FPS ranging from 46 at 4K Ultra to 356 at 1080p Low. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes it against the component benchmarks, and provides practical settings guidance based strictly on the recorded numbers.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 356 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 225 FPS, a reduction of 131 FPS or approximately 37%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 118 FPS, which is 47% lower than the 1440p result and 67% lower than the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that at Low settings, the rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, suggesting the GPU is the primary limiter even at the lowest quality preset.

The scaling behavior changes notably at higher settings. At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (282 FPS) to 1440p (178 FPS) is 104 FPS (37%), and from 1440p to 4K (93 FPS) is 85 FPS (48%). The High preset shows a different pattern: 1080p yields 224 FPS, 1440p yields 141 FPS (37% drop), and 4K yields 74 FPS (48% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset exhibits the most severe scaling: 140 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and just 46 FPS at 4K (48% drop). Interestingly, the percentage drops between resolutions are remarkably consistent across all settings (approximately 37% from 1080p to 1440p, and 48% from 1440p to 4K), which strongly indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck throughout the resolution range.

The consistency of these percentage drops is telling. If the CPU were the primary limiter, we would expect to see diminishing FPS penalties as resolution increases, because the CPU work per frame remains constant while GPU time grows. Instead, the uniform 37% and 48% reductions suggest that the Radeon RX 6600’s rendering throughput is the dominant constraint at every resolution tested. The 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS average, with no reported minimum, shows that even the most demanding setting combination remains playable but falls well below the 60 FPS threshold. The 1080p Low result of 356 FPS is the only data point that approaches what might be considered a CPU-bound scenario, as such high frame rates typically outpace the GPU’s ability to maintain linear scaling.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 356, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 4K (3840x2160) with Ultra settings, the combo averages 46 FPS. This is the lowest measured result in the dataset.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with both minimum and maximum FPS recorded across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 240 to 325 FPS (average 282); at 1440p, it is 151 to 205 FPS (average 178); at 4K, it is 79 to 107 FPS (average 93).

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Minecraft?

A: The combo ranks 850th out of 1176 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of the database.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1440p High?

A: Given that the 1440p High result (141 FPS) is 37% lower than the 1080p High result (224 FPS), and the GPU’s average benchmark score (19036) is near its nearest rivals, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at this resolution and preset.

Q: What is the difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the High preset averages 224 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 140 FPS. The Ultra preset requires 37.5% more time per frame compared to High.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K displays, the Medium preset (93 FPS average, 79 FPS minimum) provides the best balance, as it is the only 4K setting that maintains an average above 90 FPS while the minimum stays above 75 FPS. The High preset at 4K drops to 74 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS, making Medium the clear choice for smooth 4K gameplay. Low at 4K (118 FPS) is faster but sacrifices visual quality for a 27% FPS gain over Medium.

At 1440p, the High preset (141 FPS) is the recommended starting point, as it offers a substantial improvement over Ultra (88 FPS) while maintaining a 21% advantage over the Medium preset’s minimum FPS (151 vs 141 average is actually reversed—Medium is faster). The data shows Medium at 178 FPS average with a 151 FPS minimum, which is superior to High’s 141 FPS average. For 1440p, Medium is the best choice for consistent high frame rates, while High remains viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity over raw speed. The Ultra preset at 88 FPS average is below the 90 FPS threshold that many users prefer.

For 1080p, the situation is more flexible. The High preset (224 FPS) is the recommended sweet spot, as it nearly doubles the Ultra preset’s frame rate (140 FPS) while still delivering well above 200 FPS average. The Medium preset (282 FPS) offers even higher performance with a 240 FPS minimum, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Low (356 FPS) is only necessary for extreme refresh rates or if the user wants to minimize GPU load. The Ultra preset at 140 FPS average is the most demanding option and provides no minimum FPS data, suggesting potential frame dips below the average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low averages 356 FPS, the highest in the entire dataset. Medium averages 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS. High averages 224 FPS. Ultra averages 140 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 216 FPS, representing a 60.7% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest quality preset.

At 2560x1440, the same ordering persists but with reduced absolute values. Low averages 225 FPS. Medium averages 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. High averages 141 FPS. Ultra averages 88 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 137 FPS, a 60.9% reduction, matching the proportional gap seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the results compress further. Low averages 118 FPS. Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. High averages 74 FPS. Ultra averages 46 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 72 FPS, a 61.0% reduction. The consistency of this 61% reduction across all three resolutions reinforces that the GPU’s workload scaling is the primary determinant of performance, rather than any CPU limitation.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from minimum to maximum is 85 FPS; at 1440p, it is 54 FPS; at 4K, it is 28 FPS. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame time variance decreases as the GPU becomes more saturated, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 850th out of 1176 tested combinations in Minecraft, placing it in the 72nd percentile of the database. This means 72% of tested combos perform better in this game. Given the CPU’s high percentile rank (89th percentile vs all CPUs) and the GPU’s more modest 63rd percentile, the ranking suggests the GPU is the limiting factor for this pairing in Minecraft.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% higher average score), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% lower), the AMD EPYC 4364P (0.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7303 (0.2% higher). The GPU’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (0% difference), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (0.1% lower), the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (0.3% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (0.4% higher). These negligible deltas indicate that the combo’s rank is determined by the GPU’s position relative to its peers, not by any exceptional or deficient component behavior.

The rank of 850 out of 1176 aligns with the GPU’s 63rd percentile, which is lower than the CPU’s 89th percentile. This discrepancy is expected in a game like Minecraft, where the measured FPS data shows GPU-bound behavior at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the combo would likely rank closer to the CPU’s percentile, but the data clearly points to the GPU as the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It belongs to the Core Ultra Series 2 (Arrow Lake architecture), built on a 3 nm process. The L3 cache is 24 MB shared, and the CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4516.

In Minecraft, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU based on the measured FPS scaling. The consistent 37% and 48% FPS drops across resolution increases suggest the CPU is not the limiting factor, as CPU-bound scenarios typically show flatter FPS curves at higher resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 356 FPS is the only data point that might approach CPU limits, but even here the GPU’s pixel throughput is likely the constraint.

The CPU’s 14 threads are more than sufficient for Minecraft’s workload, and the high single-core performance (4516 Passmark single-thread) supports high frame rates in a game that is traditionally single-threaded. However, the measured data does not show any CPU bottleneck, as the frame rates at 1080p High (224 FPS) and 1440p High (141 FPS) scale directly with pixel count. The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking and its nearest rival deltas of less than 0.2% indicate it is a strong performer, but this strength is not reflected in the combo’s rank because the GPU holds the combo back.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1626 MHz, boost clock is 2491 MHz, and game clock is 2044 MHz. The GPU has 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 28 ray accelerators. It delivers 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 performance and has a TDP of 132 W. Its benchmark scores include a Passmark G3D score of 15096 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1492.

The GPU is clearly the dominant factor in this combo’s Minecraft performance. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU’s workload scaling is the primary driver of performance, with uniform percentage drops across all settings and resolutions. The GPU’s 63rd percentile ranking and its nearest rival deltas (0% to 0.4%) place it in the mid-range of the database, which explains the combo’s 850th rank out of 1176.

The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for Minecraft at the tested resolutions, as the game does not typically demand high VRAM capacity. The 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the measured frame rates, but the GPU’s raw compute throughput (8.928 TFLOPS) appears to be the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra result of 46 FPS average indicates that the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at the highest settings, while the 1080p Low result of 356 FPS shows that the GPU can deliver very high frame rates when the workload is light. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and 2021 release date suggest it is an older mid-range part, which is consistent with its 63rd percentile ranking and its performance in this combo.