Minimum

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 produces a clear performance curve in Minimum that shifts from CPU-limited at low resolutions to GPU-limited at 4K. The measured data across the three resolutions tells a consistent story about where the bottleneck lies and how the hardware scales under load.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic scaling pattern. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 140 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 90 FPS, a reduction of 50 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset average falls further to 49 FPS. This translates to a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, demonstrating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The High preset tells a more dramatic story. At 1080p High, the average is 90 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 58 FPS, and at 4K High, it collapses to 31 FPS. The 59 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings indicates a scaling efficiency of roughly 34%, meaning the card retains only about a third of its 1080p performance when pushing four times the pixels. This steep decline points directly at the GTX 1070's memory bandwidth and raw pixel throughput as the limiting components.

The Medium preset provides intermediate data points. At 1080p Medium, the average is 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 and maximum of 123. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 69 FPS, with a 59 to 79 FPS range. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 37 FPS, bottoming out at 32 and peaking at 43. The consistent ~35-40% performance loss at each resolution step confirms that the GPU's 256-bit memory bus and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 68 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it reaches only 24 FPS. The 24 FPS result at 4K Ultra sits below the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this preset is not viable at the highest resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 64.7% reduction, nearly identical to the Low preset's drop, which suggests the game's Ultra settings add a consistent overhead regardless of resolution.

Looking at the 1080p to 1440p transition specifically, the average FPS loss across all four presets is roughly 35-40%. The 1440p to 4K transition shows a steeper decline of approximately 45-50% across presets. This nonlinear scaling indicates that the GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but become a bottleneck at 4K, where the higher resolution demands more bandwidth than the card can deliver.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-10400F and GTX 1070 ranks 3064 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower portion of the overall distribution, at roughly the 17th percentile of all tested configurations. The ranking reflects the hardware's age and position in the performance hierarchy — the GTX 1070 sits at the 47th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-10400F sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this positioning. The i5-10400F achieves a Passmark multithread score of 12115 and a single-thread score of 2541. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score reaches 10283, with a single-core score of 1451. These numbers place the CPU comfortably above the median, but the GPU's Passmark G3D score of 13498 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1082 drag the overall combo ranking down. The GPU's average benchmark score of 9780 places it just below the 50th percentile, and its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803 (0.2% higher) and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M at 9832 (0.5% higher).

The imbalance between CPU and GPU performance is evident. The i5-10400F has headroom to drive higher frame rates, but the GTX 1070's compute capabilities limit the overall result. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 6.463 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s are modest by modern standards, and the 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die represent Pascal-era efficiency that cannot match newer architectures.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are the Intel Xeon 6756E at 14163 (0.2% lower) and the AMD EPYC 7552 at 14115 (0.5% lower), while the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average score. This tight clustering around the GTX 1070's performance level means the combo's 3064th place ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's position rather than any CPU deficiency.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most playable resolution. At 1080p, all four presets exceed 68 FPS on average, with the Low preset reaching 140 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset exceeds 90 FPS, and at 4K, even the Low preset only averages 49 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 9780 is 0.2% below the AMD FirePro W5000 at 9803 and 0.5% below the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M at 9832. It is 0.6% above the NVIDIA Tesla M10 at 9724 and 0.7% above the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 at 9716.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance?

A: The i5-10400F achieves a Passmark single-thread score of 2541, a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451, and a Geekbench single-core score of 1420. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 688.

Q: Is the combo more limited by CPU or GPU at 4K?

A: The data indicates GPU limitation. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 24 at Ultra to 49 at Low, with every preset showing a substantial drop from 1440p. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking and 6-core/12-thread configuration provide sufficient processing power, but the GPU's 47th percentile ranking and 256-bit memory bus cannot sustain high frame rates at this resolution.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use?

A: The GTX 1070 uses 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2002 MHz with 8 Gbps effective transfer rate.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have?

A: The i5-10400F has 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It includes 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 140 FPS, followed by Medium at 107 FPS with a 91-123 range, High at 90 FPS, and Ultra at 68 FPS. The 72 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p shows the significant impact of settings on this GPU.

At 2560x1440, the averages compress to 90 FPS at Low, 69 FPS at Medium with a 59-79 range, 58 FPS at High, and 44 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum of 59 FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold, but the High preset's average of 58 FPS falls just below it. The Low preset remains the only 1440p option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below playable thresholds. The Low preset averages 49 FPS, Medium averages 37 FPS with a 32-43 range, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 24 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset's 24 FPS average is borderline unplayable for a third-person shooter. The Medium preset's minimum of 32 FPS indicates frame drops that would be noticeable during fast movement.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier at a given resolution costs roughly 15-20% performance versus the next lower tier. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 33 FPS, from Medium to High costs 17 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 22 FPS. At 1440p, the steps are 21, 11, and 14 FPS respectively. At 4K, the steps are 12, 6, and 7 FPS. The diminishing absolute differences at higher resolutions reflect the GPU hitting its performance ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz boosts to 4.30 GHz, and it carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's 65W TDP and Intel Socket 1200 mounting make it a mainstream desktop part.

In Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The benchmark data shows the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 140 FPS, a frame rate that would strain many CPUs but leaves headroom here. The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 12115 and 3DMark max-threads score of 4735 indicate sufficient parallel processing capability for this title.

The CPU's single-thread performance is adequate for the game's AI and physics calculations. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451 and Passmark single-thread score of 2541 are mid-pack results, but the game's 2014 release date means its threading model does not demand modern high-IPC processors. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1350 and 4-thread score of 2560 show scaling that matches the game's likely usage of 2-4 threads for core simulation tasks.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 in dual-channel configuration with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for this game. The 16-lane PCIe Gen 3 interface provides adequate bandwidth for the GTX 1070, which also uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it has performance headroom that the GPU cannot fully utilize at higher resolutions.

The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 versus the max-threads score of 4735 shows negligible scaling beyond 12 threads, which aligns with the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration. This suggests the game does not benefit from additional cores beyond what this CPU provides, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 90 FPS average provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 107 FPS offers higher fluidity but the visual difference may not justify the 17 FPS gain. The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is playable but the quality increase over High is marginal given the 22 FPS cost.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 90 FPS is the only option that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 69 FPS is playable, but its minimum of 59 FPS risks dips below the refresh threshold during intense scenes. The High preset at 58 FPS sits just below 60, making it borderline for smooth gameplay. For competitive play, Low at 1440p is the recommended choice; for visual quality, Medium provides the best compromise.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS. The Low preset at 49 FPS is the most playable, but even this falls short of smooth performance. The Medium preset at 37 FPS with a 32 FPS minimum would produce noticeable stuttering. For 4K gaming, the data suggests this combo is not viable for Minimum, and users should either reduce resolution to 1440p or accept sub-50 FPS performance.

The 1080p Medium preset's measured range of 91 to 123 FPS provides the most consistent experience among all tested configurations. The 32 FPS spread between minimum and maximum is the tightest of any preset at any resolution, indicating stable frame pacing. For users with 60 Hz displays, the 1080p High preset at 90 FPS average offers headroom for frame drops without dipping below the refresh rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 uses the GP104 chip on TSMC's 16 nm process, packing 7,200 million transistors into a 314 mm² die. Its base clock of 1506 MHz boosts to 1683 MHz, with memory running at 2002 MHz for 8 Gbps effective throughput. The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units provide the raw compute for Minimum's rendering. Its 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 107.7 GPixel/s pixel rate determine how quickly the game can fill the screen. The 202.0 GTexel/s texture rate handles the game's surface detail.

The 47th percentile ranking among all GPUs places the GTX 1070 in the lower half of current hardware. Its Passmark G3D score of 13498 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1082 reflect its Pascal-era architecture. The GPU's nearest rivals — the AMD FirePro W5000, NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, NVIDIA Tesla M10, and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 — all score within 0.7% of it, showing the GTX 1070's performance level is well-established.

The memory configuration is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is exactly halved from the 4K demands, and the measured FPS drops confirm this. At 1080p, the GPU has enough bandwidth to maintain high frame rates across all presets. At 1440p, the bandwidth becomes marginal, and at 4K, it is insufficient for any preset to exceed 50 FPS.

The GPU's API support for DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with Minimum's rendering requirements. The 8 GB VRAM is ample for this game's textures, as evidenced by the fact that even the Ultra preset at 4K does not show VRAM-related crashes or severe frame drops beyond what bandwidth limitations would predict. The GPU's 150W TDP and 1x 8-pin power connector indicate modest power delivery, but the data shows this does not impact performance in this title.