Minimum

The data for Minimum with an Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but with a twist at the highest settings. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steepest on the Ultra preset, where the average falls from 129.4 FPS to 45.3 FPS, a reduction of 84.1 FPS. This represents a 65% performance loss, indicating that the Ultra preset's demands scale almost linearly with pixel count, placing an enormous load on the graphics card. In contrast, the Low preset at 4K still manages 94.5 FPS, which is 35.6 FPS higher than the Ultra preset at 1080p, illustrating how much headroom the RTX 3080 has when visual effects are stripped back.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing across all settings. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 131.1 at 1440p to 70.3 at 4K, a 46% reduction. The High preset shows a similar trend, falling from 110.3 to 60.9 FPS. This consistent ~45-50% drop when moving to 4K strongly suggests the GPU's rendering pipeline is the limiting component at this resolution, as the pixel throughput required by 3840x2160 is nearly double that of 2560x1440. The data implies that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users must compromise on settings, as only the Low preset breaks past that threshold with a comfortable margin.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its multi-threaded capabilities are reflected in a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297, while the single-core score of 1453 shows its per-thread performance. In the context of Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU architecture is likely more than adequate to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The benchmark results corroborate this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 267.5 FPS, a figure so high that it suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is still pushing frames well beyond typical display refresh rates.

However, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent when examining the scaling efficiency between resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low (267.5 FPS) is significantly higher than 1440p Low (172.9 FPS) indicates that the GPU is still the primary constraint, but the CPU must handle the increased draw calls at higher frame rates. The processor's Passmark multithread score of 12115 and integer math score of 41471 suggest robust compute capabilities for game logic and physics. Yet, the data shows that even at 1080p, the frame rate does not hit the CPU's theoretical ceiling, as the Ultra preset at 1080p still yields 129.4 FPS, which is well below the Low preset's output. This implies the game's Ultra settings introduce GPU-side effects that are more expensive than any CPU-side game logic.

The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s are modest, but they do not appear to hinder this game's performance. The processor's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB L2 per core provide sufficient data locality for a title of this era. Given that the CPU's nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (14115 vs 14168, a delta of 0.4%), the i5-10400F is positioned as a mid-range performer. For Minimum, the evidence suggests the CPU rarely becomes the limiting factor, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario (45.3 FPS) is likely still GPU-bound, leaving CPU headroom idle.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. Its Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8 nm process, houses 8704 shading units and 96 ROPs. The boost clock of 1710 MHz and a memory clock of 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective) provide the raw throughput needed for high-resolution gaming. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 25086 places it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs, with its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scoring 35860 (a 0.2% delta). This establishes the RTX 3080 as a high-end part, but the Minimum data reveals its boundaries.

The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is likely sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 45.3, suggesting the frame rate is limited by compute and fill rate rather than memory capacity. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s are the key metrics here. The drop from 70.3 FPS at 4K Medium to 45.3 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates how the GPU's pixel throughput is taxed by higher quality textures and effects. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low (94.5 FPS) > Medium (70.3 FPS) > High (60.9 FPS) > Ultra (45.3 FPS) at 4K. This pattern indicates that each settings tier adds a significant, non-linear burden on the GPU's rendering pipeline.

At 1080p, the RTX 3080 shows its strength, with the Low preset reaching 267.5 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution, and the CPU may be nearing its limit. However, the Ultra preset at 1080p still produces 129.4 FPS, which is higher than the High preset at 1440p (110.3 FPS). This indicates that the GPU's performance scales more with resolution than with settings quality, a sign that the game's Ultra preset includes effects that are resolution-dependent, such as anti-aliasing or shadow resolution. The 320W TDP and 700W suggested PSU are indicative of a power-hungry part, but the benchmark data shows it delivers consistent performance across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 achieves a rank of 533 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the top 31% of all system configurations, which is a solid result given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The rank is likely held back by the processor, as the GPU alone sits in the 80th percentile, while the CPU is only in the 73rd percentile. The gap between these percentiles suggests that the i5-10400F may be limiting the RTX 3080 in some scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU has to work harder to keep up with the GPU's frame output.

Compared to other potential pairings, this combo's rank of 533 means there are 532 configurations that outperform it, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or more balanced pairings. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (avg score 14277, delta -0.8%) and Intel Core i5-8500 (avg score 14332, delta -1.1%), both of which are close in synthetic benchmarks. However, in a game like Minimum, the real-world performance is dictated by how well the CPU can feed the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 267.5 FPS, which is a high mark, but the rank suggests that other combos achieve even higher frame rates, likely with CPUs that have better single-thread performance.

The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (avg score 36101, delta -0.9%), offers a similar level of performance, but the RTX 3080's specific strengths in this game are evident. The rank of 533 out of 1733 confirms the RTX 3080's capability, but it also highlights the importance of CPU pairing. For a game released in 2014, the i5-10400F's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient, but the rank implies that a stronger CPU could push this combo higher, especially in CPU-bound scenarios at 1080p. The data indicates that the combo is well-balanced for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, but at 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 4K, the High preset delivers 60.9 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin at 70.3 FPS, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as 45.3 FPS is below the playable threshold for most users. The Low preset at 4K provides 94.5 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 110.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target and offers a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 131.1 FPS is also viable for those who prefer higher frame rates, while the Ultra preset at 83.4 FPS is still smooth but may show occasional dips. The Low preset at 172.9 FPS is overkill for most displays but useful for esports-style play. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with the Ultra preset at 129.4 FPS providing the best visual experience without compromising on fluidity. The Low preset at 267.5 FPS is the highest measured frame rate, but it is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

The data suggests that for a balanced experience, the High preset at 1440p provides the best combination of visual quality and performance, with 110.3 FPS. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 70.3 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a significant improvement over High (60.9 FPS) without sacrificing too much visual detail. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, as the 45.3 FPS average is too low for a smooth experience. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 129.4 FPS is the recommended choice for maximum quality, as it still maintains a high frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080: The Low preset achieves the highest average FPS at 267.5. Medium follows at 205.5 FPS, High at 168.8 FPS, and Ultra at 129.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 51.6% performance drop, indicating that the Ultra preset's visual effects are costly even at 1080p.

2560x1440: Low delivers 172.9 FPS, Medium at 131.1 FPS, High at 110.3 FPS, and Ultra at 83.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 51.8%, which is remarkably consistent with the 1080p scaling. This suggests that the game's settings have a uniform impact on GPU load regardless of resolution.

3840x2160: Low yields 94.5 FPS, Medium at 70.3 FPS, High at 60.9 FPS, and Ultra at 45.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 52.1%, again consistent with the other resolutions. However, the absolute values are much lower, with Ultra barely exceeding 45 FPS. The High preset at 60.9 FPS is the only other preset that approaches the 60 FPS mark.

The resolution scaling shows that moving from 1080p to 1440p results in an average FPS drop of ~35% across all settings. Moving from 1440p to 4K results in a further ~45% drop, indicating that 4K is significantly more demanding. The data also reveals that the difference between Low and Ultra settings is roughly a 50% FPS penalty, consistent across all resolutions, which points to the GPU being the primary bottleneck as settings increase.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Minimum?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 267.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

*Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, the High preset at 3840x2160 delivers 60.9 FPS. The Medium preset offers a higher margin at 70.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls short at 45.3 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552's score of 14115.

Q: What is the FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The Low preset averages 172.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 83.4 FPS, a difference of 89.5 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a smooth experience at 1080p?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 129.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 533rd out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the top 31% of all systems tested in Minimum.