Minimum

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks in the 77th percentile of all tested combinations for Minimum, placing 394th out of 1,733 combos. This is a strong result for a 2014 title, indicating that this hardware pairing delivers a high-end experience even by modern database standards, though it is not at the absolute top tier where newer flagship CPUs are required.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this combo at rank 394 out of 1,733 tested configurations, which puts it in the top 23% of all pairings. This ranking is driven by the GPU’s exceptional raw performance, as the RTX 5070 sits at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. The gap in percentile rankings suggests the graphics card is doing more heavy lifting in this pairing, but the CPU is not a bottleneck at most settings.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo is positioned well above the median tested system. The RTX 5070’s average benchmark score of 41,687 is nearly 1.5 times that of its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which scores 41,441 — a delta of just 0.6% in favor of the 5070. This proximity to the previous-generation flagship explains why the combo reaches high frame rates in a game as old as Minimum. The CPU’s average score of 14,168 is similarly competitive, coming within 0.4% of the AMD EPYC 7552 and 1.1% of the Intel Core i5-8500, though it trails the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C by 0.8%.

The ranking also reflects the game’s age. Minimum was released in 2014, and its engine is far less demanding than modern titles. The combination of a mid-range 10th-gen Core i5 and a current-generation Blackwell GPU produces a system that is overkill for this game at most resolutions, which is why it sits in the upper quartile of all combos. The data shows that the limiting factor at 4K Ultra is the GPU, but at 1080p Low, the CPU begins to cap performance, as detailed in the sections below.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Minimum at 4K with smooth frame rates?*

A: Yes. The measured data shows the RTX 5070 delivers an average of 65.9 FPS at 4K High settings, 81.4 FPS at Medium, and 101.4 FPS at Low. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 53.4 FPS, which is still playable but not consistently above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rival in this game?

A: The RTX 5070’s average benchmark score of 41,687 is 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090’s 41,441 and 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300’s 41,610. In game-specific terms, this translates to near-identical performance, meaning the 5070 effectively matches a previous-generation flagship.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread score?

A: The i5-10400F scores 1,453 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 10,297 in multi-core. The single-core result is disproportionately low compared to the multi-core, indicating that while the CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, its per-core performance is modest, which matters for older games that rely on single-thread speed.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low. The frame rate of 272 FPS is likely capped by the CPU’s single-thread performance, as the GPU is vastly more powerful than needed at that setting. At higher resolutions and settings, the bottleneck shifts to the GPU.

Q: What are the memory specifications of this pairing?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for this game’s texture loads.

Q: How does the combo rank in terms of overall percentile?

A: The combo ranks 394th out of 1,733, placing it in the top 23% of all tested combinations. This is driven by the GPU’s 83rd percentile standing, while the CPU sits in the 73rd percentile.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern at higher settings, but a CPU-bound ceiling at lower settings. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 190.6 to 123.7 — a 35% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, it drops further to 65.9 FPS, another 47% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at these settings, as the RTX 5070’s rendering load scales with pixel count.

However, at Low settings, the pattern changes. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 272 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it still manages 194.3 FPS, a 29% drop. At 4K Low, it falls to 101.4 FPS, a 48% drop from 1440p. The 1080p Low result appears to hit a CPU limit, as the 272 FPS figure is far below what the GPU could theoretically produce in an older game. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1,453 in Cinebench R23 suggests it cannot feed frames faster than roughly 270 FPS in this title.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra further confirms this. At 1080p, the drop from Medium (230.3 FPS) to Ultra (149.9 FPS) is 35%, while at 4K, the drop from Medium (81.4 FPS) to Ultra (53.4 FPS) is 34%. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU is scaling predictably with load, and the CPU is not creating a variable bottleneck except at the absolute lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 272 FPS, Medium drops to 230.3 FPS, High to 190.6 FPS, and Ultra to 149.9 FPS. All of these are well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors, making the game extremely fluid at this resolution regardless of preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers remain strong. Low settings average 194.3 FPS, Medium 149.7 FPS, High 123.7 FPS, and Ultra 94.4 FPS. The Ultra figure still exceeds 90 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh 1440p panels. The data shows that the GPU’s 12 GB of VRAM and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are not stressed at this resolution, as the frame rates scale linearly with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the combo begins to show its limits. Low settings average 101.4 FPS, Medium 81.4 FPS, High 65.9 FPS, and Ultra 53.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it marginal for smooth gameplay on a 60 Hz display. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K (65.9 to 53.4 FPS, an 19% drop) is proportionally larger than at 1440p (123.7 to 94.4 FPS, a 24% drop), suggesting that the game’s Ultra settings introduce effects that disproportionately tax the GPU at higher pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal preset depends on the target display. For 1080p users, the data shows that even Ultra settings deliver 149.9 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh monitor. There is no reason to drop below High at this resolution, as the 190.6 FPS at High versus 149.9 FPS at Ultra represents a 21% gain for minimal visual difference in a 2014 title.

For 1440p, the choice is between High and Ultra. High delivers 123.7 FPS, while Ultra drops to 94.4 FPS. Given that both exceed 90 FPS, the Ultra preset is viable for 144 Hz monitors, but High provides a safer margin for maintaining frame times. The 149.7 FPS at Medium is the best choice for competitive play, as it offers the highest frame rate above 144 Hz.

At 4K, the recommendation is clear: use High settings for a smooth experience. The 65.9 FPS at High is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium at 81.4 FPS is a better option for those wanting headroom. Ultra at 53.4 FPS is not recommended for consistent gameplay, as it falls below 60 FPS. Low at 101.4 FPS is a viable choice for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity on 4K displays.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 1,453 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 10,297 in multi-core, placing it at the 73rd percentile of all CPUs.

For Minimum, a game from 2014, the CPU’s single-thread performance is the most relevant metric. The single-core score of 1,453 is modest by modern standards, and the data suggests this limits the maximum frame rate at low settings. The 272 FPS at 1080p Low is likely near the CPU’s ceiling, as the GPU is capable of far more. The multi-core score of 10,297 is less relevant, as older games rarely utilize more than a few threads.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this game, as the engine’s data streaming demands are low. The 12 MB of L3 cache helps with frame pacing, but the lack of integrated graphics is irrelevant given the discrete RTX 5070. Overall, the CPU is sufficient for this game at all settings, but it is the component that prevents the combo from achieving even higher frame rates at 1080p Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC’s 5 nm process, with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. It features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and it has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU’s performance in Minimum is exceptional, as evidenced by the measured frame rates. At 1080p, it is never the bottleneck except at Ultra settings, where it still produces 149.9 FPS. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 41,687 places it at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the RTX 3090, which it edges by 0.6%. This means the 5070 provides flagship-level performance in this game.

The GPU’s high pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for a 2014 title. The 12 GB of VRAM is also overkill, as even at 4K Ultra, the game’s textures are unlikely to exceed 6 GB. The GDDR7 memory’s 672.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures that frame buffers are never a constraint. The only scenario where the GPU shows its limits is at 4K Ultra, where the 53.4 FPS result indicates that the game’s Ultra settings are computationally demanding enough to stress even this modern GPU.