Minimum

The Intel Core i5-11400F pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 to deliver a mid-pack combination for Minimum, ranking 1119th out of 3712 tested combos in this third-person shooter. The CPU is a 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake part with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. Its L3 cache totals 12 MB shared across the cores, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a theoretical bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Benchmark results show the chip sits at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rival in aggregate performance is the AMD EPYC 7H12, which scores 17120, a delta of 0.3 percent; the Intel Core i5-12450H is just 0.4 percent ahead at 17239, while the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6 percent ahead at 17278 and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is 0.6 percent behind at 17074. This places the i5-11400F in a tight cluster where single-digit percentage differences separate it from very different CPU designs, but for this game, the measured frames per second tell the more relevant story.

CPU Role

The i5-11400F’s six physical cores and twelve threads are sufficient to feed the RX 9070 in Minimum, but the data suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 262 FPS on average, which is a strong indicator that the processor can push very high frame rates when the GPU has lighter work. The single-threaded performance is respectable, with a Passmark single-thread score of 2981 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024, which helps in a game that relies on a primary game thread. The multi-threaded results, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7737, show that the chip can handle background tasks without stealing cycles from the game.

The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key frequency for gaming, as it allows the CPU to react quickly to bursty workloads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and the 2-thread score of 1691 suggest that the CPU’s per-core strength is adequate for a 2014 title like Minimum, which was designed for hardware that is now several generations old. The 65 W TDP means the chip runs cool enough for a standard air cooler, but that is a power figure, and the data shows no thermal throttling issues in the benchmark results. The CPU’s percentile rank of 71 indicates it is better than most processors on the market, but its nearest rivals in this test are a mix of server and mobile parts, which highlights that raw CPU throughput is not the primary driver of the frame rates seen here. The measured FPS scales by resolution in a way that points to the GPU taking over as the bottleneck, so the CPU’s role is to maintain a high ceiling without introducing stutter or frame dips.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is a RDNA 4.0 part with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz, and it features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The GPU’s compute capability is rated at 36.13 TFLOPS for FP32, and it supports PCIe 5.0 x16 for a high-bandwidth connection to the CPU. In terms of benchmark scores, the RX 9070 sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23877. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6800S, which scores 24063, a delta of -0.8 percent, meaning the RX 9070 is slightly behind; the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is 1.2 percent ahead at 24170, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile is 1.1 percent ahead at 23628 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z is 0.6 percent behind at 23736.

The GPU’s memory size of 16 GB is generous for a game from 2014, and the high bandwidth ensures that texture streaming is not a constraint. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor in this combo’s performance. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 262 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 45 FPS, which is a dramatic decline that tracks with GPU workload. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 25381 and its DirectX 12 score of 74 indicate it has strong raw throughput, but the game’s engine may not fully utilize modern features. The 4 nm process node and 53,900 million transistors give it a high transistor density of 151.0M per mm², which translates to efficient processing. The GPU role here is to provide a high frame rate ceiling at lower resolutions and then to scale down gracefully as resolution increases, which the data confirms with a consistent drop from 262 FPS at 1080p Low to 91 FPS at 4K Low.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show a clear hierarchy across presets at each resolution, and the best experience depends on whether you prioritize frame rate or visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Low preset yields an average of 262 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, so it is wasteful unless you have a very high refresh rate monitor. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 201 FPS, with a minimum of 171 FPS and a maximum of 231 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth and provides better visuals than Low. The High preset at 1080p averages 169 FPS, which is a solid choice for a 144 Hz display, and the Ultra preset averages 128 FPS, which is still playable but shows a noticeable drop. For 1440p, the Low preset averages 169 FPS, the Medium preset averages 130 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS, the High preset averages 109 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 83 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot, as it maintains a minimum above 100 FPS while offering a substantial visual upgrade over Low.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. The Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K averages 59 FPS, which is just at the threshold of playability but may feel inconsistent. The Medium preset at 4K averages 70 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, which is the best balance for 4K gaming on this combo. The Low preset at 4K averages 91 FPS, which is smooth but sacrifices too much visual detail for a game that can look better. The data indicates that the Medium preset is the recommended choice for a 4K experience, as it provides a playable average above 60 FPS with a minimum that does not dip too low. For lower resolutions, Medium is also the most balanced, as it keeps frame rates high while avoiding the visual downgrades of Low. The Ultra preset is only advisable at 1080p, where the average of 128 FPS is still smooth, but the performance cost at higher resolutions is too steep.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1119 out of 3712 tested combinations places it in the top 30 percent of all systems tested for Minimum. This is a respectable position, given that the CPU and GPU are not flagship parts. The CPU’s percentile rank of 71 and the GPU’s percentile rank of 69 are closely matched, which means neither component is a glaring weak link. The combo rank suggests that the pairing is well-balanced for this title, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings. Compared to other combos, this system is positioned above the median, which is expected for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The data shows that the RX 9070 is the stronger component in this pairing, as its benchmark scores are closer to the top of its class, while the i5-11400F is a solid but not exceptional performer. The delta between the CPU’s nearest rivals is small, with the i5-11400F being 0.3 percent behind the EPYC 7H12 and 0.4 percent behind the i5-12450H, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. The combo rank reflects that the system can handle Minimum well at all resolutions, but it is not optimized for the absolute highest frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the GPU’s limits become apparent.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 262 at 1080p to 169 at 1440p and then to 91 at 4K. This represents a 35.5 percent drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46.2 percent drop from 1440p to 4K, which indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder as resolution increases. At Medium settings, the averages are 201 FPS at 1080p, 130 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K, showing a similar scaling pattern. The High preset shows 169 FPS at 1080p, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K, and the Ultra preset drops from 128 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p and then to 45 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly a 35 to 40 percent reduction in FPS, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K is a 45 to 50 percent reduction. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to keep up, but the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become the constraints. The RX 9070’s 16 GB of VRAM is not a factor at these settings, as the game’s textures are modest, but the raw compute power is what limits the frame rates. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal, as the frame rates at 1080p are high enough to indicate that the processor is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The data suggests that if you want higher FPS at 4K, you would need a more powerful GPU, but for most players, the Medium preset at 4K provides a good balance.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo delivers an average of 169 FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset, which is suitable for a 144 Hz monitor.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its nearest rival in GPU benchmark scores?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 23877, which is 0.8 percent behind the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24063) and 1.2 percent behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows a significant frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K, such as from 169 FPS to 91 FPS at Low settings, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 4K experience?

A: The Medium preset at 4K averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and playable frame rates, as Ultra drops to 45 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-11400F’s multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, which is 0.3 percent ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120) and 0.6 percent behind the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278).

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

A: The highest average FPS is 262, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which is far above typical display refresh rates.