Minimum

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the experience scaling predictably from the playable Low preset to the demanding Ultra preset. Benchmark results indicate that the optimal balance of visual fidelity and frame rate is achieved at the Medium setting, which provides a substantial step up in quality from Low while maintaining a smooth average frame rate at both 1080p and 1440p. While High offers a further visual improvement, its frame rate cost is steep, and Medium emerges as the sweet spot for this hardware combination, particularly for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable performance gradient across the four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 100.4 FPS, which is a significant improvement over the 68.1 FPS of the Ultra preset, while still offering a noticeable upgrade from the Low preset's 130.8 FPS. This position makes Medium the most balanced choice, as it provides a wide margin above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and is well-suited for standard 60Hz monitors. The High preset, at 86.9 FPS, is also perfectly playable, but the 13.5 FPS difference between High and Medium is a small price to pay for the performance headroom gained.

For users with 1440p displays, the situation is more nuanced. The Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces an average of 66 FPS, which is just above the smoothness threshold. While the Low preset at this resolution offers a much higher 84.8 FPS, the visual compromise is substantial. The High preset drops to 54.3 FPS, which introduces noticeable stutter on standard displays. Therefore, at 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it is the only preset that balances acceptable visual quality with a playable frame rate. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves a playable average at 1080p (68.1 FPS), and falls below 30 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the primary driver of performance in Minimum, with its specifications directly influencing the measured results. The card's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, appears sufficient for the game's demands at the tested resolutions. The data suggests that the GPU's memory is not a limiting factor, as the frame rate scales consistently with resolution and settings, rather than hitting a hard cap due to memory capacity.

The GPU's core configuration, featuring 1536 shading units and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, is what dictates the raw rendering throughput. The measured FPS drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The card's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13925, places it as a mid-range performer. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 570X with a deltaPct of 0.4 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 with a deltaPct of 0.8, are all within a 1% performance margin, indicating that the GTX 1660 Ti is firmly positioned in a competitive mid-range tier. The data shows that the GPU's raw compute power, rated at 5.437 TFLOPS FP32, is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides a solid foundation for this gaming workload. The CPU's base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with a 12 MB shared L3 cache, are more than adequate for a title from 2014. The CPU's strong synthetic benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, suggest it is not a limiting factor in this game. The 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181, places it well above the mid-range tier.

The data implies that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with GPU workload. For instance, the drop from 1080p High (86.9 FPS) to 1440p High (54.3 FPS) is a 37.5% reduction, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's performance is so far ahead of the game's requirements that it allows the GTX 1660 Ti to operate at its full potential. The i5-11400F's nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel Core i7-1260P, have almost identical average scores with a deltaPct of 0 and -0.2, respectively, confirming its position as a capable and balanced mid-range processor that will not hold back the GPU in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti holds the rank of 1512 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower 13th percentile of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly low ranking given the playable frame rates measured. This suggests that the database includes many combinations with significantly more powerful and modern components, which achieve much higher frame rates in this older title, pushing this mid-range combo down the list.

The ranking is not a reflection of poor performance, but rather a reflection of the hardware's age. The GTX 1660 Ti, with its 55th percentile GPU ranking, and the i5-11400F, with its 75th percentile CPU ranking, are both capable parts, but they are not top-tier. The combo's rank indicates that while it can run Minimum smoothly, it does not deliver the exceptionally high frame rates that newer, high-end components can achieve. This is an important context for interpreting the measured FPS: the scores are good for the hardware, but the hardware itself is not at the top of the performance hierarchy.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a classic and pronounced GPU-bound scaling pattern. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 86.9 FPS to 54.3 FPS, a reduction of 37.5%. This is a significant hit, but not a catastrophic one. However, the jump to 3840x2160 is far more severe. At 4K, the High preset averages only 31 FPS, a 42.9% drop from the 1440p figure and a 64.3% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline strongly indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor, as the workload increases quadratically with resolution.

This pattern holds true across all settings. The Ultra preset shows a similar trajectory, falling from 68.1 FPS at 1080p to 41.5 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a nearly unplayable 21.7 FPS at 4K. Even the Low preset, which is the least demanding, drops from a very high 130.8 FPS at 1080p to 84.8 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 44.1 FPS at 4K. The consistent and large percentage drops between each resolution step confirm that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions, but the GPU simply cannot keep up with the pixel count at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1920x1080?

A: At 1080p, the Ultra preset is playable with an average of 68.1 FPS, but the Medium preset provides a much smoother experience with an average of 100.4 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a balance of quality and performance.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: No, the data shows that 4K is not a viable option. The best result at 3840x2160 is on the Low preset with an average of 44.1 FPS, while the High and Ultra presets drop to 31 FPS and 21.7 FPS, respectively, which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This specific combination is ranked 1512 out of 1733 total tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the lower portion of the database, despite delivering playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The benchmark data indicates a GPU-bound scenario. The frame rates drop significantly with each resolution increase, which is a classic sign of the GPU being the limiting factor. The CPU's strong synthetic scores suggest it is not holding the system back.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 84.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 41.5 FPS, representing a 43.3 FPS difference between the two extremes of the settings range.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F had a launch MSRP of $157.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti combination in Minimum, across all tested resolutions and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 130.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 100.4 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 86.9 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 68.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 84.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 66 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 54.3 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 41.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 44.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 32.5 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 31 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 21.7 |