Minimum

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a highly playable experience in Minimum, though the data indicates a clear performance ceiling that varies dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the combo is capable of exceeding 170 FPS on the lowest settings, but 4K Ultra drops to just 30 FPS. This benchmark analysis breaks down the measured performance data, providing a detailed look at how this specific hardware configuration handles the 2014 third-person shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance penalty as resolution increases, which is a strong indicator of GPU-bound behavior at higher settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate scales from 179 FPS at 1920x1080, down to 116 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 62 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is relatively linear, suggesting that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the primary limiting factor.

The pattern changes slightly at High settings, where the frame rates are 115 FPS (1080p), 74 FPS (1440p), and 40 FPS (4K). The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%. The consistency of these scaling factors—around a one-third reduction for each step up in resolution—strongly implies that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the bottleneck, rather than the CPU. If the Intel Core i5-11400F were the limiting factor, the frame rate would be more stagnant across resolutions, especially at lower graphical presets.

At Ultra settings, the scaling becomes more severe. The average FPS at 1080p is 88, falling to 57 at 1440p and 30 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 47%, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%. This heavier toll at 4K suggests that the combination of high resolution and maxed-out settings pushes the RTX 5050’s memory bandwidth and shading units to their absolute limits. The data shows that while the CPU can feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become increasingly strained as the pixel count rises. The game's age is evident, as even this mid-range GPU can produce high frame rates at 1080p, but the resolution scaling confirms that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable on the lowest preset.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience balancing visual fidelity and frame rate is the High preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 115 FPS. This is more than sufficient for a smooth experience and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset. While the Medium preset at 1080p offers a higher average of 137 FPS, the jump to High only costs 22 FPS and likely provides a substantial improvement in texture and shadow quality, which is a worthwhile trade-off for a game of this genre.

For users with 1440p displays, the High preset is also the recommended starting point, yielding an average of 74 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a higher 88 FPS average, but the High preset remains the best balance. Dropping to Low at 1440p increases the average to 116 FPS, which may be desirable for competitive play, but the visual compromises are significant.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 62 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 48 FPS, and while playable, it is below the ideal 60 FPS target for a smooth experience. The High preset drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra is effectively unplayable at 30 FPS. Therefore, the data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting the Low preset for a stable frame rate, or dropping to 1440p to enjoy higher visual settings. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions except for possibly 1080p, where it still manages a respectable 88 FPS, but the performance cost over High is substantial for the final tier of visual effects.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware configurations for Minimum, this combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1764th out of 2939 combos. This places it in the 60th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs better than the majority of configurations in the database. This is a solid mid-pack result, reflecting the balanced nature of the components.

The ranking is a measure of overall performance and likely reflects the average FPS across all tested resolutions and settings. Given that the combo can hit 179 FPS at 1080p Low but only 30 FPS at 4K Ultra, its position is a compromise between these extremes. It is neither a top-tier contender for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming nor a low-end system struggling to maintain playable frame rates. The data suggests that this pairing is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, which is reflected in its above-median rank. The rank also indicates that while the RTX 5050 is a capable GPU, it is not in the same league as the top-tier cards that would push this combo much higher in the rankings, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's 8 GB memory capacity becomes a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured average FPS data for this combo:

• 1920x1080 (1080p)
• Low: 179 FPS
• Medium: 137 FPS (min 117, max 158)
• High: 115 FPS
• Ultra: 88 FPS

• 2560x1440 (1440p)
• Low: 116 FPS
• Medium: 88 FPS (min 75, max 102)
• High: 74 FPS
• Ultra: 57 FPS

• 3840x2160 (4K)
• Low: 62 FPS
• Medium: 48 FPS (min 41, max 55)
• High: 40 FPS
• Ultra: 30 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the combo provides exceptional performance, with even the Ultra preset surpassing 60 FPS. The 1440p results show a balanced performance across presets, with High being the sweet spot for 60+ FPS gaming. 4K performance is the weak point, with only the Low preset achieving over 60 FPS. The Medium preset at both 1440p and 4K shows the tightest min/max FPS range, indicating more consistent frame pacing, while the higher presets likely exhibit more variance due to heavier GPU load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the defining component in this combo's gaming performance. Its specifications directly explain the observed scaling. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a modest amount by modern standards, and it is the most likely culprit for the severe frame rate drops at 4K Ultra, where texture data demands can exceed the available memory and bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are respectable for its class. With 2560 shading units and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, it achieves a peak FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS. This is more than enough to handle the DirectX 12 workload of Minimum, which is indicated by the high frame rates at 1080p. The performance on the Passmark G3D benchmark (score: 17326) and 3DMark Steel Nomad (score: 2502) places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its mid-range positioning.

The data shows that the GPU's pixel fill rate (82.30 GPixel/s) is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p, but it is quickly overwhelmed as resolution increases. The RTX 5050’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, has an average benchmark score that is 1.6% higher, indicating these two cards are closely matched in raw compute. However, the RTX 5050's 8 GB memory capacity is a key spec that can either help or hinder it depending on the game's requirements. In Minimum, the data suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, as the CPU is able to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU cannot keep up with the increased pixel workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides the computational foundation for this combo. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it is a modern processor that is more than capable of handling the demands of Minimum, a game released in 2014. The CPU's boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often crucial for game logic and draw calls. Its benchmark scores confirm its capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024 are robust figures.

The CPU’s role in the measured frame rates is evident in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the 179 FPS average is high, but it is not solely limited by the CPU. The data suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the frame rates drop consistently with resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates between 1080p and 1440p, which is not the case. The i5-11400F is clearly capable of feeding the RTX 5050 enough data to keep it busy.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for this game. The processor's percentile ranking (71st) and average benchmark score (17177) put it slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (by 0.3%) and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (by 0.6%), and just behind the Intel Core i5-12450H (by 0.4%). This indicates that the CPU's performance is well-balanced and not a weak link in the system. In summary, the CPU is a capable partner that allows the RTX 5050 to perform to its full potential, but it is the GPU that ultimately dictates the playable settings and resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset is 115 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which achieves an average of 62 FPS. Higher presets at 4K yield lower frame rates, with Ultra dropping to 30 FPS.

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

A: This configuration ranks 1764th out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the upper 60% of all results.

Q: Which is the limiting component at higher resolutions?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly with each resolution increase, which points to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth being the bottleneck.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 179 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 88 FPS, while the High preset averages 74 FPS, a difference of 14 FPS in favor of Medium.