Minimum

# Minimum — Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The Intel Core i5-14400F pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 to deliver a capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Across twelve measured configurations, this combo ranks 1298th out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The data shows a system that comfortably handles high refresh rates at 1080p, remains playable at 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K Ultra. The CPU, a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake part, provides ample headroom, while the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and 256-bit memory bus become the defining factors as resolution increases. Benchmark results indicate a balanced pairing that leans GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU's single-thread performance ensuring consistent frame delivery in less demanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

Resolution scaling is the clearest indicator of where this combo's bottleneck lies. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces an average of 214 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 138 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35.5%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 74 FPS, which is 46.4% lower than the 1440p result and 65.4% lower than the 1080p baseline. This steep decline pattern—roughly halving frame rates each time pixel count increases—points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. The RX 7700's 16 GB VRAM is not the issue; rather, the raw throughput required to fill those extra pixels exceeds what the card can sustain.

The Medium settings row reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Medium, the average is 164 FPS with a recorded minimum of 139 and maximum of 188. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 106 FPS (min 90, max 121), a 35.4% decrease. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 57 FPS (min 48, max 65), another 46.2% drop from 1440p. The consistency of these percentage reductions across different presets indicates that resolution scaling follows a predictable curve regardless of settings complexity. A 35-46% frame rate loss per resolution step up is characteristic of a GPU that is saturated, not a CPU that is stalling.

High settings tell a similar story with slightly different magnitudes. From 137 FPS at 1080p High to 89 FPS at 1440p High (a 35.0% drop), then to 48 FPS at 4K High (a 46.1% drop from 1440p). The 4K High result of 48 FPS is borderline playable but misses the 60 FPS target. Ultra settings push the system hardest: 105 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is below the threshold for smooth motion in a shooter, suggesting that this combo is not designed for maximum fidelity at the highest resolution.

The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal. The i5-14400F, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055, has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low where 214 FPS is achieved. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p would be less pronounced, as the GPU would have more time to render each frame. Instead, the nearly linear scaling with pixel count confirms that the RX 7700 is the limiting component across all measured settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In Minimum, this CPU-GPU combination achieves a combo rank of 1298 out of 2939 tested configurations, placing it in the 55.8th percentile overall. This means roughly 44% of tested combos outperform it, while 56% fall behind. Given that the GPU's standalone percentile is 58 (percentileVsAllGpus) and the CPU's is 83 (percentileVsAllCpus), the combo rank is dragged down by the graphics card. The CPU is a strong performer relative to all processors, but the GPU is only slightly above average, and in this game's demanding scenes, that imbalance shows.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database underscore its mid-pack positioning. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862 in average benchmark, a delta of -0.1% against the RX 7700's 15852. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, a 1% advantage. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, 1.1% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, 1.7% ahead. These deltas are all within 2%, meaning the RX 7700 sits in a tight cluster of similar-performance GPUs. In practice, swapping between these cards would yield nearly identical frame rates in Minimum.

On the CPU side, the i5-14400F's nearest rivals show a similarly tight grouping. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32233 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354 (0.2% ahead), and the Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121 (0.5% behind). All four rivals are within half a percent of the i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32279. This indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo; any of these processors would produce nearly identical results in Minimum, as the game's frame rates are GPU-limited.

The combo's rank of 1298 specifically reflects the GPU's average standing. In a game where the CPU is rarely taxed, the graphics card determines the outcome. The RX 7700's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs translates directly to a combo that is slightly better than average. For comparison, if the CPU were paired with a higher-tier GPU, the combo rank would improve substantially, as the i5-14400F has demonstrated it can drive frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Minimum?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the average is 74 FPS. At Medium, the average drops to 57 FPS, and at High it falls to 48 FPS. Ultra settings produce 36 FPS, which is well below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this setup?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers 137 FPS at High and 214 FPS at Low, both well above the 144 FPS threshold for high-refresh monitors. At 1440p, High settings yield 89 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced shooters.

Q: How does the RX 7700 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 is within 1.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti (16129), the RX 9060 (16014), the R9 370X (15862), and the Pro W5500 (15679). In practice, frame rates in Minimum would be nearly indistinguishable across these cards.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: No. With a boost clock of 4.70 GHz and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055, the CPU delivers 214 FPS at 1080p Low. The frame rate scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, not the processor.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p Ultra?

A: The measured average is 68 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. This is above the 60 FPS playability threshold but below what most competitive players would prefer for a shooter.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 7700 help at 4K?

A: The 16 GB VRAM is not the limiting factor at 4K. The card's 624.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 256-bit bus are sufficient for this game. The frame rate drops are caused by raw compute throughput, as evidenced by the consistent percentage decreases across settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 214 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium settings average 164 FPS, with a minimum of 139 and maximum of 188. High settings average 137 FPS. Ultra settings average 105 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 109 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution even at maximum fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain playable but drop noticeably. Low settings average 138 FPS. Medium settings average 106 FPS, with a minimum of 90 and maximum of 121. High settings average 89 FPS. Ultra settings average 68 FPS. The Low to Ultra spread narrows to 70 FPS, reflecting the increased GPU load at higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings average 74 FPS. Medium settings average 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65. High settings average 48 FPS. Ultra settings average 36 FPS. At this resolution, only Low settings exceed the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra falls below the 40 FPS playability floor for most users.

The Medium settings rows provide the most complete data, as they include minimum and maximum frame rates at all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range is 139-188 FPS, a 49 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 90-121 FPS, a 31 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 48-65 FPS, a 17 FPS spread. The narrowing range as resolution increases suggests that frame time variance becomes less severe when the GPU is consistently saturated, though the average drops correspondingly.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1080p High is the recommended preset. At 137 FPS average, it exceeds the refresh rate of most 144 Hz monitors and provides a smooth experience without sacrificing fidelity. The step up to Ultra yields 105 FPS, a 23.4% reduction for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a 2014 title. The step down to Medium provides 164 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High is only a 16.5% frame rate loss, making High the sweet spot.

At 1440p, High settings at 89 FPS are the best option for players with 1440p displays. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and offers solid visuals. Medium at 106 FPS is an alternative for those prioritizing frame rate over quality, while Ultra at 68 FPS is just above playability but may cause eye strain during fast motion. Low at 138 FPS is unnecessary unless competitive play demands maximum responsiveness.

At 4K, the recommendation is Low settings, which deliver 74 FPS average. This is the only 4K preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Medium at 57 FPS is borderline, and High at 48 FPS or Ultra at 36 FPS will produce visible stuttering in a fast-paced shooter. For 4K users, accepting reduced settings is the trade-off for resolution clarity.

The Ultra preset is generally not recommended at any resolution above 1080p. At 1440p Ultra, the 68 FPS average is workable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. At 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that this combo is best utilized with High settings at 1080p or 1440p, with Low reserved for 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on Raptor Lake architecture and manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, and it features 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and its 65 W TDP makes it a modest power draw. In the database, its average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

For Minimum, the CPU's contribution is primarily in single-thread performance. The game, released in 2014, does not heavily utilize multi-threading, so the i5-14400F's 16 threads are largely unused. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and Geekbench single-core score of 2058 indicate strong per-core performance. This is sufficient to drive 214 FPS at 1080p Low, meaning the CPU never becomes the limiting factor in any measured configuration.

The PassMark single-thread score of 3701 and the PassMark physics score of 1523 further corroborate the CPU's capability. The physics test, which simulates game-like workloads, shows that the processor can handle complex calculations without dropping frame rates. The multi-thread score of 25470 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 confirm that the CPU has headroom for other tasks while gaming, such as streaming or background applications.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354), and Intel Core i7-12800H (32121). All of these processors have average benchmark scores within 0.5% of each other. In Minimum, any of these CPUs would produce identical frame rates, as the game's performance is governed by the GPU. The i5-14400F's 83rd percentile ranking confirms its overall capability, but it is not a decisive factor in this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU with the Navi 32 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process with 28,100 million transistors. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1900 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The card has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 40 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 compute is 25.18 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 236.1 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s. The 200 W TDP requires a 550 W power supply and dual 8-pin connectors.

In Minimum, the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2014 and has modest texture requirements. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s ensures that texture streaming is never a bottleneck. Instead, the limiting factor is the GPU's raw compute throughput, specifically its ability to process pixels at higher resolutions.

The RX 7700's average benchmark score is 15852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all within 2% of this score, indicating that the card sits in a crowded performance tier. The PassMark G3D score of 20974 and the DirectX 12 score of 96 show that the card handles modern APIs well, but Minimum's legacy DirectX 9/11 paths are more dependent on raw fill rate.

The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s is the key specification for understanding the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the GPU needs to fill approximately 2.07 million pixels per frame. At 4K, that number jumps to 8.29 million pixels. The 65.4% frame rate drop from 1080p Low (214 FPS) to 4K Low (74 FPS) aligns closely with the 4x increase in pixel count, confirming that the ROPs and pixel fill rate are the limiting factors. The texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s is less of a constraint, as evidenced by the relatively smaller drops between settings at the same resolution.

The GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs translates directly to the combo's overall performance. In a game where the CPU is rarely stressed, the GPU's mid-pack standing determines the outcome. The RX 7700 is not a high-end card, but it is sufficiently capable for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Minimum, provided settings are adjusted appropriately. The 16 GB VRAM future-proofs the card for more demanding titles, but in this specific game, compute throughput is the deciding factor.