Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i5-14400F + AMD Radeon RX 9060

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a solid, if unspectacular, experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The combo ranks 1677th out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it squarely in the mid-pack. This pairing leverages a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake refresh CPU with a 4 nm RDNA 4.0 GPU, and the benchmark data reveals a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The chip features a hybrid layout with an 80 KB L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and a shared 20 MB L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14400F demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. It scores 21,645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,055 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11,268 and single-core of 2,058. PassMark results show a multithread score of 25,470 and a single-thread score of 3,701. The CPU's average benchmark score is 32,279, placing it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs.

Against its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F performs nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Core i9-11900 (deltaPct 0.2). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H by 0.5% and trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2%. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the CPU is not a differentiating factor in most scenarios.

For Minimum, the CPU's role is largely supportive. The game is from 2014, and its engine does not heavily tax modern multi-core processors. The i5-14400F's 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and game logic, but the measured FPS data suggests the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 187 FPS, a figure that is more likely constrained by the GPU's rendering speed than by CPU limits. The high single-core score of 3,055 in Cinebench R23 indicates the processor can handle the game's thread scheduling without issue.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 4 nm process. It packs 1,792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 28 ray tracing cores. The GPU has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a boost clock of 2990 MHz, and a game clock of 2400 MHz. Memory consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The RX 9060 delivers 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s. Its texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 3,322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 88,183 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 39,476 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark results show a G3D score of 17,631 and a GPU compute score of 9,919. The GPU's average benchmark score is 16,014, placing it in the 59th percentile among all GPUs.

The RX 9060's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16,129 (deltaPct -0.7). The AMD Radeon R9 370X and RX 7700 both score lower, at 15,862 and 15,852 respectively (deltaPct 1.0), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 trails at 15,679 (deltaPct 2.1). These comparisons show the RX 9060 sits in the performance tier of the RTX 3060 Ti, a capable mid-range card for its era.

In Minimum, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures, even at Ultra settings. The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling predictably with resolution. At 1080p Low, the card produces 187 FPS, but this drops to 42 FPS at 4K High. The 128-bit memory bus and 288 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's data demands, though they likely contribute to the steep performance drop at 4K Ultra, where the card manages only 32 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo averages 143 FPS, with a range of 122 to 165 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 92 FPS (range 79-106), a 36% reduction. At 4K Medium, the average falls further to 50 FPS (range 42-57), a 46% drop from 1440p.

The High preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the system averages 120 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 78 FPS (35% reduction), and at 4K, it falls to 42 FPS (46% reduction from 1440p). The Low preset follows the same pattern: 187 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 65 FPS at 4K (46% drop).

These scaling factors indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The consistent percentage drops across presets suggest the CPU is not bottlenecking at any resolution. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, but instead, the proportional declines align with GPU-bound behavior. The RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are likely contributors to the steep drop at 4K, where the higher pixel count demands more memory bandwidth and capacity.

The 4K Ultra setting is particularly telling, with an average of 32 FPS. This is the only configuration where the system falls below playable thresholds. Even 4K Low, at 65 FPS, remains fluid, but the jump from Low to Medium at 4K (65 to 50 FPS) and then to High (42 FPS) and Ultra (32 FPS) shows that the GPU hits a hard wall as settings increase.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1440p with Medium settings. The system averages 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS. This provides a smooth, responsive experience with visual quality that is noticeably better than Low. The 79 FPS minimum ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 143 FPS average (122-165 range), which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. However, the visual fidelity gains from moving to 1440p Medium are more substantial than the frame rate loss suggests. For players prioritizing maximum smoothness, 1080p Medium is the pick, but for a balance of clarity and performance, 1440p Medium is superior.

The High preset at 1440p (78 FPS average) is also viable, but the 14 FPS drop from Medium to High may not justify the visual improvement in a 2014 title. At 1080p High, the 120 FPS average is strong, but again, the difference between Medium and High is modest. The Ultra preset should be avoided at 4K, where the 32 FPS average makes the game unplayable. At 1440p Ultra, the 59 FPS average is borderline, and at 1080p Ultra, the 92 FPS is acceptable but not ideal.

The Low preset at 4K (65 FPS) is a surprising option, offering playable frame rates at 4K at the cost of visual quality. This could be a viable choice for players with 4K displays who prioritize resolution over detail. However, the Medium preset at 1440p provides a better overall experience, with higher settings and only a 27 FPS average penalty compared to 4K Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1677th out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 43rd percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 57% of pairings perform better. This rank reflects the mid-tier nature of both components: the CPU sits in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 59th percentile among GPUs. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-percentile GPU results in a system that is GPU-limited in most scenarios.

The rank suggests that this combo is adequate for the game but not exceptional. It outperforms lower-tier GPU pairings but falls behind systems with more powerful graphics cards, particularly at higher resolutions. The CPU's strength is largely irrelevant in Minimum since the game is not CPU-intensive, meaning the GPU determines the overall ranking. Players with this combo should expect consistent performance at 1080p and 1440p but should temper expectations for 4K gaming.

The data indicates that the i5-14400F is not a bottleneck, as evidenced by the linear FPS scaling with resolution. This means that upgrading the GPU would yield proportional performance gains, while upgrading the CPU would provide minimal benefit in this specific game. The combo's rank of 1677 is a direct reflection of the RX 9060's position in the GPU hierarchy, and the system behaves accordingly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its best results. The Low preset averages 187 FPS, making it the fastest configuration tested. The Medium preset averages 143 FPS, with a minimum of 122 and maximum of 165. The High preset averages 120 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 92 FPS. All 1080p settings deliver playable frame rates, with even the most demanding preset staying well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 121 FPS, a 66 FPS reduction from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 92 FPS, with a range of 79 to 106 FPS. The High preset averages 78 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 59 FPS. The 1440p Ultra setting is the only configuration at this resolution that dips below 60 FPS on average, making it borderline for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. The Low preset averages 65 FPS, which is still playable. The Medium preset averages 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 57. The High preset drops to 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 32 FPS. The 4K Ultra setting is effectively unplayable, and 4K High is marginal. The 4K Medium setting, with its 42 FPS minimum, may cause noticeable stuttering in action-heavy scenes.

The full FPS breakdown shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Medium (143 FPS) is the best performance-per-visual trade-off, 1440p Medium (92 FPS) offers the best balance of resolution and smoothness, and 4K Low (65 FPS) is the only viable 4K option. The data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for players willing to compromise on settings.