Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, with 4K requiring a settings adjustment to stay fluid. Benchmark data shows this combination ranks in the 76th percentile of all tested combos for this game, indicating solid performance headroom for high-refresh monitors.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: At 1920x1080, the combo achieves an average of 278 FPS on Low settings and 179 FPS on High settings, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, the average FPS on High is 115, which is still excellent for most gaming monitors.

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K smoothly?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 62 on High settings and 47 on Ultra settings. For a locked 60 FPS experience, High settings are the maximum viable option, while Medium settings provide a safer 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279, placing it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2% and leads the Intel Core i7-12800H by 0.5%.

Q: How does the GPU stack up against its nearest competitors?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 XT has an average benchmark score of 13543, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and 0.2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570. It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA P106-090 and 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 555.

Q: What is the impact of switching from Low to Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The data shows a significant performance cost. At 2560x1440, the average FPS falls from 179 on Low to 137 on Medium, then to 115 on High, and finally to 88 on Ultra. This represents a 51% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest preset.

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

A: The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the average is 179 FPS, but this drops to 115 FPS at 1440p and 62 FPS at 4K, showing a clear trend of diminishing returns as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For a balanced experience, the High preset is the recommended starting point across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers 179 FPS, which is more than enough for competitive play and high refresh rates. At 2560x1440, High provides 115 FPS, striking an excellent balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. Even at 3840x2160, High manages a playable 62 FPS average, though it is close to the 60 FPS threshold.

If the priority is maximum frame rate, the Low preset yields 278 FPS at 1080p and 179 FPS at 1440p, which is ideal for esports-style play or very high refresh rate monitors (240Hz+). However, the visual sacrifice is substantial. The Medium preset offers a compromise, with 213 FPS at 1080p and 137 FPS at 1440p, along with documented minimum FPS values of 181 and 117 respectively, showing better frame pacing than the unmeasured Low and High presets.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 136 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 88 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 47 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most players. For 4K, High is the best choice if a 60 FPS target is desired, while Medium is a safer option for maintaining a higher average and a documented minimum of 63 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 179 at 1920x1080 to 115 at 2560x1440 (a 36% reduction) and then to 62 at 3840x2160 (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the Radeon RX 9070 XT is the primary limiting component as resolution increases.

The trend is consistent across all presets. On Low settings, the average falls from 278 FPS at 1080p to 179 FPS at 1440p (36% drop) and 97 FPS at 4K (65% drop). The scaling pattern is nearly identical, confirming that the GPU's rendering load scales with pixel count, while the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

Notably, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K. For instance, on Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 76 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 63 FPS. This suggests that 4K is where the GPU's 16 GB of memory and 256-bit bus begin to feel the strain, with the 2.6x increase in pixels from 1440p to 4K proving more demanding than the 1.8x increase from 1080p to 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

In Minimum, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 885th out of 3712 tested combos. This places it in the top 24% of all systems tested for this game, which is a strong result given the game's age and the modern hardware used.

The ranking reflects a system that is overbuilt for 1080p, where it can push frame rates into the 200s on medium presets, and well-suited for 1440p high-refresh gaming. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs (average score 32279) and the GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs (average score 13543) combine to produce a balanced setup. However, the combo's rank in-game is higher than the GPU's individual percentile, indicating that the CPU is doing its job to keep the GPU fed, especially at lower resolutions.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU is virtually identical in raw compute performance, with delta percentages under 0.5%. This means the in-game FPS is likely more dependent on the GPU's capabilities than on the choice of CPU among these competitors. The GPU's nearest rivals are significantly older parts (like the GTX 570), which underscores that the RX 9070 XT is in a different performance class, even if its benchmark scores are similar due to the test methodology.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the driving force behind this combo's gaming performance. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is ample for Minimum, even at 4K Ultra, where the game is unlikely to exceed the memory capacity.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 1660 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2970 MHz. The high boost clock contributes to the strong 1080p and 1440p results, where the GPU can run at higher frequencies without being thermally constrained. The 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs are well-utilized in this third-person shooter, which appears to favor raw fill rate and shader throughput.

The GPU's 48.66 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 reflects its modern architecture. However, its percentile rank of 55th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13543, is surprisingly low. This is explained by the fact that its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the HD 7770M and GTX 570, which are from a much older era. This suggests that the benchmark database includes many older GPUs that skew the percentile, but in practice, the RX 9070 XT is a high-end card that delivers excellent results in Minimum.

The GPU's power requirements (304 W TDP, 700 W suggested PSU) are significant, but the performance payoff is clear in the measured FPS. The 16 GB of VRAM ensures no texture-related bottlenecks at 4K, allowing the GPU to focus purely on pixel throughput.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 278 FPS average — This is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo, suitable for 240Hz displays.
• Medium: 213 FPS average, with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 245 FPS. The documented range shows consistent frame delivery.
• High: 179 FPS average — A strong result for a visually appealing preset.
• Ultra: 136 FPS average — Still very playable, but the gap from High is noticeable.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 179 FPS average — Matches the 1080p High result, showing excellent scaling.
• Medium: 137 FPS average, with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS. The minimum remains above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay.
• High: 115 FPS average — Ideal for 120Hz monitors.
• Ultra: 88 FPS average — Playable, but approaching the threshold where frame drops become more noticeable.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 97 FPS average — Surprisingly high for 4K, indicating the game is not particularly demanding on low settings.
• Medium: 74 FPS average, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. The minimum is just above 60 FPS, making this the safest 4K preset for a smooth experience.
• High: 62 FPS average — Borderline for 60 Hz displays, but workable.
• Ultra: 47 FPS average — Not recommended for a consistent experience, as it falls below the 60 FPS target.

The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, all presets are playable, with even Ultra maintaining an average above 88 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium presets provide a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while High is a viable option for those who prioritize visuals over absolute smoothness. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance, with a documented minimum FPS that does not drop below 63.