Minimum

Minimum is a third-person shooter from 2014 that remains surprisingly demanding at high resolutions, and the data for this combination of an Intel Core i5-14400F and an Intel Arc B390 paints a clear picture of a system constrained by its graphics solution. The measured frames per second (FPS) across all settings and resolutions show a graphics card that is firmly entry-level, while the processor demonstrates ample headroom for this title. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, offering a methodical look at how this specific hardware pairing handles the game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers an average of 95 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches the 100 FPS threshold, providing the smoothest and most responsive gameplay for a third-person shooter. While the Medium preset at 1080p still offers a playable 72 FPS average, the jump to High settings drops the average to 61 FPS, which is acceptable but begins to show the GPU's limitations. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to 46 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that only the Low preset provides a consistently smooth experience, with a 61 FPS average. The Medium preset at this resolution yields 47 FPS, and High drops to 39 FPS, both of which are below the ideal threshold for a fast-paced action game. At 3840x2160, all presets are effectively unplayable for smooth gameplay, with the highest average being 33 FPS on Low. For players prioritizing a stable frame rate, 1080p Low is the clear choice. If visual fidelity is more important than raw speed, 1080p Medium at 72 FPS is the best compromise, offering a significant improvement in visuals over Low while maintaining a frame rate that is still playable. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is not a viable option at any resolution for this combo, as its highest average is 46 FPS at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K resolution?

A: The measured data shows that at 3840x2160, the highest average FPS achieved is 33 on Low settings. The Ultra preset at 4K averages only 16 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is not a playable resolution for this hardware combination, as even the lowest settings fail to provide a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for this game with this hardware?

A: The benchmark results show that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently exceed 60 FPS. At this resolution, Low and Medium presets average 95 and 72 FPS, respectively. The 2560x1440 resolution only achieves a 61 FPS average on the Low preset. Therefore, 1080p provides the most headroom for playable frame rates.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, scores 32233, which is nearly identical with a deltaPct of 0.1. The Intel Core i9-11900 is also extremely close with a score of 32226 and a deltaPct of 0.2. This indicates the i5-14400F is performing right in line with expectations for its class.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, putting the Arc B390 only 1.3% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, a 1.5% difference. This shows the Arc B390 is positioned at the very bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy, competing with much older, low-end parts.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. For example, at 1920x1080, dropping from High to Low settings increases the average FPS from 61 to 95, a change of 34 FPS. This sensitivity to graphical settings points to the graphics card being the bottleneck. The CPU, with a high percentile rank of 83, has enough performance headroom to feed the GPU, but the GPU cannot translate that into higher frame rates at higher settings.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 2602 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested, reinforcing the assessment that this is a low-performance configuration for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases, which is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 95 to 61, a reduction of about 36%. Scaling further to 3840x2160 on the same preset yields an average of 33 FPS, which is just over half of the 1440p performance and about a third of the 1080p performance. This pattern is consistent across all settings. For the Medium preset, the averages are 72 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K.

This dramatic scaling indicates that the rendering pipeline is heavily dependent on the GPU's fill rate and processing power. The Intel Arc B390, with its low benchmark scores and poor percentile ranking, simply does not have the raw throughput to handle the increased pixel count at higher resolutions. The CPU's role is relatively static across these changes, meaning it is not the component struggling to keep up. The consistent halving of performance with each major resolution jump points directly to the graphics card as the primary bottleneck. The system is capable at 1080p, but the GPU's limitations become progressively more severe as the resolution demands more from it.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B390 holds a rank of 2602 out of 2939 tested combinations for Minimum. This places it in the bottom 11.5% of all systems in the database. The rank is a direct result of the GPU's weak performance. While the CPU is a strong performer, ranking in the 83rd percentile overall, it cannot compensate for the graphics card's limitations in this game. The combination is ultimately defined by its weakest link.

This poor ranking is consistent with the GPU's own percentile ranking, which is a mere 9th percentile. The data suggests that almost any other tested GPU would result in a higher combo ranking. The CPU's high average benchmark score of 32279, which is within 0.2% of its closest rivals, shows it is not holding the system back. The bottleneck is unequivocally the Arc B390. For a game like Minimum, this combo is positioned for low-resolution, low-detail gaming, and its ranking reflects that reality. It is a pairing where the processor's capabilities are largely wasted by the graphics solution's inability to produce high frame rates at demanding settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. These specifications, combined with its 20 MB of shared L3 cache, contribute to its strong benchmark performance. Its average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. This indicates a capable processor for gaming, as it ranks higher than 83% of its peers.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor. The largest FPS changes occur when altering the graphics settings or resolution, which are GPU-centric tasks. For example, at 1440p, the FPS drops from 61 on Low to 39 on High, a change of 22 FPS that is purely due to the increased graphical load. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation between settings. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and Geekbench single-core score of 2058, is more than sufficient for a game from 2014. The i5-14400F provides a stable foundation, but its performance headroom is not utilized because the graphics card cannot keep pace at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results: Low settings average 95 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 83, High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 46 FPS. This is the only resolution where all presets are at least playable, with Low and Medium offering smooth experiences.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 61 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium averages 47 FPS with a range of 40 to 54, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. These numbers show that 1440p is only viable on the lowest settings for a consistent 60 FPS experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is not capable of delivering a smooth frame rate. The Low preset averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a range of 21 to 29, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. All 4K results are below the threshold for playable performance. The data clearly illustrates a system that is suited for 1080p gaming, can manage 1440p on low settings, and is not viable at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on a 3 nm process. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 render output units (ROPs). Its boost clock is 2500 MHz. Despite these specifications, its performance is exceedingly low. Its single benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a significantly below-average result.

The GPU's performance in Minimum is the defining characteristic of this combo. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, which are both very old, low-end mobile parts. The Arc B390 is only 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX and 1.5% faster than the 800M. This contextualizes the FPS numbers: the GPU is simply not powerful enough for modern rendering loads at higher resolutions. The 4K results, where the Ultra preset averages only 16 FPS, show its limits clearly. The system's shared memory architecture is a notable feature, but the raw compute power is insufficient, leading to the low frame rates observed across all resolutions and settings. The graphics card is the clear bottleneck, preventing the strong CPU from achieving higher performance in this game.