Minimum

Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, presents an interesting test for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The measured data reveals a combination that is heavily influenced by the graphics card, particularly at higher resolutions and settings, while the modern CPU provides enough headroom to avoid becoming the primary constraint in most scenarios. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p, but which requires careful settings management to maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this specific combination points to the Medium preset as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields an average of 107 FPS, which is a significant 37 FPS higher than the High preset's 90 FPS and 39 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 68 FPS. The jump from Medium to High delivers only a modest visual improvement in most games, while the performance cost here is steep, making Medium the clear choice for a consistently smooth experience on a 60Hz or even 144Hz display.

For users with a 2560x1440 monitor, the Medium preset remains the recommended starting point. The data shows an average of 69 FPS at this resolution with Medium settings, with a minimum observed frame rate of 59 FPS. This places the experience right at the edge of the 60 FPS target, and the minimum frame rate suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable. Lowering to the Low preset, which produces an average of 90 FPS, provides a substantial performance buffer and is the safer choice for competitive play or for users sensitive to frame time inconsistencies. The High preset at 58 FPS is very close to playable but the minimum frame rate data is absent, leaving the Medium preset's known 59 FPS minimum as a more reliable indicator of the worst-case scenario.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more critical. The Medium preset produces an average of 37 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience. To achieve a playable frame rate at this resolution, dropping to the Low preset is necessary, which yields an average of 49 FPS. While not ideal, this is the only measured configuration that approaches a playable level at 4K. The High preset at 31 FPS and Ultra at 24 FPS are both too demanding for this GPU to handle at 4K with any degree of fluidity. Therefore, the recommendation is to use Medium for 1080p and 1440p as the primary choice, with Low as a fallback for 1440p if frame rate stability is paramount, and Low is mandatory for any 4K gaming attempts.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 60 FPS on a 1440p monitor?

A: At 1440p with the Medium preset, the measured average FPS is 69, which does exceed 60 FPS. However, the minimum FPS recorded is 59, meaning the experience will hover right around the 60 FPS mark with occasional dips below it. For a guaranteed 60+ FPS experience, the Low preset at 1440p, which averages 90 FPS, is the more reliable choice.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows a significant gap. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 140 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. This represents a 72 FPS difference, meaning the Ultra preset is roughly half the performance of the Low preset at this resolution.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the GTX 1070 in Minimum?

A: The data suggests it is only marginally viable with significant compromises. At 4K with the Low preset, the average FPS is 49, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. All higher presets (Medium, High, Ultra) at 4K produce average frame rates in the 24-37 FPS range, which is generally not considered smooth for a third-person shooter.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279. This places it in a very tight performance cluster. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900, while being 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H. The close deltas indicate these CPUs offer nearly identical overall performance in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking compared to all other GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds a percentile rank of 47 among all GPUs in the benchmark database. This indicates that it performs better than 47% of all GPUs tested, placing it in the lower-middle segment of the performance spectrum.

Q: Does the GTX 1070 have more in common with professional workstation cards than other gaming cards?

A: Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are all professional or older cards. The GTX 1070's average score of 9780 is 0.2% lower than the AMD FirePro W5000, 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla M10, and 0.7% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla C2070. This suggests that in raw compute, it aligns closely with those workstation parts, though its gaming-specific features and driver support are tailored for consumer use.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the primary determinant of performance in Minimum for this system configuration. The benchmark data shows a clear pattern where frame rates scale almost directly with resolution and settings, both of which are heavily dependent on GPU load. The GPU's architectural specifications, based on the Pascal architecture and a 16 nm process node from TSMC, are well-suited for a 2014 title, but its age is evident at higher workloads.

The GTX 1070 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is likely sufficient for Minimum's assets, even at higher resolutions, as the primary bottleneck appears to be the GPU's raw processing power rather than memory capacity or bandwidth. The core clock speeds, which boost from a base of 1506 MHz to 1683 MHz, are the engine that drives the frame rate. The data shows a clear correlation between the increasing demands of higher settings and a corresponding drop in FPS, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

The GPU's performance metrics from the fact pack, such as its Passmark G3D score of 13498 and its average benchmark score of 9780, place it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs. This ranking is consistent with the measured in-game performance, which shows it can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well but struggles with the pixel count of 4K. The drop from 90 FPS at 1440p Low to 49 FPS at 4K Low, a 41 FPS reduction, is a direct consequence of the GPU having to render over twice as many pixels. The GPU's DirectX 12 support, as indicated by a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 48, suggests it can handle modern APIs, but its raw compute power, rated at 6.463 TFLOPS, is the limiting factor for high-resolution, high-detail gaming in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1070 delivers strong performance. With the Low preset, the game achieves an average of 140 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS. The High preset averages 90 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 68 FPS. This progression demonstrates a predictable and significant performance cost for each step up in visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance is still respectable but begins to show the GPU's limits. The Low preset averages 90 FPS, which is a 50 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. The High preset averages 58 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset averages 44 FPS, which is starting to become less fluid for a fast-paced shooter.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overburdened by the higher resolution. The Low preset is the only option that provides a somewhat playable experience, averaging 49 FPS. The Medium preset averages 37 FPS, with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. The High preset averages 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. All of these 4K results are below the standard for smooth gameplay, indicating that this resolution is not a practical option for this GPU in this game. The data shows that the GTX 1070 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can consistently hit high frame rates across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and expected trend: frame rates decline as resolution increases. For the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 140 at 1080p to 90 at 1440p, and then to 49 at 4K. This represents a 36% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% decrease from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component. The workload is increasing roughly in proportion to the pixel count, and the GPU's frame rendering time is scaling accordingly.

This behavior is characteristic of a system that is not constrained by the CPU. The Intel Core i5-14400F, with its high single-core and multi-core performance, is able to feed the GPU with frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at lower resolutions, where the CPU's limits would be reached and the FPS would not increase significantly when moving from 1440p to 1080p. Instead, the data shows a significant jump from 90 FPS at 1440p Low to 140 FPS at 1080p Low, confirming that the GPU has headroom to render more frames at lower resolutions when the CPU can keep up.

The scaling from High settings follows the same pattern. The average FPS drops from 90 at 1080p to 58 at 1440p, and then to 31 at 4K. This consistent drop across different settings presets reinforces the conclusion that the resolution, and therefore the GPU's pixel throughput, is the primary factor governing performance. The data implies that to achieve higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K, a more powerful GPU would be required, as the current one is fully utilized at these resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting role in this system for Minimum. Its specifications, including 10 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, are far more than what a 2014 third-person shooter would require. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055, confirms its high processing power. This strength ensures that it does not become a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios.

The evidence for this is in the resolution scaling data. As the resolution increases and the GPU becomes more heavily loaded, the frame rate drops proportionally. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see lower frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU has more headroom, and possibly similar frame rates across all resolutions if the CPU was pegged. The fact that frame rates scale so predictably with resolution indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint, and the CPU is capable of providing the necessary data to the GPU without delay.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide a solid foundation for game data. In a title like Minimum, which is not likely to be heavily multi-threaded, the i5-14400F's strong single-thread performance is particularly valuable. With a Passmark single-thread score of 3701, it is well-equipped to handle the main game logic and physics threads efficiently. The data suggests that in this specific game, the CPU is not a point of concern, and its performance is more than sufficient to keep the GTX 1070 working at its maximum potential.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Minimum, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 holds a rank of 3064 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places it in the 18th percentile of all tested system configurations for this game, meaning that 82% of the other tested combos perform better. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's age and performance class, despite the CPU being a modern and capable part.

The ranking is heavily skewed by the GPU. While the CPU's performance is robust, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, the GTX 1070's 47th percentile GPU ranking drags the overall combo down. In a game like Minimum, which is not particularly demanding by modern standards, the GPU is the primary factor that determines the final frame rate. The data shows that the combo is outranked by many others, which likely feature more powerful graphics cards.

This low rank is not necessarily an indication of a poor experience, as the measured FPS at 1080p is very good. However, it does highlight that for a database ranking based on overall performance across all tested settings and resolutions, this combination is not competitive with the majority of others. The rank of 3064 suggests that users seeking to maximize their performance in Minimum would benefit from a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The data indicates that the CPU has significant headroom, and the bottleneck is clearly the graphics card.