Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a highly playable experience in Minimum, though the ideal settings depend heavily on your display. For 1080p, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 122.1 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth competitive play. If you are on a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset offers a strong balance, hitting 97.4 FPS. At 4K, you will need to drop to Low to maintain a playable frame rate, as the data shows 68.4 FPS is the only 4K option that clears the 60 FPS bar. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it still manages a respectable 94.6 FPS, but the visual gains over High are unlikely to justify the 27.5 FPS cost at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data creates a clear hierarchy for this specific CPU-GPU combo. For 1080p displays, the High preset is the recommended starting point. The jump from Medium (145.4 FPS) to High (122.1 FPS) costs you 23.3 FPS, but the visual fidelity improvement is typically worth it, and 122.1 FPS is still exceptionally smooth. Pushing to Ultra (94.6 FPS) is only advisable if you have a 144Hz display and prioritize visual polish over maximum headroom. For 1440p, the Medium preset stands out. It provides 97.4 FPS, which is 17.2 FPS faster than High (80.2 FPS) and a massive 36.7 FPS faster than Ultra (60.7 FPS). This makes Medium the practical ceiling for a 144Hz 1440p monitor. At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 68.4 FPS. The jump to Medium (50 FPS) and High (44.5 FPS) is a significant downgrade, making those presets only suitable for slower-paced, non-competitive play. The data suggests that this combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where the GTX 1080 Ti can stretch its legs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 and a Geekbench multicore score of 11209. In a game like Minimum, which benefits from high frame rates, the CPU's single-thread performance is also crucial, and the processor delivers a Geekbench singlecore score of 2333. The data suggests that this processor is more than capable of feeding the GTX 1080 Ti at 1080p, where the average FPS on Low (191.3 FPS) and Medium (145.4 FPS) indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's performance is close to its nearest rivals, with a negligible 0.2% difference from the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and a 0% delta compared to the Intel Core i7-12800H. This level of performance places the i5-14400F in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it will not hold back the GTX 1080 Ti in this title. The 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and any potential future game updates that may utilize more threads.

FAQ

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

A: At 4K, the only preset to achieve an average FPS above 60 is Low, with a score of 68.4 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 50 FPS, and High falls to 44.5 FPS, so 4K is only viable with significant settings compromises.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the best balance, delivering an average of 97.4 FPS. This is significantly higher than the High preset's 80.2 FPS and provides almost 37 more frames per second than the Ultra preset's 60.7 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F shows a 0.2% performance advantage over the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and is statistically equal to the Intel Core i7-12800H, with a 0% delta. This means its performance is effectively on par with these alternatives.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this hardware?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces an average of 94.6 FPS, which is playable. However, at 1440p, it drops to 60.7 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 35.6 FPS, making it less ideal for those higher resolutions.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti's performance rank among all GPUs?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score places it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is virtually identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, with a 0% delta, and it is 1.1% faster than the NVIDIA TITAN Xp.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 1012 out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the 58th percentile, meaning it outperforms a majority of other system pairings in this specific game. This rank suggests that while this is not an extreme high-end configuration, it offers a level of performance that puts it solidly in the upper half of all possible builds. The GPU's performance is a limiting factor relative to the CPU; the GTX 1080 Ti, while a capable card, is an older architecture. The CPU, on the other hand, is a modern part that sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. The benchmark results confirm that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, particularly at lower resolutions. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 191.3 FPS, but the CPU's potential is much higher, as indicated by its strong Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914. This pairing is a sensible match for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the rank indicates that it is not at the top of the performance hierarchy.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is based on the Pascal architecture and features 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s. Its boost clock is 1582 MHz, and it delivers a raw FP32 performance of 11.34 TFLOPS. These specifications make it a formidable card, but its age is reflected in its performance metrics. The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 18600, and its average benchmark score is 19402, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, with a 0% delta, and only 1.1% faster than the NVIDIA TITAN Xp. The 11 GB VRAM is a significant asset, especially for a game from 2014, as it allows for high-resolution textures without exceeding memory limits. The data shows that the GPU scales predictably with settings, but the biggest frame rate gains come from lowering the resolution. The transition from 1080p Low (191.3 FPS) to 1440p Low (126.6 FPS) is a drop of 64.7 FPS, highlighting the GPU's workload at higher pixel counts. At 4K, the GPU's limitations are clear, as even the Low preset only manages 68.4 FPS. The GTX 1080 Ti's capabilities are best used at 1080p and 1440p, where its memory bandwidth and compute power can produce high frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 191.3 FPS, Medium produces 145.4 FPS, High yields 122.1 FPS, and Ultra still manages 94.6 FPS. This range indicates that even at the highest settings, the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset hits 126.6 FPS, Medium drops to 97.4 FPS, High falls to 80.2 FPS, and Ultra settles at 60.7 FPS. The 1440p data shows a clear curve, with the step from Medium to High costing 17.2 FPS and the step from High to Ultra costing a further 19.5 FPS. At 3840x2160, the performance is more constrained. The Low preset averages 68.4 FPS, Medium drops to 50 FPS, High falls to 44.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35.6 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate a significant performance penalty, with the jump from Low to Medium costing 18.4 FPS. This data confirms that the GTX 1080 Ti is a capable 1080p and 1440p card, but it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, even with a strong CPU like the Core i5-14400F.