Minimum

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti in Minimum produces a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics settings. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy where the GTX 1080 Ti becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the 14-core CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the scaling behavior, the combo’s standing among tested configurations, and the GPU’s specific characteristics.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 123.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 77.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 46.2 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 42.4 FPS, which represents a 65.7% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance is less stressed by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Low settings, the average FPS goes from 194.2 at 1080p down to 125.9 at 1440p and then to 66.8 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly wide, suggesting that the memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate of the GPU are saturated at the higher resolution. The GTX 1080 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s and a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s, which are the specifications that directly influence this kind of scaling.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p, as even the most demanding Ultra preset achieves 95.3 FPS. This frame rate is high enough to suggest that the i5-14600K, with its boost clock of 5.30 GHz and 24 MB of shared L3 cache, is feeding the GPU adequately. However, the situation reverses at 4K, where the Ultra preset yields only 32.6 FPS. This 62.7 FPS difference between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra highlights how the GPU’s compute capacity, rated at 11.34 TFLOPS, is overwhelmed by the pixel workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this specific pairing ranks 1014th out of 1733 combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is consistent with the GTX 1080 Ti being an older, end-of-life product compared to more modern GPUs. The combo’s percentile ranking for the GPU is 61, meaning it outperforms 61% of all GPUs in the database, but the CPU is much stronger, with a percentile of 93. This disparity suggests that the GPU is the limiting component in most scenarios.

When looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the i5-14600K is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which has a deltaPct of 0.2% higher average score. It is also slightly behind the Intel Core i5-14600KF by 0.4% and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9%. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 1% slower. These small margins indicate that the CPU is performing as expected for its class, but the overall combo rank is dragged down by the GPU.

On the GPU side, the GTX 1080 Ti’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 with a 0% delta, the AMD Radeon Pro 560X with a -0.1% delta, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m with a -0.6% delta. The NVIDIA TITAN Xp is 1.1% faster. These comparisons show that the GTX 1080 Ti is competitive with other high-end cards from its generation, but it does not have the architectural advantages of newer GPUs. The combo rank of 1014 reflects this balance, as the strong CPU cannot fully compensate for the GPU’s age in a game like Minimum.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is built on the Pascal architecture and features a GP102 chip with 3584 shading units. Its base clock is 1481 MHz with a boost clock of 1582 MHz, and it has 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus. The memory clock operates at 1376 MHz, translating to 11 Gbps effective speed, which yields a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s. These specifications are critical for understanding the game’s performance, as the 4K results show a clear dependency on memory throughput.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 32.6, which is below the playable threshold for many users. This is not a CPU limitation, as the i5-14600K’s 20 threads and 125 W TDP are more than sufficient for a 2014 title. Instead, the GPU’s 88 ROPs and 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate are likely saturated. The card’s FP32 performance of 11.34 TFLOPS is respectable for its era, but modern games with higher geometric complexity and shader demands can quickly exhaust these resources.

The GPU’s 16 nm process node from TSMC, with 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, explains its high power draw of 250 W. This is a dual-slot card that requires a 600 W power supply, which is a consideration for system builders. In Minimum, the GPU’s role is clearly defined: it provides playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K. The measured data shows that at 4K High, the average is 42.4 FPS, which is a 34.9% drop from the 1440p High result of 77.5 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s memory subsystem, with its 352-bit bus, is a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 123.7, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

*Q: How does the combo rank in Minimum compared to other tested systems?*

A: This combo ranks 1014th out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle range.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 32.6, while the CPU’s performance percentile is 93, indicating it is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings achieve 125.9 FPS, while Ultra settings achieve 58.7 FPS, a difference of 67.2 FPS.

Q: Does the GTX 1080 Ti support modern APIs like Vulkan?

A: Yes, the GPU supports Vulkan 1.4, along with DirectX 12 (12_1) and OpenGL 4.6.

Q: How much VRAM does the GTX 1080 Ti have, and what type is it?

A: It has 11 GB of GDDR5X memory, which is ample for Minimum’s texture requirements at any tested setting.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience balances visual quality with frame rate stability. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 123.7 FPS, which is an excellent result for a fast-paced third-person shooter. The Medium preset offers 148.6 FPS, but the visual fidelity improvement at High is likely worth the 24.9 FPS cost. The Ultra preset at 1080p still achieves 95.3 FPS, so it is viable for users with 144 Hz monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset provides 77.5 FPS, which is smooth but not ideal for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 97.9 FPS is the best balance, as it maintains a high frame rate while improving image quality over Low. The Low preset at 125.9 FPS is too aggressive for most users, as the visual downgrade is noticeable. The Ultra preset at 58.7 FPS is borderline, but it may cause stutters on 60 Hz displays during intense action.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that High settings at 42.4 FPS are not ideal, and the Ultra preset at 32.6 FPS is nearly unplayable. The Medium preset at 52.6 FPS is the best option for 4K, as it provides a playable frame rate while retaining reasonable visual detail. The Low preset at 66.8 FPS is the only way to achieve a stable 60 FPS at this resolution, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. Overall, the recommended path is to prioritize the High preset at 1080p or the Medium preset at 1440p for the best combination of performance and aesthetics.