Minimum

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a formidable performance profile in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. This combination sits at rank 280 out of 1733 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the top 16% of all configurations evaluated. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but possesses enough CPU headroom to drive exceptional frame rates at 1080p, making it a versatile choice for both high-refresh-rate monitors and 4K gaming.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 125W TDP. This processor's high boost clock is critical for Minimum, as the game's engine benefits from strong single-thread performance. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect this: it achieves a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642 and a multi-core score of 32881, alongside a Geekbench single-core score of 2803 and a multi-core score of 15846.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and the 20 threads are more than sufficient to handle game logic and physics. The processor sits in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49166. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, scores 49062, a negligible 0.2% difference, while the Intel Core i5-14600KF is 0.4% faster. The data suggests that the i5-14600K is never the bottleneck in this pairing; even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU load is proportionally highest, the system still pushes 312.7 FPS, indicating that the processor's 5.30 GHz boost clock is fully capable of feeding the GPU. The PassMark single-thread score of 4270 further confirms that this chip excels at the type of high-frequency, low-latency work that older game engines like Minimum demand.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal setting depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the Ultra preset yields 154.4 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. However, the data shows that dropping to High only reduces the frame rate to 200 FPS, a significant gain. For those with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, the High preset at 1080p provides a perfect balance, ensuring frame times stay well above the display's refresh rate. The Medium preset at 237.9 FPS is overkill for most displays, and Low at 312.7 FPS offers no practical benefit unless chasing absolute maximum frame rates for competitive play.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 129.1 FPS, which is ideal for 120Hz+ displays. The Ultra preset drops to 97.9 FPS, which is still playable but starts to approach the threshold where a 144Hz monitor would not be fully utilized. For 4K gaming, the High preset is the clear recommendation, delivering 68.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K falls to 54.7 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that High is the "sweet spot" preset across all resolutions, providing a substantial performance uplift over Ultra while maintaining the visual fidelity that the game's settings hierarchy implies. The Medium preset at 4K (82.5 FPS) is also viable, but High offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, performance drops from 200 FPS at 1080p to 129.1 FPS at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then to 68.4 FPS at 4K, a further 47% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline as resolution increases is a textbook indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting factor. The CPU is capable of delivering 312.7 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU cannot keep pace as pixel count rises.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. For instance, at Ultra, the drop is from 154.4 FPS at 1080p to 97.9 FPS at 1440p (a 37% decrease) and then to 54.7 FPS at 4K (a 44% decrease). This linear scaling with pixel count confirms that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The CPU's performance headroom is evident: it can generate frames far faster than the GPU can render them at lower resolutions. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, the GPU's 12 GB of VRAM and its 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are being fully taxed, while the CPU remains underutilized.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 280 out of 1733 tested combinations in Minimum. This places it in the top 16.2% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mid-range to upper-mid-range pairing. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the components; neither part is holding the other back significantly, though the GPU is the more likely candidate for an upgrade path.

The CPU's individual standing is robust, sitting at the 93rd percentile, with an average benchmark score of 49166. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core i5-14600KF, which is 0.4% faster. The GPU, meanwhile, sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which is 0.2% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, which is 0.3% faster. The combination's rank of 280 suggests that while the individual components are strong, there are many other pairings that achieve higher frame rates, likely those with higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, which are better suited for 4K Ultra settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It features a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, along with 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 35.48 TFLOPS, and it has a TDP of 220W.

In Minimum, the GPU's role is dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. The 12 GB VRAM is more than adequate for this game, even at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 54.7 FPS. The bottleneck is purely computational, not memory capacity. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz is critical for maintaining high FPS, and the data shows it is capable of 312.7 FPS at 1080p Low, which reflects its raw rasterization power. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 29995 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4627 put it in a strong position, though its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores slightly higher at 42653, a 0.2% difference. The GPU is clearly the component that determines the playable settings at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 312.7 FPS on Low, 237.9 FPS on Medium, 200 FPS on High, and 154.4 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that the system is fully capable of driving a 240Hz monitor at High settings, and even at Ultra, it remains well above the 144Hz threshold.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 197.4 FPS on Low, 154.5 FPS on Medium, 129.1 FPS on High, and 97.9 FPS on Ultra. The High preset at 1440p is the standout choice, offering a smooth experience on 120Hz and 144Hz displays. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 50%, showing the impact of the GPU's workload.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 106.2 FPS on Low, 82.5 FPS on Medium, 68.4 FPS on High, and 54.7 FPS on Ultra. This is where the GPU's limits are most apparent. While Low and Medium are playable, the High preset is the recommended maximum for a consistent 60 FPS experience, and Ultra should be avoided unless a 60Hz display is the target and slight dips are acceptable. The scaling from 1080p Low (312.7 FPS) to 4K Low (106.2 FPS) represents a 66% reduction, which is a significant but expected drop given the 4x pixel increase.