Minimum

FAQ

Q: What is the overall standing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination in this game?

A: This combo ranks 246th out of 3,712 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.6% of all tested systems for Minimum.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600K scores an average of 48,618 points, sitting 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P. It also edges out the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX by 0.7% while trailing the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 by 0.8%.

Q: What are the FPS differences between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra the system delivers 174 FPS average, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 61 FPS average. This represents a 65% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Which resolution offers the highest frame rate at Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 356 FPS average, which is the highest measured result across all tested resolutions and settings. The 1440p Low setting delivers 230 FPS, and 4K Low produces 124 FPS.

Q: Is there a measurable FPS difference between High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: Yes. High settings at 1440p yield 148 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 112 FPS. The gap between these presets is 36 FPS, or roughly 24% lower performance at Ultra compared to High.

Q: What is the limiting factor when moving from 1440p to 4K resolution?

A: The data shows a substantial frame rate drop at 4K across all settings. For example, at High settings, 1440p averages 148 FPS while 4K averages 79 FPS, a 47% decline. This pattern indicates the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, since the CPU workload remains relatively constant while pixel output demands rise sharply.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, and the processor draws up to 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configurationaine and includes UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics.

In synthetic CPU benchmarks, the i5-14600K posts a multi-core score of 24,491 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 2,064 in the same test. Its Geekbench results show 16,673 multi-core and 2,491 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 38,682, with a single-thread score of 4,270. These figures place the processor in the 90th percentile against all CPUs, indicating strong absolute performance.

For Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU's role is less demanding than in modern titles. The game's thread usage is moderate, and the i5-14600K's 14 cores provide substantial headroom. The single-core performance — reflected in the 2,064 Cinebench R23 single-core score — ensures that game logic, physics, and draw call handling are processed efficiently. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz helps maintain consistent frame pacing in scenarios where a single thread is the bottleneck.

The nearest rival comparisons show the i5-14600K is effectively tied with several server and workstation processors. The Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.2% faster, the EPYC 4345P is 0.3% slower, and the Core Ultra 5 245HX is 0.7% slower in average benchmark score. This clustering indicates that the i5-14600K's performance is well within the expected range for its class, and no single rival offers a decisive advantage in CPU-bound workloads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 121.1M per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and boosts to 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory sits on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth.

The RTX 4080 features 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. It also includes 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 761.5 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute reaches 48.74 TFLOPS. The card has a TDP of 320 W, requires a 700 W power supply, and connects via PCIe 4.0 x16. Its dimensions are 310 mm in length, 140 mm in height, and 61 mm in width, occupying a triple-slot form factor.

In synthetic GPU benchmarks, the RTX 4080 scores 6,567 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 214,739 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 263,779 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark results show 34,457 in G3D and 20,671 in GPU compute. The card sits in the 86th percentile against all GPUs.

For Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU can feed frames fast enough that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor — the 356 FPS Low result demonstrates the card's raw throughput. However, at 4K, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become critical. The 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth supports high-resolution textures without stuttering, while the 112 ROPs handle pixel output efficiently. The RTX 4080's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% faster in average score, indicating this card's performance is essentially at parity with its direct successor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 246th out of 3,712 tested combos for Minimum. This places the system in the top 6.6% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given the game's age and the high-end nature of both components.

The rank reflects the balance between CPU and GPU capabilities. The i5-14600K's 90th percentile CPU ranking and the RTX 4080's 86th percentile GPU ranking combine to produce a system that excels in both CPU-bound and GPU-bound scenarios. In Minimum, the game's 2014 release date means it does not fully utilize modern multi-core processors, but the high single-core performance of the i5-14600K ensures smooth minimum frame rates even in crowded scenes.

Comparatively, the combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems. The 3,712 combos include a wide range of hardware from older generations and lower tiers. The 246th rank indicates that only 245 other configurations achieve higher frame rates in this specific game, which reflects the synergy between these components.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p Resolution:

• Low: 356 FPS average
• Medium: 273 FPS average (232 min, 313 max)
• High: 229 FPS average
• Ultra: 174 FPS average

1440p Resolution:

• Low: 230 FPS average
• Medium: 176 FPS average (149 min, 202 max)
• High: 148 FPS average
• Ultra: 112 FPS average

4K Resolution (3840x2160):

• Low: 124 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average (80 min, 109 max)
• High: 79 FPS average
• Ultra: 61 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent scaling pattern. At 1080p, all settings exceed 170 FPS, with Low reaching 356 FPS. The Medium preset provides a min FPS of 232, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. At 1440p, the system still delivers over 110 FPS at Ultra, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 4K results show that Ultra settings drop to 61 FPS, which is borderline for smooth play, while Low maintains 124 FPS for competitive play.

The Medium preset is the only setting with reported min and max FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 232 FPS shows exceptional frame consistency. At 1440p Medium, the min of 149 FPS still provides a comfortable margin above typical 60 Hz displays. At 4K Medium, the min of 80 FPS approaches the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable on high-refresh displays.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 273 FPS average with a minimum of 232 FPS, ensuring no perceptible stutter even in action-heavy sequences. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 44 FPS (from 273 to 229), while the visual improvement in a 2014 title is marginal.

At 1440p, Medium delivers 176 FPS average with a 149 FPS minimum. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on 1440p monitors, providing headroom for frame time spikes. High at 1440p reduces the average to 148 FPS, which still exceeds 144 Hz but leaves less margin for drops. For competitive play on 1440p, Medium is the clear choice.

At 4K, Medium produces 95 FPS average with an 80 FPS minimum. This is playable on a 60 Hz display but may be insufficient for 120 Hz or 144 Hz panels. High at 4K drops to 79 FPS average, which introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues. Ultra at 4K at 61 FPS average is only suitable for slower-paced exploration or when prioritizing image quality over smoothness.

For the best experience, the data supports using Medium at all resolutions. The minimum FPS figures for Medium are consistently higher than the average FPS of the next-higher preset, indicating that Medium provides a more stable experience than High or Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the scaling behavior of this combo. At Low settings, 1080p produces 356 FPS, while 4K produces 124 FPS — a 65% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 273 FPS to 95 FPS, a 65% reduction as well. High settings drop from 229 FPS to 79 FPS, a 66% reduction. Ultra settings drop from 174 FPS to 61 FPS, a 65% reduction.

The consistency of this ~65% reduction across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU workload does not scale with resolution — the same number of draw calls and game logic operations are processed regardless of pixel count. The RTX 4080's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth determine the 4K frame rate, and the 65% drop is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe. At Low, 356 FPS drops to 230 FPS, a 35% reduction. At Medium, 273 FPS drops to 176 FPS, a 36% reduction. This indicates that at 1440p, the system is still partially CPU-bound, as the frame rate remains high enough that CPU processing time becomes a factor.

The data shows a clear inflection point between 1440p and 4K. At 1440p, the system can still push above 110 FPS even at Ultra, suggesting that neither component is fully saturated. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's contribution to frame rate diminishes. For users with 4K displays, the Medium preset offers the best compromise, while those on 1440p can comfortably use High settings and still maintain frame rates above 144 Hz.