Minimum

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers an average of 128.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in multi-threaded performance?

A: The Core i5-14600KF scores 32,889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, placing it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 49,166 in average benchmark score. It also sits 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity?

A: The RTX 3080 features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1188 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective.

Q: At which resolution does the combo achieve the highest frame rate?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 269.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is significantly higher than the 4K Low result of 90.6 FPS.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination ranks 550th out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top third of all configurations.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock and core configuration?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It uses a 10 nm process and a 125 W TDP.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear tiered progression across settings presets at every resolution. For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, High settings provide the most compelling experience. At 1080p, High delivers 172.2 FPS average, which is 43.7 FPS below Low but 43.7 FPS above Ultra. At 1440p, High hits 107.4 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 82.1 FPS and Medium sits at 134.1 FPS.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. High settings yield 56.4 FPS average, which is marginally below the 60 FPS target but still playable for a third-person shooter. Medium at 68.4 FPS is the only 4K preset above 60 FPS besides Low, making it the recommended option for 4K displays if visual quality matters. Low at 4K produces 90.6 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial. Ultra at 4K falls to 43.7 FPS, which is below acceptable smoothness for the genre.

The data indicates that High is the sweet spot across all resolutions: it offers the largest frame rate jump over Ultra (from 128.5 to 172.2 at 1080p, a 34% increase) while retaining most visual quality. For competitive play, Low at 1080p provides the highest possible frame rate at 269.4 FPS, but this is unnecessary for a title like Minimum where 144 Hz displays are already saturated by High settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Minimum, evidenced by the frame rate scaling across settings. The GPU's 10 GB GDDR6X memory with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is ample for this 2014 title, even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 43.7. The GA102 chip with 8,704 shading units and 68 RT cores provides substantial raw compute, with FP32 performance rated at 29.77 TFLOPS.

The GPU's boost clock of 1710 MHz (base 1440 MHz) is relatively modest for the 30-series, but the 320-bit memory bus and high bandwidth compensate. At 1080p, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor when moving from Low to Ultra: frame rates drop from 269.4 to 128.5, a 52% reduction. This indicates the RTX 3080 is fully utilized at all presets, with no CPU bottleneck visible at lower resolutions.

The RTX 3080's percentile ranking of 80 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787, places it near the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 36,101 (a -0.9% delta). The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures full compatibility with modern rendering techniques, though Minimum's age means these features are not heavily exercised. The 320 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a high-power part, but the data shows it delivers accordingly.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 550th out of 1,733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the 68th percentile of all tested systems. This is a strong result, given that the RTX 3080 is now end-of-life and the Core i5-14600KF is a mid-range 14th-gen part. The ranking reflects the GPU's high compute capability relative to other tested configurations, particularly in a game that scales well with GPU power.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 93, meaning it outperforms 93% of all processors in general benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 49,367 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600K (49,166, deltaPct 0.4%) and the AMD EPYC 4345P (49,595, deltaPct -0.5%). This suggests the CPU is not holding back the GPU in Minimum, as the game's frame rates are consistently high across resolutions.

The combo rank of 550 out of 1,733 is respectable but not elite, reflecting that many higher-tier GPUs (e.g., RTX 4090, RX 7900 XTX) and newer CPUs exist in the database. However, for a 2020 GPU and 2023 CPU, the performance in Minimum is well above the median combo, as evidenced by the 1080p High result of 172.2 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides 14 cores (6 performance + 8 efficiency) and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This is a high-frequency design on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on a 10 nm process. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and single-core score of 4,643 indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, which is relevant for Minimum's engine.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low, the CPU must keep up with the GPU's 269.4 FPS output. The data shows that the i5-14600KF is sufficient: the 1080p Low result is the highest in the entire measured set, suggesting no CPU bottleneck. The CPU's 24 MB L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) provide adequate memory bandwidth for the GPU to feed.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 49,367 (0.4% above the i5-14600K) confirm it is a top-tier gaming processor. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow for overclocking, but the measured results already show excellent frame rates. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, scores 49,062 (0.6% lower), indicating the i5-14600KF is competitive with a high-end 16-core part in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS: Low 269.4, Medium 206.8, High 172.2, Ultra 128.5. The spread from Low to Ultra is 140.9 FPS, with each step up in settings costing roughly 40-50 FPS. The Ultra preset still maintains a high 128.5 FPS, well above refresh rates of most monitors.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 174.9, Medium 134.1, High 107.4, Ultra 82.1. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets: Low loses 35%, Medium 35%, High 38%, Ultra 36%. This uniform scaling indicates GPU-bound behavior, as the resolution increase proportionally reduces frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 90.6, Medium 68.4, High 56.4, Ultra 43.7. The 4K results show a more pronounced drop: Low loses 48% compared to 1440p, while Ultra loses 47%. The High preset at 4K falls below 60 FPS, making Medium the minimum recommended preset for 4K gaming. The Ultra preset's 43.7 FPS is borderline playable but not ideal for a shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and predictable. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 269.4 at 1080p to 174.9 at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 90.6 at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). At Ultra settings, the progression is 128.5 → 82.1 → 43.7, with similar percentage drops of 36% and 47% respectively.

This pattern reveals that the GPU is the primary limiting component across all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect smaller FPS differences between resolutions, especially at Low settings where CPU load is relatively higher. Instead, the consistent 35-48% drops per resolution step indicate the RTX 3080's rendering throughput is the constraint.

The 4K Ultra result of 43.7 FPS is particularly telling: it demonstrates that even a high-end GPU like the RTX 3080 cannot maintain smooth frame rates at maximum settings in 4K for this title. The 760.3 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB VRAM are sufficient, but the sheer pixel count overwhelms the shading units. Conversely, the 1080p Low result of 269.4 FPS shows the combo's ceiling, where the CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock and 20 threads are more than enough to feed the GPU.