Minimum

The data for Minimum with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER reveals a pairing that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly CPU-limited at 1080p. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth, is a formidable piece of hardware for a 2014 title, and the benchmark results show a system capable of delivering extremely high frame rates, though the scaling pattern suggests some interesting bottlenecks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for the highest frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces the highest average FPS at 260.2. For a balance of visual quality and speed, 2560x1440 on High settings still delivers 135.5 FPS, while 4K on High provides a solid 72.5 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K?

A: The drop is significant. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 210.6 at 1920x1080 to 72.5 at 3840x2160, representing a roughly 65% reduction in frame rate. This indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: Yes, the evidence points to a CPU limitation at 1920x1080. The frame rate difference between Low (260.2 FPS) and High (210.6 FPS) at 1080p is much smaller than the difference at 4K, where Low (114.9 FPS) is nearly double High (72.5 FPS). This suggests the CPU is capping performance when the GPU load is low.

Q: Which graphics settings preset provides the best overall experience?

A: The Medium preset appears to be a strong middle-ground option. At 2560x1440, it achieves 159.7 FPS, which is a substantial jump from the 105.3 FPS of Ultra. At 1920x1080, Medium hits 234.7 FPS, offering a significant boost over Ultra's 159.7 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 48704. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which has an average score of 49071, putting the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 0.7% behind it. It is also 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A2000.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 279th out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 16% of all configurations tested for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the clear workhorse in this configuration. Its specifications are substantial: it is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features a chip with 45,900 million transistors. The memory subsystem is particularly noteworthy, with 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. This is a massive amount of memory and bandwidth for a game from 2014, which explains the high frame rates even at demanding settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a key factor. With a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, it maintains high throughput. The data shows the GPU's raw compute power is more than sufficient for Minimum. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 55.1, which is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire dataset. This indicates that even this powerful GPU can be brought to its knees by pushing everything to the maximum at 4K. However, the score of 31811 in Passmark G3D and the 86th percentile ranking against all GPUs underscore its high-end position, making it capable of handling the game with ease at lower settings.

The GPU's performance scaling is telling. When moving from Low to Ultra at 4K, the frame rate drops from 114.9 to 55.1, a 52% reduction. This steep decline shows that the GPU is directly responsible for the rendering workload at this resolution. The benchmark results suggest that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is not just capable but overqualified for most settings in Minimum, except for the most extreme 4K Ultra scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on this system is pronounced and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is from 260.2 to 159.7 FPS. This is a 100.5 FPS spread. At 3840x2160, the same settings range yields a spread of 59.8 FPS, from 114.9 on Low to 55.1 on Ultra. The absolute performance drop from 1080p to 4K is massive, but the relative scaling between settings changes.

This behavior suggests a shift in the limiting factor. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, so increasing settings from Low to Ultra does not cause a proportional drop in FPS because the CPU is likely holding things back. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The workload increases so much that the CPU has ample time to keep up, and the FPS is now directly tied to the GPU's rendering capabilities. For instance, at 4K, High settings (72.5 FPS) are nearly double the speed of Ultra (55.1 FPS), showing a clear GPU-driven performance cliff.

The data implies that for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the i5-9400 will prevent the system from reaching its full potential. The frame rates are high, but they are not scaling with the GPU's power as they do at 1440p. At 2560x1440, the scaling looks more balanced, with a 104.3 FPS difference between Low (209.6) and Ultra (105.3), suggesting the GPU is starting to do more of the heavy lifting.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 3840x2160, the High preset offers the best balance, delivering 72.5 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play and represents a significant improvement over the 55.1 FPS of Ultra. The Low preset at 4K achieves 114.9 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is likely too severe for a game of this era.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the standout choice. It produces 159.7 FPS, which is a massive jump from the 105.3 FPS of Ultra and is still well above the 135.5 FPS of High. This suggests that Medium provides most of the visual benefits of higher settings without the substantial performance cost. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 210.6 FPS is a strong recommendation. It is a significant step up from Medium's 234.7 FPS in visual quality while still offering an incredibly smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p (159.7 FPS) is also viable, but it is overkill for a game like this and brings the FPS down to the same level as 1440p Medium.

The data indicates that pushing to Ultra is rarely worth it. The performance cost is steep, and the jump from Medium to Ultra often results in a halving of the frame rate. For the best experience, players should prioritize High or Medium settings to maintain high, consistent frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers an average of 72.5 FPS on High, 86.3 FPS on Medium, and 114.9 FPS on Low. The Ultra preset drops to 55.1 FPS, making it the only configuration tested that falls below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance is excellent across the board. The Low preset averages 209.6 FPS, Medium achieves 159.7 FPS, and High reaches 135.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution still manages a very playable 105.3 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its highest numbers. The Low preset averages 260.2 FPS, which is the peak performance in the dataset. Medium hits 234.7 FPS, and High reaches 210.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p matches the 1440p Medium result at 159.7 FPS, highlighting the diminishing returns of Ultra settings. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution drop yields a significant FPS increase, with the gains being most pronounced at lower settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core. These scores are modest by modern standards, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

The benchmark data for Minimum suggests this CPU is the primary limiting factor at 1080p. The evidence is the relatively small FPS gap between Low and High settings at that resolution. If the GPU were the bottleneck, we would expect a much larger difference between these presets. The fact that the 1080p Low (260.2 FPS) and 1080p High (210.6 FPS) are closer together than their 4K counterparts implies the CPU is hitting a performance ceiling.

This is not a major issue for most players, as even 210 FPS is exceptionally smooth. However, it does mean that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is not being fully utilized at 1080p. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, has a nearly identical average benchmark score, differing by only 0.2%. This indicates that the i5-9400 is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not in the same league as the GPU it is paired with. The CPU's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are adequate, but they are not the key to unlocking the GPU's full potential at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a rank of 279 out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 16% of all configurations, which is a strong showing. Given that the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, the combo rank is pulled down somewhat by the CPU's lower 50th-percentile standing.

This ranking suggests that while the system is powerful, it is not an optimal pairing. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is capable of much more, but it is held back by the older i5-9400 in CPU-bound scenarios. For a game like Minimum, which can run at extremely high frame rates, this CPU limitation is more apparent than in a more demanding title. The 279th rank is respectable, but it indicates that many other tested configurations deliver higher frame rates, likely due to more balanced CPU-GPU pairings. The data implies that this combo is great for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the GPU is the primary driver, but it leaves performance on the table for those targeting maximum FPS at 1080p.