Minimum

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT delivers a solid, predictable experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that still demands modern hardware at high settings. The measured data shows this combination ranks 856th out of 1733 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of systems, which aligns with the CPU’s 89th percentile and GPU’s 79th percentile standings. This is a balanced pairing where neither component is an obvious bottleneck at most resolutions, though the gap between Low and Ultra settings reveals where the GPU starts to struggle.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly GPU-bound. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 138.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 89.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35.5% reduction, then further to 49.5 FPS at 3840x2160, which is nearly half of the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that the RX 6750 XT is the limiting factor as pixel count rises, with the i7-12700K’s strong single-thread performance (1043 in 3dmark_single_thread) having plenty of headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 214.6 FPS at 1080p drops to 139.3 FPS at 1440p and then to 75.4 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Low result is so high that it approaches the CPU’s practical ceiling, as the 12-core, 20-thread processor with a 5.00 GHz boost clock can only generate so many draw calls per second. The data suggests that at 1080p Low, you are nearing CPU limits, but at 4K, the GPU’s 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.31 TFLOPS of compute are what cap performance.

Ultra settings expose the GPU’s strain most clearly. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 104.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33.7 FPS — a 67.8% drop. This is a classic sign of a GPU that has enough raw power for 1440p but runs out of fillrate and shading capacity at 4K with maxed effects. The 64 ROPs and 416.0 GTexel/s texture rate are simply insufficient for 8.3 million pixels at Ultra quality.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Minimum?*

A: The sweet spot is 2560x1440 at High settings, where the system delivers 89.1 FPS. This resolution balances the GPU’s workload against the CPU’s ability to feed it, offering a smooth experience without dropping below 60 FPS.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 75.4 FPS. At Medium (54.8 FPS) and High (49.5 FPS) it falls below 60 FPS, and at Ultra it drops to 33.7 FPS, which is not playable for most users.

Q: How much performance does the RX 6750 XT lose when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 138.2 to 49.5, a 64.2% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 214.6 to 75.4, a 64.9% reduction, showing that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of quality preset.

Q: Is the i7-12700K holding back the RX 6750 XT?

A: Only at 1080p Low, where 214.6 FPS approaches the CPU’s limits. At higher resolutions and settings, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the large FPS gaps between presets at 4K.

Q: What preset should be avoided at all resolutions?

A: Ultra is problematic at 1440p (66.3 FPS) and 4K (33.7 FPS). Even at 1080p, Ultra drops to 104.8 FPS, which is lower than High at 1440p (89.1 FPS) but still playable.

Q: How does this combo compare to the nearest rivals?

A: The CPU scores 35684 on average, sitting between the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802, -0.3%) and Intel Core i7-13700T (35468, +0.6%). The GPU’s 35327 average is just above the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (35264, +0.2%) but below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (35787, -1.3%).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake-S processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show exceptional single-thread performance (4128 in Cinebench R23 single-core, 1043 in 3dmark_single_thread), which is critical for Minimum’s game logic and draw call processing. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 2065 indicates that even with just two threads, this CPU can handle most real-time game workloads without issue.

In this game, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system hits 214.6 FPS. This is a scenario where the GPU is barely stressed, and the CPU’s ability to process frames quickly becomes the limiting factor. The 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help keep frequently accessed data close, reducing latency that could otherwise throttle frame generation.

The processor’s 3dmark_8_threads score of 7202 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 9979 show that it scales well with additional threads, but Minimum likely doesn’t need all 20 threads. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 confirms this CPU is far more capable than what a 2014 shooter requires, so you will never see the CPU as a bottleneck in normal gameplay, except at very high FPS at 1080p. Compared to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, the i7-12700K is only 0.3% slower on average, making the choice between them irrelevant for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 214.6 FPS at Low, 165.0 FPS at Medium, 138.2 FPS at High, and 104.8 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 51.2% reduction, indicating that even at 1080p, the GPU’s shading units and texture units are doing significant work. The 1080p Medium result of 165.0 FPS is particularly strong, offering a 26.9% improvement over High while maintaining visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 139.3 FPS at Low, 103.9 FPS at Medium, 89.1 FPS at High, and 66.3 FPS at Ultra. The delta between High and Ultra here is 22.8 FPS (25.6% drop), which is more pronounced than at 1080p, showing that the GPU’s 192-bit memory bus and 12 GB GDDR6 are being taxed by the higher pixel count. The 1440p Low result of 139.3 FPS is still very playable and matches the 1080p High result almost exactly, suggesting that resolution scaling is consistent.

At 3840x2160, the numbers plummet: 75.4 FPS at Low, 54.8 FPS at Medium, 49.5 FPS at High, and 33.7 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 20.6 FPS (27.3% drop), and between Medium and High it’s 5.3 FPS (9.7%), showing diminishing returns as settings rise. The 4K Ultra result of 33.7 FPS is below the 30 FPS threshold for playability and is a clear indication that this GPU is not designed for maxed-out 4K in modern titles, even older ones like Minimum.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT uses the Navi 22 chip on a 7 nm process, with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2600 MHz and game clock of 2495 MHz allow it to hit 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, but the 192-bit memory bus paired with 12 GB GDDR6 at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is a limiting factor at 4K, where the texture-heavy scenes in Minimum require more data movement than the bus can sustain.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show it is a mid-range performer: 20700 in Passmark G3D, 137249 in Geekbench Metal, and 109310 in Geekbench Vulkan. In Minimum, the GPU’s role is most apparent at 4K, where framerates drop below 60 FPS at High settings (49.5 FPS). The 40 RT cores do not matter here, as this game likely does not use ray tracing, but the 64 ROPs are crucial for pixel fillrate, which is why 4K Ultra (33.7 FPS) is so low.

Compared to its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (which scores 35787, 1.3% higher), the RX 6750 XT is slightly slower on average. However, the RTX 3080 has a 384-bit bus and more memory bandwidth, which would likely improve 4K performance further. The RX 6750 XT’s 79th percentile ranking means it outperforms most GPUs, but in Minimum, the data shows it is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, prioritize 2560x1440 at High settings, which yields 89.1 FPS. This preset provides a good balance of visual fidelity and performance, keeping the framerate well above 60 FPS while maintaining acceptable graphics quality. If you prefer maximum smoothness, switch to 1440p Medium for 103.9 FPS, which is a 16.6% improvement over High with only a minor visual downgrade.

At 1080p, the data suggests using Medium settings for 165.0 FPS if you have a 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitor, as this hits the refresh rate sweet spot. Dropping to Low gives 214.6 FPS, which is overkill unless you are chasing competitive framerates. Avoid Ultra at 1080p unless you have a 100 Hz display, as the 104.8 FPS average is still playable but not worth the extra GPU load.

For 4K, the only viable option is Low settings (75.4 FPS). Medium (54.8 FPS) and High (49.5 FPS) are borderline, but the 20 FPS drop from Low to Medium suggests the GPU is struggling with texture memory. Ultra is completely off the table at 33.7 FPS. If you own a 4K monitor, stick to Low and consider lowering resolution scaling if available, as the RX 6750 XT’s 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are not enough for high-quality 4K in Minimum.