Minimum

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 lands at rank 583 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top third of all configurations benchmarked. This is a solid mid-to-upper tier position, though not a top performer, and the data suggests the pairing is well-balanced for this title rather than exceptional at any single task.

What makes this rank interesting is the delta between the two components' individual standings. The CPU sits in the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU reaches the 79th percentile among all graphics cards. The combo rank of 583/1733 (roughly the 66th percentile) sits below what either component achieves individually, hinting that the game may not fully leverage the hardware's theoretical strengths. This is a game released in 2014, and its engine likely favors certain architectural traits that neither component perfectly matches.

The measured frames per second tell a story of a pairing that can handle 1440p with ease but starts to strain at 4K on higher presets. At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional headroom for high-refresh displays, while at 4K Ultra, it dips to levels that would require compromises. This rank reflects a configuration that is capable but not dominant, leaving room for higher-tier combos to pull ahead in the most demanding scenarios.

# FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p compared to 4K?

A: The measured data shows a massive scaling range. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 263.4 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 46.1 FPS. This represents a difference of approximately 217 FPS, or roughly 82% lower performance at 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Low.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 130.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High follows at 107.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 83.7 FPS. Low reaches 168.7 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. Medium appears to be the sweet spot for balancing frame rate and visual fidelity.

Q: Is this CPU or GPU bottlenecked at 4K?

A: The data suggests a GPU limitation at 4K. From 1440p to 2160p at High settings, performance drops from 107.4 FPS to 56.7 FPS, a reduction of roughly 47%. This steep decline with increasing resolution indicates the Radeon RX 9070's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, rather than the Core i7-12700K's processing power.

Q: How does the Core i7-12700K compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 35684 is remarkably close to its rivals. It sits 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T, 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-14500HX, and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13800H. These sub-1% deltas indicate near-identical performance among these processors.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 120 FPS. Low averages 263.4 FPS, Medium 198.6 FPS, High 167.8 FPS, and Ultra 126.8 FPS. Even at Ultra, the combo maintains a frame rate suitable for high-refresh displays.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark standing reflect its in-game performance?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 ranks in the 79th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA A2 at 0.2% higher score, the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 at 0.3% lower, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at 0.7% lower, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 0.8% lower. The in-game results show it handling 1440p High at 107.4 FPS, which aligns with its mid-to-high tier positioning.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU dependency. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 167.8 FPS to 107.4 FPS, a reduction of 60.4 FPS or roughly 36%. This is a significant decline that points to the rendering pipeline becoming more demanding as pixel count increases.

The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings is even steeper: 107.4 FPS falls to 56.7 FPS, a 50.7 FPS drop or approximately 47%. This near-halving of performance with a doubling of pixel count strongly indicates the AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, are not being taxed to the same degree.

At Low settings, the scaling is more forgiving: 263.4 FPS at 1080p drops to 168.7 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction) and then to 90.6 FPS at 4K (46% reduction). The pattern holds across all presets, confirming that resolution scaling is the dominant factor in performance degradation. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling strain, with 126.8 FPS at 1080p falling to 46.1 FPS at 4K, a 64% reduction that underscores the GPU's limits when pushed to maximum detail at high pixel counts.

This scaling behavior suggests that for 4K gaming, users would need to accept lower presets or rely on the GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory to maintain playable frame rates. At 1080p, however, the combo has ample headroom across every preset, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh competitive play.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 263.4 FPS, Medium reaches 198.6 FPS, High hits 167.8 FPS, and Ultra holds at 126.8 FPS. These figures demonstrate that at 1080p, every preset is comfortably above the 120 FPS mark, with Low exceeding 240 FPS for maximum refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low averages 168.7 FPS, Medium drops to 130.7 FPS, High settles at 107.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 83.7 FPS. All presets maintain at least 80 FPS, making 1440p a viable resolution for this combo across the board, though Ultra dips close to the 60 FPS comfort zone.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings manage 90.6 FPS, Medium drops to 73.1 FPS, High falls to 56.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 46.1 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is possible but requires lower presets to maintain smooth performance. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 44.5 FPS, showing the significant impact of visual fidelity settings on this resolution.

The progression from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings illustrates the scaling: 198.6 FPS to 130.7 FPS to 73.1 FPS. This represents a 63% total reduction from 1080p to 4K, with each resolution step costing roughly 30-40% performance. The consistency of these drops across presets suggests a predictable performance envelope for this combo.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 12 cores and 20 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, reflected in the 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4128. These figures indicate the CPU can handle the game's main thread demands efficiently.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are equally impressive, with Cinebench R23 multicore scoring 29241 and Geekbench multicore reaching 13892. This headroom means that in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor at any resolution. The game's age suggests it was designed for far less capable processors, making the i7-12700K over-provisioned for this title.

The 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide ample data locality for game assets, while the 10 nm process node and 125 W TDP indicate efficient power delivery. The CPU's percentile standing of 89 among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35684, places it firmly in high-performance territory. Its nearest rivals show deltas under 1%, meaning the i7-12700K's performance is tightly clustered with several other high-end processors.

For this game, the CPU's role appears to be ensuring consistent frame pacing and avoiding bottlenecks even at 1080p Low where the GPU pushes 263.4 FPS. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and max-thread score of 9979 suggest the CPU has ample parallel processing capability to feed the GPU at high frame rates without introducing stutter or frame drops.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset varies by resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra is the clear recommendation, delivering 126.8 FPS while providing maximum visual quality. This frame rate exceeds the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh displays, making Ultra the best choice for 1080p gaming without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, Medium emerges as the sweet spot at 130.7 FPS, offering a balance between visual fidelity and performance. High at 107.4 FPS is also viable, but Medium provides additional headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 83.7 FPS is playable but leaves less margin, making Medium the safer choice for consistent frame rates.

For 3840x2160, the data points to Low as the only preset that maintains a comfortable frame rate above 90 FPS. Medium at 73.1 FPS is adequate for slower-paced gameplay, but Low at 90.6 FPS provides better responsiveness. High at 56.7 FPS and Ultra at 46.1 FPS fall below ideal thresholds for smooth gameplay, making them less suitable for 4K.

The frame rate deltas between presets are consistent: at 1080p, the gap from Low to Ultra is 136.6 FPS; at 1440p, it is 85 FPS; at 4K, it narrows to 44.5 FPS. This pattern indicates that higher resolutions compress the performance differences between presets, meaning the GPU becomes the dominant factor. For users prioritizing frame rate, Low or Medium at 4K is recommended, while 1080p users can maximize visual quality without compromise.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, is the determining factor for high-resolution performance in this combo. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for 4K textures but not for maintaining high frame rates at maximum detail. The base clock of 1330 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz, deliver substantial compute throughput.

The GPU's 3584 shading units and 128 ROPs contribute to its 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, yet the 4K Ultra result of 46.1 FPS shows the limits of this architecture for demanding titles at high resolutions. The 53,900 million transistors on a 4 nm process node from TSMC represent a modern, efficient design, but the game's engine apparently does not scale perfectly with this hardware.

The GPU's benchmark standing shows it in the 79th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 34780. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA A2 at 0.2% higher, the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 at 0.3% lower, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 at 0.7% lower, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 0.8% lower. These tight margins indicate the RX 9070 sits in a competitive cluster of GPUs, though its in-game performance at 4K suggests the architecture's strengths are better suited to lower resolutions.

The GPU's 220 W TDP and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provide ample bandwidth for data transfer, while its DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques. However, the measured results show that at 1080p, the GPU keeps pace with the CPU's capabilities, while at 4K, it becomes the clear bottleneck, dropping from 167.8 FPS at 1080p High to 56.7 FPS at 4K High. This 66% reduction underlines the GPU's role as the primary constraint for high-resolution gaming in this configuration.