Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that still gets played today, and this pairing of an Intel Core i7-12700K with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on how you configure it. The measured results show a system that is clearly capable of high refresh rate play at lower resolutions, but one that starts to show its age when pushing 4K panels with maxed-out settings. The data points to a classic bottleneck scenario where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, leaving the CPU with plenty of headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling lives in this combo. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system averages 124 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 80 FPS, a reduction of 44 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 43 FPS, which is roughly a 65% loss from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is a textbook sign of GPU limitation; the GTX 1080 Ti is being saturated by the increasing pixel count, while the i7-12700K is not the constraint.

Looking at the Low preset across all three resolutions reinforces this. At 1080p Low, the system hits 192 FPS. At 1440p Low, it still manages 124 FPS. At 4K Low, it drops to 67 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K on Low is 125 FPS, which is a massive hit. Even with the lowest graphical load, the 4K resolution alone is enough to cripple the frame rate, proving that the GPU's pixel throughput is the hard wall here. The CPU is not even close to being the limiting factor, as evidenced by the high frame rates at lower resolutions where the CPU would typically bottleneck a weaker processor.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend with more granular data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium are particularly telling, as they dip to 43 FPS, which is the same as the 4K High average. This suggests that even at Medium settings, the GPU is consistently hitting its limits, causing frame time spikes that push the minimums down.

Ultra settings are brutal at higher resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the system averages 94 FPS, which is still playable but a significant drop from the 124 FPS High preset. At 1440p Ultra, the average falls to 61 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the system only manages 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced shooter. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K is a 10 FPS drop, while at 1080p it is a 30 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU is already so saturated at 4K that the additional settings have less relative impact, but the absolute result is still poor.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1440p High, the 80 FPS average is solid, and at 1080p High, the 124 FPS average is excellent for competitive play. The 4K results, across all settings, show that the GTX 1080 Ti is simply out of its depth for this title at that resolution, with only the Low preset yielding a playable 67 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It features a 25 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 19,784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,850.5 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 15,790 and a single-core score of 2,308. These numbers place it in the 84th percentile versus all CPUs, indicating strong performance.

However, for a game from 2014 like Minimum, the CPU is rarely the bottleneck. The frame rates at 1080p Low, which hit 192 FPS, demonstrate that the CPU can feed the GPU far more frames than the GPU can render. Even at 4K Low, where the GPU is struggling, the CPU is still not the limiting factor; the 67 FPS result is far below what the i7-12700K is capable of pushing. The game's age means it is likely single-thread or lightly-threaded, and the i7-12700K's single-core performance is more than sufficient.

The nearest rivals for the CPU, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Core i5-13600T, the Intel Core i7-12700KF, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, all within a 0.4% delta of the i7-12700K's average score of 35,287. This shows that the CPU is in a packed performance tier, but its role in this specific game is secondary. The data suggests that any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, as the GPU is the clear constraint. The CPU's 20 threads and high boost clock are simply not being taxed by this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the star of this show, but for all the wrong reasons at 4K. It has 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, providing 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1481 MHz with a boost of 1582 MHz, and it packs 3584 shading units. The GPU's TDP is 250 W, and it is a dual-slot card. In synthetic tests, it scores 18,600 in Passmark G3D and 11.34 TFLOPS in FP32, placing it in the 58th percentile versus all GPUs.

The GPU's performance in Minimum is directly tied to resolution. At 1080p, it delivers high frame rates, but at 4K, it collapses. The 11 GB VRAM is not the issue; the game is not likely to consume that much at these settings. The problem is the raw pixel fill rate and shading power. The GTX 1080 Ti's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon R9 M380 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, with deltas of 0.2% and 1.7% respectively. This shows that the GTX 1080 Ti is still a relevant GPU on paper, but its architecture from 2017 is lacking modern features that could help with newer titles, though that is not a factor here.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the 33 FPS average is a clear sign of GPU saturation. Even at 4K Low, the 67 FPS average is only 35% of the 1080p Low result of 192 FPS. This is not a CPU issue; it is purely the GPU's inability to process the 8.3 million pixels per frame at high speed. The GTX 1080 Ti is a capable card for 1080p and 1440p, but for 4K in this game, the data suggests it is only suitable for Low settings if you want a playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 2082 out of 3712 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings. The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU's age; many newer budget cards would likely outperform it in this title. However, the rank is not a complete indictment, as the combo still delivers strong performance at 1080p and 1440p.

The combo rank of 2082 out of 3712 means that roughly 56% of tested combos perform better. This is a direct result of the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. If the ranking were based solely on 1080p performance, this combo would likely rank much higher, as the CPU is top-tier and the GPU is still solid for that resolution. The data shows that the combo is held back by the GPU, and any upgrade path would involve replacing the GTX 1080 Ti first.

The percentile rankings of the individual components confirm this. The CPU is in the 84th percentile, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile. This mismatch is the root cause of the combo's mid-tier rank. The CPU is overkill for the GPU's capabilities in this game, meaning the system is unbalanced. Users with this combo should prioritize a GPU upgrade to unlock the CPU's full potential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with High settings, which yields an average of 124 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that is ideal for a third-person shooter. The High preset is recommended over Ultra, as the jump from High to Ultra only gains visual fidelity but drops the frame rate by 30 FPS to 94 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 147 FPS, which is higher, but the visual trade-off may not be worth the extra 23 FPS.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, delivering an 80 FPS average. This is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 95 FPS, which is better, but again, the visual quality difference is subjective. Ultra at 1440p is not recommended, as it drops to 61 FPS, which is borderline for a fast-paced game.

At 4K, the data is less encouraging. The only playable option is the Low preset, which averages 67 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 51 FPS, which is below ideal, and High and Ultra are not recommended due to 43 FPS and 33 FPS averages respectively. For the best overall experience, 1080p High is the clear winner, providing the best balance of visual quality and performance. If you must play at 4K, stick to Low settings and accept the lower visual fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo?

A: The best measured experience is at 1920x1080 with High settings, producing an average of 124 FPS. For 1440p, High settings at 80 FPS is the recommended option. At 4K, only Low settings provide a playable 67 FPS average.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 192 FPS, showing the CPU is not limiting. At 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 67 FPS, a 125 FPS reduction, which is entirely attributable to the GTX 1080 Ti's pixel throughput.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2082 out of 3712 tested combinations. The CPU is in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile, indicating the GPU is the weaker link.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p Medium?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS.

Q: Is the GTX 1080 Ti's 11 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the 11 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient, as the performance drops at 4K are due to the GPU's compute and pixel fill rate, not memory capacity. The game is from 2014 and is unlikely to require that much memory.

Q: What are the CPU's nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The closest rivals are the Intel Core i5-13600T, the Intel Core i7-12700KF, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, all with average scores within a 0.4% delta of the i7-12700K's 35,287 average.