Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a capable but not class-leading experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The combo ranks 1274th out of 1733 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, yet the measured frame rates tell a more nuanced story. At 1080p, this pairing produces excellent results, while at 4K Ultra, it falls below playable thresholds. The data shows a system that is clearly CPU-bottlenecked at lower resolutions and GPU-limited at higher ones, making it a balanced mid-range option for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The chip features a hybrid design with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, which adds flexibility for system builders.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and a single-core score of 4128. Its 3DMark scores scale well from 2065 in the 2-thread test to 9979 in the max-thread test, indicating good scaling across core counts. The Geekbench multi-core score of 13892 and single-core score of 2561 reinforce its position as a solid mid-to-high-end desktop processor. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34404 and single-thread score of 4013 further confirm its balanced capabilities.

For Minimum specifically, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 167.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the dataset. This suggests that at lower graphical loads, the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately, but the frame rate ceiling may be constrained by the processor's capabilities rather than the graphics card. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89th among all processors indicates it sits in the upper tier of tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.3% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-13700T (0.6% lower), showing that the 12700K sits in a tightly contested performance band. The Intel Core i5-14500HX is 0.7% faster, while the Intel Core i7-13800H is 0.8% slower, all within a roughly 1.5% range.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung's 8 nm process, featuring the GA104 chip with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. It includes 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operations pipelines, along with 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1410 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz with a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with FP32 performance rated at 16.20 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s. Its pixel rate is 133.2 GPixel/s, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6. In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU achieves a PassMark G3D score of 20349 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 109075. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 places it in the lower range of modern GPUs, consistent with its end-of-life production status.

For Minimum, the GPU's influence becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 27.5 FPS, indicating the GPU struggles with the highest settings at that resolution. The GPU's percentile ranking of 69th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25120, places it in the mid-range of tested graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (0.2% faster), AMD Radeon RX 6600 (0.5% faster), AMD Radeon 890M (0.5% faster), and AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.7% faster). This clustering suggests the RTX 3060 Ti is performance-competitive with these cards, though the 8 GB VRAM may be a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1274th out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 26th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is lower than the individual component percentiles (89th for CPU, 69th for GPU), which indicates that the pairing is not optimally balanced for this game. The data suggests that other combinations using higher-tier GPUs with this CPU, or vice versa, have achieved better results.

The ranking reflects that while both components are individually competitive within their respective markets, their combined performance in Minimum does not crack the upper tier of the database. The measured frame rates are playable at most settings, but the system is not among the top configurations for this title. The low rank relative to the component percentiles may be attributed to the game's older engine, which may not fully utilize the CPU's multi-threading capabilities or the GPU's modern feature set. The data shows that the combination performs well enough for smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but the rank indicates that many other tested combos deliver higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate is 167.8 FPS, which drops to 132.3 FPS at Medium and 106.8 FPS at High. At Ultra settings, the average is 83.1 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The scaling between settings is consistent, with each step up in quality reducing performance by approximately 25-30%.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid but shows the GPU beginning to become more of a limiting factor. Low settings produce an average of 108 FPS, which falls to 84 FPS at Medium and 72.3 FPS at High. Ultra settings yield 51.3 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS standard for ideal playability. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is approximately 52%, showing that the GPU's workload increases significantly with quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings. Low settings produce an average of 59.8 FPS, which is borderline playable, while Medium drops to 48 FPS. High settings yield 36.4 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 27.5 FPS. These results indicate that the 8 GB VRAM and the GPU's compute capabilities are insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay in Minimum, particularly at High and Ultra settings where the frame rate falls below typical playability thresholds.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K in Minimum?

A: No, the data shows that at 3840x2160, even Low settings produce only 59.8 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 48 FPS, High to 36.4 FPS, and Ultra to 27.5 FPS. To maintain 60 FPS at 4K, the system would need to run below Low settings, which is not a standard option in the dataset.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: The safest options are 1080p Ultra at 83.1 FPS or 1440p High at 72.3 FPS, both of which provide frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. For higher refresh rate displays, 1080p Low delivers 167.8 FPS, which is suitable for 144 Hz monitors.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T, 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-14500HX, and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-13800H. These differences are minimal, indicating the 12700K is closely matched with these alternatives.

Q: How does the GPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120. It is 0.2% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600, 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon 890M, and 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP. All these GPUs are within a 0.7% performance band.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Minimum at high resolutions?

A: The data suggests that 8 GB is insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay, as High settings at 3840x2160 produce only 36.4 FPS and Ultra drops to 27.5 FPS. At 1440p and 1080p, the VRAM appears adequate, with playable frame rates at all settings tested.

Q: What percentile does this system's components rank in compared to all tested hardware?

A: The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 69th percentile among all GPUs. However, the combined system ranks 1274th out of 1733 combos, which is roughly the 26th percentile, indicating the pairing is less efficient than the individual component rankings suggest.