Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Minimum with the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 show a predictable yet revealing scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 229 at 1080p to 148 at 1440p, a 35.4% reduction, and then further to 79 at 4K, representing a 46.6% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that at 4K, the RTX 4080 is becoming the primary limiting factor, as the pixel throughput demand begins to outpace what the GPU can render.

The Low settings data tells a more interesting story about the CPU's headroom. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 356 FPS, which drops to 230 at 1440p and 124 at 4K. The 1080p Low result is exceptionally high, suggesting that at this resolution and setting level, the system is likely hitting engine-level frame caps or CPU-bound scenarios rather than GPU limits. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 356 FPS while 1080p High achieves 229 FPS — a 55.5% gap — reveals that the i7-12700K has enough processing power to feed the RTX 4080 at lower resolutions, but the GPU's rendering load at higher settings constrains the output.

Medium settings provide the most complete dataset, including minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 313. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 176 FPS with min/max of 149/202. At 4K Medium, the average is 95 FPS with min/max of 80/109. The consistent delta between average and minimum across resolutions — roughly 15-18% — indicates stable frame pacing without severe hitches. The scaling from 273 to 176 to 95 represents a 35.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46.0% drop from 1440p to 4K, nearly identical percentage reductions as seen at High settings.

Ultra settings yield the lowest frame rates, with 174 FPS at 1080p, 112 at 1440p, and 61 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 61 FPS is close to the 60 FPS threshold commonly used as a playability baseline, but it stays above it. The scaling pattern across all settings suggests that Minimum is heavily GPU-bound at 4K regardless of quality preset, while at 1080p, the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads can maintain very high frame rates even at Ultra settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 246 out of 3712 tested combinations in Minimum. This places the pairing in the top 6.6% of all tested system configurations, a strong showing for a game released in 2014 that is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The percentile ranking of 84 for the CPU and 86 for the GPU independently confirms that both components sit well above the median of their respective product categories.

The CPU's nearest rival comparisons show remarkably tight clustering. The i7-12700K scores an average benchmark of 35287, sitting just 0.1% below the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305), 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-12700KF (35365), 0.3% below the Intel Core i7-13700T (35403), and 0.4% below the Intel Core 5 213PE (35428). These sub-1% deltas indicate that in synthetic workloads, the i7-12700K is effectively performance-equivalent to several newer and differently-tiered processors. For Minimum specifically, this means the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most scenarios, as even a 0.4% difference in theoretical compute capacity would translate to a negligible frame rate impact.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 places it 0.1% above the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209), 1.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828), 2.6% above the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698), and 2.7% above the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757). Interestingly, the higher average scores for the AMD cards indicate they outperform the RTX 4080 in aggregate benchmarks, yet the RTX 4080's measured performance in Minimum at 4K Ultra (61 FPS) demonstrates that raw synthetic scores do not always predict gaming results. The rank of 246 out of 3712 confirms that this specific CPU-GPU pairing is well-balanced for Minimum, with neither component dragging the other down significantly.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra in Minimum?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 61, which sits just above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only 4K preset that dips close to the line; High settings at 4K produce 79 FPS, Medium yields 95 FPS, and Low achieves 124 FPS.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low?

A: At 1080p, the jump is from 174 FPS at Ultra to 356 FPS at Low, a 104.6% improvement. At 1440p, the gain is from 112 to 230 FPS (105.4% faster). At 4K, the improvement is from 61 to 124 FPS, a 103.3% increase. Lowering settings roughly doubles frame rates across all resolutions.

Q: What is the frame pacing like at Medium settings?

A: The dataset includes min/max values only for Medium presets. At 1080p, the range is 232 to 313 FPS (average 273). At 1440p, the range is 149 to 202 FPS (average 176). At 4K, the range is 80 to 109 FPS (average 95). The gap between min and average represents roughly 15-17% of the average, indicating consistent frame delivery.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck this game at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU becomes the limiter even at 1080p. At Low settings, the combo reaches 356 FPS, which is exceptionally high but still not reaching the theoretical maximum the CPU could drive. At High settings, the 229 FPS result versus the Low's 356 FPS shows a 55.5% performance drop purely from increased GPU load, confirming the RTX 4080 is the constraining component even at 1080p.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in synthetic tests?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209), but 1.1% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828), 2.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698), and 2.7% lower than the AMD Radeon 8060S (55757). Despite these aggregate deltas, the measured in-game performance for Minimum shows the RTX 4080 delivering playable frame rates at all tested configurations.

Q: What does the combo rank of 246 out of 3712 mean for real-world usage?

A: This rank places the i7-12700K + RTX 4080 combination in the top 6.6% of all tested system configurations for Minimum. Given the game's 2014 release date, this pairing is substantially overqualified for the title, as evidenced by the ability to exceed 350 FPS at 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target display resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering an average of 95 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS. This ensures no drops below the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality above Low. High settings at 4K produce 79 FPS average, which is also acceptable for 60 Hz displays but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 4K should only be considered if a 60 Hz display is the target and minor fluctuations are tolerable, as the 61 FPS average offers minimal margin.

For 1440p users, High settings are the clear recommendation. The 148 FPS average comfortably exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate commonly found on 1440p monitors, and the visual uplift over Medium (176 FPS average) is substantial for only a 15.9% frame rate cost. Ultra at 1440p delivers 112 FPS, which is still above 100 FPS and suitable for high-refresh displays, but the trade-off in visual fidelity versus the 176 FPS Medium result is more difficult to justify unless image quality is the top priority.

At 1080p, all settings produce playable frame rates, but High settings at 229 FPS offer the best compromise. Low settings reach 356 FPS, which is only useful for competitive play on 360 Hz panels, while Ultra at 174 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most 1080p gaming monitors. The Medium preset's 273 FPS with a 232 FPS minimum provides a consistent experience for high-refresh displays, but the visual degradation from High is noticeable in a third-person shooter where environmental detail matters. The recommendation is High for 1080p unless the user has a 360 Hz display, in which case Low becomes viable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings spectrum shows the combo's range. Low settings produce an average of 356 FPS, Medium delivers 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 313, High achieves 229 FPS, and Ultra reaches 174 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 51.1% reduction in average frame rate, from 356 down to 174 FPS. The Medium preset's min/max values indicate a 81 FPS spread between the slowest and fastest frames, which is proportionally smaller than the 41 FPS spread at 1440p Medium (149 to 202) when normalized to the average.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 230 FPS at Low, 176 FPS at Medium (min 149, max 202), 148 FPS at High, and 112 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 51.3% reduction, almost identical to the 1080p scaling. The High preset's 148 FPS is notable for being just above the 144 Hz threshold, meaning a 1440p 144 Hz monitor would be fully saturated at High settings with no frame rate drops below the refresh rate. Ultra at 112 FPS falls short of 144 Hz but remains smooth on 120 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the most dramatic scaling. Low settings average 124 FPS, Medium averages 95 FPS (min 80, max 109), High averages 79 FPS, and Ultra averages 61 FPS. The 4K Medium min of 80 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum across all configurations, but it remains comfortably above 60 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is a 50.8% reduction, consistent with the other resolutions. Notably, the 4K High result of 79 FPS is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra result of 112 FPS in terms of percentage reduction from the respective Low preset, suggesting the GPU's scaling behavior is resolution-independent.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides 12 cores and 20 threads, a configuration that is substantially over-provisioned for a game released in 2014. The processor's architecture is Alder Lake, built on Intel's 10 nm process, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. This memory hierarchy is designed to feed the GPU at high frame rates without introducing CPU-side bottlenecks.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700K scores 19784 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1850.5 in single-core, while Geekbench results show 15790 multi-core and 2308 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score of 34404 and single-thread score of 4013 further quantify the CPU's capability. The 3DMark scores are particularly relevant for gaming analysis: 9276 for 16 threads, 9979 for max threads, and 1043 for single thread. These numbers indicate that even at single-threaded workloads, the i7-12700K has sufficient power to drive high frame rates.

The measured FPS data in Minimum suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings combination. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 356 FPS, which approaches the practical limits of most game engines and display technologies. The fact that this is the highest recorded result across all configs indicates the CPU can sustain frame delivery beyond what most users can display. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides the single-thread performance necessary for Minimum's game logic and physics, while the 12 cores handle background tasks and streaming without competing for rendering resources.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 84 puts it above 84% of all tested processors, and its average benchmark score of 35287 places it within 0.4% of its nearest rivals. This proximity to newer processors like the i5-13600T and i7-13700T confirms that the i7-12700K remains competitive for gaming workloads. The 125 W TDP and Socket 1700 compatibility indicate it is a mainstream desktop part, but its performance in Minimum demonstrates that it can sustain the RTX 4080's output without becoming a bottleneck, even at the extreme frame rates seen at 1080p Low.