Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that remains surprisingly demanding at its highest settings, even for a modern flagship combination. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, based strictly on the provided benchmark data. The dataset includes 12 measured FPS points across four quality presets and three resolutions, offering a clear picture of how this hardware scales. The following sections break down the optimal settings, relative ranking, component roles, and resolution behavior, using only the numbers and specifications supplied in the fact pack.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy in performance across the four available quality presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For this combination, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate depends heavily on the target resolution and display refresh rate, but the numbers point to a consistent recommendation.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 427 FPS, which is exceptionally high. However, the Medium preset still achieves 329 FPS average with a minimum of 280 FPS, providing a substantial upgrade in visual quality for only a 23% reduction in average frame rate compared to Low. The High preset at 276 FPS average remains far above any standard display's refresh rate, while Ultra drops to 210 FPS average. For 1080p users, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it offers significantly better rendering than Medium while still maintaining over 270 FPS, which exceeds the capabilities of all but the most extreme high-refresh monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. The Low preset averages 277 FPS, while Medium averages 212 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS. High averages 178 FPS, and Ultra averages 136 FPS. At this resolution, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point because it maintains a minimum frame rate of 180 FPS, which comfortably supports 144Hz and 165Hz displays. The High preset at 178 FPS average is still viable for 144Hz displays, but the minimum frame rate is not provided, making the Medium preset's guaranteed 180 FPS minimum a safer choice for consistent smoothness. Ultra at 136 FPS average is acceptable for 120Hz panels but represents a significant 36% drop from High.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 149 FPS, Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS, High averages 96 FPS, and Ultra averages 73 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. It provides a 114 FPS average and a minimum of 97 FPS, which is sufficient for 100Hz-class displays and stays above the 60 FPS threshold with headroom. The High preset at 96 FPS average is borderline for 100Hz screens, and Ultra at 73 FPS is only suitable for 60Hz panels. The data indicates that Medium at 4K offers the best balance, as the jump from Low to Medium is substantial in quality while the frame rate penalty is manageable.

Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset consistently shows the largest performance cost, with average FPS dropping by 36-39% compared to High settings. Given that the minimum frame rates are only provided for Medium settings, the recommendation is to prioritize Medium at 4K and High at 1080p, with 1440p users choosing between Medium and High based on their refresh rate preference.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination holds a rank of 25 out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum. This places the system in the top 0.85% of all tested configurations, which is an exceptional standing. The percentile data reinforces this: the CPU sits in the 84th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, indicating that both components are high performers individually and in tandem.

The combo rank of 25 suggests that only 24 other tested combinations outperform this specific pairing in Minimum. While the exact composition of those higher-ranked combos is not detailed in the fact pack, the relative standings of the individual components provide context. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600T with an average score of 35,305 (a delta of -0.1%), the Intel Core i7-12700KF at 35,365 (delta of -0.2%), and the Intel Core i7-13700T at 35,403 (delta of -0.3%). These deltas are extremely small, all within 0.4% of the i7-12700K's average benchmark score of 35,287. This indicates that the CPU is performing almost identically to its closest competitors, and any ranking differences are likely due to the GPU pairing rather than CPU performance variation.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are notably different. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT has an average score of 76,904 (a delta of 1.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D's 77,712), while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940 (delta of -1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (delta of -2.1%). These deltas are also small, but the direction is interesting: the RTX 5090 D actually scores slightly lower than the RX 6650M XT in the overall GPU benchmark average, yet it still achieves the 25th rank in this specific game. This suggests that Minimum's workload favors the RTX 5090 D's architecture or driver optimization more than the raw average benchmark score might predict.

The fact that this combo ranks 25th despite the GPU's average benchmark score being slightly below one of its nearest rivals indicates that in-game performance for Minimum is not perfectly correlated with synthetic benchmark averages. The combination of the i7-12700K's strong multithreaded performance and the RTX 5090 D's specific features appears to be well-suited to this title's engine.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing for Minimum, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This is a massive amount of memory and bandwidth, which is relevant for a game from 2014 that may not fully utilize such resources but nonetheless benefits from the raw throughput.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. These clocks are high, and the data shows that the GPU is capable of pushing frame rates well beyond 200 FPS at 1080p and 1440p on lower settings. The GPU's shading units total 21,760, with 680 TMUs and 176 ROPs, contributing to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor at Low settings where the average FPS reaches 427, but at Ultra settings the GPU workload increases enough to bring the average down to 210 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the average FPS drops to 96 on High and 73 on Ultra, which are frame rates that are more typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM is far beyond what Minimum requires, even at 4K with Ultra textures. The fact pack does not provide VRAM usage data, but the sheer capacity ensures that memory is never a constraint. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is also relevant, as Minimum was released in 2014 and likely uses an older DirectX version, but the GPU's backward compatibility ensures full functionality.

The benchmark scores for the GPU show a passmark G3D score of 44,065 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326. These numbers, while not directly comparable to in-game FPS, indicate a very high level of raw compute capability. The GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it in the 92nd percentile, confirming that it is a top-tier part.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. The following breakdown uses only the exact numbers from the fact pack.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 427 FPS. The Medium preset averages 329 FPS with a minimum of 280 FPS and a maximum of 379 FPS. The High preset averages 276 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 210 FPS. This shows a clear progression: Low to Medium is a 23% drop, Medium to High is a 16% drop, and High to Ultra is a 24% drop.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 277 FPS. The Medium preset averages 212 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. The High preset averages 178 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 136 FPS. The percentage drops are: Low to Medium is 23%, Medium to High is 16%, and High to Ultra is 24%. This pattern is identical to 1080p, indicating a consistent scaling factor for each preset change.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 149 FPS. The Medium preset averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. The drops are: Low to Medium is 23%, Medium to High is 16%, and High to Ultra is 24%. The consistency of these percentage deltas across all three resolutions is notable, suggesting that each preset tier imposes a similar relative cost regardless of resolution.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution: 280 FPS at 1080p, 180 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K. These minimums represent the worst-case frame times and are critical for smoothness. The fact that the 4K Medium minimum is 97 FPS, just below 100, indicates that there may be occasional dips below the average, but still well above 60 FPS. The 1440p Medium minimum of 180 FPS is excellent for high-refresh displays.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the safest choice, as it delivers an average of 212 FPS with a minimum of 180 FPS, ensuring the frame rate never drops below the 144Hz refresh rate. The High preset averages 178 FPS, but the minimum is not provided, so there is a risk of dips below 144 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 427, while at 4K Ultra it is 73. This represents a 485% increase in frame rate, indicating that the resolution and settings combination has a massive impact on performance.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM matter for Minimum?

A: The fact pack does not include VRAM usage data, but with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, the GPU has ample capacity. Given the game's 2014 release date, it is unlikely to require even a fraction of this memory, meaning VRAM is not a limiting factor.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p Low?

A: With an average of 427 FPS at 1080p Low, the frame rate is extremely high, which suggests the CPU is likely the limiting component, as the GPU would be underutilized at such low settings. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz are sufficient to feed this frame rate.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 4K, High averages 96 FPS, while Ultra averages 73 FPS. This is a 23 FPS difference, or a 24% reduction in performance when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: How does this combo's rank of 25 out of 2,939 translate to a percentile?

A: A rank of 25 out of 2,939 means the combo is in the top 0.85% of all tested combinations. This is consistent with the CPU's 84th percentile and GPU's 92nd percentile standings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 125W TDP. The CPU features a 25 MB shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. Its benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19,784 and a single-core score of 1,850.5, as well as a Geekbench multicore score of 15,790 and single-core score of 2,308.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the frame rate is extremely high. At 1080p Low, the 427 FPS average indicates that the CPU is capable of processing a very high number of frames per second. The CPU's single-thread performance, as shown by the 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and Passmark single-thread score of 4,013, is critical for this game's engine, which likely relies on a few primary threads. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides the necessary speed for these threads.

The CPU's multithreaded capabilities, with a 3DMark max-threads score of 9,979 and a Passmark multithread score of 34,404, ensure that background tasks and any multi-threaded game elements do not cause bottlenecks. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 73, which is far below the CPU's potential, confirming that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its average benchmark score, indicating that the i7-12700K is not a unique outlier but rather a solid mid-to-high-range performer. Its 84th percentile ranking means it performs better than 84% of all CPUs in the database, which is respectable but not top-tier, as the GPU's 92nd percentile is higher. This suggests that in GPU-heavy scenarios like 4K gaming, the CPU is less of a factor, but in CPU-light scenarios like 1080p Low, it is adequate to support very high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo is consistent and revealing. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 35% across all settings. For example, at Low, 1080p averages 427 FPS, and 1440p averages 277 FPS, a drop of 150 FPS or 35%. At Medium, the drop is from 329 to 212 FPS, a 36% reduction. At High, from 276 to 178 FPS, a 36% reduction. At Ultra, from 210 to 136 FPS, a 35% reduction.

Moving from 1440p to 4K, the drop is more pronounced. At Low, 1440p averages 277 FPS, and 4K averages 149 FPS, a 46% reduction. At Medium, from 212 to 114 FPS, a 46% reduction. At High, from 178 to 96 FPS, a 46% reduction. At Ultra, from 136 to 73 FPS, a 46% reduction. This consistent 46% drop from 1440p to 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming increasingly stressed as pixel count rises, since 4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p.

The fact that the relative percentage drop from 1440p to 4K (46%) is larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (35%) suggests that the GPU is nearing its limits at 4K. The resolution scaling is not linear, indicating that the RTX 5090 D, while powerful, cannot fully maintain performance as resolution increases. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU has ample headroom based on its high 1080p frame rates.

The minimum FPS data for Medium settings further illustrates this: at 1080p, the minimum is 280 FPS; at 1440p, it is 180 FPS; and at 4K, it is 97 FPS. The minimum FPS scales similarly to the average, with a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. This consistency suggests that the GPU's frame time variance scales predictably with resolution, and the 4K Medium minimum of 97 FPS is the closest this combo comes to dipping below 60 FPS in the measured data.