Minimum

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2929th out of 3712 tested combinations in Minimum. This places the combo in the 21st percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly four out of every five tested combos deliver higher frame rates in this title. The ranking reflects a substantial mismatch between the two components: the CPU sits at the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at just the 58th percentile among all graphics cards. In a third-person shooter from 2014, the RTX 2060 becomes the limiting factor, dragging down what would otherwise be a top-tier CPU-driven result.

The delta between the CPU's high percentile standing and the GPU's mid-range percentile directly explains the combo's low overall position. A stronger GPU would unlock the i7-13700K's potential; conversely, the current pairing wastes much of the processor's headroom. The measured data confirms this imbalance — at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 155 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it falls to 26 FPS, a drop that is almost entirely attributable to GPU limits rather than CPU constraints.

# GPU Role

The RTX 2060 features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz, and memory operates at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective. The GPU includes 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. Peak theoretical performance reaches 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32 and 12.90 TFLOPS for FP16 with a 2:1 ratio.

In Minimum, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth appear adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 6 GB frame buffer becomes a constraint at 4K. The measured FPS progression shows 155 FPS at 1080p Low versus 54 FPS at 4K Low — a 65% reduction. This scale of performance loss aligns with the GPU's pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s, both of which are modest by current standards. The RTX 2060's benchmark scores reinforce this picture: a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 place it near the GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600 in average benchmark scores, with deltaPct values ranging from 0.0% to 0.8%.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 119 FPS average with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS, while High settings achieve 100 FPS and Low reaches 155 FPS. Ultra drops to 76 FPS. The Medium preset offers the best balance for competitive play, maintaining well above 100 FPS while improving visual fidelity over Low. For players prioritizing smoothness above all, Low at 155 FPS is the clear choice.

At 1440p, Medium produces 77 FPS average with a minimum of 65 FPS and maximum of 88 FPS. High settings yield 64 FPS, while Low hits 100 FPS and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The Medium preset remains the recommended starting point, as it stays above 60 FPS even during dips. High is acceptable for those who prefer visual quality, but the 64 FPS average leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra should be avoided at this resolution, as 49 FPS approaches the threshold where responsiveness suffers.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Low reaches 54 FPS, Medium 41 FPS, High 35 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. For 4K play, Low is the only viable option, and even then, the frame rate hovers below the 60 FPS target. Players with 4K displays should either drop to 1440p or accept a lower frame rate. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p provides the best overall experience for this combo, offering a 77 FPS average with solid minimums.

# FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Minimum?

A: It ranks 2929th out of 3712 combos, placing it in the lower 21% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: What is the maximum FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 155 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 119 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 100 FPS at both 1080p High and 1440p Low.

Q: Is the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the 6 GB GDDR6 memory appears sufficient based on the measured frame rates. At 4K, performance drops significantly, with the best preset (Low) averaging only 54 FPS, suggesting memory bandwidth or capacity may be limiting at that resolution.

Q: How does the i7-13700K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 46881, which is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971, -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654, +0.5%), and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653, +0.5%).

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: Based on the data, 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides the best balance at 119 FPS average with a 101 FPS minimum. At 1440p, Medium at 77 FPS is also playable, but 4K is only marginal even at Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2060's benchmark performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283, 0.0% delta), Radeon 680M (15270, +0.1%), RTX 3050 OEM (15199, +0.6%), and RX 7600 (15171, +0.8%).

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep performance curve across resolutions. At Medium settings, average FPS drops from 119 at 1080p to 77 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and further to 41 at 4K (a 66% reduction from 1080p). At Low settings, the progression goes from 155 at 1080p to 100 at 1440p (35% drop) and 54 at 4K (65% drop). High settings follow a similar pattern: 100 at 1080p, 64 at 1440p (36% drop), and 35 at 4K (65% drop). Ultra settings show the largest absolute decline, from 76 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p (36% drop) and 26 at 4K (66% drop).

This consistent ~35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and ~65% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that resolution scaling is nearly linear with pixel count. The pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by 300% from 1080p to 4K, yet the FPS drops are smaller than the pixel increases. This suggests that the game is not purely pixel-bound; factors such as CPU overhead at higher resolutions and memory bandwidth play a role. The RTX 2060's 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at 4K, where the frame rate falls below 55 FPS even at Low settings.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration and includes UHD Graphics 770 integrated graphics. Its TDP is 125 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is largely secondary to the GPU, given the game's 2014 release date. The i7-13700K's benchmark scores are exceptionally strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 30745, single-core 2116; Geekbench multi-core hits 19429, single-core 2529; and PassMark multi-thread scores 45887 with a single-thread score of 4333. The CPU's 3DMark scores range from 1136 (single-thread) to 12412 (max threads). These numbers place the i7-13700K at the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

However, the measured FPS in Minimum does not scale with CPU performance. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 155 FPS, which is respectable but not extraordinary given the CPU's capabilities. The gap between CPU headroom and actual frame rates indicates that the RTX 2060 is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads are far more than Minimum requires, meaning the processor likely idles during most gameplay. The data shows no CPU-specific bottlenecks — the FPS differences between settings are entirely attributable to GPU load.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS by settings:

• Low: 155 FPS
• Medium: 119 FPS (minimum 101, maximum 137)
• High: 100 FPS
• Ultra: 76 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 100 FPS
• Medium: 77 FPS (minimum 65, maximum 88)
• High: 64 FPS
• Ultra: 49 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 54 FPS
• Medium: 41 FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47)
• High: 35 FPS
• Ultra: 26 FPS

The Medium settings rows include minimum and maximum FPS data, while other settings only report averages. At 1080p Medium, the frame time consistency is solid, with a minimum of 101 FPS that stays well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 65 FPS remains playable, though dips approach the comfort zone boundary. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 35 FPS indicates noticeable stutter during demanding scenes, and the maximum of 47 FPS suggests the GPU cannot maintain fluid motion at this resolution.

The spread between Low and Ultra at each resolution is significant: at 1080p, the difference is 79 FPS (155 vs 76); at 1440p, it is 51 FPS (100 vs 49); at 4K, it is 28 FPS (54 vs 26). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes increasingly saturated as pixel count rises, leaving less headroom for graphical settings to impact performance. The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus likely contribute to this behavior, as higher settings and resolutions demand more memory capacity and bandwidth than the card can provide.