Minimum

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a solid, if not spectacular, showing in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The combination ranks at 1068 out of 1733 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of the database’s performance tables. This position reflects a system that can handle the game at high refresh rates in 1080p and 1440p, but which shows its age at 4K Ultra settings, where the GPU becomes the decisive bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1068 out of 1733 tested combinations puts it in the 38th percentile of all tested systems for this title. This is a middling result, and the data indicates that the ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the graphics card rather than the processor. The Intel Core i7-13700K is a top-tier CPU, sitting in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs in the database’s aggregate benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 47282 places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P. Against the Intel Core i9-12900F, the i7-13700K is 0.4% faster, and it leads the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 by 0.5%. These are negligible differences, showing that the processor is not the limiting factor in this pairing.

Conversely, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s percentile rank is 65 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A400, which is 0.5% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, which is 0.9% slower. The RTX 2070 SUPER also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% and leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%. These figures suggest a mid-range card that, while competent, is far from the top of the pile. The stark contrast between the CPU’s high percentile (93) and the GPU’s lower one (65) is the primary reason this combo does not rank higher. The processor is capable of pushing far more frames than the graphics card can render, especially at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the clear performance ceiling in this configuration. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card’s clocks are set to a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). In Minimum, a game from 2014, these specifications are sufficient for excellent performance at 1080p and 1440p, but the card’s compute resources—2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs—begin to strain under the load of 4K resolution.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is rated at 9.062 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. For a game released in 2014, the RTX 2070 SUPER has ample API support and raw throughput for most settings. However, the data shows a steep drop-off when moving from 1440p to 4K, particularly at High and Ultra settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 33.8, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This indicates that the 8 GB frame buffer and the card’s memory bandwidth are being saturated, and the GPU’s pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at that resolution with maximum settings. The card’s 215 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its class, but the performance data confirms that it is the component that dictates the overall experience in this title.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K the bottleneck in this combo for Minimum?*

A: No. The CPU benchmarks show it is in the 93rd percentile overall, with an average score of 47282. The data indicates that the processor is far more capable than the GPU, meaning the graphics card is the limiting component.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 120.3. This is a very playable frame rate for a third-person shooter, indicating a smooth experience at this resolution and preset.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to the RTX 4060 Mobile in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, which is 2.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile’s score of 22729. The desktop card is slightly slower in this synthetic comparison.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Minimum?*

A: According to the measured data, the average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 33.8. This is generally considered too low for a smooth, competitive experience, so 4K Ultra is not recommended for this pairing.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS on Low settings is 122.6, while on Ultra settings it drops to 57.4. This represents a significant performance hit of 65.2 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance matter for this game?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score is 39000, which is exceptionally high. However, for a 2014 title, the game likely relies more on single-core performance. The CPU’s single-core Cinebench R23 score is 5505, which is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the system is capable of delivering high frame rates across all presets. On Low settings, the average FPS is 187.2, which drops to 142.3 on Medium, 120.3 on High, and 93.6 on Ultra. This is a smooth experience even at the highest preset, though the drop from Low to Ultra is a 93.6 FPS reduction, indicating that the GPU is still working hard.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain playable but begin to show the GPU’s limits. The average FPS on Low is 122.6, which is still excellent. Medium settings produce 90.4 FPS, and High settings yield 76.8 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p drop the average to 57.4 FPS, which is still above 60 but approaching the threshold where frame pacing may become noticeable. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings is a 36.2 FPS loss, highlighting the increased resolution’s impact.

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 67.1 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium settings drop to 49.2 FPS. High settings fall to 39.7 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 33.8 FPS. These numbers show that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not capable of delivering a consistently smooth experience at 4K, even at lower presets. The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with 1440p being viable for High settings and below.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a significant dependency on the GPU. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 187.2 at 1080p to 122.6 at 1440p and then to 67.1 at 4K. This represents a 64.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing that the resolution increase places a heavy load on the graphics card. The CPU, with its high performance, is not the limiting factor here, as the frame rate drops are consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

At High settings, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute values. The average FPS goes from 120.3 at 1080p to 76.8 at 1440p and 39.7 at 4K. This is a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly stark, with a 37.1 FPS loss, whereas the gap between 1080p and 1440p is a 43.5 FPS loss. This suggests that the card’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are being saturated at 4K.

The data also shows that the difference between Low and Ultra settings grows with resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 93.6 FPS. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 65.2 FPS, and at 4K, it narrows further to 33.3 FPS. This trend indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU has spare capacity to render more effects, but at 4K, the card is already maxed out, leaving less headroom for settings changes. The conclusion is that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component, and the i7-13700K’s power is largely untapped in this title. For a 2014 game, this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions to achieve playable frame rates.