Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory of the Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER in Minimum reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution, though the shape of that scaling curve changes dramatically depending on the quality preset. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 312.4 FPS average, which is the highest recorded figure in this dataset. Stepping up to 1440p Low drops that to 198 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37%, while 4K Low yields 109.3 FPS, representing another 45% decline. This pattern indicates that at lower settings, the rendering load expands rapidly with pixel count, and the GPU becomes the dominant constraint even at 1080p where the frame rate is already exceptionally high.

The scaling behavior at higher quality settings tells a slightly different story. At Ultra quality, the frame rate falls from 151.5 FPS at 1080p to 98.7 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and then to 52.9 FPS at 4K (a further 46% decline). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Ultra settings suggests that Minimum is not introducing any unusual bottlenecks at specific resolution steps; the workload scales fairly linearly with pixel throughput. However, the absolute numbers reveal that this hardware combination is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p play, since 4K Ultra dips below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for smooth third-person action.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases, which is informative. At 1080p, the spread between Low (312.4 FPS) and Ultra (151.5 FPS) is roughly a factor of 2.06. At 4K, that spread grows to a factor of 2.07 (109.3 vs 52.9 FPS). This near-identical ratio indicates that the CPU is not becoming a limiting factor at higher resolutions; if the processor were the constraint, the gap between settings would compress at 4K as GPU load increased. Instead, the consistent scaling suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary driver of frame rate throughout, with the Core i7-13700K providing ample headroom even in the most demanding scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, and packs 7,168 shading units alongside 224 texture mapping units and 80 raster operation pipelines. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, which are the figures that directly influence the frame rates observed in Minimum. The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In a game released in 2014, this memory configuration is far beyond what the title requires, meaning VRAM capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor even at 4K Ultra settings.

The benchmark data confirms that the GPU is the performance ceiling in most scenarios tested. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4,627 and the PassMark G3D score of 29,995 place the RTX 4070 SUPER in the 84th percentile among all GPUs, which aligns with the strong but not top-tier frame rates seen in Minimum. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (scoring 42,653, a -0.2% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (scoring 42,723, a -0.3% delta), indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in a competitive performance band. The fact that the GPU's average benchmark score of 42,576 is only 0.2% below the RTX A6000 and 0.3% below the RX 7650 GRE suggests that this card is delivering near-parity with those alternatives in synthetic tests, and the Minimum results reflect that positioning.

The boost clock behavior is worth noting in the context of sustained gaming loads. With a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the RTX 4070 SUPER is running at a high frequency relative to its base, and the 220 W TDP suggests that power delivery is sufficient to maintain these clocks during extended sessions. The 16-pin power connector and suggested 550 W PSU provide the necessary headroom for this configuration. In Minimum, which is a 2014 title with modest graphical demands by modern standards, the GPU is rarely pushed to its thermal or power limits, which explains why the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are so high—the card has ample compute headroom that it can deploy toward higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 286 out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the top 16.5% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing for a system that pairs a mid-to-high-end CPU with an upper-midrange GPU. The rank reflects the fact that Minimum is not an exceptionally demanding title, so even a GPU in the 84th percentile of all GPUs can deliver very high frame rates when paired with a CPU that ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's contribution to this rank is significant. The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47,282, which places it 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47,334) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P (47,131). The fact that the 13700K is essentially tied with its KF variant (which lacks integrated graphics) suggests that the iGPU is not a factor in gaming performance, as expected. The 0.4% lead over the Intel Core i9-12900F (47,081) and the 0.5% deficit to the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (47,527) show that this CPU is well-positioned among its peers, providing more than enough processing power to feed the RTX 4070 SUPER in Minimum.

The rank of 286 out of 1,733 is particularly notable because it indicates that there are 285 configurations that outperform this combo in this specific game. Given that the GPU percentile is 84 and the CPU percentile is 93, the fact that the combo does not rank even higher suggests that some pairings with faster GPUs (such as those in the 90th+ percentile) are able to push frame rates higher, particularly in a game that is not CPU-bound. The data shows that this is a well-balanced pairing, but not an extreme one—users seeking the absolute highest frame rates in Minimum would need to step up to a higher-tier GPU, while those seeking better value could potentially drop to a less powerful CPU without sacrificing much in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings with this combo?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 52.9 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered minimum for smooth gameplay in a third-person shooter.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42,576, which is 0.2% below the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42,653) and 0.3% below the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42,723). It outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 1.4%.

Q: What is the CPU's ranking percentile relative to all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47,282. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which scores 47,334 (a -0.1% delta).

Q: What frame rate can users expect at 1440p High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 128.4 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors and provides smooth gameplay.

*Q: How does the GPU's clock speed relate to its performance in Minimum?*

A: The GPU boosts to 2475 MHz, and the high frame rates observed (up to 312.4 FPS at 1080p Low) indicate the card is able to maintain these elevated clocks without thermal throttling, given the 220 W TDP and sufficient power delivery.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: This pairing achieves a rank of 286 out of 1,733 tested combos, placing it in the top 16.5% of all configurations for Minimum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured 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 both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it includes integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the discrete RTX 4070 SUPER makes the iGPU irrelevant for gaming. The processor has a 125 W TDP and uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform with PCIe Gen 5 support (20 lanes from the CPU).

In Minimum, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but it still provides the foundation for the high frame rates observed. The 3DMark scores illustrate the processor's capability: 12,412 in the max-thread test and 1,136 in the single-thread test. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39,000 and single-core score of 5,505 further confirm that this CPU has substantial headroom for gaming workloads. The PassMark multithread score of 45,887 and single-thread score of 4,333 indicate that even in lightly threaded scenarios (which many older games like Minimum may not fully utilize), the 13700K performs admirably.

The fact that frame rates at 1080p Low reach 312.4 FPS without the CPU becoming a bottleneck is significant. At that resolution and settings level, the GPU is rendering relatively few pixels with minimal effects, which would normally expose CPU limitations if the processor were insufficient. The data shows that the 13700K's boost clock of 5.40 GHz and its strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1,136) are sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4070 SUPER's output even at these extreme frame rates. The CPU's 16 cores also provide ample headroom for any background tasks or streaming software that might be running concurrently.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database reinforce its positioning. The Intel Core i7-13700KF scores 47,334 (a -0.1% delta), making it effectively identical in performance, which is expected since the KF variant simply disables the integrated graphics. The AMD EPYC 4364P scores 47,131 (a 0.3% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900F scores 47,081 (a 0.4% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 scores 47,527 (a -0.5% delta). These margins are all within 1% of each other, indicating that the 13700K is well within the expected performance band for its class, and in Minimum specifically, the CPU is not the deciding factor between this combo and slightly faster or slower alternatives.