Minimum

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination delivers the top measured performance in Minimum, ranking first out of 2,939 tested combos. This pairing produces exceptionally high frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions, with the data showing a clear performance hierarchy that favors high-refresh-rate displays. The following analysis breaks down the CPU and GPU contributions, measured results, and practical settings recommendations based solely on the provided benchmark data.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor from the Core 13th Gen series, built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. Its base clock runs at 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache, which totals a substantial pool for game data. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it includes integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the presence of a discrete RTX 5090 D makes that irrelevant for gaming.

In synthetic CPU benchmarks, the i7-13700K posts a 3DMark multi-threaded score of 12,412 for max threads, and single-thread performance reaches 1,136 in the same suite. Cinebench R23 results show a multi-core score of 30,745 and a single-core score of 2,116, while Geekbench reports 19,429 multi-core and 2,529 single-core. PassMark multi-thread score is 45,887, and single-thread is 4,333. These numbers indicate a processor with very strong single-threaded performance and robust multi-threaded capability, which matters for Minimum as a Third-Person Shooter that relies on consistent frame pacing.

The CPU's percentile rank versus all CPUs is 89, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with a score of 46,971 (a delta of -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 with 47,022 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX with 46,654 (+0.5%). The i7-13700K's average benchmark score is 46,881, which places it essentially in a dead heat with these competitors, with deltas under 1% in either direction. This means that while the CPU is not head-and-shoulders above its peers in raw compute, it provides ample processing power to feed the RTX 5090 D in Minimum, where the game's age (released in 2014) means it is unlikely to be heavily threaded but still benefits from high single-core speed.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm TSMC process, featuring 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The card carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The shading units total 21,760, with 680 texture mapping units and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute reaches 104.8 TFLOPS.

In GPU benchmarks, the RTX 5090 D scores 14,326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 310,674 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 376,915 in Geekbench Vulkan. PassMark G3D score is 44,065, with a GPU compute score of 28,396. The GPU's percentile rank versus all GPUs is 92, placing it well above the median. Its nearest rivals in average score are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT with 76,904 (a delta of +1.1%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with 78,940 (-1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB with 79,396 (-2.1%). The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77,712, which means it slightly trails the RX 6850M XT and Tesla cards in aggregate compute, but the 32 GB VRAM and high bandwidth are decisive for gaming workloads.

For Minimum, the GPU's massive memory pool and bandwidth are overkill for a game from 2014, but the high boost clock and shading unit count ensure that frame rates are limited only by the CPU at lower resolutions. The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at 4K, where the data shows a measurable drop in performance, indicating that the graphics card is being pushed harder at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a combo rank of 1 out of 2,939 tested combinations in Minimum. This is the top position, meaning no other CPU-GPU pairing in the database produces higher measured frame rates in this game. The rank reflects the combined capability of both components, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's raw throughput work together to eliminate bottlenecks.

Given that the CPU's nearest rivals are within 0.5% in average score, the top rank is likely attributable to the GPU's dominance in gaming workloads, despite its slightly lower aggregate benchmark score compared to some rivals. The RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile rank among all GPUs, combined with the i7-13700K's 89th percentile CPU rank, creates a system that exceeds the performance of any other tested combination. This suggests that while individual components may have close competitors, the synergy between this specific CPU and GPU yields the best possible results in Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 430 FPS, Medium averages 329 FPS with a minimum of 280 and maximum of 379, High averages 276 FPS, and Ultra averages 210 FPS. These numbers show that even at Ultra settings, the system maintains over 200 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show the GPU's workload increasing. Low settings average 277 FPS, Medium averages 212 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 244, High averages 178 FPS, and Ultra averages 136 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all settings, with approximately a 35-40% reduction in frame rate, but the absolute numbers are still excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the performance settles into more moderate territory. Low settings average 149 FPS, Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and maximum of 131, High averages 96 FPS, and Ultra averages 73 FPS. These 4K results indicate that the RTX 5090 D is still capable of driving a 4K display at high refresh rates, but the gap between settings becomes more pronounced, and Ultra drops below the 75 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for smooth play.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the system produces 430 FPS, which drops to 277 FPS at 1440p and 149 FPS at 4K. That is a 35.6% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K. For Medium settings, the progression is 329 FPS at 1080p, 212 FPS at 1440p, and 114 FPS at 4K, representing a 35.6% drop to 1440p and a 65.3% drop to 4K. High settings go from 276 FPS at 1080p to 178 FPS at 1440p (35.5% drop) and 96 FPS at 4K (65.2% drop). Ultra settings start at 210 FPS at 1080p, fall to 136 FPS at 1440p (35.2% drop), and end at 73 FPS at 4K (65.2% drop).

The consistency of these percentage drops—hovering around 35% for the 1080p-to-1440p transition and 65% for the 1080p-to-4K transition—indicates that the frame rate scaling is almost perfectly linear with pixel count. The pixel count increases by 1.78x from 1080p to 1440p, and the frame rate drops by roughly 1.55x, while the pixel count increases by 4x from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rate drops by roughly 2.88x. This pattern suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates (430 FPS on Low) may begin to approach the CPU's limit, but the consistent scaling across all settings points to the GPU being the dominant factor in this game, with the i7-13700K providing ample headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck until well past 300 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For the best experience based on the measured data, the choice of settings depends on the target display and refresh rate. At 1080p, even Ultra settings deliver 210 FPS, which exceeds the capabilities of most 1080p monitors (typically 144Hz or 240Hz). Therefore, at 1080p, the recommendation is to use Ultra settings without hesitation, as the performance headroom is massive—210 FPS is still 46 FPS above a 165Hz display's refresh rate.

At 1440p, the data shows that Ultra settings average 136 FPS, which is suitable for a 144Hz display but not for 165Hz or higher. If the user has a 144Hz monitor, Ultra is viable, but for those with 165Hz or 240Hz panels, the Medium preset at 212 FPS (with a minimum of 180) is the better choice, as it provides a comfortable margin above even a 165Hz refresh rate while maintaining a 180 FPS minimum. High settings at 178 FPS also work for 165Hz displays, but Medium offers higher average and minimum frame rates, making it the more consistent option.

At 4K, the situation is different. Ultra settings average 73 FPS, which is below the 75 FPS threshold for smooth play on many 4K displays. High settings average 96 FPS, which is acceptable for 60Hz displays but not for 120Hz or higher. Medium settings average 114 FPS with a minimum of 97, which provides the best balance for 4K gaming on a 120Hz display, as it maintains a minimum above 97 FPS and an average well above the refresh rate. Low settings at 149 FPS are the only option that can drive a 144Hz 4K display, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it.

The optimal recommendation across all resolutions is to use Medium settings, as it provides the highest minimum frame rates relative to the average, indicating good frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 280 FPS versus an average of 329 FPS, a 15% variance; at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 180 FPS versus 212 FPS, a 15% variance; and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 97 FPS versus 114 FPS, a 15% variance. This consistency in variance across resolutions suggests that Medium is the most stable preset, avoiding the potential frame-time spikes that can occur at Ultra settings. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, High settings at 1440p (178 FPS) or 4K (96 FPS) are acceptable, but Medium provides the best combination of smoothness and performance across the board.