Minimum

This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in the 2014 third-person shooter Minimum. The data provided is based on direct measurement of this specific component combination, offering a clear picture of its capabilities across popular resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combination in Minimum reveals a clear hierarchy in performance scaling across the four available presets. At 1080p, the Ultra preset still delivers a robust 193 frames per second, which is exceptionally high for competitive play, but the jump to High yields a substantial 253 FPS. However, the most significant observation is that the Low preset pushes the frame rate to a staggering 394 FPS, representing a 51% increase over the Ultra setting at the same resolution. This indicates that the game engine is highly scalable, but the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at these frame rates.

Moving to 1440p, the pattern remains consistent. The Ultra preset delivers 124 FPS, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset boosts performance to 163 FPS, a 31% improvement. The Medium preset further increases this to 194 FPS, while Low achieves 254 FPS. For players seeking the absolute smoothest experience, Low at 1440p provides an incredible 254 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off is significant. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot for a balance between visual quality and performance, offering more than double the refresh rate of standard 60Hz displays.

At 4K, the performance landscape shifts. The Ultra preset produces 67 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. High settings yield 88 FPS, a notable improvement. Medium settings deliver 105 FPS, which is a comfortable margin for 100Hz+ displays, while Low settings reach 137 FPS. The data indicates that for a 4K experience, Medium is the recommended preset. It provides a 57% performance increase over Ultra while maintaining significantly better visual fidelity than Low, and it is the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum frame rate (89 FPS), suggesting good frame pacing stability.

The optimal choice depends on the user's display and priorities. For 1080p and 1440p, the High preset offers an excellent balance, with frame rates well above 144Hz. For 4K, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it is the only setting that combines high average frame rates (105) with a confirmed minimum frame rate above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a dominant force in this configuration. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its core clocks are set to a base of 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. In Minimum, this hardware combination demonstrates that the GPU is the primary performance driver at higher resolutions.

The evidence for this is seen in the scaling of frame rates from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 253 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 163 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 88 FPS. This performance degradation is a classic sign of GPU-bound workloads. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data at lower resolutions, but as the pixel count increases, the rendering load on the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The RTX 4090's immense compute power is evident in its raw benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223. These scores place it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. In Minimum, this translates to the ability to maintain high frame rates even at 4K. While the game is from 2014 and not particularly demanding by modern standards, the sheer power of the RTX 4090 ensures that the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, except at the most extreme resolutions and settings where it still manages to deliver playable performance.

The GPU's 24 GB VRAM buffer is also a significant asset. At 4K Ultra settings, the game will likely consume a substantial amount of memory, but the 4090's capacity ensures there is no risk of exceeding it, eliminating any potential stuttering or texture pop-in issues related to memory constraints.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum achievable frame rate with this CPU and GPU combo in Minimum?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 394 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: Yes, the data confirms it can. At 4K, the Medium preset yields an average of 105 FPS, while the High preset delivers 88 FPS. Even the Ultra preset maintains a playable 67 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 perform in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU scores 38,194 in the Passmark G3D test and 9,223 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The Low preset produces 394 FPS, which is 201 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 193 FPS. This represents a 104% increase in frame rate.

Q: What is the processor used in this benchmark?

A: The processor is the Intel Core i7-14700F, which has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a launch MSRP of $359.

Q: Is there a risk of frame drops at 4K Medium settings?

A: The data shows a minimum frame rate of 89 FPS at 4K Medium, which is well above common 60Hz refresh rates, indicating a stable experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination holds a rank of 126 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This puts the system in the top 3.4% of all configurations within the database, a position that reflects its high-end component selection. This ranking signifies that the system is outperformed by a small fraction of setups, likely those using newer or more specialized hardware.

To contextualize this ranking, it is helpful to look at the individual components' standings. The CPU, the Intel Core i7-14700F, achieves an average benchmark score of 53,620 and sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its closest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Xeon 6505P (53,701, -0.2% delta), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53,469, +0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53,288, +0.6% delta). This shows that the CPU is performing at a level very close to its direct competitors, with less than a 1% difference in average score.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, +0.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, -2.5% delta). The incredibly small delta percentages (0% and 0.3%) highlight that the 4090's average score is virtually identical to some of its closest competitors, though the 4090 itself is a consumer-grade product designed for gaming.

The rank of 126 is a strong result. It indicates that for Minimum, this combination of a high-core-count CPU and a flagship GPU is incredibly effective, delivering a performance level that is higher than the vast majority of other tested systems. The combination's strength lies in the fact that neither component is a limiting factor, allowing the system to perform at its peak potential.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across the three tested resolutions provides a clear analysis of system scaling and bottleneck identification. At the High preset, the system delivers 253 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 4K. This shows a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%, which is significant and indicates a heavy load on the rendering pipeline.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. At Medium, the frame rates are 301 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 105 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%. At the Low preset, the numbers are 394 FPS, 254 FPS, and 137 FPS, respectively, representing a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K as well. This uniformity in the percentage drop across different settings is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance difference between 1080p and 4K. The CPU's workload is more dependent on the game's logic and draw calls, which remain relatively constant across resolutions. The GPU, on the other hand, has to render more pixels at higher resolutions, making its workload scale almost linearly with the pixel count. The measured 65% drop in frame rate from 1080p to 4K aligns precisely with the GPU's increased rendering burden. This confirms that the RTX 4090 is the primary factor determining performance at 1440p and 4K, while the i7-14700F is strong enough to keep up at 1080p, where the GPU is not fully saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average frames per second for the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 configuration in Minimum.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 394 FPS. This is the highest score recorded for this setup.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 301 FPS, with a minimum of 256 FPS and a maximum of 347 FPS. This shows a strong 1080p performance with a minimum above 240Hz.
• High: The average frame rate is 253 FPS, providing a comfortable margin for 240Hz displays.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 193 FPS, still well above the 144Hz threshold for high-refresh-rate gaming.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: The average frame rate is 254 FPS, showcasing excellent performance for esports-style settings.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS. The minimum frame rate ensures a smooth experience on 165Hz monitors.
• High: The average frame rate is 163 FPS, a perfect fit for 144Hz and 165Hz displays.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 124 FPS, which is still highly playable and smooth for most users.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: The average frame rate is 137 FPS, which is exceptionally high for 4K and allows for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming.
• Medium: The average frame rate is 105 FPS, with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. This is the recommended 4K preset for a balance of quality and performance.
• High: The average frame rate is 88 FPS, providing a solid 4K experience that is well above the 60 FPS standard.
• Ultra: The average frame rate is 67 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS baseline and is the most visually demanding option tested.