Minimum

The data for Minimum with the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT presents a clear picture of a system where the graphics card is the primary factor in frame rate scaling. The measured FPS rows show a consistent pattern across all four settings presets as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, with the performance drop being substantial and uniform. This combination places in the 1935th position out of 3712 tested combos, indicating it sits slightly below the midpoint of the database's tested configurations for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a steep and predictable performance curve as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces 204 FPS on average, which drops to 132 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 71 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 65% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial decline that points directly at the GPU as the limiting component.

Looking at the High preset, the scaling follows a similar trajectory. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 131, falling to 85 at 2560x1440 and finally to 46 at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This accelerating decline at higher resolutions is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 6700 XT's rendering capabilities are increasingly overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight with its min and max FPS values. At 1920x1080, the average is 156 FPS with a range from 133 to 180 FPS. At 2560x1440, this average falls to 101 FPS with a range of 86 to 116 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows 54 FPS average with a range of 46 to 62 FPS. The consistency of the min-to-max spread across resolutions suggests that the frame pacing remains stable even as the overall throughput drops.

The Ultra preset demonstrates the most severe scaling, with 100 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p, and just 35 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 46 FPS minimum observed in the 4K Medium row, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU past its comfortable operating envelope. The data overall shows that this combo is firmly GPU-limited across all tested settings, as the CPU's substantial core and thread count does not compensate for the GPU's bandwidth and shading limitations at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K brings 20 cores and 28 threads to the combination, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This is a high-end desktop processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. Its benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs in the database.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is noteworthy. The i7-14700K's average benchmark score of 69355 sits just 0.1% above the AMD EPYC 9115's 69288, and it trails the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X's 69515 by a mere 0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Ryzen 7 9700F are 0.7% and 0.9% ahead respectively, indicating that the i7-14700K is positioned in a tightly contested performance band for general compute workloads.

In the context of Minimum, however, the CPU's role appears secondary. The frame rate scaling across resolutions shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent percentage drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K. A CPU-bound scenario would typically show more moderate FPS declines at higher resolutions, but the data here shows a near-linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate loss. The i7-14700K's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample bandwidth for feeding the GPU, but this does not translate into higher frame rates at 4K where the GPU's 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, demonstrated by its PassMark multithread score of 52392, ensure that it will not introduce stutter or frame pacing issues in this third-person shooter. The measured min FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions show a consistent range about 15-20% below the average, which is a healthy margin that indicates the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output without introducing dips.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the defining component in this system's Minimum performance. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the GPU delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a moderate figure for its generation. The base clock of 2321 MHz and boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz, provide the raw processing power, and the RDNA 2.0 architecture with 2560 shading units and 40 ray tracing cores handles the rendering workload.

The GPU's benchmark results show it sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, matches it exactly with a 0% delta, while the RTX 3090 is 0.5% ahead and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 1.5% ahead. The RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell trails by 1.1%. This places the RX 6700 XT in a competitive mid-to-upper tier for the database's GPU rankings, but its performance in Minimum reveals its limitations at 4K.

The 4K results are the clearest indicator of the GPU's constraints. At High settings, the average FPS of 46 is below the commonly accepted 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the Ultra preset's 35 FPS average is clearly unplayable for a third-person shooter requiring responsive aiming. The 4K Medium result of 54 FPS approaches playability but still falls short, while the Low preset's 71 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the GPU performs more admirably. The High preset's 85 FPS average is solid, Medium's 101 FPS is very good, and Low's 132 FPS is excellent. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is marginally above the 60 FPS threshold, making it viable for quality-focused players. The 1080p results are uniformly strong, with even the Ultra preset delivering 100 FPS and Low exceeding 200 FPS. The GPU's 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability and 413.0 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K pixel workload exceeds what this GPU can comfortably handle at higher quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings balance depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, every preset delivers playable frame rates, with Low at 204 FPS, Medium at 156 FPS, High at 131 FPS, and Ultra at 100 FPS. The Ultra preset provides the best visual quality while still maintaining 100 FPS average, making it the recommended choice for 1080p. The min FPS of 133 at Medium settings suggests that even the most demanding scenes remain above 130 FPS, so there is no reason to compromise on quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 85 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset's 101 FPS average is attractive for players prioritizing frame rate, but the High preset's increased visual quality is worth the 16 FPS reduction. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, while the Low preset at 132 FPS sacrifices too much visual detail for the performance gain. The measured min FPS of 86 at Medium settings confirms that even the heaviest moments remain above 60 FPS.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation is more constrained. The Low preset at 71 FPS is the only option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the default choice for 4K play. The Medium preset at 54 FPS is borderline playable but risks dropping below 46 FPS in intense sequences, as shown by the min FPS value. The High preset at 46 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are not recommended for competitive play. Players with a 4K display should prioritize the Low preset, or consider dropping to 1440p to unlock the High preset's superior visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1935th out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 52nd percentile of all configurations in the database. This is a mid-pack ranking that reflects the GPU's mid-tier position rather than the CPU's high-end status. The i7-14700K's 94th percentile CPU ranking does not boost the combo's overall standing, confirming that the GPU is the performance limiter in this title.

The combo's rank relative to other tested configurations suggests that many systems with more powerful GPUs, even paired with weaker CPUs, achieve higher frame rates in Minimum. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the CPU's 94th percentile, yields a combined result that sits just below the median of tested combos. This indicates that the GPU's performance class is the primary determinant of the combo's ranking, and that upgrading the GPU would yield a more significant improvement in Minimum than upgrading the CPU.

The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, the combo performs well, with the Ultra preset delivering 100 FPS. At 4K, the combo falls to 35 FPS at Ultra, which is a performance level consistent with a mid-tier GPU. The ranking of 1935 out of 3712 is a reasonable reflection of the RX 6700 XT's capabilities in a resolution-heavy title like Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 204 FPS, Medium averages 156 FPS with a min of 133 and max of 180, High averages 131 FPS, and Ultra averages 100 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 132 FPS, Medium averages 101 FPS with a min of 86 and max of 116, High averages 85 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 71 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a min of 46 and max of 62, High averages 46 FPS, and Ultra averages 35 FPS.

The data shows a clear progression: the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 104 FPS (204 vs 100), a 51% reduction. At 1440p, the difference is 68 FPS (132 vs 64), a 52% reduction. At 4K, the difference is 36 FPS (71 vs 35), a 51% reduction. This consistent percentage difference across resolutions indicates that the settings presets scale uniformly, with the GPU's load increasing proportionally with quality level.

The Medium preset's min and max FPS values provide the only frame time data in the pack. At 1080p, the range is 133 to 180 FPS, a 47 FPS spread. At 1440p, the range is 86 to 116 FPS, a 30 FPS spread. At 4K, the range is 46 to 62 FPS, a 16 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, with less variance in frame times as the workload approaches the GPU's limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 131 FPS, with no min or max values recorded in the measured data.

Q: Is the 3840x2160 Ultra preset playable with this combo?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 35 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered necessary for smooth gameplay in a third-person shooter. The Low preset at 71 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The i7-14700K's average benchmark score of 69355 is 0.1% above the AMD EPYC 9115's 69288 and 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X's 69515.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Minimum?*

A: The combo ranks 1935th out of 3712 tested combos, placing it just below the midpoint of the database's configurations.

Q: What is the FPS range at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The 1440p Medium preset averages 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU or CPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as frame rates drop by approximately 50% from 1080p to 4K at every settings preset, which is consistent with GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU-bound behavior.