Minimum

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti delivers playable frame rates in Minimum, but the data reveals a system heavily constrained by the graphics card. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 135.7 FPS, yet this drops dramatically to 20.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. The CPU, a 20-core, 28-thread Raptor Lake part with a 5.60 GHz boost clock, is never the limiting factor; instead, the GTX 1660 Ti’s 6 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become the bottleneck as resolution and detail increase. This pairing ranks 1494th out of 1733 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower 14th percentile of all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a desktop-class processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The chip carries a substantial 33 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 2 MB of L2 cache per core. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 44534 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6287 in single-core, ranking in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, posts a nearly identical average score of 70104, with a deltaPct of 0, indicating that the K-series integrated graphics do not affect raw compute performance.

For Minimum, a third-person shooter, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 135.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, the GPU’s limitations surface at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate falls to 68 FPS, a 50% reduction from Low. This scaling pattern indicates that the CPU can maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not saturated, but the GTX 1660 Ti cannot keep up with the increased pixel shading and geometry load. The i7-14700K’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 633 score in Cinebench R15 single-core, ensures that even at 1440p, the CPU is not the primary constraint; the frame rate drops from 85 FPS at Low to 41 FPS at Ultra, a pattern consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 86.5 FPS. This is playable for most users, though it is significantly lower than the 135.7 FPS achieved at Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate is 43.3 FPS, achieved with Low settings. With Ultra settings, the average drops to 20.5 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for a fast-paced shooter.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At 1080p, the frame rate varies from 135.7 FPS (Low) to 68 FPS (Ultra), showing a clear GPU-bound scaling. The CPU, which ranks in the 96th percentile, is not the constraint.

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

A: The combo ranks 1494th out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the lower portion of the database. This reflects the GTX 1660 Ti’s age, as it only scores in the 55th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its nearest rival?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti has an average benchmark score of 13925, while its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 570X, scores 13871, a deltaPct of 0.4. The NVIDIA card holds a marginal lead but is functionally equivalent in performance.

Q: What memory configuration does the GPU use, and does it matter?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti uses 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for 1080p but becomes a limitation at higher resolutions, contributing to the sharp FPS drops observed at 1440p and 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep decline as resolution increases, confirming that the GTX 1660 Ti is the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 135.7 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction), and further to 43.3 FPS at 4K (a 68% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is typical for a GPU with 6 GB of VRAM and a 192-bit memory interface, as the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for higher resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the drop is even more pronounced: from 68 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 20.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is 70% lower than the 1080p Ultra figure, indicating that the rendering load at 4K overwhelms the GPU’s 1536 shading units and 48 ROPs. The CPU’s performance remains constant across resolutions, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rate scaling is consistent with GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p Low, the 135.7 FPS result suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates, but the GPU cannot sustain them at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear inflection point at 1440p, where the frame rate falls below 60 FPS at High and Ultra settings (54.5 FPS and 41 FPS, respectively), making 1080p the only resolution where consistent high-refresh-rate gameplay is possible.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates span four resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its best results: 135.7 FPS on Low, 104.7 FPS on Medium, 86.5 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a smooth degradation as detail increases, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 67.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 85 on Low, 65.1 on Medium, 54.5 on High, and 41 on Ultra. The 1440p results are all below the 1080p Low figure, with the Ultra setting falling 44 FPS short of the 1080p Low result.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal: 43.3 FPS on Low, 32.4 FPS on Medium, 31.9 FPS on High, and 20.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is 92.4 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, illustrating the GPU’s inability to handle 4K pixel counts. The spread between settings at 4K is narrow, with only 12.8 FPS separating Low from Ultra, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution regardless of detail level. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers a balanced trade-off: at 1080p it delivers 104.7 FPS, which is 31 FPS higher than High but 31 FPS lower than Low. At 1440p, Medium achieves 65.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold, while High falls below it at 54.5 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is a Turing-architecture GPU built on TSMC’s 12 nm process, with a die size of 284 mm² and 6,600 million transistors. It operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory running at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The GPU has 1536 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, delivering a pixel rate of 84.96 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 169.9 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 5.437 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role is dominant. The benchmark results show that the GPU scores 12871 in Passmark G3D, ranking in the 55th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 570X, scores 13871, a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the GTX 1660 Ti is effectively tied with that card. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p, but at 1440p and 4K, the memory capacity and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors. This is evident in the FPS data: at 4K Low, the frame rate is 43.3 FPS, which is only 21.5 FPS higher than 4K Ultra. The GPU’s 120 W TDP and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface are not performance constraints, but the 12 nm process and aging architecture are, as evidenced by the sharp performance drop at higher resolutions. The GPU’s Passmark DirectX 11 score of 103 and DirectX 12 score of 51 indicate that the card is better suited to older APIs, which aligns with the game’s 2014 release date.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 135.7 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, but Medium provides 104.7 FPS, a more balanced choice that likely improves visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. For users prioritizing smoothness, Low is the best option; for those wanting better visuals, Medium offers a 31 FPS reduction from Low but remains well above 60 FPS. The High preset at 86.5 FPS is also playable, but Ultra at 68 FPS introduces diminishing returns, with only a 18.5 FPS improvement over the 4K Ultra result.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it achieves 65.1 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold. Low at 85 FPS is smoother, but the visual quality trade-off is significant. High at 54.5 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are below the ideal playability threshold for a third-person shooter. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS; Low at 43.3 FPS is the only playable option, though Medium at 32.4 FPS and High at 31.9 FPS are close. Ultra at 20.5 FPS is not recommended due to the low frame rate. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the best balance of performance and visual quality, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where it maintains frame rates above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti ranks 1494th out of 1733 total combinations. This places it in the bottom 14% of all tested systems, which is a direct reflection of the GPU’s limitations. The CPU alone ranks in the 96th percentile, but the GPU’s 55th percentile score drags the overall combo down significantly. The i7-14700K’s nearest rival, the i7-14700KF, has a deltaPct of 0, meaning the CPU is not a differentiator in this ranking. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RX 570X, is within 0.4% performance, confirming that the GTX 1660 Ti is at the lower end of the performance spectrum.

The rank of 1494 indicates that the majority of tested combos outperform this setup in Minimum. This is expected given the GPU’s age and 6 GB VRAM, which limits its ability to handle the game’s demands at higher resolutions. However, the combo is not unplayable; at 1080p Low, it achieves 135.7 FPS, which is competitive with more modern mid-range GPUs. The data shows that the CPU has headroom to support a faster GPU, as the frame rate scaling is clearly GPU-bound. For users with this combo, the practical takeaway is to stick to 1080p or 1440p Medium settings to get the most out of the hardware, as the 4K results are below playable thresholds. The ranking reflects the GPU’s end-of-life status, but the CPU’s high percentile suggests that upgrading the graphics card would yield substantial frame rate improvements without requiring a platform change.