Minimum

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combo rank in Minimum?

A: This combo ranks 644th out of 3712 tested combinations in the database for this game, placing it in the top 17.3% of all tested combos. The data shows a strong pairing that delivers high frame rates across all tested resolutions.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 310 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, dropping to Ultra still yields 152 FPS, indicating the combo has substantial headroom even at the most demanding preset.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700K scores an average benchmark of 69355, which is virtually identical to the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69288 (0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515 (-0.2% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX by 0.7% and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F by 0.9%, showing these processors are all within a 1% band of each other.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile and how does it compare to rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 43223. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43262 (-0.1% delta), followed by the RTX 5050 Mobile at 43268 (-0.1% delta) and the RTX 4090 Mobile at 43667 (-1% delta).

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have and what memory type is used?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed, which proves sufficient for Minimum's demands across all settings tested.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread counts?

A: The i7-14700K has 20 cores and 28 threads with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core, with 80 KB L1 cache per core.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this Intel-NVIDIA pairing at rank 644 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. That position — roughly the 82.6th percentile — reflects a system that is clearly above average yet not at the absolute top tier. The gap between this combo and the highest-ranked systems likely comes down to more expensive GPUs with higher VRAM capacities and faster memory subsystems.

What makes this ranking particularly informative is the delta between the CPU and GPU percentiles. The i7-14700K sits in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The combo's overall rank of 644 places it closer to the GPU's percentile than the CPU's, suggesting the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing. This is consistent with the measured frame rates showing GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions.

The nearest rival combos in the database would likely feature a similar-tier GPU paired with a slightly slower CPU, yet the frame rate differences would probably be minimal. The i7-14700K's synthetic benchmark scores show it trading blows with high-end AMD parts — the Ryzen 9 7950X and EPYC 9115 are within 0.2% — meaning CPU overhead is rarely the bottleneck in Minimum. The ranking data implies that for players seeking higher positions, the upgrade path would focus on the GPU rather than the processor.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet revealing scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the combo delivers 310 FPS at 1920x1080, 200 FPS at 2560x1440, and 108 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 35.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 65.2%, which strongly indicates the GPU is becoming the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

At Ultra settings, the pattern shifts. The combo produces 152 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 35.5% and 45.9% respectively — nearly identical to the Low settings scaling. This consistency across settings presets suggests the rendering pipeline in Minimum scales uniformly with resolution regardless of graphical complexity, which is typical of games where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the main limiting factors.

The 4K Ultra result of 53 FPS is the only measured point below the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K High achieves 69 FPS. This implies the combo is viable for 4K gaming but requires dropping from Ultra to High to maintain smooth frame rates. At 1440p, even Ultra stays above 90 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for maximizing visual quality without compromising performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 310 FPS average
• Medium: 237 FPS average (202 min, 273 max)
• High: 199 FPS average
• Ultra: 152 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo demonstrates enormous headroom. Even Ultra settings produce 152 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium preset shows a 35 FPS variance between minimum and maximum, suggesting some scene complexity fluctuation, but the absolute numbers remain high. The jump from High to Ultra costs 47 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 38 FPS. The Low to Medium increase of 73 FPS shows the largest relative gain from reducing settings.

2560x1440:

• Low: 200 FPS average
• Medium: 153 FPS average (130 min, 176 max)
• High: 128 FPS average
• Ultra: 98 FPS average

At 1440p, the frame rates remain highly playable across all presets. Ultra stays just under 100 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh 1440p monitors. The Medium preset shows a 46 FPS variance, slightly larger than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is working harder. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 51% reduction, compared to a 51% reduction at 1080p, showing consistent performance scaling with settings.

3840x2160:

• Low: 108 FPS average
• Medium: 82 FPS average (70 min, 95 max)
• High: 69 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

At 4K, the combo starts to show its limits. Ultra dips below 60 FPS, while High maintains 69 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 70 FPS suggests occasional dips that might be noticeable on VRR displays. The Low preset at 108 FPS provides the smoothest 4K experience, but the visual compromise is significant. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 50.9% reduction, nearly identical to the other resolutions, confirming the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER's specifications directly explain the measured performance in Minimum. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient throughput for the game's textures and geometry at 4K, though the Ultra preset clearly pushes past what this memory subsystem can sustain comfortably. The 53 FPS average at 4K Ultra is a direct consequence of the GPU's 80 ROPs and 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate being saturated by the resolution increase.

The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1980 MHz represent the Ada Lovelace architecture's efficiency. The 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance handles the shading workload, while the 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores provide headroom for any ray tracing or DLSS features Minimum might support, though the measured data does not include those scenarios. The 224 TMUs deliver 554.4 GTexel/s of texture fill rate, which proves adequate for the game's art style.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows a PassMark G3D score of 29995 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627. These synthetic results place the GPU in the 83rd percentile, which aligns with the observed 4K performance ceiling. The 17108 PassMark GPU compute score indicates strong compute capability that may help with any physics or simulation tasks in Minimum. The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical choice for most systems, and its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth for the game's data streaming needs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for different display targets. For 1080p users, Ultra settings at 152 FPS is the obvious choice — the visual quality is maximized while still delivering frame rates that exceed most monitors' refresh rates. The 47 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is a worthwhile trade for the visual improvements, given the absolute numbers remain high.

For 1440p users, Ultra at 98 FPS is the recommended preset. This stays above the 90 FPS threshold that most high-refresh 1440p monitors aim for, and the alternative of dropping to High only gains 30 FPS. The Medium preset at 153 FPS is an option for competitive players seeking maximum smoothness, but the visual compromise is substantial. The 1440p Ultra result of 98 FPS represents the best balance between image quality and performance for this combo.

For 4K users, the choice is between High at 69 FPS and Medium at 82 FPS. The High preset keeps the average above 60 FPS, but the lack of minimum FPS data for High leaves some uncertainty about dips. The Medium preset shows a 70 FPS minimum, providing more confidence in consistent frame delivery. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is not recommended for 4K unless the user has a VRR display that can handle sub-60 FPS gameplay. The Low preset at 108 FPS is the only 4K option that provides high-refresh performance, but the visual quality loss is significant for a game that appears to benefit from higher settings.

CPU Role

The i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads provide substantial processing headroom for Minimum. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 69355, places it in the top tier of desktop processors. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core ensure that game data stays close to the execution cores, reducing memory latency that could otherwise bottleneck frame delivery.

The CPU's clock behavior — 3.40 GHz base and 5.60 GHz boost — provides strong single-thread performance, which is critical for the game's main thread. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160 and Geekbench single-core score of 2569 demonstrate the CPU's ability to handle the serial portions of the game engine. The multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multicore of 33440.5 and Geekbench multicore of 20767) show the CPU can handle background tasks and any multi-threaded game systems without contention.

In the context of Minimum's measured FPS, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent frame rate drops regardless of settings, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. However, the CPU's capability ensures that even at 1080p Low with 310 FPS, the processor is not the limiting factor. The PassMark physics score of 2964 and integer math score of 182876 indicate strong computational throughput for any physics simulation in the game, while the data compression score of 695234 suggests fast asset loading and decompression.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 1% of its average score, confirming that processor choice in this performance class has minimal impact on Minimum's frame rates. The data suggests that players with this CPU paired with a slower GPU would see the GPU become the bottleneck at all resolutions, while those with a faster GPU would see diminishing returns due to the game's engine limits.