Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER

This combination ranks at position 449 out of 3,712 tested CPU-GPU pairings in Minimum, placing it in the top 12.1% of all configurations evaluated. The pairing of a 20-core, 28-thread Intel Core i7-14700K with the 16 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers frame rates that range from fully playable at 4K Ultra to exceptionally high at 1080p Low, making it a versatile setup for a game released in 2014 that still scales meaningfully with modern hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The 449th rank out of 3,712 combos places this configuration well within the upper echelon of tested systems for Minimum. The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is 94, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the benchmark database, while the GPU sits at the 76th percentile against all graphics cards. This asymmetry — a top-tier CPU paired with a strong but not elite GPU — shapes the combo's overall position.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core i7-14700K posts an average benchmark score of 69,355. It sits within 0.1% of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,288) and 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515), showing that these processors are virtually indistinguishable in aggregate compute performance. The gap widens slightly against the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, 0.7% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, 0.9% higher), but these differences are marginal in real-world gaming.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves an average benchmark score of 31,087. The nearest rivals are all within 2%: the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (31,206, 0.4% higher), the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (31,220, 0.4% higher), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31,532, 1.4% higher), and the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31,676, 1.9% higher). This clustering indicates that the GPU's raw compute performance is well understood, but its actual in-game results for Minimum benefit from architectural advantages like Ada Lovelace's efficiency and the 16 GB memory buffer.

The combination's rank reflects a system that can push Minimum to its limits at high resolutions while maintaining headroom for other tasks. In the context of all tested combos, this configuration is neither at the very top nor mid-pack; it sits comfortably in the top tier where users can expect smooth gameplay across all settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the AD103 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 45,900 million transistors packed into a 379 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz for 21 Gbps effective throughput. This memory configuration — 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus — delivers 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a game like Minimum that was designed before high-bandwidth memory became standard.

The GPU's 8,448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines provide the raw throughput for high-resolution rendering. Pixel rate is 250.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 689.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute at 44.10 TFLOPS. These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates: at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 56 FPS, while dropping to High settings boosts that to 73 FPS, and Low settings push it to 114 FPS.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant for Minimum at 4K resolution. Even at Ultra settings, the game does not appear to exceed this buffer, as the measured results show no anomalous drops that would indicate memory pressure. The GDDR6X memory type and 256-bit interface provide ample bandwidth for the game's texture streaming and geometry processing demands.

The GPU's benchmark results reinforce its mid-high positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 5,569; in Geekbench OpenCL, it reaches 199,267; and in Passmark G3D, it posts 31,811. These scores, combined with the 76th percentile ranking, indicate a GPU that is capable but not the absolute fastest available, which aligns with its performance in Minimum where it delivers playable 4K and excellent 1440p results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with frame rates ranging from 104 FPS at Ultra to 212 FPS at Low. At 1920x1080, the combo exceeds 161 FPS even at Ultra, while at 3840x2160, Ultra dips to 56 FPS and High stays at 73 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69,355 on average, which is 0.1% above the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,288), 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515), 0.7% below the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875), and 0.9% below the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996). These deltas are negligible for gaming.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM matter for Minimum?

A: Yes, it provides headroom. At 4K Ultra, the game still averages 56 FPS with no min FPS reported as a constraint, suggesting the memory buffer is sufficient. The 672.3 GB/s bandwidth also supports high-resolution texture loads without bottlenecking.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 329 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 56 FPS, a reduction of over 80%. This scaling pattern is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios, especially given the CPU's strong 94th percentile ranking.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of these components?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has a launch MSRP of $409, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has a launch MSRP of 799 USD.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its single-core?

A: In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 33,440.5 multi-core and 2,160 single-core, a ratio of roughly 15.5:1. Geekbench shows 20,767 multi-core and 2,569 single-core. This strong multi-core performance benefits Minimum's background processing, though the game's primary load is GPU-driven.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings average 329 FPS, Medium averages 252 FPS with a minimum of 214 and maximum of 290, High averages 211 FPS, and Ultra averages 161 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never constrained by the GPU; even at Ultra, the frame rate is nearly triple the refresh rate of a standard 60 Hz monitor and well above typical 144 Hz displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but the scaling becomes evident. Low settings average 212 FPS, Medium averages 162 FPS with a range of 138 to 187, High averages 136 FPS, and Ultra averages 104 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 35-40% across settings, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. At 1440p Ultra, the 104 FPS average still provides a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload intensifies significantly. Low settings average 114 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a range of 74 to 101, High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra averages 56 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is just below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, but High settings at 73 FPS provides a comfortable margin. The Medium setting's minimum of 74 FPS indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains playable frame rates.

The lack of min/max FPS data for most settings (only Medium has these values at each resolution) suggests that the test methodology captured average performance primarily. The available min/max data shows reasonable consistency: at 4K Medium, the spread is 74 to 101 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 138 to 187 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, 214 to 290 FPS. These ranges indicate stable performance without severe frame time spikes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides substantial compute headroom for Minimum, a game that is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its strength. In Cinebench R23, it achieves 33,440.5 multi-core and 2,160 single-core. Geekbench scores are 20,767 multi-core and 2,569 single-core. Passmark results show 52,392 for multithread, 4,472 for single-thread, and 2964 for physics. These scores place the CPU at the 94th percentile against all processors, meaning it outperforms 94% of CPUs in the database.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role becomes less critical as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 329 FPS, which likely approaches the CPU's frame generation limit. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, allowing the CPU to operate well below its maximum capacity. The 20 cores and 28 threads ensure that any background tasks or game logic threads are handled without contention.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate performance are all within 1%, indicating that for gaming, any of these processors would yield similar results. The Intel's 5.60 GHz boost clock provides excellent single-threaded performance, which is relevant for Minimum's main game thread. The 33 MB L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing memory latency in scenarios where the game accesses large datasets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings at 161 FPS exceed the refresh rate of most monitors, so users can select Ultra without concern. However, for maximum frame rates, Low settings at 329 FPS would benefit competitive players seeking the lowest latency.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings at 104 FPS are playable on 100 Hz+ monitors, but High settings at 136 FPS provide a better experience on 144 Hz displays. The jump from High to Ultra costs 32 FPS (from 136 to 104), which may not justify the visual improvement for some users. Medium settings at 162 FPS offer the best combination of visual quality and high refresh rate performance for 165 Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the choice is more constrained. Ultra settings at 56 FPS are marginally playable but may feel less smooth on 60 Hz displays. High settings at 73 FPS provide a safer margin above 60 FPS, while Medium at 87 FPS is the recommended sweet spot for 4K. Low settings at 114 FPS are available for users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, but the visual downgrade at 4K may be noticeable.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the most consistent performance across resolutions, with minimum FPS values of 74 at 4K, 138 at 1440p, and 214 at 1080p. This consistency suggests that Medium is well-balanced for this hardware combination. For users with variable refresh rate monitors, High settings provide a good balance between image quality and performance, especially at 1440p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck characteristics. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 211 at 1080p to 136 at 1440p (a 35.5% reduction) and then to 73 at 4K (a further 46.3% reduction). At Low settings, the progression is 329 to 212 to 114, representing 35.6% and 46.2% reductions respectively. This consistent scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

The pixel count between resolutions helps explain this scaling: 4K (3840x2160) has exactly 4 times the pixels of 1080p (1920x1080), while 1440p (2560x1440) has approximately 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p. If the system were perfectly GPU-bound, we would expect FPS to scale inversely with pixel count. However, the measured data shows less severe scaling: at High settings, 4K delivers 73 FPS versus 211 at 1080p, which is 34.6% of the 1080p performance, better than the theoretical 25% if scaling were perfectly linear with pixel count.

This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to limit performance, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. The 329 FPS at 1080p Low is likely near the CPU's frame delivery ceiling, given the i7-14700K's single-thread performance. As resolution increases, the GPU workload grows, and the system becomes more GPU-bound, allowing the CPU to catch up.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows more pronounced drops: at Ultra, from 104 to 56 FPS (46.2% reduction), and at Medium, from 162 to 87 FPS (46.3% reduction). This aligns with the pixel count ratio of 2.25 (4K pixels / 1440p pixels), indicating that at these settings, the system is firmly GPU-bound. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB VRAM and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline, but the raw compute power at 44.10 TFLOPS becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra.

For users targeting high refresh rates, 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings offers the best experience. For 4K users, the system is best suited to Medium or High settings, where it maintains 87 and 73 FPS respectively. The data makes clear that this combination is capable of excellent performance across all resolutions, but the GPU becomes the determining factor as pixel count rises.