Minimum

# Minimum — Intel Core i7-14700KF + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

This combination delivers playable frame rates across most settings in Minimum, but the data reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with a 94th percentile CPU ranking, provides ample headroom, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, sitting at the 59th GPU percentile, becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. The measured results show a steep performance cliff between 1440p and 4K, particularly at Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops to 28 — a figure that falls below smooth-playability thresholds. The pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS degradation from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the system's limits reside. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 107 FPS at 1920x1080 to 69 FPS at 2560x1440, then collapses to 37 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K — a scaling pattern that points squarely at the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth struggling to feed the pixel throughput demanded by 4K.

The Low settings row reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p Low, the system produces 166 FPS, dropping to 107 FPS at 1440p and 58 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p penalty is 35%, while the 1440p-to-4K penalty is 46%. This accelerating loss as resolution climbs indicates that the GPU's compute resources — 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs — are being overwhelmed, not the CPU. The i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads are far beyond what a 2014 third-person shooter requires, even at 1080p.

Medium settings show the same pattern with more granular data. At 1080p Medium, average FPS is 127 (min 108, max 147); at 1440p Medium, it drops to 82 (min 70, max 94); at 4K Medium, it falls to 44 (min 38, max 51). The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases, suggesting the GPU is consistently saturated rather than experiencing occasional spikes — a hallmark of pixel-bound rendering.

The Ultra settings row is the most revealing. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 82 FPS, which drops to 53 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 28 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 34% of the 1080p Ultra figure. This is a GPU-limited scenario where the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 throughput simply cannot sustain the workload. The data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking: if the processor were the constraint, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, but the consistent decline proves the graphics card is the limiting component.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Minimum?*

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 as the sweet spot. At High settings, the system delivers 107 FPS; at Low settings, 166 FPS. Even at Ultra, 1080p maintains 82 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, only Low (107 FPS) and Medium (82 FPS) comfortably exceed 60 FPS, while 4K never reaches 60 FPS in any measured setting.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 5700 XT's average benchmark score is 16361, placing it at the 59th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, scores 16351, a delta of 0.1% — effectively identical. The NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell scores 16408 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 scores 16415 (0.3% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 scores 16504 (0.9% higher). This indicates the RX 5700 XT sits in a tightly grouped performance cluster.

Q: Is the i7-14700KF overkill for this game?

A: The data suggests yes. The i7-14700KF ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 70163, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, scores 69996 (0.2% lower). With 20 cores and 28 threads, the processor provides far more compute than a 2014 third-person shooter requires. The FPS scaling across resolutions confirms GPU limitation, not CPU limitation.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 53 FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings. This is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth, but it remains playable for many users. If you want to exceed 60 FPS at 1440p, the data shows you must drop to Medium settings, which yields 82 FPS.

Q: Does this game benefit from the RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM?

A: At 4K resolution, the 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for Ultra settings, where the average FPS falls to 28. At lower resolutions, the VRAM capacity is adequate — 1080p Ultra delivers 82 FPS and 1440p Ultra delivers 53 FPS. The memory bus width of 256 bit and 14 Gbps effective memory clock are mid-range specifications that align with the GPU's overall performance tier.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Minimum?*

A: The combination ranks 2758 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the lower 26% of all configurations. This reflects the GPU's mid-range standing (59th percentile) rather than the CPU's high standing (94th percentile), confirming that the RX 5700 XT is the performance limiter.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a Raptor Lake-R architecture processor built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial on-die storage for game data. This processor was released on 2023-10-16 with a launch MSRP of $384.

Benchmark results place this CPU firmly in the high-performance tier. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44167 and single-core score of 6235 demonstrate exceptional multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities. Geekbench scores of 21462 (multicore) and 2578 (singlecore) reinforce this assessment. The Passmark multithread score of 52425 and single-thread score of 4480 further confirm the processor's strength.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role is minimal — the game's 2014 release date means it was designed for far less capable processors. The data proves this: FPS scales inversely with resolution, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. If the CPU were limiting, the 1080p High result of 107 FPS would not improve to 166 FPS at Low settings (a 55% jump) — that improvement comes entirely from reducing GPU load.

The i7-14700KF's nearest rivals show how close the top-tier CPU market is: the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F trails by 0.2%, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX by 0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X by 0.9%. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K leads by 1%. For Minimum, all of these processors would perform identically since the game cannot utilize even a fraction of the available cores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a complete picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce 166 FPS average, Medium settings 127 FPS (min 108, max 147), High settings 107 FPS, and Ultra settings 82 FPS. All presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a comfortable margin above it. The frame time consistency at Medium settings (min 108, max 147) suggests stable performance without significant dips.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably but remains playable at most settings. Low settings deliver 107 FPS, Medium settings 82 FPS (min 70, max 94), High settings 69 FPS, and Ultra settings 53 FPS. The Medium preset's min of 70 FPS indicates the system rarely dips below smooth-playability levels. High settings at 69 FPS remain above 60 FPS, but Ultra falls below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings produce 58 FPS, Medium settings 44 FPS (min 38, max 51), High settings 37 FPS, and Ultra settings 28 FPS. Only Low settings approach playable frame rates, and even that preset falls short of 60 FPS. The Medium preset's max of 51 FPS shows that frame rates never reach smooth levels at 4K.

The progression across resolutions follows a consistent pattern: each step from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs approximately 35-45% performance, regardless of settings preset. This uniform scaling is indicative of a GPU that is compute and bandwidth limited, not a system with architectural inefficiencies.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is a RDNA 1.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 7 nm process node. It contains 10,300 million transistors on a 251 mm² die, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. Memory consists of 8 GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest by modern standards: 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.51 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). Its pixel rate is 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate is 304.8 GTexel/s. These specifications explain the performance ceiling observed in Minimum at 4K resolution, where the sheer number of pixels overwhelms the available throughput.

Benchmark results place the RX 5700 XT at the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 16361. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 and Passmark G3D score of 16277 reflect mid-range positioning. The GPU's nearest rivals are remarkably close: the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, 0.1% lower), NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (16408, 0.3% higher), AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (16415, 0.3% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (16504, 0.9% higher). This tight clustering indicates the RX 5700 XT sits at a performance plateau where small architectural differences matter more than raw specifications.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in Minimum, as evidenced by playable frame rates at those resolutions. However, 4K Ultra settings require more memory bandwidth and capacity than this GPU can provide — the 28 FPS result suggests the GPU is both bandwidth-starved and compute-limited at that resolution. The 225 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU are reasonable for a GPU of this performance class.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1080p gaming: Ultra settings are viable, delivering 82 FPS average. This provides the best visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above 60 FPS. If you prioritize maximum frame rates, Low settings yield 166 FPS, but the visual trade-off is substantial. Medium settings at 127 FPS offer a balanced compromise, with the min of 108 FPS ensuring no noticeable stutter.

For 1440p gaming: Medium settings (82 FPS) or Low settings (107 FPS) are the recommended choices. High settings at 69 FPS remain playable, but the margin above 60 FPS is thin. Ultra settings at 53 FPS fall below the smooth-playability threshold, making them less desirable for competitive play. Medium settings provide the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with a min of 70 FPS ensuring consistent frame delivery.

For 4K gaming: Low settings (58 FPS) are the only viable option, and even then, the average falls slightly below 60 FPS. Medium settings (44 FPS) and High settings (37 FPS) are playable but noticeably less smooth. Ultra settings (28 FPS) should be avoided entirely — the frame rate is too low for an enjoyable experience. If 4K is a priority, the data suggests this GPU is not sufficient for the task.

The overall recommendation is to target 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, depending on your display's native resolution. The i7-14700KF provides no meaningful advantage in this game since the GPU is the sole bottleneck across all tested configurations. The RX 5700 XT's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results confirm that this GPU belongs in the mid-range tier, not the enthusiast tier.