Minimum

# Minimum — Intel Core i7-14700KF + AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a broadly playable experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter, though the data reveals a system that shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to firmly GPU-bound at 4K. With 20 cores and 28 threads on the processor side and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on the graphics card, this combo ranks 1141 out of 1733 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The measured frame rates across twelve resolution/settings combinations tell a story of a GPU that handles 1080p effortlessly but struggles to maintain smooth performance at Ultra settings in higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 111.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 75 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 42.1 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 33% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and another 44% drop going from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which strongly suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At Low settings, the pattern is even more pronounced: 177.8 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 60.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result being barely above 60 FPS while 1080p Low approaches 180 FPS indicates the Radeon RX 6650 XT's 128-bit memory bus and 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth are saturated by the sheer pixel throughput demand at 3840x2160.

Interestingly, the scaling between Medium and High settings is relatively small at each resolution, suggesting that the game's Medium preset may already be exercising similar GPU workloads as High in this title. The Ultra preset, however, causes a dramatic collapse: at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 28, which is 51% lower than 4K High. This nonlinear degradation at Ultra across all resolutions — 85 FPS at 1080p Ultra versus 134.7 FPS at Medium — points to specific rendering features in the Ultra preset that disproportionately tax the GPU's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, built on the 7 nm RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, has a base clock of 2055 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2410 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 17.5 Gbps effective across a 128-bit bus, yielding 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the card has headroom to spare — even Ultra settings produce 85 FPS, and Low reaches 177.8 FPS. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU faster than the graphics card can render, but the gap is not enormous.

At 1440p, the GPU starts to feel the pressure. High settings yield 75 FPS, which is playable but not exceptional, while Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS. The 4K results are where the GPU's limitations become stark: even Low settings only manage 60.2 FPS, and High falls to 42.1 FPS. This is consistent with a card that has 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s — sufficient for 1080p and decent 1440p, but inadequate for smooth 4K in this title. The GPU's percentile ranking of 72 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29024, places it slightly above the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0) and marginally below the Intel Arc A370M (deltaPct -0.5), indicating it sits in a crowded mid-range performance tier.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-R architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial headroom for gaming workloads. In Minimum, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 177.8 FPS — a figure that likely approaches the game engine's own frame rate ceiling given the title's 2014 release date. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and single-core score of 6290 indicate excellent raw throughput, and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects top-tier performance.

However, the data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most tested scenarios. The FPS scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is largely consistent, with the GPU being the variable that shifts performance. At 1080p, the CPU can clearly drive frame rates above 170 FPS, but the GPU's rendering limits cap the experience. The i7-14700KF's nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-14700K (deltaPct 0), AMD EPYC 9115 (deltaPct 0.3), and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (deltaPct -0.4), showing that this CPU is essentially at parity with the fastest consumer chips available. In a game like Minimum, which likely relies more on single-thread performance, the 5.60 GHz boost clock and strong IPC of the Raptor Lake architecture ensure the CPU is never the limiting factor — the GPU is.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: At 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 60.2, which is just at the threshold of smooth playability. At 4K High, it drops to 42.1 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 28 FPS. The data suggests 4K is only viable at Low settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. All settings presets at 1080p produce at least 85 FPS, with Low reaching 177.8 FPS. At 1440p, High settings still deliver 75 FPS, but Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, which is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K at 70074 (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 70420 (deltaPct -0.4). It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes, at higher resolutions. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent with GPU-bound rendering. At 1080p Low, the CPU can push 177.8 FPS, but the GPU's limits become clear as resolution increases.

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: Low settings at 1440p yield 115 FPS, Medium yields 86.6 FPS, and High yields 75 FPS. For a smooth experience, Medium or High are recommended, as Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1141 out of 1733 combos in Minimum, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The CPU is high-end, but the GPU is mid-range, dragging the overall ranking down.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 1141 out of 1733 tested configurations in Minimum, this pairing sits in the 34th percentile of all combos — meaning roughly two-thirds of tested systems perform better. This is a notable disconnect between the CPU and GPU tiers. The Intel Core i7-14700KF ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. The CPU is far stronger than the GPU, which creates an imbalanced system where the graphics card limits overall gaming performance.

The ranking reflects that Minimum is a 2014 title, and modern mid-range GPUs can handle it well at lower resolutions, but the Ultra preset and 4K resolutions push the RX 6650 XT beyond its comfort zone. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is not optimized for maximum frame rates in this specific game. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct 0.1), which are older or mobile parts, indicating the RX 6650 XT is competitive within its class but not exceptional. The overall combo ranking suggests that users seeking higher performance in Minimum would benefit from a stronger GPU, as the CPU has ample headroom to support faster graphics cards.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 85 FPS, which is smooth and visually rich. Since even the most demanding preset at this resolution exceeds 60 FPS, there is no reason to compromise on visual quality at 1080p. The Medium preset at 134.7 FPS offers a significant frame rate boost for competitive play, while High at 111.6 FPS strikes a balance between the two.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 75 FPS provides the best combination of visual fidelity and smoothness, as Ultra drops to 54.7 FPS, which may feel less fluid. Medium at 86.6 FPS is also viable for players prioritizing frame rate over visuals. Low at 115 FPS is available for maximum responsiveness, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it given that High already clears 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Low settings at 60.2 FPS is the only preset that maintains a playable frame rate. Medium at 46.6 FPS and High at 42.1 FPS are borderline, while Ultra at 28 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. For 4K users, Low is the pragmatic choice, though the experience will lack visual polish. Overall, the data suggests that 1080p Ultra or 1440p High are the best settings for this combo in Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 177.8, Medium 134.7, High 111.6, and Ultra 85. The spread from Low to Ultra is 92.8 FPS, showing a wide performance range that gives users flexibility. At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 115, Medium 86.6, High 75, and Ultra 54.7. The spread narrows to 60.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU's limits begin to compress the range. At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 60.2, Medium 46.6, High 42.1, and Ultra 28. The spread is 32.2 FPS, and all presets except Low fall below 60 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: resolution scaling has a larger impact on FPS than settings scaling at higher resolutions. For example, at 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces FPS by 52%, while at 4K the same settings change reduces FPS by 53%. However, the absolute impact of resolution is more severe — jumping from 1080p High to 4K High reduces FPS by 62%, from 111.6 to 42.1. This indicates that pixel count is the dominant factor, and the RX 6650 XT's 8 GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus are the key constraints at 4K. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 28 FPS, is the worst-case scenario and should be avoided. Conversely, 1080p Low at 177.8 FPS represents the ceiling of what this combo can deliver, and it is a strong result for a game from 2014.