Minimum

# Minimum: Intel Core i7-14700KF + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT — Performance Analysis

This benchmark database entry examines the measured frame rates for the 2014 third-person shooter Minimum when paired with an Intel Core i7-14700KF and an AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT. The data set covers three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K) across four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), with average FPS recorded for all twelve combinations, plus minimum and maximum values for the Medium preset at each resolution. The combo ranks 1241st out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of all systems evaluated for this title. The analysis below interprets how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the observed results, what the scaling patterns reveal about system bottlenecks, and which settings offer the most practical experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 193 FPS at 1920x1080 to 124 FPS at 2560x1440 — a 36% reduction — and then to 67 FPS at 3840x2160, another 46% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern of diminishing returns as pixel count increases is classic behavior for a GPU-limited workload.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 252 FPS at 1080p drops to 162 FPS at 1440p and then to 87 FPS at 4K. The percentage loss from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36%, while the loss from 1440p to 4K is about 46%. The increasing penalty at each step suggests the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor — the RX 7800 XT's 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate is being saturated as resolution climbs.

High settings tell a similar story: 162 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The 4K result here is particularly telling — it falls below the 60 FPS threshold, meaning the GPU cannot sustain a smooth experience at maximum resolution with High quality. Ultra settings push this further, with 123 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and just 43 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is barely half of the 1080p Ultra result, indicating that the RX 7800 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain playable rates at the highest pixel counts with all effects enabled.

The scaling ratios between presets at a given resolution are also informative. At 1080p, the spread from Low (252 FPS) to Ultra (123 FPS) is about 2.05x, meaning Ultra costs roughly half the frame rate of Low. At 1440p, that spread narrows to 2.05x as well (162 vs 79), and at 4K it widens slightly to 2.02x (87 vs 43). The consistency of this ratio across resolutions implies that the relative cost of each quality tier is stable, but the absolute headroom shrinks as resolution rises.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its 28,100 million transistors and 346 mm² die size house 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units. The GPU's boost clock reaches 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a base of 1295 MHz. Memory consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth — a substantial pool that helps at 1440p but appears insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title.

The benchmark results show the GPU's compute capabilities: 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s. In Minimum, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the steep FPS declines when pixel count increases. At 4K Ultra, the 43 FPS average suggests the card's pixel rate (233.3 GPixel/s) and shading throughput are both saturated. The GPU's percentile rank among all GPUs is 51, placing it just above median, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (0.5% lower average score) and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (1.8% higher) — interestingly, the RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 11627 is roughly on par with much older or lower-tier cards in synthetic tests, though the game-specific measurements here tell a more nuanced story.

At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, as shown by the 252 FPS Low result. This suggests the CPU — with its 20 cores and 28 threads — is not a bottleneck at that resolution, and the GPU can flex its full potential. However, the fact that 4K Ultra drops to 43 FPS indicates the GPU architecture's limits under heavy load. VRAM usage is not directly measured here, but the 16 GB capacity is ample for a 2014 title, so memory size is unlikely to be the constraint; rather, the raw compute and bandwidth are the limiting factors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and frame rate depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 162 FPS average, which is well above any display refresh rate in common use, while Ultra pushes 123 FPS — still smooth, but at a 24% performance cost. For most users at 1080p, High is the sweet spot, offering nearly the visual fidelity of Ultra with a substantial FPS buffer. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 193 FPS with a minimum of 164 FPS, providing excellent consistency for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, High settings drop to 104 FPS, which remains playable for most fast-paced shooters, though Ultra falls to 79 FPS — a noticeable step down but still above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 1440p produces 124 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, making it the safest choice for maintaining smooth motion during intense gameplay. The data suggests that for 1440p, Medium or High are the practical choices, with Ultra only recommended if the display is capped at 60 Hz and visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate headroom.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. High settings average 56 FPS, dipping below the 60 FPS target, while Medium achieves 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS — barely playable but with occasional stutter risk. Low settings at 4K reach 87 FPS, offering a smoother experience but with significantly reduced visual quality. Ultra at 4K averages 43 FPS, which is generally too low for a shooter. The recommendation for 4K is to use Low or Medium, depending on whether frame stability or visual fidelity matters more; the Medium preset's 57 FPS minimum is the only sub-4K option that stays close to 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want at least 100 FPS average?

A: At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 100 FPS, with High at 162 FPS and Ultra at 123 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (162 FPS) and Medium (124 FPS) break the 100 FPS barrier; High drops to 104 FPS, while Ultra falls to 79 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 100 FPS.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for Minimum?*

A: This combination ranks 1241st out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the 66th percentile of all systems. This indicates a solidly above-average configuration for this game, though not in the top tier.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the high frame rates (252 FPS on Low, 193 FPS on Medium) suggest the GPU is not fully utilized, and the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 2.05x performance cost, which is consistent with GPU-side effects rather than CPU bottlenecks.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS. At 1080p, the range is 164-222 FPS (average 193), at 1440p it is 106-143 FPS (average 124), and at 4K it is 57-77 FPS (average 67). The spread suggests reasonable consistency, with the minimum staying within 15% of the average at each resolution.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7800 XT's average benchmark score of 11627 is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11680), 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11528), and 1.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (11842). These deltas are all within 2%, indicating near-parity in synthetic tests despite the architectural differences.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming at all?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 87, which is playable. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 67 FPS with a 57 FPS minimum, making it borderline for smooth play. High and Ultra at 4K produce 56 FPS and 43 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS target for most users.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-R architecture, featuring a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3. The CPU's 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a high-end desktop part, and its benchmark scores reflect that: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167, a Geekbench multi-core score of 21462, and a Passmark multithread score of 52425. Its percentile rank among all CPUs is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of tested processors.

In Minimum, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p. The fact that 1080p Low produces 252 FPS — while 1080p Ultra drops to 123 FPS — suggests the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough at lower settings, and the bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU as quality increases. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to plateau regardless of settings, but the 2.05x spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p indicates the GPU is the constraint even at that resolution.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% higher average score), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% higher), and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (1% lower). These deltas are minuscule, suggesting that the i7-14700KF is well within the performance envelope of its peers for CPU-bound tasks. However, in Minimum, the game's age and relatively low CPU demands mean that even a mid-range processor would likely produce similar frame rates at 1080p; the i7's high core count and 5.60 GHz boost clock are more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RX 7800 XT.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are: Low 252 FPS, Medium 193 FPS (minimum 164, maximum 222), High 162 FPS, and Ultra 123 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent step-down, with Ultra costing 51% of the Low FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 164 FPS indicates strong consistency, with only a 15% variation from the average.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 162 FPS, Medium 124 FPS (minimum 106, maximum 143), High 104 FPS, and Ultra 79 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 36% for Low, 36% for Medium, 36% for High, and 36% for Ultra — a remarkably uniform scaling factor that suggests pixel count is the dominant variable. The Medium minimum of 106 FPS remains playable, though the 15% deviation from average matches the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 87 FPS, Medium 67 FPS (minimum 57, maximum 77), High 56 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 46% reduction for Low, 46% for Medium, 46% for High, and 46% for Ultra — again uniform, but a steeper penalty than the 1080p-to-1440p step. This increased penalty at the highest resolution indicates the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel rate are being stretched beyond their comfort zone. The Medium minimum of 57 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, making it the only 4K preset that comes close to smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 1241st out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the 66.6th percentile. This means roughly two-thirds of all tested systems perform better in this game, while one-third perform worse. Given that the CPU is in the 94th percentile among all CPUs and the GPU is in the 51st percentile, the overall ranking suggests the GPU is the primary factor dragging the combo down — a high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU yields a result that is above average but not exceptional.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the GTX 1660, Radeon Pro 5500M, and RX 6500 XT — all have average scores within 2% of the RX 7800 XT, which is surprising given the architectural gap between RDNA 3.0 and older designs. However, in Minimum, the RX 7800 XT's 16 GB of VRAM and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth likely provide advantages that synthetic tests do not fully capture, particularly at 4K where the 87 FPS Low result shows the card can still perform respectably when settings are tuned down.

The rank of 1241 out of 3712 implies that for a 2014 shooter, this combo is more than adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it does not excel at 4K. The data suggests that to improve the ranking, a GPU with higher pixel throughput would be needed, as the CPU side has ample headroom — evidenced by the fact that the i7-14700KF's benchmark scores are far above the median, yet the combo's rank is only slightly above the median. This is a classic case where the GPU is the limiting component, and the CPU's 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock are essentially waiting for a more powerful graphics card to feed.