Minimum

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor built on the Raptor Lake-R architecture, using Intel’s 10 nm process. It runs at a 3.40 GHz base clock and boosts up to 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. This CPU sits in the 94th percentile of all tested processors, which means it outperforms the vast majority of chips on the market. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (average benchmark score 69996, 0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875, 0.4% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515, 0.9% behind). The only listed competitor that beats it is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, which scores 70879, putting the 14700KF 1% behind.

For a third-person shooter like Minimum, the CPU’s job is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics, and game logic. With 20 cores and 28 threads, this chip has far more parallel capability than most games can fully exploit—Minimum is not a heavily threaded title, so the single-core performance matters more. The 14700KF delivers a strong single-core result in Cinebench R23 (6235 points) and Geekbench (2578 points), which translates into high frame pacing and low latency in CPU-bound scenarios. The boost clock of 5.60 GHz is among the highest available, giving it an edge in games that rely on a few fast cores rather than many slower ones.

The L3 cache is 33 MB shared, which helps with frequent data access in open-world sections or scenes with many entities. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured FPS data does not specify which memory type was used. For Minimum, the practical effect of this CPU is that it will not be the bottleneck at any resolution tested. The GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, especially at 4K, where the CPU has plenty of headroom. At 1080p, the CPU does start to matter more, but the 14700KF’s high boost clock and large cache keep it out of the way, as shown by the 403 FPS average at Low settings and 1080p.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 259 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F’s 69996.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79842.

Q: At 4K Ultra settings, what is the average FPS?

A: The average FPS is 69 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS is 169 at 2560x1440 with Medium settings.

Q: How much faster is the GPU’s OpenCL score compared to its Vulkan score?

A: The Geekbench OpenCL score is 334370, while the Vulkan score is 376728. The Vulkan score is about 12.7% higher than OpenCL.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop significantly. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 403 FPS. At 1440p with Low settings, it drops to 260 FPS, and at 4K with Low settings, it falls to 140 FPS. This is a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. At High settings, the drop is from 259 FPS at 1080p to 167 FPS at 1440p, then to 90 FPS at 4K—a 65% reduction as well. At Medium settings, the pattern continues: 309 FPS at 1080p, 199 FPS at 1440p, and 107 FPS at 4K, which is a 65% drop. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 197 FPS at 1080p, 127 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K—again a 65% reduction.

The consistency of this 65% drop across all settings is telling. It indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when moving from 1080p to 4K. The CPU, with its high single-core performance, is not holding back the frame rate at any resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, you would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, because the CPU workload stays the same regardless of pixel count. Instead, the FPS scales almost exactly with the pixel count increase (1080p has about 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has about 3.69 million, and 4K has about 8.29 million). The pixel count from 1080p to 4K is about 4x, but the FPS drops by about 65%, which is consistent with a GPU that is increasingly saturated.

This means that for Minimum, the RTX 5090 is the bottleneck at 4K, while the 14700KF has ample headroom. At 1080p, the CPU is more involved, but the 14700KF still delivers over 400 FPS at Low settings, so it is not a limiting factor even there. The practical takeaway is that if you want higher frame rates at 4K, you would need to lower settings, but at 1080p and 1440p, the combo is more than capable of maxing out most monitors.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 80th out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. That places it in the top 2.2% of all configurations tested. This is an exceptionally high ranking, but it is not the absolute top, which suggests that there are a few combinations that deliver slightly higher frame rates in this specific game. Given that the GPU is in the 92nd percentile and the CPU is in the 94th percentile, you might expect a higher rank, but the rank is based on measured FPS in Minimum, not on synthetic benchmarks.

The RTX 5090’s nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (avg score 79605, 0.3% behind), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, 0.6% behind), and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.1% behind). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090. These are not gaming cards in the traditional sense—they are professional or mobile parts—so the RTX 5090’s rank in gaming is likely higher than its raw benchmark percentile suggests.

For Minimum specifically, the combo rank of 80 out of 3712 means that there are 79 other combos that achieve higher average FPS. Those combos likely use the same GPU with an even faster CPU, or they use a different GPU that happens to perform better in this particular game engine. However, the difference between rank 80 and rank 1 is likely small in absolute FPS terms, because the RTX 5090 is already at the top of the GPU hierarchy. The 14700KF is also a top-tier CPU, so this combo represents a high-end 2025-era setup that will handle Minimum with ease at any resolution.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Looking at the measured FPS for each settings preset, the data provides clear guidance on what to use. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 69, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced third-person shooter. At 4K High, the average FPS jumps to 90, which is a 30% improvement over Ultra. At 4K Medium, it goes to 107, and at 4K Low, it hits 140. For a competitive or smooth experience at 4K, Medium settings at 107 FPS offers a good balance between visual quality and frame rate. Low settings at 140 FPS is the best choice if you prioritize responsiveness over looks.

At 1440p, the situation is more forgiving. Ultra runs at 127 FPS, High at 167 FPS, Medium at 199 FPS, and Low at 260 FPS. If you have a 144Hz monitor, High settings at 167 FPS is the sweet spot, as it exceeds the refresh rate and looks better than Medium. If you have a 240Hz monitor, Medium at 199 FPS is still above 144Hz, but Low at 260 FPS would be needed to fully saturate a 240Hz display. At 1080p, the combo is overkill for most displays. Ultra runs at 197 FPS, which is above 144Hz, and High runs at 259 FPS, which is above 240Hz. Low runs at 403 FPS, which is beyond even 360Hz monitors.

The best experience per measured row depends on your display and preference. For a 4K TV or monitor, Medium at 107 FPS is the recommended setting, as it provides a significant visual boost over Low while staying above 100 FPS. For 1440p, High at 167 FPS is the best balance, offering near-maximum visual quality with frame rates that exceed most high-refresh displays. For 1080p, High at 259 FPS is the practical maximum, since going to Low only adds 144 FPS but reduces visual fidelity significantly. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings—91 FPS at 4K, 169 FPS at 1440p, and 262 FPS at 1080p—which suggests that Medium settings do not have severe frame dips, making it a stable choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is the complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in Minimum.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 403 FPS.
• Medium: Average 309 FPS, minimum 262 FPS, maximum 355 FPS.
• High: Average 259 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 197 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 260 FPS.
• Medium: Average 199 FPS, minimum 169 FPS, maximum 229 FPS.
• High: Average 167 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 127 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 140 FPS.
• Medium: Average 107 FPS, minimum 91 FPS, maximum 123 FPS.
• High: Average 90 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 69 FPS.

The data shows that the combo maintains playable frame rates at every resolution and settings combination. At 4K Ultra, the 69 FPS average is the lowest recorded, but it is still above 60 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 403 FPS average is the highest, indicating that the CPU and GPU together are capable of extreme performance in lighter scenes. The minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings across all resolutions, and they show that the frame pacing is consistent even when the GPU is under load—the 91 FPS minimum at 4K Medium is only 15% below the average, which is a tight spread. The maximum FPS values for Medium settings also show headroom, with the 4K maximum hitting 123 FPS, meaning there are moments where the GPU has spare capacity.

This breakdown confirms that the RTX 5090 is the dominant component at high resolutions, while the 14700KF provides enough single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The combo is best suited for high-refresh 1440p gaming, where it can push over 160 FPS at High settings, or for 4K gaming at Medium settings, where it stays comfortably above 100 FPS.