Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose performance profile with the Intel Core i9-14900K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination shows a system that is consistently GPU-bound across all tested resolutions, with the measured frame rates scaling in a predictable pattern that reflects the Radeon RX 6600’s 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus width. The data set includes twelve measured FPS rows spanning four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K), providing a complete picture of how this pairing handles the game’s demands, and the combo ranks 2885 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases, which is the expected behavior for a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 156 FPS average, which drops to 100 FPS at 1440p and further to 54 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.9% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the Radeon RX 6600’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth become increasingly strained as the number of pixels rendered multiplies.

Looking at High settings, the same pattern emerges: 100 FPS at 1080p drops to 65 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 35 FPS at 4K (a 65% reduction from 1080p). The consistency of these percentages across different settings presets strongly suggests that resolution scaling is dominated by the GPU’s raw rasterization capabilities rather than by CPU-side limitations or memory subsystem bottlenecks. The 4K Ultra preset, which is the most demanding configuration in the data set, produces only 26 FPS average, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in most scenarios.

The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep across all settings. At Medium settings, 1440p yields 77 FPS while 4K yields 41 FPS, a 46.8% reduction. At Ultra, 1440p gives 49 FPS while 4K gives 26 FPS, a 46.9% reduction. This near-identical percentage drop across settings indicates that the limiting factor at 4K is not the settings complexity but rather the sheer pixel count overwhelming the Radeon RX 6600’s 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 159.4 GPixel/s pixel rate. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory, while sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in this game, likely becomes a more significant constraint at 4K where texture and buffer requirements expand considerably.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a more moderate penalty, with reductions ranging from 35.9% at Low to 35.0% at High, and 35.3% at Medium and Ultra. This uniformity suggests that the GPU is operating in a similar efficiency regime across these two resolutions, with the extra pixels at 1440p being handled proportionally. The 4K results, however, show a disproportionate penalty, which aligns with the interpretation that the Radeon RX 6600’s memory subsystem becomes a hard wall at that resolution. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, this combination would require significant settings reductions to achieve playable frame rates, and even Low settings at 4K produce only 54 FPS, which is marginal for a third-person shooter.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and the desired frame rate floor. At 1080p, all four presets produce playable results, with Low hitting 156 FPS, Medium at 119 FPS (with a minimum of 101 FPS), High at 100 FPS, and Ultra at 76 FPS. For players with 60 Hz displays, Ultra at 1080p provides a comfortable margin above the refresh rate, and even the minimum frame rate for Medium (101 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS. The data suggests that at 1080p, Ultra is the best experience because it delivers 76 FPS average while presumably offering the highest visual quality, and this remains above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the baseline for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Low settings produce 100 FPS, Medium produces 77 FPS (with a minimum of 65 FPS), High produces 65 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot here, as its 77 FPS average and 65 FPS minimum both exceed 60 FPS, while High’s 65 FPS average is just barely above but with no reported minimum, and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. For 1440p, Medium offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, with the minimum recorded frame rate of 65 FPS ensuring that even demanding scenes stay above the playability threshold. High at 1440p is also viable for 60 Hz displays, but the lack of a minimum FPS value makes it harder to guarantee consistent smoothness.

At 4K, the recommendation is more constrained. Low settings produce 54 FPS, Medium produces 41 FPS (with a minimum of 35 FPS), High produces 35 FPS, and Ultra produces 26 FPS. None of these presets reach 60 FPS, and only Low comes close at 54 FPS. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that Low is the only viable preset for playable frame rates, and even then, the 54 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 4K has a minimum of 35 FPS, which would be noticeable in fast-paced gameplay. The measured data indicates that 4K with this GPU is a compromise scenario, and players should either accept Low settings at 4K or drop to 1440p Medium for a significantly better experience. The 1440p Medium preset, with its 77 FPS average and 65 FPS minimum, represents the best overall experience in the entire data set when considering both visual quality and frame rate consistency.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Minimum?

A: The highest average frame rate is 156 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only preset in the data set that exceeds 150 FPS.

Q: Does the Intel Core i9-14900K bottleneck the AMD Radeon RX 6600 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. Across all resolutions, frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, which is the signature of GPU-bound performance. The Core i9-14900K’s 24 cores and 32 threads, combined with its 6.00 GHz boost clock, provide ample headroom for this 2014 title.

Q: What is the worst-performing configuration in the measured data?

A: The worst configuration is 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings, producing an average frame rate of 26 FPS. This is the only preset in the data set that falls below 30 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Medium preset compare to 1440p High in terms of frame rate?

A: The 4K Medium preset averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, while 1440p High averages 65 FPS with no reported minimum. The 1440p High preset delivers 58.5% higher average frame rate compared to 4K Medium.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 6600’s 8 GB memory sufficient for Minimum at all tested settings?

A: The data suggests that 8 GB is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p across all settings, as frame rates remain playable. At 4K, the severe frame rate drops across all settings indicate that memory bandwidth (224.0 GB/s) and capacity constraints likely contribute to the poor performance, though the data cannot isolate memory as the sole factor.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K with AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 2885 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the 22.3rd percentile of tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this pairing at rank 2885 out of 3712 total combinations, which means it sits in the bottom 22.3% of all tested systems for Minimum. This ranking is notable because the Intel Core i9-14900K is a high-end CPU that ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s low in-game rank indicates that the GPU is the decisive factor for Minimum’s performance, and the Radeon RX 6600’s mid-range positioning drags the overall combo down despite the powerful processor.

The rank of 2885 out of 3712 means that 827 tested combinations performed worse than this pairing, while 2884 performed better. This places the combo in a crowded field where many mid-range and high-end GPU configurations outperform it. The ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show that this combination is capable of 1080p gaming at high settings (100 FPS) and 1440p gaming at medium settings (77 FPS), but struggles at 4K. In the context of the database, this rank suggests that players seeking 4K performance in Minimum would need a more powerful GPU than the Radeon RX 6600, while the Core i9-14900K provides more than enough CPU headroom.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a deltaPct of 0%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile at -0.1%, the NVIDIA Tesla K20m at -0.3%, and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation at +0.4%. These small delta percentages indicate that the Radeon RX 6600 is performance-equivalent to a range of professional and mobile GPUs, which contextualizes its mid-range standing. The CPU’s nearest rivals show similarly tight clustering, with the Intel Core i9-14900KF at -0.3%, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at -0.6%, the AMD EPYC 7413 at -1.2%, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 at +1.7%. This data reinforces that both components are well-matched in their respective tiers, but the GPU’s tier is the limiting factor for this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC with 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The clock speeds are 1626 MHz base, 2044 MHz game clock, and 2491 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place the GPU in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19036.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role is clearly dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling pattern. The Radeon RX 6600’s 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s. These throughput figures explain why 1080p performance is strong (100-156 FPS depending on settings) but 4K performance collapses to 26-54 FPS. The 4K resolution requires approximately four times the pixel work of 1080p, and the Radeon RX 6600’s pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at that resolution in this game.

The memory subsystem is a critical factor at higher resolutions. The 128-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and the 8 GB capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p in Minimum, appears to become a constraint at 4K. The measured data shows that even at Low settings, 4K only achieves 54 FPS, which suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is a limiting factor independent of settings complexity. The GDDR6 memory at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) provides the same bandwidth regardless of settings, so the severe drop from 1440p Low (100 FPS) to 4K Low (54 FPS) reflects the GPU’s inability to fill pixels fast enough at 4K, rather than a memory capacity issue alone.

The GPU’s benchmark scores in other tests provide additional context. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1492, and its PassMark G3D score is 15096, with a DirectX 12 score of 51. These synthetic benchmarks, combined with the measured in-game FPS, paint a picture of a mid-range GPU that excels at 1080p and handles 1440p reasonably well, but is not designed for 4K gaming in demanding titles. The Radeon RX 6600’s 63rd percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with its in-game performance, which is solid for mainstream resolutions but falls short of high-end expectations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data set for this combo in Minimum is as follows:

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low settings: 156 FPS average
• Medium settings: 119 FPS average, 101 FPS minimum, 137 FPS maximum
• High settings: 100 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 76 FPS average

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low settings: 100 FPS average
• Medium settings: 77 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• High settings: 65 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 49 FPS average

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low settings: 54 FPS average
• Medium settings: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 48 FPS maximum
• High settings: 35 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 26 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear hierarchy where each settings increase costs a predictable amount of performance. Moving from Low to Medium reduces frame rate by 37 FPS (23.7%), from Medium to High by 19 FPS (16.0%), and from High to Ultra by 24 FPS (24.0%). At 1440p, the step from Low to Medium costs 23 FPS (23.0%), Medium to High costs 12 FPS (15.6%), and High to Ultra costs 16 FPS (24.6%). At 4K, Low to Medium costs 13 FPS (24.1%), Medium to High costs 6 FPS (14.6%), and High to Ultra costs 9 FPS (25.7%). This consistent pattern shows that the relative cost of Ultra settings is similar across resolutions, while Medium to High is the least expensive step.

The minimum FPS values, provided only for Medium settings, show that 1080p Medium has a minimum of 101 FPS, 1440p Medium has a minimum of 65 FPS, and 4K Medium has a minimum of 35 FPS. These minimums are 84.9%, 84.4%, and 85.4% of their respective averages, indicating that frame time consistency is maintained across resolutions. The maximum FPS values for Medium settings are 137 at 1080p, 88 at 1440p, and 48 at 4K, which are 115.1%, 114.3%, and 117.1% of their averages, respectively.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB shared L3 cache. This CPU ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 79097.

In the context of Minimum, the Core i9-14900K’s role is to provide more than sufficient processing headroom for the game’s CPU demands. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across resolutions. The CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads, combined with its 6.00 GHz boost clock, are far beyond what a 2014 third-person shooter would require, even in the most demanding scenes. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5 indicate exceptional performance that would not constrain the Radeon RX 6600 in any scenario tested.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i9-14900KF with a deltaPct of -0.3%, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at -0.6%, the AMD EPYC 7413 at -1.2%, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 at +1.7%. These small deltas show that the Core i9-14900K is performance-equivalent to the top processors in the database, and its 95th percentile ranking confirms its position near the top of the CPU hierarchy. The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel memory bus, provides ample bandwidth for the game’s data streaming needs.

The CPU’s integrated graphics, UHD Graphics 770, is not utilized in this configuration since a discrete GPU is present, but its existence is noted in the specification. The CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support with 16 lanes ensures that the Radeon RX 6600, which uses PCIe 4.0 x8, has more than enough bandwidth for data transfer. The CPU’s launch MSRP was $589, and it was released on 2023-10-16. The benchmark data shows that the CPU’s PassMark multi-thread score is 58674, single-thread score is 4697, and floating point math score is 152975, all of which indicate a processor that is vastly overqualified for the demands of Minimum. The data confirms that the CPU contributes nothing negative to this combo’s performance in this game, and the 2885 out of 3712 rank is entirely attributable to the GPU’s limitations.