Minimum

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a formidable combination for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that remains demanding at high resolutions. In the benchmark database, this combo ranks 465th out of 1,733 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27% of all systems. This is a strong result, though not a top-tier one, indicating that while the hardware is capable of excellent frame rates, there are other combos that push further ahead, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the deciding factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The 465th rank out of 1,733 combos puts this pairing in a solid position, but it is not an elite performer. The data suggests that this system is better suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming than for pushing extreme frame rates at 1080p. The ranking reflects a balance where the GPU's raw power is somewhat mitigated by the game's engine, which appears to have a hard ceiling on how many frames it can produce regardless of hardware. The measured FPS figures confirm this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 275.3 FPS, which is impressive, but the jump from 1440p to 1080p does not yield a proportional increase in performance, hinting at a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The 465th rank confirms the GPU's capability, but the 1,268 combos ahead of it likely feature either more powerful graphics cards or CPUs that can feed frames faster at 1080p, where the i9-14900K's 24 cores are not fully utilized by a game from 2014.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has 36 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 49,872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,040 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 58,674 and a single-thread score of 4,697. These numbers place it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7413 (0.3% slower), Intel Core i9-14900KF (0.7% faster), and Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (0.7% faster). For Minimum, the CPU's role is less about its 24 cores and more about its single-thread performance. The game, released in 2014, likely uses only a few cores, so the i9-14900K's high boost clock of 6.00 GHz is the critical factor. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 275.3 FPS, which is a clear sign that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently. However, the 24 cores are largely idle, and the 32 threads are overkill for this title, meaning the CPU's massive multi-core headroom is not a factor in this game's results. The CPU's Passmark data compression score of 792,694 and encryption score of 46,813 are irrelevant here, but the single-thread performance is the backbone of the high FPS numbers seen at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a 16 GB GDDR6 card based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture, with a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. It has 4,096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, with a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is 48.66 TFLOPS, and it scores 72,60 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and 26,795 in Passmark G3D. The GPU sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0.1% faster), NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% slower), and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (0.6% slower). In Minimum, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 48.7 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at that extreme setting. The 16 GB of VRAM is ample for this game, and the 128 ROPs handle pixel fill rates well, as evidenced by the 380.2 GPixel/s pixel rate. The GPU's 64 RT cores are not utilized in this title, but the raw rasterization power shines through. At 1440p High, the card delivers 117.8 FPS, which is a strong result, and at 1080p High, it reaches 176.3 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle high settings without breaking a sweat. The RX 9070 XT's 2970 MHz boost clock is a key contributor to these numbers, as it allows the card to maintain high clock speeds under load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 275.3 FPS on Low, 211.4 FPS on Medium, 176.3 FPS on High, and 137.5 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that the system is capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, but the drop from Low to Ultra is significant, with a 50% reduction in performance. At 2560x1440, the figures are 179.5 FPS on Low, 138.8 FPS on Medium, 117.8 FPS on High, and 86.8 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results are more balanced, with the GPU starting to become the bottleneck as resolution increases. At 3840x2160, the combo produces 98.4 FPS on Low, 70.6 FPS on Medium, 61.9 FPS on High, and 48.7 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 48.7 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, highlighting the GPU's limits at the highest settings. The data shows a clear trend: at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the FPS gains from lowering settings are substantial (from 137.5 to 275.3 FPS, a 100% increase). At 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, as the FPS drops are more linear with setting changes (from 98.4 to 48.7 FPS, a 50% decrease).

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the balance between CPU and GPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 275.3 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it drops to 179.5 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, the FPS falls to 98.4, a 64% reduction from 1080p. This scaling pattern indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions; rather, the GPU is struggling to fill the increasing pixel count. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is from 176.3 to 117.8 FPS, a 33% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K at High is from 117.8 to 61.9 FPS, a 47% reduction. This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the raw compute power (48.66 TFLOPS) is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The data shows that the limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU's single-thread performance is more than adequate for this game. At 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the FPS gains from lowering settings are larger than expected, indicating that the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough at lower resolutions. The sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the balance between CPU and GPU is optimal, delivering 117.8 FPS on High settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this combo?*

A: The data suggests 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At High settings, it delivers 117.8 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, and the GPU is not severely bottlenecked, as seen at 4K Ultra where it drops to 48.7 FPS.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, it hits 98.4 FPS, and at 4K High, it drops to 61.9 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 48.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

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

A: The CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p. The FPS jumps from 137.5 on Ultra to 275.3 on Low, a 100% increase, which indicates the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the i9-14900K compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i9-14900K is 0.3% slower than the AMD EPYC 7413, 0.7% faster than the Intel Core i9-14900KF, and 0.7% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF in average benchmark scores.

Q: How does the RX 9070 XT compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 9070 XT is 0.1% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro 575, 0.2% faster than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, and 0.5% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro 575X.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the difference is 31 FPS. High settings deliver 117.8 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 86.8 FPS, a 26% reduction in performance.