Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i9-14900K + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a heavily GPU-bound experience in Minimum, a 2014 Third-Person Shooter. The data shows a combination that ranks 2602nd out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 12% of all configurations. This ranking stems almost entirely from the Arc B390's modest graphical capabilities, as the CPU is a top-tier part (95th percentile among all CPUs) with a 24-core, 32-thread design. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 95 FPS average, but this drops to 16 FPS at 4K Ultra — a clear indication that the integrated GPU is the limiting factor across all tested resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS degradation from 1080p to 4K reveals a textbook GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 95 FPS, while at 4K Low it falls to 33 FPS — a 65% reduction in performance. This scaling pattern is far steeper than what a CPU-bound system would show, confirming that the Arc B390's shading units, TMUs, and ROPs are saturated well before the i9-14900K's processing capacity is challenged.

Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 61 to 33, a 46% decrease. The same resolution jump at High settings sees a decline from 39 FPS to 21 FPS, a 46% reduction as well. This consistent proportional drop across settings indicates that pixel throughput is the primary constraint, not memory bandwidth or CPU overhead. The Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs simply cannot sustain higher fill rates at increased resolutions.

At Medium settings, the measured data includes min/max FPS values, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 72 FPS with a range of 62 to 83 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 47 FPS with a range of 40 to 54 FPS. At 4K Medium, it drops further to 25 FPS with a range of 21 to 29 FPS. The narrow FPS ranges at each resolution suggest consistent frame delivery rather than sporadic stutters, likely because the workload is uniformly distributed across the GPU's compute units.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling collapse. From 1080p Ultra (46 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (30 FPS) to 4K Ultra (16 FPS), the performance halves at each step. This 65% total drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is steeper than the Low preset's 65% drop, indicating that higher settings amplify the GPU's fill-rate limitations. The i9-14900K's 6.00 GHz boost clock and 36 MB of shared L3 cache are irrelevant at these GPU-bound resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playable performance with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets reach playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 95 FPS; at 1080p Medium, 72 FPS; at 1080p High, 61 FPS; and at 1080p Ultra, 46 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (61 FPS) and Medium (47 FPS) exceed 30 FPS, while 4K never reaches 35 FPS at any setting.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482, placing it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463 score) and 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460 score). It is 2.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446 score) and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443 score). These are all low-end parts, confirming the B390's position at the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K the limiting factor in this game?

A: No. The i9-14900K ranks at the 95th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14900KF, scores 79371 (only 0.3% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041 (1.2% higher). The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are far beyond what Minimum requires, and the FPS scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the bottleneck.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 61 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is identical to the 1440p Low average of 61 FPS, which suggests that the GPU's workload at 1080p High is similar to 1440p Low — both settings balance resolution and quality to land at the same performance point.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 2602nd out of 2939 tested combos, putting it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU score, while the CPU's 95th percentile score shows the pairing is extremely unbalanced for gaming workloads.

Q: Does the Arc B390's integrated nature affect performance?

A: Yes. The Arc B390 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning its performance scales with the host system's RAM configuration. The GPU has a 300 MHz base clock and 2500 MHz boost clock, with 1536 shading units and 12 ray tracing cores, but its 80 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is designed for portable devices, not desktop gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2939 tested combos, this pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2602nd. This places it in the bottom 11.5% of all tested configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's severe performance limitations rather than any CPU deficiency. The i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a 6.00 GHz boost clock and a 95th percentile CPU ranking, while the Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile for GPUs.

The ranking disparity between components is stark. The CPU's average benchmark score of 79097 is only 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79371) and 1.2% lower than the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041). Meanwhile, the GPU's average score of 1482 is just 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463). In gaming workloads, the combo's rank is dragged down by the GPU, and the measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the combo only reaches 95 FPS, a figure that a CPU-only bottleneck would never produce with such a powerful processor.

The combo's rank of 2602 out of 2939 means that approximately 88.5% of tested configurations outperform it in Minimum. This is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile standing — most other GPUs in the database are faster. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals (the i9-14900KF and Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus) would achieve far higher game FPS when paired with a more capable discrete GPU, but this specific pairing is constrained entirely by the Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 24 ROPs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 95 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings. Medium settings average 72 FPS with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 83 FPS. High settings drop to 61 FPS average, while Ultra settings fall to 46 FPS. All four presets at 1080p are above 45 FPS, making this the only resolution where Ultra settings remain playable.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 61 FPS, which exactly matches the 1080p High result — an interesting data point that suggests the GPU workload is similar between these two configurations. Medium settings average 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra drops to 30 FPS. Only Low and Medium presets exceed 30 FPS at 1440p, with Ultra sitting right at the 30 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playability. Low settings average 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS (min 21, max 29), High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages just 16 FPS. None of the 4K settings reach 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset's 16 FPS is barely a slideshow. The min/max data at 4K Medium (21 to 29 FPS) shows that even the best-case frame delivery remains below 30 FPS.

The scaling between resolutions at the same settings is consistent. Low presets drop from 95 FPS (1080p) to 61 FPS (1440p) to 33 FPS (4K). Medium presets drop from 72 FPS to 47 FPS to 25 FPS. High presets drop from 61 FPS to 39 FPS to 21 FPS. Ultra presets drop from 46 FPS to 30 FPS to 16 FPS. Each resolution step roughly halves performance, which is characteristic of a fill-rate-limited GPU.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant factor in this combo's gaming performance. Its benchmark score of 1482 places it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA parts from over a decade ago. The GPU's 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs are modest numbers, and its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput reflects a part designed for integrated use, not discrete gaming.

The GPU's memory configuration is system-shared, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means the GPU borrows from the host system's RAM. This architecture typically results in lower effective bandwidth compared to dedicated VRAM, and the measured FPS data is consistent with memory-bandwidth constraints at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 16 FPS likely represents a scenario where both fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated.

The Arc B390's clock behavior shows a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, a wide range that indicates aggressive power management. With an 80 W TDP and an IGP slot width, this GPU is designed for portable devices, as confirmed by its "Portable Device Dependent" display outputs. The 3 nm process node (Panther Lake architecture, Xe3-LPG) is high-end, but the small die size and limited resources prevent it from competing with even entry-level discrete GPUs.

The GPU's 12 ray tracing cores and 12 Ultimate (12_2) DirectX support are modern features, but they do not translate into raw rasterization performance. In Minimum, a 2014 title, ray tracing is unlikely to be used, so the GPU's traditional fill rate is what matters. The measured FPS at all resolutions and settings is consistent with a part that has 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs — the pixel and texture throughput limits are clearly visible in the scaling patterns.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a high-end desktop processor that is massively overqualified for this GPU pairing. With 24 cores (likely 8 performance and 16 efficiency cores based on the Raptor Lake architecture) and 32 threads, it provides far more processing power than Minimum requires. The CPU's 6.00 GHz boost clock and 3.20 GHz base clock are among the highest in the database, and its 36 MB of shared L3 cache, 2 MB L2 per core, and 80 KB L1 per core provide ample cache for gaming workloads.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its strength. It scores 39399.5 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2262.5 in singlecore, 21697 in Geekbench multicore, and 58674 in Passmark multithread. Its percentile rank of 95th among all CPUs means it outperforms 95% of processors in the database. The nearest rivals — the i9-14900KF at 79371 (0.3% lower), the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at 79574 (0.6% lower), and the EPYC 7413 at 80041 (1.2% higher) — are all in the same performance tier, indicating this is a top-tier CPU.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. Given that the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions, the CPU's utilization is likely low. The fact that FPS scales almost linearly with resolution (halving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K) proves that the CPU is not limiting performance — if it were, FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking and the GPU's 9th percentile ranking create an extreme imbalance, where the CPU's capabilities are largely wasted in this pairing.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, dual-channel bus, and ECC support are irrelevant to gaming performance here. Its Gen 5 PCIe with 16 lanes (CPU only) is also unused, as the Arc B390 is an IGP that connects via the system bus. The CPU's 125 W TDP and 257 mm² die size on Intel's 10 nm process reflect a power-hungry desktop part, but in this integrated GPU configuration, the CPU's power draw is not a factor in game performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the best experience balances visual quality with frame rate headroom. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 72 FPS with a range of 62 to 83 FPS, providing smooth gameplay with above-60 FPS performance. The High preset at 1080p drops to 61 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 46 FPS, which may feel less smooth for fast-paced third-person shooter gameplay.

For players prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 95 FPS average, which is the smoothest experience available in the measured data. However, the 33 FPS jump from Low to Medium (95 to 72 FPS) suggests that Medium offers a good compromise — it retains most of the frame rate while likely providing noticeably better visuals. The min/max data for Medium (62 to 83 FPS) indicates consistent frame delivery without major drops.

At 1440p, the recommended preset is Low, which averages 61 FPS. Medium at 1440p averages 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for many users. High at 1440p averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS — both are borderline for smooth gameplay. Given that the 1440p Low result exactly matches the 1080p High result (both 61 FPS), players who prefer higher resolution with lower settings can achieve the same performance as 1080p High.

At 4K, no preset delivers acceptable performance for a third-person shooter. The Low preset averages 33 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Medium averages 25 FPS (min 21, max 29). High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not viable with this combo, even at the lowest settings. The 33 FPS at 4K Low is the only result above 30 FPS, and it remains below the 60 FPS threshold that most gamers prefer for action titles.

The overall recommendation is to run Minimum at 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, or 1080p Low for maximum smoothness. If resolution is a priority, 1440p Low matches 1080p High performance, but any higher settings at 1440p or any settings at 4K will result in sub-optimal frame rates. The data clearly shows that this combo is best utilized at 1080p, where the Arc B390's limited resources can still produce playable frame rates across most presets.