Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti holds a rank of 1040 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places the configuration in the bottom 40% of all tested pairs, which is a surprising result given the CPU's top-tier standing in general benchmarks. The data indicates that this game's engine is far more sensitive to GPU throughput than to CPU muscle, and the GTX 1080 Ti, while capable, is the limiting factor that drags this combo down the ladder. The CPU's percentile rank among all processors is 97, meaning it outperforms 97% of CPUs, yet the combo still lands in the lower half of the database. This discrepancy is the central finding: a high-end CPU cannot compensate for a GPU that is only at the 61st percentile among all GPUs.

GPU Role

The GTX 1080 Ti is a Pascal-architecture GPU with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, delivering 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock runs at 1481 MHz with a boost of 1582 MHz, and the memory operates at 1376 MHz (or 11 Gbps effective). In Minimum, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: at every resolution and setting, the frame rate scales directly with the GPU's workload. The card's 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate are the raw resources the game draws upon, and the results show they are sufficient for 1080p gaming but become strained at higher resolutions. The GPU's nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they score nearly identically on average. However, the GTX 1080 Ti has a higher percentileVsAllGpus at 61, indicating it sits above the median GPU in the database. Its PassMark G3D score of 18600 and PassMark DirectX 11 score of 151 provide context: the card is a solid mid-range performer in 2024 terms, not a flagship.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 191.4 at 1920x1080 to 125.2 at 2560x1440, then further to 64.2 at 3840x2160. That is a 66.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 93.6 at 1080p to 33.4 at 4K, a 64.3% reduction. The pattern is nearly uniform: the GTX 1080 Ti loses roughly two-thirds of its performance when moving from 1080p to 4K, regardless of quality preset. This is a classic sign that the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth are the bottlenecks, not the CPU. The CPU's role is static, so the FPS scaling purely reflects the GPU's ability to push pixels. The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 97.8 FPS, but at 4K it shrinks to 30.8 FPS, indicating that at 4K the GPU is so saturated that even reducing settings cannot fully recover performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 191.4 FPS average, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium yields 145.9 FPS, High drops to 123.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 93.6 FPS. All four are above 60 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable zone for this pairing. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers decline but remain respectable. Low hits 125.2 FPS, Medium achieves 93.1 FPS, High manages 79.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 63 FPS. The Ultra result is just above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 1440p Ultra is the edge of playability. At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to struggle. Low still delivers 64.2 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 50 FPS, High to 42.1 FPS, and Ultra to 33.4 FPS. These 4K results are below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, with Ultra being nearly unplayable for fast-paced action. The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable at any setting, 1440p is playable up to High, and 4K is only viable at Low settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based strictly on the measured rows, the best experience per preset is found at 1920x1080 with High settings, delivering 123.4 FPS. This combination provides a high frame rate while maintaining visual fidelity, and the 1080p High preset is the sweet spot for this hardware. For players prioritizing maximum smoothness, 1920x1080 Low at 191.4 FPS is the highest frame rate available, but it sacrifices visual quality. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 79.8 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of quality and performance, as it stays well above 60 FPS. For those with 4K displays, 3840x2160 Low at 64.2 FPS is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS bar, and even then it is marginal. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p, as it only achieves 63 FPS at 1440p and 33.4 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the GTX 1080 Ti is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with High settings, where it can maintain smooth gameplay without overburdening the GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It features 36 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 49872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7040 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 58674. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus is 97, meaning it outperforms 97% of all tested CPUs. However, in Minimum, this massive computational power has a minimal impact on FPS. The measured data shows that the frame rates are almost entirely dictated by the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling patterns. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores nearly identically with a deltaPct of -0.3, and the Intel Core i9-14900KF is a virtual tie at 0.7%. This indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game. The game's engine, released in 2014, likely cannot utilize 24 cores effectively, and the single-thread performance, while strong at 4697 in PassMark single-thread, is not the constraint. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and it does so without bottlenecking, but it also does not boost the combo's rank beyond what the GPU can deliver.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU-GPU combo in Minimum?*

A: The combo ranks 1040 out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of the database.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 19402, nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (deltaPct -0.1). It is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA TITAN Xp by 1.1%.

Q: What is the best FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 191.4, achieved with Low settings. With Ultra settings, the average drops to 93.6 FPS.

Q: Is this combo playable at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 33.4, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The only 4K setting that exceeds 60 FPS is Low at 64.2 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K is in the 97th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 97% of tested processors.

Q: How does the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 123.4 at 1080p to 79.8 at 1440p, and then to 42.1 at 4K, a reduction of approximately 66% from 1080p to 4K.