Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

This combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1245th out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this third-person shooter. The pairing represents a significant imbalance: the CPU sits in the 97th percentile among all processors, while the GPU lands in the 69th percentile among all graphics cards. This discrepancy becomes immediately apparent in the measured frame rates, where the RTX 3060 Ti consistently acts as the performance ceiling across all resolutions and settings tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1245 out of 1733 tested combinations places this system in the 28th percentile of all tested pairings for Minimum. That is a surprisingly modest position given the hardware involved. The i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, but the RTX 3060 Ti holds the system back in a game that scales heavily with GPU throughput. The data shows a clear pattern: better GPU pairings with this CPU push far higher up the ranking, while the CPU itself contributes only marginally to the final frame rate in this title. The ranking reflects the bottleneck dynamic — the GPU's 69th percentile standing among all GPUs is the dominant factor in determining where this combo lands. Compared to the CPU's rivals, the i9-14900K posts an average benchmark score of 79824, sitting within 0.9% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (79102) and within 0.7% of both the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (79240) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79245). It trails the AMD EPYC 7413 (80041) by just 0.3%. These tiny margins in synthetic CPU tests do not translate into meaningful differences in Minimum's frame pacing, where the GPU dominates the workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 4864 shading units operate at a base clock of 1410 MHz and boost to 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The card's 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are solid for its class, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity becomes relevant at higher resolutions in Minimum. The measured frame rates show this GPU struggling most at 4K Ultra, where it produces only 27.5 FPS. The card's pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and 80 ROPs are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K data indicates the GPU simply runs out of throughput headroom. The RTX 3060 Ti's average benchmark score of 25120 places it within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180), within 0.5% of both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235) and the AMD Radeon 890M (25246), and within 0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (25287). These near-identical synthetic scores suggest the card is performing exactly as expected, with no thermal or clock anomalies affecting the Minimum results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario at every setting level. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 168.4 at 1920x1080 to 110.4 at 2560x1440, then falls to 57 at 3840x2160 — a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The High preset shows a similar trend: 110.9 FPS at 1080p, 70.3 at 1440p, and 37.3 at 4K, representing a 66% decrease as well. Medium settings produce 128 FPS at 1080p, 86.7 at 1440p, and 45.5 at 4K, a 64% drop. Ultra settings yield 83.1 FPS at 1080p, 56.1 at 1440p, and 27.5 at 4K, a 67% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across all four presets strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at every resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau or drop less steeply at higher resolutions as the GPU workload increases. The data shows the opposite: frame rates scale almost linearly with pixel count, which is the signature of a GPU-limited system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3060 Ti delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low produces 168.4 FPS, Medium drops to 128, High reaches 110.9, and Ultra falls to 83.1. The gap between Low and Ultra is 85.3 FPS, indicating that each preset tier costs roughly 20-30 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this GPU in Minimum, with even the Ultra preset maintaining above 60 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates become more constrained. Low yields 110.4 FPS, Medium 86.7, High 70.3, and Ultra 56.1. The Ultra preset drops below the 60 FPS threshold, while the other three settings remain playable. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 54.3 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload increase at this resolution amplifies the impact of higher settings. At 3840x2160, the card struggles to maintain smooth gameplay. Low averages 57 FPS, Medium 45.5, High 37.3, and Ultra 27.5. Even the lowest settings preset fails to reach 60 FPS at 4K. The spread from Low to Ultra is 29.5 FPS, and the overall performance is below the threshold for comfortable gaming in this title. The 1080p Ultra result of 83.1 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 57 FPS highlights how resolution scaling dominates the performance profile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings 24 cores and 32 threads across its Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for game logic, but Minimum does not appear to leverage this processing power heavily. The CPU's benchmark scores — 49872 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 7040 in single-core, and 58674 in Passmark multithread — establish it as an extremely capable processor. Yet the measured FPS in Minimum stays consistent with what the GPU alone can deliver. The 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node are irrelevant to the game's frame rate here. The data suggests the CPU is effectively idle in this title, with the RTX 3060 Ti's 200 W TDP and 8 GB VRAM determining the outcome. The CPU's 97th percentile ranking among all processors, combined with the GPU's 69th percentile, creates a situation where the processor never becomes a limiting factor. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically matter most, the system achieves 168.4 FPS — a figure that would be higher with a stronger GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 83.1 FPS is the best choice, as it delivers the highest visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 110.9 FPS offers a smoother experience for competitive play, but the visual trade-off is substantial for only a 27.8 FPS gain. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 70.3 FPS strikes the optimal balance between visuals and performance. The Ultra preset at 56.1 FPS dips below 60 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in a third-person shooter. The Medium preset at 86.7 FPS is a viable alternative for players prioritizing frame rate, but High provides the best combination of detail and smoothness. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low setting at 57 FPS is the only option approaching playability, but even this falls short of the ideal threshold. Players with 4K displays should drop to 1440p resolution to enjoy the game comfortably. The data shows that the RTX 3060 Ti is not suited for 4K in Minimum, and the best experience comes from 1080p Ultra or 1440p High, depending on the display's native resolution and the player's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate consistency.