Minimum

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a broad spectrum of performance in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable at lower resolutions but begins to show the GPU’s limitations as pixel count and graphical fidelity rise. The 24-core, 32-thread processor with a 6.00 GHz boost clock provides a massive computational foundation, while the 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth on the RTX 4070 dictate the frame rates at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the GPU’s role, and ranks the combo against the broader database.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and clearly identifies the GPU as the primary scaling bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 178.5 at 1920x1080 to 115 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 63.5 FPS, and then further down to 64.7 at 3840x2160. This represents a 63.7% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve indicative of a title that becomes heavily pixel-bound on the RTX 4070. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly pronounced, with the 115 FPS at 2560x1440 dropping by 50.3 FPS to 64.7 at 4K. This suggests that while the CPU can easily feed frames at lower resolutions, the GPU’s 192-bit memory bus and 294 mm² die size struggle to maintain the throughput required for 8.3 million pixels.

The scaling pattern under Low settings confirms this trend, though the absolute numbers are higher. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 276.5 FPS, which drops to 177 at 1440p and then to 98.2 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 64.4%, almost identical to the High preset. This consistency across presets is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario where the processor’s role is diminished. The fact that the 1080p Low result is more than double the 4K Ultra result (276.5 vs 45.6) demonstrates that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, and the i9-14900K is never the limiting component in this configuration. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, the RTX 4070 is the decisive factor, while at 1080p, the system has headroom that is capped by the graphics card’s rendering capabilities rather than the CPU’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache or 125 W TDP.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays the definitive role in shaping the measured results, with its specifications directly explaining the performance ceiling at higher settings. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is sufficient for the textures in a 2014 title but becomes a limiting factor as resolution increases. The boost clock of 2475 MHz allows for strong performance at lower resolutions, but the 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 45.6 FPS. This is a clear indication that the GPU’s raw compute throughput is the primary constraint when the settings are maxed out.

The VRAM capacity is adequate for 4K High settings, where the 64.7 FPS average shows the card can handle the load, but the performance degradation to 45.6 FPS at Ultra suggests that the memory bandwidth and shading units are being saturated. The GPU’s 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units are working at their limit under the heaviest load. The data shows that the RTX 4070’s 200 W TDP is a modest power envelope for the performance delivered, but the bottleneck is not power; it is the architecture’s throughput. When compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the average benchmark score of 37283 places it just 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37507. This parity in synthetic benchmarks is not reflected in the game’s measured FPS, as the RTX 4070’s Ada Lovelace architecture is better suited for the specific workload of Minimum.

The GPU’s performance relative to the CPU is stark. While the i9-14900K scores in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, the RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. This 16-point percentile gap underscores that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 further illustrates the GPU’s mid-range standing. In practice, this means that in Minimum, the CPU is never the limiting factor; the GPU’s 192-bit memory interface and 12 GB frame buffer are the arbiters of frame rate, especially at 4K where the pixel fill rate of 158.4 GPixel/s becomes the deciding factor between playable and marginal performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate, but the Medium preset emerges as the best balance of performance and visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 215 FPS, which is only 61.5 FPS lower than Low (276.5) but provides a significant visual upgrade over the lowest preset. The jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 36.5 FPS (215 to 178.5), while the jump to Ultra costs 77.3 FPS (215 to 137.7). For a smooth competitive experience, Medium at 1080p offers a substantial margin over the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold, with 215 FPS providing a comfortable buffer.

At 2560x1440, Medium again provides the most sensible choice, delivering 134.8 FPS with a good balance. The High preset at 115 FPS is also viable for high-refresh monitors, but the 19.8 FPS penalty from Medium to High is noticeable. The Ultra preset at 88 FPS is playable but does not offer the headroom needed for consistent frame pacing. At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. Medium provides 73.1 FPS, which is the only preset above the 60 FPS baseline other than Low (98.2). High at 64.7 FPS is marginal, and Ultra at 45.6 FPS is not suitable for fast-paced gameplay. The data suggests that for 4K, Low or Medium are the only viable options, with Medium being the better choice for visual quality without sacrificing playability. Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset consistently shows the largest performance penalty, making it the least efficient choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average FPS values provides a detailed picture of the combo’s behavior. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 276.5 FPS, Medium at 215 FPS, High at 178.5 FPS, and Ultra at 137.7 FPS. This shows a linear degradation as settings increase, with a total drop of 138.8 FPS from the lowest to highest preset. The 1080p results are exceptionally high, indicating the game is well-optimized for the hardware at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 177 FPS, Medium at 134.8 FPS, High at 115 FPS, and Ultra at 88 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 89 FPS, a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but a larger percentage drop (50.3%). This suggests that the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of the increased pixel count. The 1440p results are still strong, with even the Ultra preset maintaining an average above 85 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit: Low at 98.2 FPS, Medium at 73.1 FPS, High at 64.7 FPS, and Ultra at 45.6 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 52.6 FPS, but the key observation is that only the Low preset stays above 90 FPS. The Medium preset at 73.1 FPS is the only other option that clears the 60 FPS mark, while High and Ultra fall below or right at the threshold. The data shows that the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than the scaling from 1080p to 1440p, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the workload. For example, the High preset drops by 63.5 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K, compared to a 63.5 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p, showing a consistent per-resolution cost.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations in the database, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a rank of 456 out of 1733 combos for Minimum. This places the system in the top 26.3% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The rank of 456 indicates that while the GPU is not top-tier, the combination is still competitive and outperforms the majority of systems in the database.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the CPU’s exceptional performance, which offsets the GPU’s limitations. The i9-14900K’s average benchmark score of 79824 is nearly 97% of the AMD EPYC 7413’s score of 80041, a delta of only -0.3%. This places the CPU at the top of its class. However, the RTX 4070’s average score of 37283 is 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008) and 2.2% behind the RTX 4080 Mobile (38135), indicating the GPU is a mid-pack performer. The combo’s rank of 456 suggests that the high CPU performance pushes the overall result higher than what the GPU alone would achieve.

The data implies that for Minimum, this combo is well-balanced but not optimized for maximum frame rates. The 456th rank out of 1733 means there are 455 other combinations that achieve higher average FPS, likely featuring more powerful GPUs. The gap to the top is significant, but the system is clearly in the upper echelon. The 1080p results, particularly the 276.5 FPS at Low, are what likely secure this rank, as they demonstrate the CPU’s ability to handle high frame rates without bottlenecking. The 4K Ultra result of 45.6 FPS, while low, does not drag the rank down as much as it would if the CPU were weaker. Overall, the ranking reflects a system that excels in CPU-bound scenarios but is constrained by its GPU in heavier loads.