Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Minimum reveals a fairly predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, though the magnitude of the drop tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D produces 430 FPS on average. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 277 FPS, a reduction of 153 FPS or roughly 35.6% lower than the 1080p figure. Pushing further to 4K at Low settings yields 149 FPS, which is 46.2% below the 1440p result and 65.3% below the 1080p result.

The scaling pattern across presets is consistent in shape but varies in slope. At High settings, the progression runs 276 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46.1% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory: 329 FPS at 1080p, 212 FPS at 1440p, and 114 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding configuration measured, shows 210 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K.

The percentage reductions from 1080p to 4K are remarkably consistent across all four presets, ranging from roughly 65% to 66% lower frame rates at the highest resolution. This consistency suggests that the scaling is driven primarily by pixel count rather than by any preset-specific workload characteristics. The fact that even at 4K Ultra the system maintains 73 FPS indicates that the GPU is not being completely overwhelmed, but the steep drops do point toward the RTX 5090 D as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates — 430 FPS on Low and 276 FPS on High — suggest that the CPU is doing substantial work to feed the GPU, but the resolution scaling pattern shows the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the dominant constraint as pixel count rises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process with 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The card features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective transfer rate. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it contains 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units. The card also carries 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores.

In the context of Minimum's measured results, the GPU's massive memory capacity and bandwidth appear to be more than sufficient for this game. The 32 GB VRAM allocation is far beyond what a 2014-era third-person shooter would require, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-intensive operations are unlikely to be constrained. The card's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput necessary to sustain the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions.

The boost clock behavior is relevant to the measured FPS. With a 2407 MHz boost clock, the RTX 5090 D can sustain high shader throughput, which directly translates to the frame rates seen in the data. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS gives the card substantial compute headroom for this game's rendering workload. The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, scores 76,904, putting the RTX 5090 D 1.1% ahead. The other nearby competitors — the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe variants at 79,396 and 79,605 — are all within 2.4% of the RTX 5090 D's average score, indicating that raw benchmark performance is tightly clustered in this segment.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves the top rank in Minimum, sitting at position 1 out of 2,939 tested combos. This is a decisive result — the data indicates that no other hardware pairing in the database produces higher frame rates in this game. The rank is consistent with the raw performance characteristics of both components: the CPU sits in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU sits in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmark performance are the Intel Core i9-14900KF with an average score of 79,371 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at 79,574 (0.6% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7413 at 80,041 (1.2% lower). The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77,740, which is 1.7% behind the i9-14900K's 79,097 average. These small deltas in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the CPU is not the differentiating factor in achieving the number-one combo ranking; rather, it is the combination of the i9-14900K's strong single-threaded performance with the RTX 5090 D's overwhelming rendering throughput.

The GPU side shows a similar clustering. The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77,712 places it within 2.4% of its nearest rivals, yet in Minimum specifically, the combo still achieves the top rank. This suggests that the game's workload is well-suited to the strengths of this particular pairing, and that even small benchmark deltas can translate into meaningful frame-rate advantages in real game scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the data shows a clear progression across presets. Low settings produce an average of 430 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset. Medium settings reduce this to 329 FPS, with a minimum of 280 FPS and a maximum of 379 FPS recorded. High settings yield 276 FPS on average. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, still manage 210 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 220 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest quality settings.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain high but show the expected reduction. Low settings average 277 FPS. Medium settings produce 212 FPS, with a minimum of 180 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. High settings average 178 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 136 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 141 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to feel the increased pixel load.

At 4K, the results are substantially lower. Low settings average 149 FPS. Medium settings produce 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. High settings average 96 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 73 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 76 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, which confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data recorded across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 280 to 379 FPS, a span of 99 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 180 to 244 FPS, a span of 64 FPS. At 4K, the range tightens further to 97 to 131 FPS, a span of 34 FPS. This narrowing of the frame-time variance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently saturated as pixel count rises, reducing the opportunities for frame rate spikes.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Minimum?

A: The highest average frame rate is 430 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 73, while at 1080p Ultra it is 210. The 4K result is approximately 65.2% lower than the 1080p result.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested hardware combinations in Minimum?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks first out of 2,939 tested combos.

Q: Does the GPU have more memory than the game needs?

A: The RTX 5090 D has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is far beyond what a 2014 third-person shooter would require. The data shows no indication of memory-related performance limitations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium settings is 180, with an average of 212 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Low?

A: 1080p Low produces 430 FPS, while 4K Low produces 149 FPS. The 1080p result is 281 FPS higher, which is roughly 65.3% faster.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware combination. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 329 FPS on average, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay on high refresh rate displays. The frame time consistency is also solid, with a minimum of 280 FPS and a maximum of 379 FPS, indicating minimal stuttering. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 212 FPS, still far above the threshold for smooth play, with a minimum of 180 FPS ensuring consistent performance. Even at 4K Medium, the average of 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS remains playable, though the frame rate is approaching the point where some users might prefer lower settings for competitive play.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity. At 1080p High, the system achieves 276 FPS, and at 1440p High it manages 178 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 96 FPS, which is just at the edge of what most would consider smooth for a fast-paced third-person shooter. The Ultra preset delivers the best visual quality but comes with a significant performance cost: 210 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 100 FPS, and it may not be ideal for competitive play where high frame rates are advantageous.

For users with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p or 1440p provides the highest possible frame rates — 430 FPS and 277 FPS respectively — which can be beneficial in fast-paced action sequences. However, the visual trade-off may not be worth the performance gain for most players, given that even the Medium preset at 4K maintains a playable frame rate. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering strong performance across all three resolutions while presumably maintaining reasonable visual quality.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. It features a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel memory bus, with ECC memory support available. It uses the Intel Socket 1700 platform and has a 125 W TDP. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high. At 1080p Low, the system produces 430 FPS, which requires the CPU to process a massive number of frames per second. The i9-14900K's strong single-threaded performance — reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,262.5 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,655 — is critical for maintaining such high frame rates in a game that likely has a significant CPU-driven game logic component. The boost clock of 6.00 GHz provides the raw clock speed needed for single-threaded workloads.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are less relevant for this game but still contribute to overall system performance. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39,399.5 and Geekbench multi-core score of 21,697 indicate substantial parallel processing power, which may help with background tasks or games that utilize additional threads. The 24 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom for any CPU-intensive operations that Minimum might perform.

The i9-14900K's benchmark scores place it in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,097. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.7% of its average score, indicating that the CPU is not dramatically ahead of its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks. However, the combination of high clock speeds and strong per-core performance proves sufficient to support the RTX 5090 D in achieving the number-one ranking in Minimum. The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and the relatively smooth scaling to higher resolutions.