Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a capable, if not spectacular, experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014. This combination lands at rank 1584 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it squarely in the upper-middle tier of the database. The data shows that while the RTX 5070 is a modern powerhouse, its performance in this title is consistently moderated by the mobile Core Ultra 5 135H processor, resulting in a pairing that is more about balanced competence than raw dominance. It is a setup that can play the game well, but it leaves performance on the table, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1584 out of 2939 is a direct reflection of the hardware’s measured performance in Minimum. It does not crack the top half of the tested configurations, which suggests that while the parts are individually strong, their combined output is not exceptional for this specific game. The ranking indicates a mid-pack finish, a position that is more a consequence of the CPU’s limitations than the GPU’s capabilities. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, placing it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with a score of 29123 (a delta of -0.1%), the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 at 29245 (-0.5%), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28940 (+0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-13500HX at 29270 (-0.6%). These deltas are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the Core Ultra 5 135H is performing essentially on par with its closest competitors in general processing tasks.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds an average benchmark score of 40377, putting it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 with a score of 40318 (a delta of 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 40063 (0.8%), showing that its raw compute potential is in a similar class to those workstation cards. The fact that both components are in the low-80s percentile is informative; it suggests a well-matched pairing in terms of general capability. However, the in-game rank of 1584 out of 2939 is lower than the individual component percentiles might imply. This discrepancy is the key finding: the pairing does not achieve the sum of its parts in Minimum. The game’s engine and the specific demands of its scenes likely expose the CPU’s weakness, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. Therefore, the combo’s rank should be interpreted as a warning that the processor is holding back the graphics card in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor with 14 cores and 18 threads, a configuration that provides substantial multi-threaded headroom. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz and it can boost up to 4.60 GHz, which are respectable frequencies for a chip in its 28 W TDP class. This TDP is crucial; it is a power-efficient part designed for laptops, not desktop towers. The processor’s architecture is Meteor Lake, built on a 7 nm process, with a cache layout that includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The memory support is DDR5, running on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is significant, but its performance is a limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 199 FPS. This high frame rate is a clear indicator that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and draw calls at a basic level. However, as settings increase to Medium, the average drops to 152 FPS. Moving to High settings yields 128 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 97 FPS. This scaling pattern is interesting because it shows that the CPU is not the sole bottleneck at 1080p; the GPU is also working harder as settings rise. The real issue emerges when comparing across resolutions. At 1440p High, the average is 82 FPS, and at 4K High, it drops to 44 FPS. The frame rate at 1080p High is 128 FPS, which is only 46 FPS higher than at 1440p High. This suggests that the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU is becoming strained as the resolution increases, but the more pronounced bottleneck appears with the CPU’s single-thread performance.

The Cinebench R23 single-core score for this CPU is 1700, and its Passmark single-thread score is 3521. These numbers indicate solid, but not outstanding, single-thread performance. Minimum, like many games, relies heavily on a few main threads for game logic and physics. The 14-core CPU has plenty of multi-threaded muscle for tasks like compression, as evidenced by its Passmark data compression score of 251651, but this does not translate directly to gaming performance. The bottleneck is that the CPU’s boost clock of 4.60 GHz is not high enough to keep pace with the RTX 5070’s frame generation at lower resolutions. The data suggests that the processor is the limiting component, particularly when aiming for high refresh rates at 1080p. The 14 cores and 18 threads are more than sufficient for the game’s requirements, but the per-core speed is what holds the combo back from achieving even higher frame rates. The CPU is a capable performer, but in this context, it is the weaker link in the chain.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the clear star of this pairing in terms of raw potential. It is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and the GB205 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. The GPU boasts 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. Its memory configuration is substantial: 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The base clock is 2325 MHz, with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and the memory runs at 1750 MHz, effective 28 Gbps. This hardware is designed for high-end gaming, and its FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS confirms that it has immense compute power.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s visuals, and its performance is directly tied to the resolution and settings. The 12 GB of VRAM is more than enough for this 2014 title, even at 4K with Ultra settings, which is a common point of failure for older or less equipped cards. The memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not cause stutters. The data shows the GPU’s capability clearly. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 199 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit. However, at 4K Low, the average is 69 FPS, and at 4K High, it is 44 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU is scaling with the workload, but the CPU is preventing it from delivering higher frame rates at lower resolutions.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores are telling. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5077, and its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 172660 and 178923, respectively. These scores are high, indicating a GPU that should be able to handle Minimum with ease. The Passmark G3D score of 29137 reinforces this. The issue is not the GPU’s capability, but its utilization. At 1080p, the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to keep it fully occupied, which is why the frame rate does not scale as much as one would expect from the GPU’s power. At 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the resolution demands more pixel-pushing power, and the frame rates drop to 44 FPS on High and 34 FPS on Ultra. The RTX 5070 is a high-performance part, but its performance in this game is capped by the processor at lower resolutions. The GPU is not the limiting factor; the CPU is. The VRAM and bandwidth are more than sufficient, and the GPU’s raw compute power is being underutilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a clear picture of its performance across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo achieves its highest frame rates. On Low settings, it averages 199 FPS. Medium settings drop the average to 152 FPS, with a minimum of 129 FPS and a maximum of 175 FPS. High settings yield an average of 128 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 97 FPS. These numbers show a smooth, playable experience at 1080p across all settings, with the Low setting being the most competitive for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates take a significant hit. Low settings average 128 FPS, which is a 71 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS. High settings average 82 FPS. Ultra settings average 63 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, indicating that the resolution increase is taxing the GPU more heavily. At 4K (3840x2160), the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings average 69 FPS, Medium settings average 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS, High settings average 44 FPS, and Ultra settings average 34 FPS. The 4K numbers are the most revealing. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, pushes the combo to the brink, with an average of 34 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.

The variance between settings is also important. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 102 FPS, showing a wide range of performance. At 1440p, the difference is 65 FPS. At 4K, the difference is 35 FPS. This narrowing gap as resolution increases suggests that the GPU is becoming the dominant bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU is more of a factor, which is why the frame rates are so high on Low settings. The data indicates that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high frame rates on medium to high settings. At 4K, it is only playable on Low or Medium settings, and even then, the frame rates are not consistently above 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals the dynamic between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. From 1080p Low (199 FPS) to 1440p Low (128 FPS), there is a 35.7% drop in performance. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (69 FPS), there is an additional 46.1% drop. This pattern is consistent across all settings. For example, on High settings, the frame rate goes from 128 FPS at 1080p to 82 FPS at 1440p (a 35.9% drop), and then to 44 FPS at 4K (a 46.3% drop). This shows that the performance penalty for increasing resolution is not linear; it becomes more severe at higher resolutions.

The interpretation of this scaling is critical. The relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p (around 35%) suggests that the CPU is still a significant factor at 1080p, limiting the frame rate. If the GPU were the sole bottleneck, the drop from 1080p to 1440p would be more pronounced, as the GPU would be doing more work. The fact that the drop is less than the pixel count increase (1440p has 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p) indicates that the CPU is holding back the GPU at 1080p. This is a classic CPU-bound scenario. The frame rate at 1080p is not as high as it could be if the CPU were faster. As the resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The drop from 1440p to 4K is much steeper, as the GPU is now fully loaded and cannot keep up with the pixel count. At 4K, the CPU has more time to prepare frames, so the bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU.

This data indicates that the combo is balanced for 1440p gaming, where the CPU and GPU are more evenly matched. At 1080p, the CPU is the limiting component, and at 4K, the GPU is the limiting component. The sweet spot is 1440p, where neither component is severely underutilized. The 4K performance, especially on High and Ultra settings, is not playable for a smooth experience, suggesting that users should stick to lower resolutions or settings if they want to play at 4K. The resolution scaling clearly shows that the Core Ultra 5 135H is not powerful enough to fully saturate the RTX 5070 at 1080p, but it is also not weak enough to create a severe bottleneck at 1440p. The result is a pairing that is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it delivers a good balance of performance and visual fidelity.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the data shows that even the Ultra preset, with an average of 97 FPS, is playable and smooth. However, for gamers with high-refresh-rate monitors (144Hz or higher), the High preset at 128 FPS is a better choice, as it provides a significant frame rate boost with only a minor reduction in visual quality. The Medium preset at 152 FPS is even more competitive, offering a substantial advantage for esports-style play. The Low preset at 199 FPS is the best for maximum frame rate, but it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for most players. The sweet spot at 1080p is the High preset, balancing visual quality and performance.

At 1440p, the recommendations shift. The Ultra preset averages 63 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The High preset, at 82 FPS, is the best choice for a smooth experience, offering a good balance between visual detail and frame rate. The Medium preset at 98 FPS is also excellent, providing a more responsive feel. The Low preset at 128 FPS is the best for high-refresh-rate monitors, but again, the visual quality is compromised. For most users, the High or Medium preset at 1440p will provide the best experience, with High being the recommended choice for its superior image quality.

At 4K, the options are more limited. The Ultra preset at 34 FPS is not recommended, as it is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 44 FPS is also below 60 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is not ideal. The Medium preset at 53 FPS is the best option for a playable 4K experience, as it stays close to the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 69 FPS is the only setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming if frame rate is the priority. The data suggests that for 4K, users should use the Low or Medium preset to achieve a playable frame rate. The High and Ultra presets are too demanding for this combo at 4K. Ultimately, the best experience per the measured data is to target 1440p with High settings, which provides a strong balance of visual fidelity and performance, or 1080p with High or Ultra settings for a very smooth experience.