Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination lands mid-pack in the database for Minimum, securing the 1501st position out of 2939 tested combos. That places it just inside the top half of all systems measured, a respectable but not dominant standing for a third-person shooter from 2014. The pairing of a modern Arrow Lake processor with a previous-generation RDNA 2 GPU produces a balanced profile, though the data shows the graphics card is the primary constraint at higher resolutions and settings. This combo sits in the 51st percentile of all tracked pairings, meaning the hardware is neither a chart-topper nor a laggard, but rather a dependable middle-tier performer for this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications directly shape the Minimum experience. Built on the 7nm RDNA 2 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, the card packs 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure that proves adequate for the game’s demands at 1080p and 1440p, but shows strain at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU’s game clock sits at 2424 MHz, with a boost clock of 2581 MHz and a base clock of 2321 MHz, providing the raw compute headroom that keeps frame rates respectable in less demanding scenes.

The card’s memory configuration is the key differentiator. At 12 GB, the RX 6700 XT has sufficient VRAM for Minimum at all tested settings, even at 3840x2160 resolution. However, the data suggests that memory bandwidth, not capacity, becomes the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 35 FPS average, which is a 65% drop from 1080p Ultra’s 100 FPS. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is hitting its memory throughput ceiling rather than a CPU bottleneck. The card’s 40 ray accelerator cores are present, but Minimum from 2014 does not utilize ray tracing, so those units remain idle in this title. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS and texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s are the metrics that matter here, and they show a card that is competent but not exceptional for this game’s engine.

Benchmark data places the RX 6700 XT at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 27425 in the database’s synthetic suite. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, scores 27435, a 0% delta that puts them statistically tied. The comparison to the desktop RTX 3090 is notable: the 6700 XT trails by only 0.5% in average score (27425 vs 27565), which is remarkable given the generational and price gap between those cards. This tells us that in raw compute terms, the 6700 XT punches above its weight class, though Minimum’s specific rendering paths may not fully exploit that potential.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern that shifts the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers smooth, high-refresh-rate gameplay across all settings. Low settings produce 204 FPS, Medium drops to 156 FPS, High hits 131 FPS, and Ultra still manages 100 FPS. The 1080p numbers suggest a system that is partially CPU-limited at the lowest settings, where the frame rate is high enough that the Intel Core Ultra 5 235’s single-thread performance becomes a factor.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a more pronounced GPU influence. Low settings yield 132 FPS, Medium 101 FPS, High 85 FPS, and Ultra 64 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 35% (204 to 132 FPS), while at Ultra it is 36% (100 to 64 FPS). This consistency suggests a balanced scaling curve, with neither component dominating disproportionately at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes over as the clear limiting factor. Low settings produce 71 FPS, Medium 54 FPS, High 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is severe: Low drops 46% (132 to 71 FPS), Medium 47% (101 to 54 FPS), High 46% (85 to 46 FPS), and Ultra 45% (64 to 35 FPS). This near-uniform percentage drop across all settings at the 4K step is a textbook indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient, but the 384.0 GB/s bandwidth is not enough to feed the 2560 shading units efficiently at 4K resolutions. The result is that 4K Ultra is playable only in the loosest sense, while 1080p and 1440p offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS dataset for this combo in Minimum shows a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are uniformly excellent. Low settings top the chart at 204 FPS, a figure that any high-refresh monitor can fully exploit. Medium settings deliver 156 FPS with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS, indicating stable frame pacing. High settings produce 131 FPS average, while Ultra rounds out the 1080p tier at 100 FPS. The variance between Low and Ultra is 104 FPS, which is substantial but expected given the graphical load differences.

At 2560x1440, the averages remain competitive for competitive play. Low settings hit 132 FPS, Medium reaches 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 116 FPS, High manages 85 FPS, and Ultra drops to 64 FPS. The 1440p data shows a tighter clustering than at 1080p, with only a 68 FPS spread from Low to Ultra. This narrowing suggests the GPU is becoming more influential, but the numbers still allow for smooth gameplay at High and below.

The 3840x2160 results are where the combo struggles. Low settings produce 71 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. Medium delivers 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS, which is borderline acceptable. High settings yield 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is the only benchmark result that dips below the 40 FPS threshold, making it the least viable configuration in the dataset. For reference, the Medium settings at 4K have a 16 FPS range between minimum and maximum, showing more fluctuation than at lower resolutions, which is typical when the GPU is working near its memory bandwidth limit.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo produces 131 FPS average, while Ultra still manages 100 FPS. Both are well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 71, which is playable. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 35 FPS, making it difficult to recommend for competitive play. Medium settings at 54 FPS are the practical ceiling for 4K.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest rival in this configuration?

A: The RX 6700 XT’s average benchmark score is 27425, essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile at 27435, a 0% delta. It also trails the RTX 3090 by only 0.5%, with the RTX 3090 scoring 27565.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 68 FPS spread (132 to 64 FPS), which is a 51% drop. This indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU would maintain a tighter frame rate range across settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only minimum FPS values provided are for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 133 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 86 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 46 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance affect the results?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 scores 2085 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4516 in Passmark single-thread, placing it at the 89th percentile among all CPUs. This strong single-thread performance helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low settings, where the 204 FPS result suggests the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU’s output.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications are well-suited for Minimum’s engine. This Arrow Lake-S architecture chip features 14 cores and 14 threads, a configuration that prioritizes single-thread performance over multi-threaded workloads. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, the CPU has the frequency headroom to handle the game’s physics and AI calculations without becoming a bottleneck. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache ensure that frequently accessed data stays close to the processing cores, reducing latency in time-sensitive game logic.

The CPU’s benchmark results reinforce its capability. A Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 and single-core score of 2085 place the chip in the 89th percentile of all CPUs tracked. This percentile ranking is significant when compared to its nearest rivals: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scores 46030 in average benchmark score, just 0.1% below the Ultra 5 235’s 46062, while the Intel Core i9-13900HX scores 46098, a 0.1% delta in the opposite direction. These are statistical ties, meaning the Ultra 5 235 provides competitive performance against both mobile and desktop chips from different generations.

In Minimum specifically, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 204 FPS. At this setting, the GPU is not heavily taxed, allowing the CPU to dictate the upper limit of performance. The fact that the Ultra 5 235 can sustain such high frame rates, combined with the GPU’s 72nd percentile standing, tells us the system is well-balanced for this game. At higher settings and resolutions, the CPU’s influence wanes, but it never becomes a liability. The 65W TDP and 3nm process node from TSMC also mean the chip runs efficiently, though the data does not show thermal throttling effects in the FPS results. The 14 threads are more than sufficient for a 2014 title, and the boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that even the most demanding single-threaded game logic is handled with minimal delay. Overall, the CPU provides a stable platform that allows the RX 6700 XT to perform to its potential, with neither component holding the other back in any meaningful way.