Minimum

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 311 out of 3,712 tested combinations in Minimum. This places the pairing in the top 8.4% of all tested combos, indicating a strong overall performance tier for this third-person shooter. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU's 14 cores and the GPU's substantial compute resources, though the specific game workload demonstrates where this pairing excels and where it leaves performance on the table.

Relative to the broader benchmark database, this combo outperforms the vast majority of configurations, but it does not crack the top 300. The gap to the highest-ranked combos likely stems from the game's age and its sensitivity to single-thread performance rather than raw multi-core throughput. The CPU's single-core Cinebench R23 score of 2085 is respectable but not class-leading, and the GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms it is a high-end part without being the absolute pinnacle. For a game released in 2014, the combination is overqualified, yet the rank shows that other pairings with more aggressive CPU clock speeds or higher GPU memory bandwidth still edge it out.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. For Minimum, a title from 2014, this memory capacity is far beyond what the game can utilize at any resolution or settings level. The GPU's 10,240 shading units and 112 ROPs provide massive fill-rate headroom, with a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to the measured FPS numbers, which show the GPU is rarely the limiting factor until resolutions climb to 4K.

The boost clock of 2550 MHz, combined with 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, ensures that even at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the card sustains 60 FPS average. At 1080p Low settings, the GPU pushes 354 FPS, indicating the card's raw throughput is barely taxed by this older title. The memory clock runs at 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective speed, which is ample for the game's texture and geometry demands. Notably, the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 34245 places it in the 86th percentile, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080, scores a nearly identical 54247 average benchmark score with a delta of -0.1%, confirming that the SUPER variant offers only marginal gains over its predecessor in synthetic tests.

In Minimum, the GPU's high VRAM capacity is effectively idle, as the game was designed for hardware with a fraction of this memory. The 16 GB buffer means there is zero risk of texture thrashing or memory-related stutter, even at 4K Ultra. The medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 80 and maximum of 108, with an average of 94, which suggests consistent frame pacing without dips below 80 FPS — a result of the GPU's robust memory subsystem and high bandwidth.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 228 at 1080p to 147 at 1440p, then to 79 at 4K. This represents a 35.5% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.3% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is steeper at lower settings: Low preset goes from 354 FPS at 1080p to 228 at 1440p (35.6% drop) and 123 at 4K (46.1% drop from 1440p). These percentages indicate that the GPU becomes progressively more load-bound as pixel count increases, which is expected given the RTX 4080 SUPER's architecture.

However, the scaling pattern also reveals the CPU's influence at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 354 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game engine. The fact that 1080p High (228 FPS) is identical to 1440p Low (228 FPS) suggests that the game becomes CPU-limited around the 200-250 FPS range at these settings, regardless of resolution. This is corroborated by the 1440p High result of 147 FPS — a significant drop from 1080p High — indicating that GPU load is beginning to dominate at 1440p with higher settings.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component. The gap between Low (123 FPS) and High (79 FPS) at 4K is 44 FPS, while the gap between Low and High at 1080p is 126 FPS. This compression of the settings spread at 4K indicates that pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes. The Ultra preset at 4K yields exactly 60 FPS average, which aligns with the GPU's performance ceiling for this game at maximum settings, while the same preset at 1080p produces 173 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the full visual load when resolution is reduced.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 354 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this 2014 title. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K.

*Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB VRAM make a difference in Minimum?*

A: The 16 GB buffer is far beyond the game's requirements. There is no evidence of memory-related performance issues at any resolution or settings level, as the game was designed for much smaller memory pools.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high FPS?

A: At 1440p, the combo delivers 147 FPS on High and 228 FPS on Low, which is a strong balance of visual quality and frame rate. 4K Ultra drops to 60 FPS, while 4K High yields 79 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its direct predecessor?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, while the RTX 4080 scores 54247, a delta of -0.1%. This indicates near-identical performance between the two cards.

Q: Is the CPU's multi-core performance relevant for this game?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and PassMark multithread score of 37816 are strong, but Minimum likely relies more on single-thread performance given its age. The single-core Cinebench R23 score is 2085.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 60 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is the only preset at this resolution to hit exactly 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For the optimal experience with this combo, the data suggests that Medium settings at 1440p provide the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate headroom. At 2560x1440 Medium, the combo averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 FPS and maximum of 201 FPS. This keeps frame rates well above 144 Hz refresh rates while maintaining moderate visual quality. The minimum of 149 FPS ensures no drops below the 144 Hz threshold, which is critical for smooth gameplay.

If prioritizing maximum visual quality, 4K High at 79 FPS is playable but not ideal for competitive play, while 4K Ultra at 60 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced exploration. For high-refresh-rate monitors, 1080p High at 228 FPS is the sweet spot, delivering nearly double the frame rate of 1440p High while still maintaining decent graphical settings. The 1080p Medium preset at 271 FPS (minimum 230, maximum 312) offers the best frame-time consistency for esports-style play, though the Low preset at 354 FPS provides the absolute maximum responsiveness.

The data shows diminishing returns beyond Medium settings at any resolution. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 28 FPS (175 to 147), while High to Ultra costs an additional 35 FPS (147 to 112). Given that the game was released in 2014, the visual improvements from Medium to Ultra are likely subtle, making Medium the recommended setting for competitive integrity and smoothness. At 4K, Medium offers 94 FPS average with a minimum of 80 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that maintains above 60 FPS with a comfortable margin.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This Arrow Lake-S architecture, built on a 3 nm process, provides a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and a multi-core score of 14769. The PassMark single-thread score of 4516 and multithread score of 37816 indicate balanced performance across both single- and multi-threaded workloads. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensure adequate data throughput for the GPU.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most pronounced at lower resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low result of 354 FPS represents the ceiling of what this processor can feed to the GPU, and the fact that 1440p Low (228 FPS) is identical to 1080p High (228 FPS) suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at this FPS level. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062, places it in the upper tier of processors, though its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, +0.1%) and Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, -0.1%) — show that it is not alone at this performance level.

The lack of hyperthreading (14 threads on 14 cores) is notable; the CPU relies on physical cores only, which is sufficient for this game's engine. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz is the key specification for Minimum, as older titles typically favor higher single-thread frequencies over core counts. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 210 confirms this strength, and the PassMark physics score of 2570 suggests adequate game physics processing capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 354 FPS. Medium settings yield 271 FPS average, with a minimum of 230 FPS and maximum of 312 FPS. High settings drop to 228 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 173 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 51.1% reduction in FPS, reflecting the increased GPU load from higher-quality textures and effects.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU becoming more involved. Low settings average 228 FPS, identical to 1080p High, confirming the CPU limit at this frame rate. Medium settings average 175 FPS, with a minimum of 149 FPS and maximum of 201 FPS. High settings produce 147 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 112 FPS average. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each settings level is consistent: 35.6% for Low, 35.4% for Medium, 35.5% for High, and 35.3% for Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. Low settings average 123 FPS. Medium settings average 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 FPS and maximum of 108 FPS. High settings produce 79 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield exactly 60 FPS average. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 46.1% drop for Low, 46.3% for Medium, 46.3% for High, and 46.4% for Ultra, indicating a uniform resolution penalty across all settings. The 4K results show that even this high-end GPU cannot maintain triple-digit FPS at maximum resolution with high visual quality, but it can deliver playable frame rates at all settings except Ultra, where it barely holds 60 FPS.