Minimum

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread mobile processor built on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, using a 3 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, providing 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In the context of Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions where the graphics card is not the bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 256 FPS average, while at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 125 FPS. This spread suggests that the CPU can push very high frame rates when the GPU load is light, but the scaling from Low to Ultra is not linear — a 51% reduction in FPS from Low to Ultra at 1080p. The 14 threads are sufficient for this older title, which likely does not utilize more than a handful of threads, so the single-core performance becomes more critical. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4903 and multi-core score of 34731 indicate strong per-thread performance, which aligns with the observed ability to exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Medium.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 91 versus all CPUs places it in the top decile, with an average benchmark score of 52073. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD EPYC 8124P (deltaPct -0.1), AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i7-14700 (deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i9-13900F (deltaPct 0.7). These deltas are all within 0.7% of the Ultra 5 235HX's average score, indicating that in pure compute terms, this mobile chip trades blows with desktop-class processors. For a game like Minimum, which is not heavily threaded, the boost clock of 5.10 GHz is the key driver of high FPS at low settings, as the game's logic and draw calls are likely single-thread-bound.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile ranks 1228 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 67th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual component benchmarks might suggest, given that the CPU sits in the 91st percentile and the GPU in the 81st percentile. The discrepancy indicates that while each component is strong on its own, the pairing does not translate to top-tier performance in this specific game. The rank of 1228 means that 2484 other combos performed better in Minimum, which is surprising for a high-end mobile CPU and GPU pairing.

The data suggests that Minimum may be more sensitive to certain hardware characteristics that this combo does not excel at, such as memory latency or specific driver optimizations. The combo's rank is likely pulled down by the fact that the RTX 4080 Mobile, while powerful, is not the absolute fastest mobile GPU, and the CPU's 14 threads may not provide an advantage in a game that prefers fewer, faster cores. The nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (deltaPct -0.4), RTX 5080 Mobile (deltaPct -0.6), RTX 4070 (deltaPct 1.3), and Tesla P4 (deltaPct 1.3), showing that the GPU's average benchmark score of 38135 is within 1.3% of these other cards. This tight grouping means that in real-world gaming, the differences could come down to driver maturity or thermal headroom, which the measured FPS data captures.

Given the 3712 total combos, a rank of 1228 is respectable but not exceptional. It implies that many desktop systems with older but higher-clocked CPUs or more powerful desktop GPUs outperform this mobile pairing. For a laptop configuration, this rank is expected, as mobile parts are typically binned for power efficiency rather than raw performance. The measured FPS numbers, however, show that the combo is still capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, so the rank may understate the practical experience for most users who play at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Examining the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 256 at 1080p to 165 at 1440p to 89 at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises. At High settings, the averages are 164 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K — a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom to maintain frame rates at 1080p.

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a substantial FPS reduction, but the game remains playable at all settings. At 4K, however, the Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most gamers consider smooth. The Medium preset at 4K yields 68 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is borderline. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4080 Mobile's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures, but the raw compute power of 24.72 TFLOPS FP32 is stretched at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and 7424 shading units are the key specs here, and the data shows that 4K Ultra is not a realistic target for this combo in Minimum.

The limiting component analysis is clear: at 1080p, the CPU is capable of driving frame rates up to 256 FPS, but the GPU cannot exceed that in any setting, meaning the CPU is not the bottleneck at low settings. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiter, as the FPS scales almost exactly with resolution. The sweet spot appears to be 1440p, where the combo delivers 106 FPS at High and 81 FPS at Ultra, both playable. The data shows that the CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's demands at 1440p, as the FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p are proportional to the pixel count increase, not a CPU limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 256 FPS, which is exceptional for any game, especially one from 2014. The Medium preset averages 196 FPS with a minimum of 166 FPS and a maximum of 225 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. The High preset averages 164 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 125 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 131 FPS, showing that the settings have a significant impact on performance even at 1080p. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium (166 FPS), which suggests that the frame pacing is consistent, as no other presets reported minimums below playable thresholds.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS for Low is 165, Medium is 126 (with minimum 107 and maximum 145), High is 106, and Ultra is 81. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with the Low preset losing 91 FPS, Medium losing 70 FPS, High losing 58 FPS, and Ultra losing 44 FPS. This shows that higher settings experience smaller absolute drops because the GPU is already more loaded at 1080p with those settings. At 1440p, all presets remain above 60 FPS, making this resolution the most versatile for this combo. The Medium preset's minimum of 107 FPS ensures no stuttering, while the Ultra preset's 81 FPS average is still smooth for a shooter.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, Medium averages 68 FPS (with minimum 58 and maximum 78), High averages 57 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS (58 FPS is close but technically below), while High and Ultra dip below 60 FPS average. The 4K Ultra average of 43 FPS is not ideal for a fast-paced shooter, as it may introduce input lag and visual stuttering. The data shows that 4K is only viable for this combo at Low or Medium settings, with Low providing a comfortable 89 FPS average and Medium offering a playable 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is based on the AD104 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1290 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and the memory runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is ample for Minimum, which is a 2014 title that likely has modest VRAM requirements, so the memory capacity is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's raw compute performance is 24.72 TFLOPS FP32, with a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 386.3 GTexel/s. These specs explain the measured FPS at 4K: the pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s is sufficient for 4K at 60 FPS, but the actual average FPS at 4K High is 57, indicating that the shading and texture rates become the bottleneck. The 80 ROPs are adequate for this game, but the 232 TMUs and 7424 shading units are taxed at 4K Ultra, resulting in the 43 FPS average. The GPU's TDP is 110 W, which is modest for a mobile 40-series part, but the data shows it can still deliver high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 24926 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 11191, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (deltaPct -0.4), RTX 5080 Mobile (deltaPct -0.6), RTX 4070 (deltaPct 1.3), and Tesla P4 (deltaPct 1.3). The close deltaPct values (all within 1.3%) suggest that the RTX 4080 Mobile is competitive with these other GPUs in compute tasks, but the measured FPS in Minimum shows that it performs differently in real gaming. The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 96 and DirectX 11 score of 244 from Passmark indicate strong API support, which is relevant for a game from 2014 that likely uses DirectX 11. The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than enough for this game's textures at 4K, so the performance drop at 4K is purely compute-bound, not memory-bound.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low at 256 FPS and Ultra at 125 FPS. For competitive play, the Low or Medium preset would be recommended, as the 256 FPS or 196 FPS averages provide minimal input latency and maximum smoothness. The Medium preset's minimum of 166 FPS ensures that frame drops are rare, making it the best balance between visual quality and performance at 1080p. The High preset at 164 FPS is also excellent, but the Ultra preset's 125 FPS average is still above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays, so it is viable for those who prioritize visuals.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers the best experience with an average of 126 FPS and a minimum of 107 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and even above 100 FPS for most of the time. The High preset at 106 FPS average is also excellent, but the Medium preset's minimum of 107 FPS is higher than High's unspecified minimum, suggesting more consistent frame pacing. The Ultra preset at 81 FPS average is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced shooters where frame drops can be noticeable. For 1440p, the recommendation is Medium or High, with Medium being the safer choice for consistent performance.

At 3840x2160, the data clearly shows that Ultra is not viable, with a 43 FPS average. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline, but the Medium preset at 68 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS is the only preset that approaches a consistent 60 FPS experience. The Low preset at 89 FPS average is the best for 4K gaming, offering a smooth experience with reduced visual fidelity. Given that Minimum is a shooter, the recommendation for 4K is Low or Medium, with Medium providing a playable 68 FPS average despite the 58 FPS minimum. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, so lowering settings has a significant impact on FPS, as seen in the 46 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K. For the best overall experience, 1440p Medium or High is the sweet spot, delivering high frame rates with good visual quality.