Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The measured data shows a clear performance hierarchy across settings and resolutions, with the system demonstrating strong scaling from 1080p to 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and how this specific combo ranks against the broader database.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which preset offers the best experience. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 131 FPS, which is a strong target for high-refresh-rate displays. However, the Medium preset delivers 156 FPS average, with a minimum of 133 FPS and a maximum of 180 FPS. This represents a 19% performance uplift over High while likely maintaining visual quality far above Low. The Ultra preset drops to 100 FPS average, which is still playable but sacrifices 24% of the frame rate compared to High for marginal visual gains.

For 2560x1440, the High preset remains the sweet spot, producing 85 FPS average. The Medium preset achieves 101 FPS average with a minimum of 86 FPS, making it the best choice for maintaining smooth gameplay at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 64 FPS average, which is below the 70 FPS threshold many players consider ideal for fast-paced shooters. The Low preset at 1440p yields 132 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is likely unnecessary given the headroom available on High.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option for smooth gameplay, producing 71 FPS average. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 54 FPS average with a minimum of 46 FPS, which dips into stutter territory. High at 4K drops to 46 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS, both of which are below the playable threshold for a third-person shooter requiring responsive aiming. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings compromises.

The optimal strategy across all resolutions is to prioritize Medium or High presets. At 1080p and 1440p, Medium provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality, while High is acceptable if visual fidelity is prioritized. At 4K, Low is the only preset that maintains playable frame rates above 60 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with the Low preset reaching 204 FPS average and Medium reaching 156 FPS. At 2560x1440, High still delivers 85 FPS average, making it a viable option for higher-resolution displays. 3840x2160 is only playable on Low settings at 71 FPS average.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra yields 100 FPS average versus 131 FPS for High, a 31% reduction in frame rate. The Medium preset at 156 FPS is 56% faster than Ultra, suggesting Ultra should only be used if visual fidelity is the absolute priority.

Q: Is the frame rate consistent across different settings?

A: The only rows with min/max FPS data are Medium presets. At 1080p Medium, the range is 133-180 FPS (average 156). At 1440p Medium, the range is 86-116 FPS (average 101). At 4K Medium, the range is 46-62 FPS (average 54). The lack of min/max data for other presets limits direct comparison, but Medium shows substantial variance.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combination ranks 1501 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the 49th percentile. This suggests it performs slightly below the median of all tested systems, though this ranking includes a wide variety of hardware configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: On High settings, the average FPS drops from 131 at 1920x1080 to 85 at 2560x1440 and 46 at 3840x2160. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating significant GPU workload at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as frame rates scale dramatically with resolution changes. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock provide sufficient headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (204 FPS) where CPU load is typically highest.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 features 14 cores and 14 threads, a configuration that pairs a 3.50 GHz base clock with a 5.10 GHz boost clock. This Arrow Lake architecture chip on a 3 nm process delivers strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and Passmark single-thread score of 4394. In Minimum, a game from 2014, single-thread performance often matters more than raw core counts, and this CPU's capabilities are more than adequate.

The data shows that at 1920x1080 Low settings, the combo achieves 204 FPS average. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU can render frames quickly and the CPU can keep up with game logic and draw calls. The CPU's Passmark multithread score of 38706 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 indicate substantial headroom for any CPU-bound scenarios.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The frame rate drop from 204 FPS at 1080p Low to 71 FPS at 4K Low (a 65% reduction) is primarily attributable to GPU rendering load, not CPU limitations. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensure data feeding is not a bottleneck.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995, places it near the top of the performance spectrum. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, scores 49196 (0.4% higher), while the Intel Core i5-14600K scores 48618 (0.8% lower). This indicates the Ultra 5 245 is competitive with mid-range and some high-end CPUs, providing ample processing power for Minimum's workload.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1501 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it squarely in the middle of the performance distribution, at approximately the 49th percentile. This ranking reflects the GPU's 72nd percentile standing among all GPUs, while the CPU's 90th percentile ranking is offset by the overall system performance.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 27425 puts it in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, 0% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565, 0.5% higher). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 scores 27839 (1.5% higher), while the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell scores 27135 (1.1% lower). This suggests the RX 6700 XT is a solid mid-range performer, capable of handling most modern games at 1080p and 1440p.

The combo's mid-pack ranking indicates that while this system is competent, many other tested combinations deliver higher frame rates in Minimum. The 2939 total combos include systems with more powerful GPUs and CPUs, which naturally achieve higher scores. However, the 1501 rank is not a poor result — it reflects a balanced system that can play Minimum well at 1080p and 1440p, with acceptable performance at 4K on lower settings.

The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield the most significant performance improvement, as the CPU has substantial headroom. The RX 6700 XT's 12 GB of VRAM and 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for Minimum, but newer GPUs with higher compute capabilities would push frame rates higher, especially at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear resolution scaling patterns. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 131 FPS average on High settings. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 85 FPS (a 35% reduction), and further to 3840x2160 yields 46 FPS (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is consistent with GPU-bound performance, where the rendering resolution directly impacts frame rate.

On Low settings, the scaling is similar: 204 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction), and 71 FPS at 4K (65% reduction). The Medium preset shows 156 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction), and 54 FPS at 4K (65% reduction). The Ultra preset follows the same trend: 100 FPS at 1080p, 64 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction), and 35 FPS at 4K (65% reduction).

The consistent 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 65% drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The RX 6700 XT's 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 165.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are being fully utilized as resolution increases. The CPU's role is minimal at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the proportional frame rate reductions.

This scaling behavior suggests that players seeking 4K performance should use Low settings (71 FPS) or consider a more powerful GPU. At 1440p, High settings (85 FPS) provide a good experience, while 1080p players can enjoy Ultra (100 FPS) or High (131 FPS) without issues. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p High or Medium, with 1440p High being a viable alternative.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates across all settings. Low delivers 204 FPS average, the fastest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium produces 156 FPS average with a minimum of 133 FPS and maximum of 180 FPS. High reaches 131 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 100 FPS average. The spread from Ultra to Low is 104 FPS, indicating significant headroom for players who prioritize frame rate over visual quality.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but noticeably lower. Low delivers 132 FPS average, Medium achieves 101 FPS average (86-116 FPS range), High produces 85 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 64 FPS average. The 1440p results show that High and Medium are the most balanced presets, offering smooth gameplay while maintaining reasonable visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low is the only preset above 60 FPS, delivering 71 FPS average. Medium achieves 54 FPS average (46-62 FPS range), High drops to 46 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 35 FPS average. The 4K results indicate that this combo is not well-suited for ultra-high-resolution gaming without significant compromises.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier (Low to Ultra) reduces frame rate by approximately 20-25% at any given resolution. The Medium preset consistently provides the best balance of performance and quality, with the only min/max data available showing stable frame delivery.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary driver of frame rate in Minimum, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this 2014 title. The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 413.0 GTexel/s texture rate.

The GPU's clock speeds — 2321 MHz base, 2424 MHz game, and 2581 MHz boost — allow it to maintain high utilization across all settings. The 40 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for Minimum, as the game predates RTX features. However, the GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure modern API efficiency.

The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425, places it in the upper-midrange category. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, scores 27435 (0% difference), while the RTX 3090 scores 27565 (0.5% higher). This indicates the RX 6700 XT is competitive with more expensive options from NVIDIA.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the GPU can render frames quickly, allowing the CPU to feed data at 204 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the GPU's pixel rate and fill rate become bottlenecks, resulting in 35 FPS average. The GPU's 165.2 GPixel/s pixel rate is insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title, but adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

The GPU's 230 W TDP and dual-slot design require a 550 W power supply, which is a reasonable requirement for a mid-range card. Its PCIe 4.0 x16 interface ensures adequate bandwidth for data transfer. The 40 RT cores and 12 GB VRAM provide future-proofing for more demanding titles, though Minimum does not utilize these features significantly.