Minimum

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

The measured FPS data for Minimum with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 140 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 90 FPS — a 35.7% reduction. At 3840x2160, the same Low preset yields just 49 FPS, which is 65% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is not linear; the gap between 1440p and 4K is proportionally larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p.

Looking at High settings, the trend continues: 90 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and only 31 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is barely playable, sitting just above the 30 FPS threshold. Medium settings follow a similar trajectory — 107 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 68 FPS at 1080p, 44 FPS at 1440p, and a marginal 24 FPS at 4K.

What does this scaling tell us about the limiting component? The GPU is clearly the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GTX 1070's memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s and its 256-bit bus are being saturated as pixel count increases. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is particularly telling — the GPU simply cannot feed the display enough frames at that workload. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 24 MB of L3 cache, is unlikely to be the constraint here, as the FPS drop pattern aligns with typical GPU-bound behavior in third-person shooters.

The data suggests that 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing, while 1440p is usable with lower presets. 4K is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the 49 FPS average is borderline. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is harsh — roughly a 40-45% FPS loss across all presets — which indicates the GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and its pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s are the primary limiting factors.

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

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,648 in single-core. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 38,706, with a single-thread score of 4,394.

For a game like Minimum, released in 2014, the CPU's role is likely modest at 1080p but becomes less relevant as resolution increases. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo hits 140 FPS — a figure that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU plenty of frames. The 5.10 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for gaming, as it provides strong single-thread performance, which many older titles rely on.

The CPU's cache hierarchy is substantial: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3. This large L3 cache can help with game asset streaming and reducing memory latency. The processor supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for this game's requirements.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 5 245 sits very close to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% lower average benchmark score) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% lower). It edges out the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. This places the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a strong performer overall.

However, the game's measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p, the frame rates are high across all presets, and the drop-off at 1440p and 4K is consistent with GPU saturation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar FPS regardless of resolution — but the data shows a clear resolution-dependent decline. The 14 cores and 14 threads provide ample parallel processing, though Minimum likely does not utilize all of them given its 2014 release date.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a Pascal-architecture GPU built on TSMC's 16 nm process. It features 1,920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz. Its memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The pixel rate is 107.7 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 202.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GTX 1070 scores 13,498 in PassMark G3D and 6,102 in PassMark GPU compute. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1,082. The GPU sits in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-range position. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W5000 (0.2% lower average score), NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (0.5% lower), NVIDIA Tesla M10 (0.6% higher), and NVIDIA Tesla C2070 (0.7% higher).

The game data confirms that the GTX 1070 is the primary constraint. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 24 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. The 8 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for Minimum's textures, but the GPU's raw compute power is insufficient for 4K workloads. The memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions where the GPU must access more texture data per frame.

The boost clock of 1683 MHz is decent for the Pascal generation, but the 2016 GPU architecture lacks modern features like ray tracing cores or tensor cores. For a 2014 game, this is not a concern, but the raw shader throughput of 6.463 TFLOPS limits high-resolution performance. The data shows that at 1440p Medium, the combo achieves 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is smooth. At 4K Medium, it drops to 37 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS — just at the edge of playability.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 2,412 out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the bottom 18% of all combinations, which is a surprising result given the individual component performance. The CPU is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU is only in the 47th percentile — the combination's overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU.

This rank suggests that most tested combos in the database outperform this pairing for Minimum. The game's measured FPS data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 68 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 24 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for comfortable gaming. The rank of 2,412 out of 2,939 indicates that there are 527 combos that perform worse, but the vast majority of systems deliver better results.

The delta between the CPU and GPU performance tiers is stark. The Ultra 5 245 is a modern, high-end processor, while the GTX 1070 is an end-of-life GPU from 2016. This mismatch explains the low combo ranking — the CPU is effectively held back by the GPU in almost all scenarios. The data shows that the combo's performance is entirely GPU-bound, with the CPU rarely breaking a sweat even at 1080p.

If we look at the combo's ranking relative to its individual components, the GPU is clearly the weak link. The 47th percentile GPU ranking means that half of all GPUs in the database outperform it, and for a game like Minimum that is not particularly demanding, this limits the overall experience. The combo ranks lower than what the CPU alone would suggest, highlighting the importance of GPU selection in this pairing.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 107 FPS average with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS. This is the best balance of visual quality and performance — the frame rate is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum never dips below 90 FPS. The High preset at 1080p offers 90 FPS, which is also smooth, but Medium provides a 18.9% FPS uplift with only a minor visual quality reduction.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 90 FPS, which is the only preset that maintains a high frame rate at this resolution. The Medium preset hits 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced third-person shooter action. The High preset drops to 58 FPS, which is borderline. For 1440p, Low is the recommended choice if frame rate is the priority, though Medium is acceptable for players who prefer better visuals.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 49 FPS, which is the only playable option. The Medium preset yields 37 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS, which is technically above the 30 FPS floor but not comfortable for sustained play. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended — 31 FPS and 24 FPS respectively are too low for a responsive shooter.

For the best overall experience, the 1080p Medium preset is the top choice. It offers 107 FPS average, which is smooth and responsive, with a minimum of 91 FPS ensuring no stutter. The combination of the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's adequate 1080p capability makes this the sweet spot. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the 1080p High preset at 90 FPS is also a solid option.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 140 FPS average
• Medium: 107 FPS average, with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS
• High: 90 FPS average
• Ultra: 68 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear progression — dropping from Low to Medium costs 33 FPS (23.6% reduction), from Medium to High costs 17 FPS (15.9% reduction), and from High to Ultra costs 22 FPS (24.4% reduction). The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is still playable, but the gap between Medium and Ultra is significant.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 90 FPS average
• Medium: 69 FPS average, with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

The 1440p data shows a steeper decline: Low to Medium costs 21 FPS (23.3% reduction), Medium to High costs 11 FPS (15.9% reduction), and High to Ultra costs 14 FPS (24.1% reduction). The pattern is consistent with 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 49 FPS average
• Medium: 37 FPS average, with a minimum of 32 FPS and maximum of 43 FPS
• High: 31 FPS average
• Ultra: 24 FPS average

The 4K data reveals a harsh reality: even the Low preset struggles to maintain 50 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 32 FPS is just above the 30 FPS threshold, but the High preset at 31 FPS is right at the edge. The Ultra preset at 24 FPS is not playable for a shooter.

The resolution scaling across all presets shows that the combo loses roughly 50-60% of its 1080p performance when moving to 4K. For example, Medium at 1080p is 107 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 69 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 37 FPS. This is a consistent pattern that confirms the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the limiting factors.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At Low settings, the combo achieves 140 FPS, and at Medium it delivers 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS. At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly, and at 3840x2160, only the Low preset stays above 45 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,648 in single-core. Its average benchmark score is 48,995, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K.

Q: Is the GTX 1070 sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: No. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160, the combo achieves 49 FPS on Low, 37 FPS on Medium, 31 FPS on High, and 24 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset is comfortably above 30 FPS, and even that is borderline for a third-person shooter.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination ranks 2,412 out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the bottom 18% of all systems, reflecting the GPU's mid-range standing (47th percentile among all GPUs) despite the CPU's strong performance (90th percentile).

Q: Which settings preset provides the smoothest frame rates?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 107 FPS average with a minimum of 91 FPS, which offers the best consistency. At 1440p, the Low preset at 90 FPS is the smoothest option. At 4K, the Low preset at 49 FPS is the only viable choice.

Q: How does the GTX 1070's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that performance drops significantly at 4K, where the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. At 1080p, the memory configuration is adequate, but it limits high-resolution performance.