Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination delivers playable performance in Minimum, but its ranking at 1615 out of 2939 tested combos reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the aging GPU in this 2014 title. The data indicates that while the CPU has substantial headroom, the GTX 1080 Ti’s Pascal architecture struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions and quality settings, making the pairing more suitable for 1080p and 1440p gaming than for 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, a pattern that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 124 FPS at 1080p to 80 FPS at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then plummets to 43 FPS at 4K, representing a 65% loss compared to the 1080p result. This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the pixel count increase directly taxes the rendering pipeline.

The Low settings results provide the clearest evidence of the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 192 FPS, but this falls to 124 FPS at 1440p (-35%) and 67 FPS at 4K (-65%). The consistency of these percentage drops across High and Low settings suggests that even when the graphical load is reduced, the GTX 1080 Ti cannot overcome the resolution penalty. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the frame rate to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload would be unchanged; instead, the data shows that every pixel added has a direct and measurable cost.

The Medium settings data, which includes min and max FPS values, further illustrates this point. At 1080p Medium, the average is 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS. The minimum frame rates scale proportionally with the averages, indicating that the GPU is consistently saturated rather than experiencing intermittent spikes. This is a sign of a stable, but heavily loaded, GPU.

The Ultra settings results show the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 94 FPS, which is still respectable. At 1440p Ultra, this falls to 61 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 33 FPS. The 65% drop from 1080p to 4K Ultra is nearly identical to the drop seen at Low settings, confirming that the resolution is the dominant variable. The data suggests that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the 67 FPS average is just above the playable threshold, while 1440p offers a good balance of quality and performance across all settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the decisive component in this system’s gaming performance. Its 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for a game from 2014. However, the GPU’s clock speeds and architectural limits are what determine the frame rates observed. The base clock of 1481 MHz and boost clock of 1582 MHz are not high by modern standards, and the Pascal architecture lacks the efficiency of newer generations.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 18600 places it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, which is a mid-range standing. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2231 is a more modern test, and the GPU's performance there suggests it is not well-suited for newer, more demanding APIs. In Minimum, a title that is not graphically intensive by today's standards, the GTX 1080 Ti still manages to deliver high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the data shows it is the limiting factor at 4K.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon R9 M380 (0.2% faster), the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (0.8% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (1.7% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (1.7% faster). These are not modern high-end cards, which reinforces the GTX 1080 Ti's position as a mid-range performer in 2025. The fact that the RTX 2060, a card from a later generation, is only 1.7% faster in average benchmark score shows that the GTX 1080 Ti still has some raw compute power, but its lack of modern features and lower clock speeds hamper it in real-world gaming.

The VRAM capacity of 11 GB is not a limiting factor in Minimum, as the game's textures and assets are not large enough to exceed this amount at any tested resolution. The 4K Ultra settings, which would be the most likely to consume VRAM, still show a playable (if low) 33 FPS average, indicating that the frame rate is limited by the GPU's compute throughput rather than memory capacity. The memory clock of 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective) provides sufficient bandwidth for the game's data transfers.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this CPU and GPU combo?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At High settings, the system achieves 80 FPS, and even at Ultra settings, it maintains a 61 FPS average. This provides a good balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay.

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

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K Low settings, the system achieves 67 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 43 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its closest rivals in terms of benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 15548. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon R9 M380, 0.8% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, and 1.7% slower than both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rate drops by approximately 65% from 1080p to 4K at both Low and High settings, which indicates that the rendering workload is the limiting factor. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the system achieves 192 FPS on Low settings and 94 FPS on Ultra settings. This is a 98 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra settings are significantly more demanding on the GPU.

Q: Does the GTX 1080 Ti's 11 GB of VRAM cause any issues in this game?

A: No. The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in Minimum. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, indicating that the GPU's compute performance, not its memory capacity, is the constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 1615 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 45th percentile of all tested systems. This is a below-average ranking, which is surprising given the CPU's high performance in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and its multi-core performance is strong. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 15548 places it in the 58th percentile, and this gap in relative performance is what drags the combo down.

The ranking suggests that the GTX 1080 Ti is holding back the system. The CPU is capable of much higher frame rates, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 192 FPS, but the GPU cannot sustain that level of performance at higher resolutions. The combo rank of 1615 means that there are 1324 tested combinations that perform better, which is a significant number. This positioning indicates that users with this CPU would be better served by a more modern GPU to unlock its full potential.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% slower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% slower), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (0.6% faster), and the Intel Core i5-14600K (0.8% faster). These are all high-performance processors, and the fact that the Ultra 5 245 is competitive with them shows that it is not the weak link in this combo. The ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's mid-range standing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide ample single-threaded performance for gaming. The CPU has 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with game data locality. The data shows that this CPU is not the bottleneck in Minimum, as the frame rates are consistently limited by the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its strong performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 32924, and its single-core score is 4648. The PassMark multithread score is 38706, and the single-thread score is 4394. These scores place the CPU in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is a high-performance part. The PassMark physics score of 2569 is relevant for gaming, as it measures the CPU's ability to handle game physics calculations.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and process game logic. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly with resolution increases proves that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 192 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires a capable CPU to maintain. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads are more than sufficient for a game from 2014, which likely does not utilize more than a few cores effectively. The high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures that single-threaded performance is excellent, which is often the most critical factor for game performance.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 5 245 is competitive. It is 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and 0.5% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, but 0.6% slower than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% slower than the Intel Core i5-14600K. These are all modern, high-performance CPUs, and the Ultra 5 245 holds its own. The data suggests that if paired with a more powerful GPU, this CPU would be able to deliver significantly higher frame rates in Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. On Low settings, the average FPS is 192. On Medium settings, the average is 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. On High settings, the average is 124 FPS. On Ultra settings, the average is 94 FPS. This shows that even at the highest quality settings, the system is capable of delivering a smooth 60+ FPS experience at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. On Low settings, the average FPS is 124. On Medium settings, the average is 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. On High settings, the average is 80 FPS. On Ultra settings, the average is 61 FPS. This resolution is still very playable, with all settings except Ultra maintaining an average above 80 FPS. The 61 FPS average at Ultra is still above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p a viable option for high-quality gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. On Low settings, the average FPS is 67. On Medium settings, the average is 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. On High settings, the average is 43 FPS. On Ultra settings, the average is 33 FPS. At this resolution, only Low settings provide a consistently playable experience. The Medium settings average of 51 FPS is borderline, and the minimum of 43 FPS indicates that there will be noticeable stutters. High and Ultra settings are not recommended for 4K gaming with this combo.

The data shows a clear pattern: the system is capable of excellent performance at 1080p, good performance at 1440p, and marginal performance at 4K. The GTX 1080 Ti is the limiting factor, and its 11 GB of VRAM and 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth are not enough to overcome the pixel throughput required at 4K. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock, is never the bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent scaling of frame rates with resolution.