Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a performance profile in Minimum that is clearly defined by the GPU’s capabilities. The data shows a combination that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to strain at the highest fidelity settings available in the game. This analysis examines the measured frame rates, the relationship between the components, and how this specific pairing stacks up against other tested configurations.

The benchmark results indicate a system that is well-balanced for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, while 4K performance requires careful settings management to maintain smooth gameplay. The following sections break down the data by resolution, settings, and component role, providing a methodical look at what the numbers mean for real-world performance.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 164 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset drops the average to 106 FPS, a reduction of 35% as the pixel count increases. This scaling is expected and indicates that the rendering load is scaling linearly with the resolution, pointing to the graphics card as the primary bottleneck.

The jump to 4K (3840x2160) at High settings further confirms this trend, with the average FPS falling to 57. This represents a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. The performance curve is steep, but the system remains playable. The data suggests that the RTX 4080 is being pushed to its limits at 4K, as the frame rate drops below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The scaling between 1440p and 4K is roughly a 46% reduction in FPS, which is a significant cost for the increase in visual fidelity.

Examining the scaling at the lowest settings provides a clearer picture of the CPU’s headroom. At Low settings, the system achieves 256 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The 4K result with Low settings is only 11% lower than the High settings result at 1440p (89 FPS vs 106 FPS). This suggests that even when the graphics load is reduced, the 4K resolution still requires substantial GPU resources, and the frame rate is not solely limited by the processor. The fact that the 4K Low score (89 FPS) is higher than the 4K High score (57 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as reducing the graphical workload directly translates to a significant performance gain.

The data indicates that the sweet spot for this pairing is 2560x1440, where the GPU can maintain high frame rates without being overly constrained. At 1080p, the system is capable of extremely high frame rates, but the GPU is not fully utilized, leaving potential performance on the table. The 4K resolution is playable, but only at lower settings or for games that are less demanding than Minimum at its highest presets.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers clear guidance on which settings preset provides the best experience. The Medium preset appears to be the optimal balance of performance and visual quality across all resolutions. At 4K, the Medium preset yields an average of 68 FPS, which is a 19% improvement over High (57 FPS) and a 58% improvement over Ultra (43 FPS). This makes Medium the only preset at 4K that consistently stays above the 60 FPS mark, based on the average data.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers an average of 126 FPS, which is a significant jump from the High preset’s 106 FPS and a substantial margin over the Ultra preset’s 81 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is also 19% higher than the 4K Medium result, highlighting the resolution’s advantage. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a frame rate that is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset.

At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset’s 196 FPS average is a strong contender. It is 20% faster than High (164 FPS) and 57% faster than Ultra (125 FPS). While Low (256 FPS) offers the highest frame rate, the jump from Medium to Low is 30%, which might not be worth the visual compromise for most users. The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most efficient choice, providing a high frame rate without sacrificing the graphical features that the High and Ultra presets include.

The Ultra preset, while the most visually demanding, shows a significant performance cost. At 4K, it averages 43 FPS, which is not ideal for a smooth experience. At 1440p, it averages 81 FPS, which is playable but leaves performance on the table compared to the Medium preset. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is best reserved for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate and are willing to play at lower resolutions or with V-Sync enabled. The High preset is a reasonable middle ground, but the Medium preset’s performance deltas make it the clear recommendation for a balanced experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 secures a rank of 918 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places the pairing in the 68th percentile of all configurations, indicating that it outperforms a majority of systems but is not at the very top of the performance charts. The rank reflects a high-performing setup that is capable of handling the game well, but it is not the absolute best combination available.

The combo’s position is influenced by the strengths of its components. The GPU’s performance, as measured by its percentile rank of 86, is a major contributor, while the CPU’s percentile rank of 84 also plays a significant role. The combination of two high-percentile components results in a system that is likely to be limited by the game’s engine or the specific interaction between the hardware, rather than a clear bottleneck from one component. The rank of 918 suggests that there are many other combinations that can achieve higher frame rates, likely those featuring more powerful desktop-class components.

Despite not being in the top echelon, the data shows this combo is well above average. The fact that it ranks in the top third of all tested combinations indicates that users can expect a highly capable system for Minimum. The performance is likely sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and playable 4K at medium settings, which is a strong result for a mobile CPU paired with a high-end desktop GPU. The 2939 total combinations tested provide a broad context for this rank, showing that the system is in the upper tier of what is possible.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset is 43 FPS, which is the lowest result across all measured settings and resolutions.

Q: How much faster is the Medium preset compared to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 126 FPS, while the High preset averages 106 FPS. This makes the Medium preset approximately 19% faster.

Q: Is the system capable of exceeding 240 FPS at any resolution?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, the system achieves an average of 256 FPS, which is the only measured configuration to exceed 240 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: The High preset at 4K averages 57 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. The High preset is 33% faster than Ultra at this resolution.

Q: Does the system maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K with any preset?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 4K averages 68 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution to maintain an average above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H has an average benchmark score of 34083, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, its closest rival.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Minimum, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU’s specifications, including its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, provide a substantial 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is a critical resource for a game like Minimum, which likely relies on large textures and high-resolution assets. The ample memory capacity ensures that the GPU is not likely to be constrained by VRAM limitations, even at 4K with the highest settings.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, are indicative of its high-performance class. The measured frame rates show that the GPU is the primary factor in the FPS differences between settings. For instance, the drop from 57 FPS at 4K High to 43 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates the GPU’s struggle with the increased graphical load. The GPU’s compute capabilities, rated at 48.74 TFLOPS for FP32, are more than sufficient for this title, but the data indicates that the game’s rendering pipeline is still demanding enough to push the card to its limits at maximum settings.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 86, relative to all other GPUs, confirms its high standing. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average score that is 0.1% higher, indicating that the two are nearly identical in raw compute performance. However, the measured FPS in Minimum shows that the RTX 4080 is not able to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a key data point for users. The GPU’s role is clear: it is the performance ceiling for this system, and users must adjust settings to work within its capabilities at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

While the GPU handles the bulk of the rendering workload, the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H plays a supporting role that becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The CPU’s 16 cores and 22 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide ample processing power for game logic and physics. The benchmark results show a strong multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551, which is a solid indicator of its capability to handle modern game workloads.

The CPU’s role is most evident when looking at the 1080p results. At Low settings, the system achieves 256 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires a capable processor to feed the GPU with data. The jump from 1080p Medium (196 FPS) to 1080p Low (256 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as the frame rate scales directly with the reduction in GPU load. However, the CPU’s performance percentile of 84 indicates that it is not the fastest processor available, and there may be other CPUs that could provide even higher frame rates in this scenario.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and its L3 cache of 24 MB are adequate for this game, but the data does not show any specific CPU-bound bottlenecks. The fact that 4K performance scales so significantly with settings changes (89 FPS on Low to 43 FPS on Ultra) confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at that resolution. The CPU’s role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data, and the benchmark results show that it performs this task effectively across all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a detailed picture of the system’s performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its highest performance. With the Low preset, it averages 256 FPS. The Medium preset averages 196 FPS, with a minimum of 166 FPS and a maximum of 225 FPS, showing good frame time consistency. The High preset averages 164 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 125 FPS. The range from 125 to 256 FPS at 1080p shows that the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors, with even the most demanding preset maintaining a high average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected impact of the increased resolution. The Low preset averages 165 FPS. The Medium preset averages 126 FPS, with a minimum of 107 FPS and a maximum of 145 FPS. The High preset averages 106 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 81 FPS. The 1440p results show that the system is capable of maintaining frame rates above 100 FPS on most presets, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 89 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate. The Medium preset averages 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS, indicating that the system can dip below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The High preset averages 57 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that the system is best used with the Medium preset for a consistent experience, as the High and Ultra presets result in average frame rates that are below the 60 FPS target.