Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core Ultra 7 165H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile delivers a substantial performance envelope for Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Across the measured resolutions and settings, this combo demonstrates strong capability, with the data showing a clear progression from 48 FPS at Ultra 4K to 280 FPS at Low 1080p. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing ranks in the 77.5th percentile overall among 3,712 tested combos, placing it solidly in the upper tier of systems.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Minimum?

A: The highest measured average is 280 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 180 FPS at the same resolution with High settings, and 214 FPS at Medium settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 48 FPS at Ultra settings to 97 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings produce 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 86 FPS, while High settings yield 62 FPS average.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 834th out of 3,712 tested combinations, which places it in the top quartile of all systems benchmarked for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 34,083 is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (33,989) and 0.4% lower than both the AMD EPYC 4244P (34,220) and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (34,222). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (34,260) by 0.5%.

Q: What is the memory configuration of this GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed.

Q: Does the game's performance vary significantly between settings presets?

A: Yes, the data shows a clear gradient. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 280 to 137, a 51% drop. At 4K, the same settings change reduces performance from 97 to 48 FPS, a 50.5% drop.

Settings Recommendations

For the optimal balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay, Medium settings at 2560x1440 represent the best measured experience. This configuration delivers 138 FPS average with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 159 FPS, comfortably exceeding the refresh rate of most high-refresh displays while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity. The minimum frame rate of 117 FPS ensures consistent responsiveness during fast-paced action sequences.

At 1920x1080, Medium settings produce 214 FPS average with a minimum of 182 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play on high-refresh monitors. The High preset at 1080p still delivers a strong 180 FPS average, making it a viable option for users prioritizing visual detail without sacrificing much fluidity. For those seeking maximum visual quality, Ultra at 1080p yields 137 FPS average, which remains playable on standard 144Hz displays.

At 4K resolution, Medium settings provide the most balanced experience with 74 FPS average and a minimum of 63 FPS. This stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, whereas High settings dip to 62 FPS average and Ultra falls to 48 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in action-heavy sequences. Low settings at 4K achieve 97 FPS average but sacrifice visual quality significantly.

The data suggests that Medium settings offer the best performance-per-visual tradeoff across all resolutions. The frame time consistency at Medium, evidenced by the narrow min-max range (86 FPS maximum versus 63 FPS minimum at 4K), indicates stable performance without significant spikes. Users with 144Hz or 240Hz displays should target 1080p Medium or High for the best experience, while 4K users should stick to Medium or lower.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring the AD103 chip with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1335 MHz and boost clock of 1695 MHz, with 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation units. The memory subsystem comprises 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding 576.0 GB/s bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with FP32 performance rated at 32.98 TFLOPS and matching FP16 throughput at 32.98 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio). The 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs. Pixel rate is rated at 189.8 GPixel/s, and texture rate at 515.3 GTexel/s.

In the context of Minimum's measured results, the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings. The 576.0 GB/s bandwidth and 16 GB memory capacity prove sufficient for all tested configurations, as no memory-related bottlenecks appear in the data. The GPU's benchmark scores position it competitively: PassMark G3D score of 27,212 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 180,831. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.8% higher average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.9% higher), while the NVIDIA RTX A6000 trails by 0.9%.

The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates strong overall performance, though its avgBenchmarkScore of 43,667 shows it sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier rather than at the absolute top. For Minimum specifically, the GPU demonstrates it can handle 4K Ultra at 48 FPS, but the sweet spot for high refresh rates lies at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 280 FPS average, Medium settings achieve 214 FPS average with a minimum of 182 FPS and maximum of 246 FPS, High settings reach 180 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 137 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with each settings tier reducing performance by roughly 25-30%.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected resolution penalty. Low settings average 180 FPS, Medium settings produce 138 FPS average with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 159 FPS, High settings achieve 116 FPS average, and Ultra settings deliver 88 FPS average. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 35.7% at Low settings to 35.8% at Ultra settings, showing a uniform scaling factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 97 FPS, Medium settings produce 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 86 FPS, High settings reach 62 FPS average, and Ultra settings yield 48 FPS average. The 4K results show a more pronounced gap between Low and Ultra, with a 50.5% performance reduction compared to the 51% reduction seen at 1080p.

The data reveals that Medium settings consistently provide the best frame time consistency across all resolutions, with the narrowest min-max ranges. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 64 FPS (182-246), while at 1440p Medium it is 42 FPS (117-159), and at 4K Medium it is 23 FPS (63-86). This suggests Medium settings offer the most stable experience regardless of resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 834th out of 3,712 tested combinations, placing it in the 77.5th percentile of all systems benchmarked for Minimum. This ranking reflects the combined capability of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, though notably, many higher-ranked combos likely pair more recent or higher-tier components.

The CPU component contributes an 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU also holds an 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs. These individual rankings suggest the combo's overall position is consistent with its component-level performance, though the specific demands of Minimum may favor certain hardware configurations.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (0.3% higher score), AMD EPYC 4244P (0.4% higher), AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.4% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (0.5% higher). These close margins indicate the Ultra 7 165H sits in a highly competitive performance band where minor architectural differences can shift rankings.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (0.8% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (0.9% higher), and NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.9% lower score). The tight clustering of these scores suggests the RTX 4090 Mobile occupies a well-defined performance tier where specific game optimizations can alter real-world results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU is built on Intel's 7 nm process using the Meteor Lake architecture, with a 28 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,551 and single-core score of 1,759, while Cinebench R20 produces 9,233 multi-core and 1,303 single-core. PassMark tests reveal a multithread score of 25,933 and single-thread score of 3,509, with floating point math at 66,273 and integer math at 89,415. The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects this solid performance profile.

In Minimum, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the scaling patterns. At 1080p Low (280 FPS), the CPU must maintain high frame delivery, and its 5.00 GHz boost clock and 22 threads provide sufficient headroom. However, the relatively modest single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core of 1,759) may become a limiting factor at very high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensures adequate data throughput for the GPU. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG 128EU graphics are present but clearly not utilized in this discrete GPU configuration. The CPU's launch MSRP is $460, though this figure is not directly relevant to performance analysis.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about the limiting component in this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 280 at 1080p to 180 at 1440p (35.7% reduction) and then to 97 at 4K (46.1% reduction from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 214 to 138 (35.5% reduction) to 74 (46.4% reduction). High settings show 180 to 116 (35.6% reduction) to 62 (46.6% reduction), while Ultra settings go from 137 to 88 (35.8% reduction) to 48 (45.5% reduction).

The uniform reduction from 1080p to 1440p across all settings (approximately 35.5-35.8%) indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at these resolutions. The pixel count increase from 1080p to 1440p is 77.8%, while the frame rate reduction is only 35.7%, suggesting the GPU has sufficient headroom to absorb the additional resolution load without proportional performance loss.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a larger performance drop (approximately 45.5-46.6%), which aligns with the 2.25x pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K. This steeper decline indicates the GPU is becoming the dominant bottleneck at 4K, with the CPU's role diminishing as resolution increases.

The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting component across all tested scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p Low (280 FPS), but the GPU's rendering capability caps performance at each resolution. For users targeting high refresh rates, 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings provides the best balance, while 4K gaming requires sacrificing settings to maintain acceptable frame rates.