Minimum

Minimum, the 2014 third-person shooter, presents an interesting case study in how a modern high-end mobile platform handles an older title. The benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile shows a wide performance envelope that shifts dramatically based on resolution and quality settings. The measured FPS suggests that this combo is powerful enough to push the game well beyond its original intended limits, but the scaling behavior reveals where the bottlenecks lie.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a clear and predictable drop in frame rates across all settings, but the magnitude of that drop is not uniform. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 274 FPS at 1920x1080 to 177 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 95 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total loss from 1080p to 4K at Low is approximately 65%, which indicates that even at the lowest graphical preset, the rendering load at 4K is substantial.

The scaling pattern shifts at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 176 at 1080p to 114 at 1440p, and finally to 61 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, similar to Low, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%, also similar. However, the absolute values are much lower, suggesting that the GPU is working harder at each step. At Medium settings, the data shows a similar trend: 210 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline, starting at 134 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 87 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 47 FPS at 4K.

The key insight from this scaling data is that the limiting component changes with resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high—274 FPS at Low and 210 FPS at Medium—that it is unlikely the GPU is the primary constraint. These numbers suggest the CPU or other system components are setting the ceiling. As resolution increases to 4K, the frame rates drop to levels (95 FPS at Low, 61 FPS at High, 47 FPS at Ultra) that are more typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The game appears to become increasingly GPU-limited as pixel count rises, which is consistent with the RTX 5080 Mobile's capabilities. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo manages 47 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target, while 4K High yields 61 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it in the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34083. In synthetic tests, it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551 and a single-core score of 1759, while its Passmark multi-thread score is 25933 and single-thread score is 3509.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role appears to be significant at lower resolutions. The fact that the combo hits 274 FPS at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU a massive number of frames. The processor's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz is likely a key factor here, as older games like Minimum often rely heavily on single-thread performance. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 1759 and Passmark single-thread score of 3509 indicate strong per-core capability.

However, as the resolution increases, the CPU's influence diminishes. The frame rate drops at 4K are more pronounced, which is typical when the GPU becomes the bottleneck. This does not mean the CPU is weak; rather, it means that the GPU is being pushed to its limits by the increased pixel count. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s are sufficient to keep the GPU fed at 4K, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates still reach playable levels at High settings. The processor's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (0.3% higher score) and the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (0.5% lower score), placing it in a competitive position for gaming workloads.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how each preset performs at the three tested resolutions. For 1080p, all settings are highly playable, with even Ultra achieving 134 FPS. The Low preset reaches 274 FPS, which is beneficial for high-refresh-rate displays, but the jump from Low to Medium (210 FPS) is substantial and likely worth the visual improvement. At 1080p, Medium offers a balanced experience, while High (176 FPS) and Ultra (134 FPS) provide diminishing returns in terms of smoothness but better image quality.

At 1440p, the story changes. Low settings deliver 177 FPS, which is excellent, but Medium (135 FPS) and High (114 FPS) are still very smooth. Ultra drops to 87 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid. For a 1440p display, High settings appear to be the sweet spot, as they offer a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a frame rate well above 100 FPS. The data indicates that Ultra at 1440p is still viable, but the 27 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains for competitive play.

At 4K, the recommendations tighten considerably. Low settings yield 95 FPS, which is smooth, but the visual quality is poor for a modern system. Medium (73 FPS) and High (61 FPS) are both playable, with High providing the best balance of visual fidelity and performance at 4K. Ultra drops to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may introduce noticeable stutter. The data suggests that for a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings are the maximum recommended preset, while Medium offers a more comfortable margin. The Medium preset's minimum FPS at 4K is 62, which is reassuring, while the maximum is 84, indicating some headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile ranks 1022 out of 3712 tested combos for this game. This places it in the top 27.5% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mobile platform. The rank is determined by the measured FPS data, which favors combos that can sustain high frame rates across various settings and resolutions.

This ranking suggests that while this combo is powerful, it is not at the very top of the charts for Minimum. The RTX 5080 Mobile, despite being a high-end GPU, is paired with a CPU that, while strong, is not the absolute fastest for gaming. The combo's performance at 1080p Low (274 FPS) is impressive, but other combos with more powerful desktop CPUs or higher-clocked mobile chips may achieve even higher frame rates. The 27.5th percentile ranking indicates that there is a significant number of combos that outperform this one, likely due to more aggressive GPU configurations or CPUs with higher single-thread performance.

However, the ranking also shows that this combo is far from a slouch. It outperforms the majority of tested systems, which is notable given that Minimum is an older title that may not fully utilize the latest hardware features. The rank of 1022 out of 3712 is a solid result, placing this combo in the upper quartile. For a laptop configuration, this is a competitive position, suggesting that users can expect high frame rates in most scenarios without needing to compromise heavily on settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 7680 shading units, 240 tensor cores, and 60 RT cores. It has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 975 MHz with a boost clock of 1500 MHz, and it has a TDP of 80 W. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Passmark G3D score of 27711 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4952, placing it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the GPU is not the primary limiter, as frame rates exceed 200 FPS at most settings. This suggests that the CPU is keeping pace. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload increases significantly, and the frame rates drop to levels that indicate GPU saturation. The 4K Ultra result of 47 FPS is a clear sign that the GPU is being pushed to its maximum, as the pixel count and quality settings combine to create a heavy load.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Minimum, which is a 2014 title and likely does not require high memory capacity. The GDDR7 memory's 896.0 GB/s bandwidth is also ample, ensuring that memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The GPU's compute capabilities, as reflected in its Passmark GPU Compute score of 12134, are likely overkill for this game, but they ensure that frame times remain stable. The RTX 5080 Mobile's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (0.6% higher score) and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (0.9% lower score), indicating that this GPU is positioned well among mobile offerings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 274 FPS, while Medium averages 210 FPS with a minimum of 178 and a maximum of 241. High averages 176 FPS, and Ultra averages 134 FPS. These numbers show that 1080p is well within the combo's comfort zone, with even the most demanding preset exceeding 130 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 177 FPS, Medium averages 135 FPS (min 115, max 156), High averages 114 FPS, and Ultra averages 87 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable but does not compromise playability, as all presets remain above 85 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The 4K results show a clear hierarchy, with only Low maintaining a triple-digit frame rate, and Ultra falling below 50 FPS.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the minimum is 178 FPS, at 1440p it is 115 FPS, and at 4K it is 62 FPS. These minimums indicate that the Medium preset maintains a stable frame rate without significant drops, which is important for smooth gameplay. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 241 at 1080p, 156 at 1440p, and 84 at 4K, showing a consistent scaling pattern. The absence of min/max data for other presets means that only averages are available, but the Medium preset's data suggests that frame pacing is consistent across resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 274, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 47, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. To achieve 60 FPS at 4K, High settings are required, which yield an average of 61 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo averages 135 FPS, with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS, indicating smooth and consistent performance.

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

A: The combo ranks 1022 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27.5% of all systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates (up to 274 FPS) suggest the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 47 FPS, a difference of 48 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings at 4K impose a significant performance penalty.