Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Minimum with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER show a steep performance gradient as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 131 FPS average. Stepping up to 1440p Low drops that to 85 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 46 FPS, which is roughly half of the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the frame rate cost of adding pixels is substantial.

The High preset tells a similar story. At 1080p High, the average is 84 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K High, it plummets to 29 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly severe, with the 4K result falling below the 30 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for playable third-person action. This suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases, causing a disproportionate performance hit compared to the more gradual scaling seen between 1080p and 1440p.

Ultra settings exacerbate the situation. The 1080p Ultra average is 64 FPS, which is playable but noticeably lower than High. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 41 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 22 FPS. The delta between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra is a 66% loss in frame rate, which is a larger relative drop than what is seen on the Low preset. This indicates that the combination of higher resolution and more demanding visual effects pushes the GPU well beyond its comfort zone, making 4K Ultra essentially unplayable for smooth motion.

The Medium preset offers the only complete data set with min and max FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 and maximum of 115. At 1440p Medium, the average is 65 FPS with a range of 55 to 74. At 4K Medium, the average is 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 and maximum of 40. The 4K Medium result shows that even the minimum frame rate dips to exactly 30, which is borderline for a third-person shooter where quick camera movements benefit from higher refresh rates. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p on Medium is a 35% drop, while 1440p to 4K is a 46% drop, reinforcing that the GPU's memory subsystem is the bottleneck at 4K.

Overall, the resolution scaling data shows a component that is well-suited to 1080p gaming across all presets, capable of 1440p at lower settings, but struggling at 4K regardless of preset. The frame rate drops are not linear; they accelerate as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU hitting its bandwidth and capacity limits rather than a CPU-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture using the TU116 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It features 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1530 MHz and boosts to 1785 MHz. Memory is 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is critical when interpreting the game's results, as the 4K resolution demands more data throughput than the 1080p or 1440p scenarios.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest by modern standards, with an FP32 rating of 5.027 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. The pixel rate is 85.68 GPixel/s. These specifications align with the measured performance: the card can handle 1080p High at 84 FPS, but when resolution increases, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become insufficient to maintain high frame rates. The 4K High average of 29 FPS is a direct consequence of the GPU's 48 ROPs and 192-bit memory interface struggling to process 8.3 million pixels per frame.

The GTX 1660 SUPER's benchmark scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12986. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (0.4% faster), AMD Radeon RX 580 (0.4% faster), and AMD Radeon 740M (0.9% faster). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 is 0.7% slower. These close margins indicate that the GTX 1660 SUPER sits in a crowded performance tier, and its real-world gaming results in Minimum are consistent with this mid-range positioning. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278 and Passmark G3D score of 12699 corroborate the measured FPS data, showing a GPU that is capable but not exceptional.

Memory bandwidth is a key differentiator. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and most 1440p scenarios, but the 4K results show a clear drop-off. The 6 GB VRAM capacity also becomes a factor at 4K Ultra, where texture detail can exceed the available frame buffer, causing additional performance degradation. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (22 FPS) is lower than what would be expected from pure compute scaling, suggesting that memory pressure is causing the GPU to thrash. The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_1) and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are modern, but the underlying hardware is limited by its 2019-era design.

The GPU's power characteristics include a 125 W TDP and a suggested 300 W PSU, with a 1x 8-pin power connector. These figures are not directly tied to the game's performance, but they contextualize the card's capability within a typical desktop build. The GTX 1660 SUPER is end-of-life in production status, which means no further driver optimizations are likely for newer titles, though Minimum's 2014 release date means it is well within the card's driver support window.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2509 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places the combo in the 15th percentile, meaning roughly 85% of tested combinations deliver higher frame rates in this game. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, as the CPU is a high-end desktop part with a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking drags the overall combo down significantly.

The rank of 2509 indicates that while the GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-range card, Minimum's requirements and the game's optimization favor GPUs with more memory bandwidth and higher pixel throughput. Combos ranked above this one likely feature more powerful graphics cards, as the game is not particularly CPU-intensive given its 2014 release date. The CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz are far more than Minimum needs, so the GPU becomes the sole determinant of the combo's rank.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the GTX 1660 SUPER is competitive. It is 0.4% slower than the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile and RX 580, and 0.9% slower than the Radeon 740M. However, these small deltas do not translate to meaningful differences in Minimum's frame rates. The combo rank of 2509 suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER's performance is at the lower end of what is acceptable for smooth gameplay, but it is not the absolute worst. The data shows that approximately 430 combos perform worse than this pairing, providing some context for users who want to know if this is a usable configuration.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P (0.3% faster), Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (0.3% slower), AMD EPYC 7343 (0.7% slower), and AMD EPYC 9124 (0.7% faster). These are all server or high-end desktop parts, reinforcing that the CPU is not the limiting factor. The combo's rank is therefore a reflection of GPU-bound performance, and users seeking a higher rank would need to upgrade the graphics card rather than the processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo delivers an average of 84 FPS at 1920x1080 with the High preset. This is a smooth experience for a third-person shooter, well above the 60 FPS target.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this GPU and CPU combination?

A: At 4K, the average frame rates range from 46 FPS on Low to 22 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset approaches playability, while High and Ultra fall below 30 FPS, making them not viable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to the RX 580 in this game?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 580's score of 12928. This translates to nearly identical performance in Minimum, with differences of only a few frames per second.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 55, with an average of 65 and a maximum of 74. This indicates that the combo maintains a playable frame rate even in demanding scenes.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, and its 20 cores with a 5.30 GHz boost clock far exceed Minimum's requirements. The frame rates are consistently GPU-limited, as shown by the steep drops with increasing resolution.

Q: What is the best resolution for a consistent 60+ FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, all presets except Ultra deliver at least 84 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset (85 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium (65 FPS) is close. For a consistent 60+ FPS, 1080p with High settings or 1440p with Low settings are the safest choices.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth. These specifications place it firmly in the high-end desktop segment, with a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 64640.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is minimal due to the game's age and the GPU's limitations. The measured frame rates show no evidence of CPU bottlenecking, as the performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, both of which are GPU-dependent variables. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 are strong, but these numbers are irrelevant to the game's performance because the GTX 1660 SUPER cannot generate frames fast enough to stress the CPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P (0.3% faster), Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (0.3% slower), and AMD EPYC 9124 (0.7% faster). These deltas are negligible and do not affect game performance. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache are more than sufficient for Minimum's data requirements, which are modest given the 2014 release date.

The CPU's integrated graphics (Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU) are present but not used in this configuration, as the GTX 1660 SUPER handles all rendering. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes ensures that the GPU's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface is not a bottleneck, as the older standard's bandwidth is adequate for the GTX 1660 SUPER's data transfer needs. The CPU's 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die indicate a modern, efficient design that runs cool enough for a 65 W TDP, but this has no direct bearing on Minimum's frame rates.

The conclusion from the data is that the CPU is a non-factor in this game. Users could pair this GPU with a much weaker CPU and see identical frame rates. The CPU's performance headroom is vast, and any frame rate limitations in Minimum are entirely attributable to the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Minimum with this combo. The primary goal is to maintain a frame rate that is smooth for a third-person shooter, which typically means at least 60 FPS for responsive gameplay.

For 1080p, the High preset delivers 84 FPS, which is an excellent experience. The Medium preset offers 100 FPS, providing additional headroom for fast-paced action. The Low preset reaches 131 FPS, which is beneficial for competitive play but sacrifices visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 64 FPS, which is still playable but shows that the GPU is nearing its limits. For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance at 1080p, the High preset is recommended, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while offering better textures and effects than Medium.

At 1440p, the choices become more constrained. The Low preset delivers 85 FPS, which is smooth and playable. The Medium preset averages 65 FPS with a minimum of 55, which is borderline but generally acceptable for single-player third-person action. The High preset drops to 54 FPS, which may feel less fluid during camera swings. The Ultra preset at 41 FPS is not recommended for a shooter. For 1440p, the Low preset is the safest choice for consistent performance, while Medium is acceptable if the user prioritizes visual quality over a rock-solid frame rate.

At 4K, the options are limited. The Low preset averages 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but playable for slower-paced segments. The Medium preset averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30, which is at the edge of playability. The High and Ultra presets, at 29 and 22 FPS respectively, are not recommended for any gameplay that requires precise aiming. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, and users should temper expectations for smoothness.

The data also shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS values across all resolutions, providing a clearer picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 85 FPS ensures no noticeable stutter. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 55 FPS is acceptable. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 30 FPS is the absolute floor for playability. Based on these measurements, the recommended configuration for this combo is 1080p with High settings for the best overall experience, or 1440p with Low settings if higher resolution is desired. Users should avoid 4K unless they are willing to accept significantly reduced frame rates and lower visual settings.