Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014, with the data showing a clear progression from CPU-bound territory at 1080p to GPU-bound performance at 4K. This pairing, which ranks 1210 out of 2939 tested combos, demonstrates that the RTX 3070 remains the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the 20-core Arrow Lake processor ensures frame rates remain fluid even when the GPU is under maximum load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a classic scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions, with the most dramatic shifts occurring between 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces an average of 229 FPS, which drops to 148 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 79 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming increasingly strained as pixel count rises.

The scaling behavior shifts notably when examining High settings. The combo delivers 147 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%, showing that the performance penalty accelerates at higher resolutions. This non-linear scaling suggests that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K resolution begins to expose the GPU’s limitations.

Medium settings provide the most complete data with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 FPS and maximum of 201 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average falls to 113 FPS with a 96 FPS minimum and 130 FPS maximum. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 61 FPS with a 52 FPS minimum and 70 FPS maximum. The minimum FPS values at each resolution remain above 50 FPS even at 4K, which indicates the frame pacing stays consistent enough for smooth gameplay despite the lower averages.

Ultra settings produce the most demanding workload, with averages of 112 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 40 FPS threshold, which is notable for a game from 2014. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra shows a 65% performance drop, nearly identical to the Low settings scaling, suggesting that the resolution increase has a consistent impact on the GPU regardless of quality preset.

The data reveals that the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, the CPU’s strength allows the GPU to stretch to 229 FPS at Low settings, indicating the RTX 3070 is the primary driver. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the 79 FPS Low setting result—a significant drop that cannot be attributed to CPU limitations given the Core Ultra 7 265’s 42,216 Cinebench R23 multi-core score. The 20 threads and 5.30 GHz boost clock ensure the processor never becomes the constraint, even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, plays the decisive role in this game’s performance at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K with higher settings. The 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS suggests that both the memory capacity and the 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 compute are being pushed to their limits.

Clock speeds for the RTX 3070 are specified at 1500 MHz base and 1725 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective. These clocks, combined with 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, produce the pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s. The GPU’s 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores provide additional compute resources, though Minimum from 2014 likely does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS features, making the standard rasterization performance the key metric.

The RTX 3070’s benchmark scores place it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,208. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with an average score of 17,083 (0.7% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17,037 (1% ahead), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17,019 (1.1% ahead). The NVIDIA Tesla K40c trails at 17,468 (-1.5% behind). These close margins indicate the RTX 3070 sits in a competitive performance tier, though its 8 GB VRAM capacity may be the differentiator in modern titles.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the 229 FPS result demonstrates the GPU can deliver exceptionally high frame rates when the CPU feeds it adequately. At 4K Ultra, the 39 FPS result shows the GPU struggling with the pixel workload. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,162 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 112,821 provide context for the GPU’s overall compute capability, but the in-game results are the definitive measure for this title.

The GPU’s 220 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU indicate the power requirements are moderate, and the dual-slot design with a 1x 12-pin connector fits standard cases. The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth for the 8 GB frame buffer. The direct comparison between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution shows the performance cost of quality increases: at 1080p, the difference is 117 FPS (229 vs 112), at 1440p it is 76 FPS (148 vs 72), and at 4K it is 40 FPS (79 vs 39). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature of 4K gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average is 229 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 175 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 148 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. The 4K Low average is 79 FPS, and 4K Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS. High settings drop to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17,208, which is 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17,083) and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17,037). The AMD Radeon HD 7970M trails by 1.1% with a score of 17,019.

Q: What is the CPU’s benchmark percentile and how does it rank?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64,640. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4464P, scores 64,823, which is 0.3% higher.

Q: What resolution and settings produce the most consistent frame times?

A: The Medium settings preset provides the only data with min and max FPS. At 1080p, it ranges from 149 to 201 FPS; at 1440p, 96 to 130 FPS; and at 4K, 52 to 70 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 52 FPS indicates the most consistent low point.

Q: How many total combos are ranked, and where does this one stand?

A: This combo ranks 1210 out of 2,939 tested combinations, placing it in the upper half of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1210 out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 59th percentile of all pairings. This mid-pack positioning reflects the balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU, where the processor contributes significant headroom but the graphics card caps overall performance.

The CPU’s individual standing is considerably stronger than the combo’s overall rank. The Core Ultra 7 265 sits in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 64,640, putting it near the top of the desktop processor hierarchy. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD EPYC 4464P with a score of 64,823 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F at 64,438 (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7343 at 64,202 (0.7% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9124 at 65,104 (0.7% higher). These margins are minimal, indicating the 265 sits squarely in a competitive performance tier.

The GPU’s rank is more modest at the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,208. The RTX 3070’s nearest rivals show tight competition: the RX 7600 XT is 0.7% ahead, the GTX 690 is 1% ahead, and the HD 7970M is 1.1% ahead, while the Tesla K40c is 1.5% behind. This clustering means the GPU’s position is precarious, with small benchmark differences separating it from several alternatives.

The combo rank of 1210 out of 2,939 suggests that many other pairings achieve better in-game performance, likely due to more powerful GPUs paired with similar or lesser CPUs. The data shows the CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking does not translate to a top-tier combo rank because Minimum is not heavily CPU-bound at typical settings. The 1080p Low result of 229 FPS demonstrates the CPU can drive high frame rates, but the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and Ampere architecture limit performance at higher resolutions and settings.

The rank also reflects the game’s age—released in 2014—meaning modern hardware like the RTX 3070 may be overkill for the title’s rendering requirements, yet the 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS shows the game can still stress contemporary GPUs when pushed to maximum quality. The 2,939 tested combos span a wide range of hardware, and this pairing’s mid-pack rank indicates it delivers solid but not exceptional performance relative to the full test pool.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 provides substantial processing power that ensures the CPU never becomes the bottleneck in Minimum. With 20 cores and 20 threads based on the Arrow Lake architecture, the processor operates at a base clock of 2.40 GHz and boosts to 5.30 GHz. This configuration, built on TSMC’s 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors across a 243 mm² die, delivers the compute headroom needed for high-refresh-rate gaming.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is limited to DDR5 with a dual-channel interface providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor uses the Intel Socket 1851 and integrates Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 32 execution units, though discrete GPU testing means the integrated graphics play no role in the measured results.

Synthetic benchmarks illustrate the CPU’s capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216 and single-core score of 5,960 highlight strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. PassMark results show a multi-thread score of 49,682 and single-thread score of 4,689, with the data compression test scoring 522,983 and floating point math reaching 172,776. These figures place the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all processors, confirming its high-end positioning.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p where frame rates reach 229 FPS at Low settings. The 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures that even single-threaded game logic executes quickly, while the 20 threads handle any background tasks without interfering with game performance. The 65 W TDP suggests efficient power delivery, and the processor’s production status is Active with a release date of 2025-01-06.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all server or workstation processors (AMD EPYC models) or a slightly different desktop variant (265F). The small delta percentages—ranging from -0.7% to 0.7%—indicate that the Core Ultra 7 265’s performance is tightly clustered with these alternatives, meaning any of them would likely deliver similar in-game results when paired with the same GPU.

The PassMark physics score of 2,923 and integer math score of 134,773 provide additional context for the CPU’s gaming performance. The extended instructions score of 41,478 and random string sorting score of 63,833 show the processor handles varied workloads efficiently. For Minimum, the CPU’s contribution is to maintain high minimum frame rates and prevent stutters, which the data supports through the 4K Medium minimum of 52 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 229 FPS, Medium averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 201, High averages 147 FPS, and Ultra averages 112 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each quality tier costs approximately 50-60 FPS, with the gap from Low to Ultra representing a 51% reduction in average frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 148 FPS, Medium averages 113 FPS with a 96 FPS minimum and 130 FPS maximum, High averages 95 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The 1440p results show a smaller absolute gap between settings compared to 1080p, with the difference from Low to Ultra being 76 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 96 FPS indicates that even during demanding scenes, the frame rate remains well above typical 60 FPS targets.

The 3840x2160 results represent the most demanding scenario. Low settings average 79 FPS, Medium averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 70, High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 39 FPS. The 4K data shows the GPU’s limitations clearly, as even Low settings cannot reach 80 FPS, and Ultra falls below 40 FPS. The Medium preset’s 52 FPS minimum suggests that 4K gameplay is possible with some quality compromises, but the 39 FPS Ultra result would likely feel less responsive.

Comparing the Medium settings across resolutions provides the most complete picture due to the min and max data. At 1080p, the 175 FPS average with a 149 FPS minimum shows the combo handles this resolution with ease. At 1440p, the 113 FPS average with a 96 FPS minimum remains strong. At 4K, the 61 FPS average with a 52 FPS minimum is playable but approaches the edge of smooth performance. The ratio of average to minimum FPS remains consistent around 1.17 across all three resolutions, indicating stable frame pacing.

The Ultra settings data lacks min and max values, but the averages tell a clear story. At 1080p, 112 FPS is excellent; at 1440p, 72 FPS is solid; at 4K, 39 FPS is borderline. The High settings follow a similar pattern with 147 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The Low settings show the highest frame rates overall, with 229 FPS at 1080p being the single best result in the entire dataset.

The data reveals that the transition from 1080p to 1440p costs approximately 35-40% of average FPS across all settings, while the transition from 1440p to 4K costs an additional 45-50%. This escalating penalty is consistent with the GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity being fully utilized at 4K, particularly at higher quality settings. The RTX 3070’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to handle 1080p and 1440p workloads comfortably but becomes a limiting factor at 4K with Ultra settings. For players targeting 60 FPS, the data suggests 1440p High or 4K Medium as the optimal configurations, while 1080p offers headroom for maximum refresh rates.