Minimum

# Minimum CPU and GPU Performance Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a highly capable gaming experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released on 2014-06-25. This combination ranks 776th out of 2,939 tested combos in this title, placing it comfortably in the upper quartile of all tested configurations. The data indicates that this pairing excels at high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K performance remaining playable at most settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 110 FPS average at 2560x1440, which is only 61 FPS less than the 1080p High result of 171 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 60 FPS, making 1440p the optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate headroom.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64,640, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438) and 0.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202). It trails the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% (64,823) and the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7% (65,104). These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RTX 3080 features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. This configuration is well-suited for Minimum, which shows no signs of VRAM limitation at any tested resolution.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 131 FPS. This is notably lower than the 204 FPS at Medium settings and the 267 FPS at Low settings, indicating that Ultra presets impose significant GPU workload even at 1080p.

Q: Does this CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: Based on the FPS scaling pattern, the CPU appears sufficient at all resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 267 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates. The consistent scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 3080 holds a 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,172. Its closest rivals include the NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249, 0.3% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,273, 0.4% higher), showing it sits in a tight competitive cluster.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration places 776th out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum, which positions it in the top 26% of all tested systems. The ranking reflects a well-balanced pairing where both components contribute meaningfully to the gaming experience. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs (average score 64,640) is notably higher than the GPU's 68th percentile, suggesting the processor has more headroom for future GPU upgrades.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark performance are all server-class processors, which is unusual for a desktop gaming chip. The AMD EPYC 4464P scores 64,823 (0.3% higher), while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64,438 (0.3% lower). The AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202, 0.7% lower) and AMD EPYC 9124 (65,104, 0.7% higher) round out the competitive set. These differences are within measurement noise and have no practical impact on gaming performance.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are a mix of older and mobile parts. The NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23,250) both score 0.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,273) is 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23,276) is 0.4% higher. This tight clustering around the 23,100-23,300 score range indicates the RTX 3080's performance level is well-established.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions. At High settings, the combo delivers 171 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 110 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 35.7% reduction), and further to 60 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 64.9% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is consistent with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 267 FPS at 1080p drops to 172 FPS at 1440p (35.6% reduction) and 93 FPS at 4K (65.2% reduction). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest the GPU's rendering pipeline, not the CPU, is the limiting factor. If the CPU were limiting, the 1080p Low result would show less scaling benefit from lower resolutions.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 204 FPS with a minimum of 174 and maximum of 235. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 132 FPS (min 112, max 151). At 4K Medium, the average is 71 FPS (min 60, max 82). These ranges show consistent frame pacing with no extreme outliers.

The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS average is the only sub-60 FPS result in the entire dataset, indicating that this resolution/settings combination pushes the GPU beyond its comfortable operating range. The 1080p Low result of 267 FPS shows the CPU can sustain very high frame rates when the GPU workload is light.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 267 FPS average
• Medium: 204 FPS average (min 174, max 235)
• High: 171 FPS average
• Ultra: 131 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 172 FPS average
• Medium: 132 FPS average (min 112, max 151)
• High: 110 FPS average
• Ultra: 84 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 93 FPS average
• Medium: 71 FPS average (min 60, max 82)
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows consistent performance degradation. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 136 FPS (267 to 131). At 1440p, the spread narrows to 88 FPS (172 to 84). At 4K, the spread is 48 FPS (93 to 45). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions confirms the GPU becomes increasingly saturated as pixel count rises.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, built on the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, provides the graphical horsepower for this configuration. Its 8nm Samsung process packs 28,300 million transistors into a 628 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 45.1M per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 1440 MHz with a boost clock of 1710 MHz.

The memory subsystem comprises 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit interface, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Memory clocks run at 1188 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed. In Minimum, this memory configuration proves sufficient across all tested resolutions and settings, with no evidence of VRAM capacity or bandwidth limitations.

The GPU's compute resources include 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. It features 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs. The pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 465.1 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is rated at 29.77 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 29.77 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio).

The GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it sits above the median but below the top tier. Its average benchmark score of 23,172 places it in a tight cluster with several rivals. In Minimum, the RTX 3080 demonstrates strong performance, maintaining 60+ FPS at 4K High and exceeding 100 FPS at 1440p High.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, High settings at 2560x1440 provide the optimal experience. The 110 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and represents a 45.5% improvement over the 4K High result of 60 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra at 1440p (110 vs 84 FPS) may not justify the 23.6% frame rate penalty.

At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 171 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1080p still provides 131 FPS, but the 40 FPS penalty over High suggests diminishing returns. Gamers with 144Hz displays could comfortably use Ultra at 1080p, while those with 240Hz displays should stick to High or Medium.

For 4K gaming, Medium settings (71 FPS average) offer the best playable experience, as High drops to exactly 60 FPS and Ultra falls below the playable threshold at 45 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, indicating reasonably stable frame delivery.

The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where the 267 FPS result provides maximum responsiveness. At 1440p Low, the 172 FPS average still offers excellent performance, but the visual compromises may not be worth the frame rate gain over High settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265, part of the Core Ultra Series 2, provides substantial processing power for this gaming configuration. Its 20 cores and 20 threads operate at a base clock of 2.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The Arrow Lake-S architecture, built on a 3nm TSMC process, contains 17,800 million transistors in a 243 mm² die.

The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes from the CPU, and includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 32 execution units.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its strong overall performance. Its Cinebench R23 scores are 42,216 multicore and 5,960 single-core. The Passmark multithread score is 49,682, with single-thread performance at 4,689. These results indicate the CPU can handle both lightly-threaded gaming workloads and heavily-threaded scenarios.

The 65W TDP suggests efficient operation, and the processor is designed for the Intel Socket 1851 platform. Its release date of 2025-01-06 makes it a recent addition to the market, with a launch MSRP of $394. The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores are all server-class processors, which is notable for a desktop gaming chip.

In Minimum, the CPU's performance is more than adequate, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 267 FPS. This high frame rate demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU without bottlenecking even at very high frame rates. The consistent FPS scaling across resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.