Minimum

The data for Minimum with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which reveals surprising CPU headroom at 1080p. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets paint a clear picture of where the performance ceiling lies and how the hardware scales under load. This analysis breaks down those numbers to interpret what they mean for the game's engine and the components driving it.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in average frame rates, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 326 FPS at 1080p to 211 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 115 FPS, and then further down to 113 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K represents a 46.4% decrease in performance, which is substantial and directly proportional to the increase in pixel count that the RTX 4070 Ti must render.

The pattern holds true across all settings presets. With High settings, the average FPS drops from 210 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p, and then to 73 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition here shows a 45.9% performance hit. For Medium settings, the averages are 250, 161, and 87 FPS respectively, with the drop from 1440p to 4K being 45.9% as well. Even at Ultra settings, where the absolute numbers are lower, the scaling remains steep: 160 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K, with the 1440p to 4K drop being 45.6%.

These consistent percentage drops across different quality presets indicate that the limiting factor is the sheer number of pixels being processed, not the complexity of the scene or the specific graphical features enabled. The GPU's shading units, texture mapping units, and raster output processors are being saturated as the resolution increases. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit memory bus are sufficient for the data throughput required, as the frame rate scaling is smooth and predictable rather than showing a cliff-like drop that would indicate a memory bandwidth bottleneck.

At 1080p, however, the scaling between settings reveals a different story. The jump from Low to High settings at 1080p only costs 116 FPS (from 326 to 210), while the jump from High to Ultra costs 50 FPS (from 210 to 160). This is a less severe penalty than the resolution scaling, suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough draw calls and physics data to maintain high frame rates. The fact that the RTX 4070 Ti can reach 326 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU is not presenting a hard bottleneck at this resolution, but the GPU is still the primary limiter even at the lowest settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance versus visual quality. For players targeting a smooth experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, delivering an average of 113 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 87 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant cost for the increase in quality. The High preset at 4K yields 73 FPS, and Ultra falls to 56 FPS. The data implies that the jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 26 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 14 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 17 FPS. The marginal cost of each tier is not linear, suggesting that Medium offers a reasonable balance of visual fidelity and performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more comfortable. The Low preset delivers a very high 211 FPS, while Medium achieves 161 FPS. High settings still provide a strong 135 FPS, and even Ultra maintains an average of 103 FPS. For a 1440p monitor with a high refresh rate, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium while still keeping the average frame rate above the 144 FPS threshold that many gaming displays target. The data shows that the difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 32 FPS, which is a notable cost for the extra visual effects.

At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, and the choice becomes about maximizing visual quality versus chasing the highest possible frame rates. The Low preset reaches 326 FPS, Medium hits 250 FPS, High achieves 210 FPS, and Ultra still delivers 160 FPS. For competitive play, the Low preset offers the maximum responsiveness. For a visually rich experience, the Ultra preset is viable, but the data suggests that High provides a better balance, as it is only 50 FPS behind Ultra but offers a significant reduction in rendering complexity. The Medium preset also has measured minimum frame rates, with a min FPS of 212 at 1080p, which is the only preset with a recorded minimum in the data, indicating a stable frame pacing profile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks places it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640. The nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, with score differences of -0.3% and +0.3% respectively, indicating that the 265 is squarely in the mid-range of high-end desktop processors.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role appears to be one of providing a stable foundation rather than being a primary performance driver. At 1080p, the difference between Low and High settings is 116 FPS, which is a significant gap that could be partly attributed to CPU overhead in managing the game's simulation and draw calls. However, the fact that the frame rate scales so heavily with resolution suggests that the CPU is not the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per core L2 cache are likely sufficient for the game's working set, and the dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth provides ample data transfer rates.

The processor's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is key for single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic and physics. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 is strong, and the PassMark single-thread score of 4689 is respectable. The data suggests that the CPU can handle the game's single-threaded demands without issue, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low. The 20 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for a game from this era, and the multi-core performance, as shown by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216, ensures that background tasks and game threading will not cause stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 343rd out of 2939 tested combinations for Minimum. This places it in the top 11.7% of all tested combos, which is a strong showing. The percentile of the GPU is 84, and the CPU is at 93, so this combo is leveraging two high-performing components. The rank suggests that while this is a capable pairing for this game, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates, likely those with even more powerful GPUs.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 44795, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, with delta percentages of -0.8% and -1.3% respectively. This indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is performing as expected for its class. The CPU's rank among all tested combos is not explicitly given, but its percentile of 93 suggests it is a top-tier part. The combo rank of 343 out of 2939 indicates that the system is not an outlier at the very top, but it is certainly in the upper echelon of performance. The data implies that the limiting factor for this combo is the GPU, as a more powerful GPU would likely push this combo higher in the rankings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is a key component in this pairing, and its role in Minimum is clearly dominant. With a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, it is a high-frequency part. The GPU has 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output processors, which are substantial numbers for rendering complex scenes. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is critical for high-resolution textures.

The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rates drop significantly from 1440p. The FP32 performance of 40.09 TFLOPS is a measure of the GPU's raw compute power, and the pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are indicative of its ability to fill the screen with detailed pixels. The RTX 4070 Ti's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024 and the PassMark G3D score of 31624, corroborates its position in the market.

The GPU's role is to process the graphical data, and the resolution scaling data shows that it is being fully utilized as resolution increases. The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra is 56 FPS, while at 4K Low it is 113 FPS, suggests that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are the limiting factor for higher quality settings. The VRAM usage is not explicitly measured, but the 12 GB capacity is likely sufficient for this game at these settings, as the frame rate drops are consistent and not indicative of a memory capacity issue. The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace, supports modern features like ray tracing, but the data does not specify whether these are enabled in the measured presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 113 FPS. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. The High preset averages 73 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS. The frame pacing at 4K Medium is the only one with recorded minimums and maximums, indicating a variance of 26 FPS between the lowest and highest frames.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 211 FPS. The Medium preset averages 161 FPS, with a minimum of 137 FPS and a maximum of 185 FPS. The High preset averages 135 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 103 FPS. The variance at 1440p Medium is 48 FPS, which is larger than at 4K, suggesting more fluctuation in frame times.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset reaches an average of 326 FPS. The Medium preset averages 250 FPS, with a minimum of 212 FPS and a maximum of 287 FPS. The High preset averages 210 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 160 FPS. The variance at 1080p Medium is 75 FPS, which is the largest of all resolutions, indicating that the game engine has more headroom at this resolution to produce variable frame times.

The data shows a clear trend: as resolution decreases, the average frame rates increase, and the variance between minimum and maximum frames also increases. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU and GPU are working less uniformly, leading to more pronounced spikes and drops in frame rate. The consistency of the Medium preset having measured minimums and maximums across all resolutions suggests it is a common baseline for testing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain an average FPS above 144?

A: Based on the measured data, both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 can maintain an average FPS above 144. At 1080p, High settings deliver 210 FPS, and at 1440p, High settings deliver 135 FPS. For 1440p, the Low preset achieves 211 FPS, but for a higher quality experience, High is still above the 144 FPS target.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F. This indicates it is virtually tied with its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The average frame rate drops from 113 FPS at Low settings to 56 FPS at Ultra settings, while the CPU's performance remains constant. The scaling is proportional to the pixel count, indicating GPU limitation.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 326 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 160 FPS. This represents a 166 FPS reduction, or a 50.9% decrease in performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 343rd out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 11.7% of all tested systems. This indicates a strong but not top-tier performance level for this specific game.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GPU and CPU?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, provided by 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus. The CPU has a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, utilizing dual-channel DDR5 memory.