Minimum

# Minimum — Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a benchmark profile that spans from extremely high refresh rate territory at 1080p to solid 4K performance in Minimum, a third-person shooter originally released in 2014. The measured results show a system that remains capable across all tested settings, though the scaling patterns reveal where the performance ceiling shifts as resolution increases. With an average of 82 FPS at 4K Ultra and 369 FPS at 1080p Low, this pairing exhibits a wide operational envelope that caters to both competitive and visual fidelity preferences.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic but predictable drop in frame rates across all settings, with the magnitude of the decline varying substantially depending on the preset. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 369 at 1920x1080 to 238 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 131 FPS (roughly 35% lower), and then further to 128 at 3840x2160, representing a total decline of 241 FPS from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that at Low settings, the system is heavily CPU-limited at 1080p, as the RTX 5080 has ample headroom at lower resolutions and the Core Ultra 7 265's 20 threads become the primary constraint.

At High settings, the resolution scaling shows a similar trajectory but with lower absolute values: 237 FPS at 1080p, 153 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 46%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU workload is becoming more dominant, though the CPU still plays a significant role at 1440p where the 153 FPS figure remains well above typical display refresh rates.

Medium settings present the most complete data with min and max FPS recorded alongside averages. At 1080p Medium, the average is 283 FPS with a range of 240 to 325 FPS, while at 1440p Medium the average drops to 182 FPS with a range of 155 to 210 FPS, and at 4K Medium the average is 98 FPS with a range of 83 to 113 FPS. The min-to-max spread at each resolution is roughly 85 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, indicating that frame time consistency improves as resolution increases, likely because the GPU becomes the bottleneck and smooths out CPU-induced variability.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates but still remain playable: 181 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is particularly noteworthy, as it shows a 35% drop from 1440p Ultra, suggesting that the RTX 5080's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are being heavily taxed at the highest resolution and quality combination. The limiting component at 4K Ultra is clearly the GPU, while at 1080p Low the CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock and 20 cores are the primary factor preventing even higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions, particularly when considering the available min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the 283 FPS average with a 240 FPS minimum ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 144 Hz display capabilities, while the 325 FPS maximum shows the system can burst well beyond typical refresh rates. The 1440p Medium result of 182 FPS average with a 155 FPS minimum similarly provides a comfortable margin for high refresh rate monitors, and the 4K Medium figure of 98 FPS with an 83 FPS minimum remains smooth for standard 60 Hz displays.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings at 1080p delivers 369 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. However, this comes at the cost of visual quality, and the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p only reduces the average to 283 FPS, a 23% decrease that may be worth the improved visuals. At 1440p, Low produces 238 FPS while Medium produces 182 FPS, and the 56 FPS difference is more significant but still leaves both options well above 144 Hz.

The Ultra preset is best reserved for 4K displays where the 63 FPS average remains playable, though the lack of min/max data for this setting means frame time consistency is unknown. At 1080p Ultra, the 181 FPS average is impressive but represents a 36% drop from High settings, suggesting diminishing returns for the extra visual fidelity. Given that High at 1440p delivers 153 FPS and High at 4K delivers 82 FPS, the High preset appears to offer the best compromise for users who want quality without sacrificing performance, especially since the data shows only a moderate gap between High and Medium at each resolution.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 63 FPS. This is the lowest average across all tested configurations but remains playable for most titles, including Minimum.

Q: How does the system perform at 1080p for competitive play?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 369, which is the highest measured result. Even at High settings, the system maintains 237 FPS, providing ample headroom for high refresh rate competitive monitors.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the performance scaling suggests a balanced workload. The drop from Low (238 FPS) to Ultra (117 FPS) indicates that both components contribute significantly, with the GPU becoming more dominant at higher settings and the CPU still capable of driving high frame rates at lower settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset has the most complete data, with min and max FPS recorded at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 240 to 325 FPS; at 1440p, it is 155 to 210 FPS; and at 4K, it is 83 to 113 FPS. The spread narrows as resolution increases, indicating better consistency at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 173 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 6% of all configurations. This rank reflects the strong overall performance across all resolution and settings combinations.

Q: Can this system handle 4K at playable frame rates?

A: Yes, all tested 4K settings produce playable averages: 63 FPS at Ultra, 82 FPS at High, 98 FPS at Medium, and 128 FPS at Low. Even the most demanding configuration maintains an average above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 369 FPS, which is the absolute peak in the dataset. Medium settings yield 283 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS, providing the most complete picture of performance variability. High settings average 237 FPS, and Ultra settings average 181 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a total decline of 188 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Low and Medium (86 FPS) and the smallest between High and Ultra (56 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down from 1080p. Low settings average 238 FPS, which is still sufficient for 240 Hz displays. Medium settings average 182 FPS with a range of 155 to 210 FPS, maintaining good consistency. High settings average 153 FPS, and Ultra settings average 117 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 131 FPS at Low to 64 FPS at Ultra, with the percentage reduction being most severe at Low settings (35%) and least severe at Ultra settings (35% as well, but from a lower base).

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers respectable performance but the GPU workload becomes evident. Low settings average 128 FPS, which is more than double the minimum refresh rate for most displays. Medium settings average 98 FPS with a range of 83 to 113 FPS, offering the best balance of quality and speed at this resolution. High settings average 82 FPS, and Ultra settings average 63 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 110 FPS at Low, 84 FPS at Medium, 71 FPS at High, and 54 FPS at Ultra, with the total 1080p-to-4K decline being 241 FPS at Low and 118 FPS at Ultra.

The Medium settings data stands out as the most complete, with min and max values at all three resolutions. This allows for an assessment of frame time consistency: the spread between minimum and maximum FPS is 85 at 1080p, 55 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K. This narrowing spread suggests that as the GPU becomes more fully utilized at higher resolutions, frame delivery becomes more predictable, while at lower resolutions the CPU's variable workload introduces greater frame time fluctuation.

How This Combo Ranks

In Minimum, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 173 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the top 5.9% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across the entire range of tested resolutions and settings, from 369 FPS at 1080p Low to 63 FPS at 4K Ultra. The position in the upper percentile indicates that this pairing is well-matched for Minimum's engine, which appears to scale effectively with both CPU and GPU resources.

The rank is particularly impressive given that the RTX 5080's average benchmark score places it at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 7 265 sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs. The combination of two high-percentile components results in a system that performs better than 94.1% of tested combos in this specific game, suggesting that the hardware pair is well-balanced for Minimum's requirements. The data indicates that neither component is severely bottlenecking the other across the tested configurations, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra settings.

Compared to the nearest rival CPUs, the Core Ultra 7 265 shows a delta of -0.3% against the AMD EPYC 4464P and +0.3% against the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, indicating near-identical average benchmark scores. This tight grouping suggests that CPU choice among these top-tier processors has minimal impact on overall system performance in Minimum, with the GPU likely playing a more significant role in determining the final frame rates. The combo's rank of 173 reflects the strong synergy between this specific CPU and GPU pair, and the data suggests that similar high-end combinations would produce comparable results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 features 20 cores and 20 threads, operating at a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration is particularly well-suited for Minimum, which benefits from high single-thread performance for game logic and physics, while also being able to leverage multiple cores for AI and background tasks. The absence of hyper-threading means each core handles one thread, and the 5.30 GHz boost clock provides the raw speed needed for high frame rate scenarios at 1080p and 1440p.

The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core contribute to low-latency access to frequently used game data, which is critical for maintaining consistent frame delivery in fast-paced third-person shooter gameplay. The 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth ensures that the CPU can feed data to the GPU without creating a bottleneck, particularly at High and Ultra settings where asset streaming demands increase. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 place this processor in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, confirming its strong general-purpose performance.

The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is underutilized, the CPU becomes the limiting factor with the system achieving 369 FPS. At this resolution and setting, the 20 cores and high boost clock work to maintain frame rates that far exceed typical display refresh rates. As resolution increases to 4K, the CPU's role diminishes relative to the GPU, but the 1440p results indicate that the processor still contributes significantly, with 238 FPS at Low settings demonstrating that the CPU can keep pace with the RTX 5080's output at mid-range resolutions. The PassMark multithread score of 49682 and single-thread score of 4689 further support the processor's capability to handle both heavily threaded and latency-sensitive workloads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for high-resolution textures and effects at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz, combined with 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores, provide substantial compute resources for Minimum's rendering pipeline.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 and PassMark G3D score of 36565 place it in the 87th percentile among all GPUs, reflecting its strong rasterization and compute performance. The FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS indicates that the card can handle demanding pixel and vertex workloads, which is evident in the 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS despite the game's 2014 release date. The 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and framebuffer operations at 4K do not become a bottleneck, though the 63 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the GPU is nearing its limits with maximum quality settings.

The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution reveals the GPU's performance envelope. At 1080p, the RTX 5080 delivers between 181 and 369 FPS depending on settings, while at 4K it delivers between 63 and 128 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Minimum, even at 4K Ultra, meaning the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary factors driving performance rather than capacity limitations. The 84 ray tracing cores are not heavily utilized in this title, which is expected for a game from 2014, but the raw shading throughput and memory bandwidth are what enable the high frame rates observed across the dataset.