Minimum

FAQ

Q: What is the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT in Minimum at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the combination delivers an average of 170 FPS on Low settings, 130 FPS on Medium, 109 FPS on High, and 83 FPS on Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the measured averages are 59 FPS on Low, 45 FPS on Medium, 38 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset shows a min FPS of 38 and a max FPS of 52.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2635 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the lower half of the database's tested configurations.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile compared to all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K has a percentile rank of 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of all CPUs in the database's average benchmark scores.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark percentile compared to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has a percentile rank of 70, indicating it performs better than 70% of all GPUs in the database.

Q: What is the difference in average benchmark score between the CPU and its closest rival?

A: The closest rival, the Intel Xeon 6511P, has an average score of 71051, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 7 265K's average score of 70879.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a 30 MB shared L3 cache, with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Minimum, this processor's role varies significantly with resolution. At 1080p, where the GPU has less pixel work, the CPU's high boost clock and substantial core count contribute to the higher frame rates observed—170 FPS on Low and 130 FPS on Medium. The single-core performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2713, likely helps maintain these elevated frame rates. As resolution increases, the CPU's influence diminishes relative to the GPU, which becomes the more critical component.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are strong, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and a Passmark multithread score of 58594. In a game from 2014, these threads may not be fully utilized, but the sheer core count ensures no bottleneck from CPU-side physics or game logic at lower resolutions. At 4K, however, the frame rates drop to 38 FPS on High, showing that the CPU's potential is not the limiting factor—the GPU is.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT features the Navi 23 chip on a 7 nm process, with 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1968 MHz, with a game clock of 2359 MHz and a boost clock of 2589 MHz. Its FP32 performance is 10.60 TFLOPS.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU handles the Low preset at 170 FPS, but this drops to 83 FPS on Ultra. The 8 GB VRAM capacity and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this title's demands at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component: the High preset only achieves 38 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are strained at 3840x2160, explaining the sharp decline.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 24442, with a percentile rank of 70. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 24277—0.7% lower. The RX 6600 XT also edges out the Intel Arc A350M (24647, 0.8% lower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (24236, 0.8% higher). These comparisons suggest the GPU is a mid-range performer, adequate for 1080p gaming but struggling at 4K in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT in Minimum spans three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 170 FPS. Medium reduces this to 130 FPS, with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS. The High preset averages 109 FPS, while Ultra drops to 83 FPS. This shows a clear progression: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-30 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 110 FPS, Medium averages 84 FPS (min 71, max 97), High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 54 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, with the Low preset losing 60 FPS (from 170 to 110) and Ultra losing 29 FPS (from 83 to 54).

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59 FPS, Medium averages 45 FPS (min 38, max 52), High averages 38 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The 4K results show the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates above Medium. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS indicates significant frame-time variance, suggesting the GPU is near its limit.

The data reveals that the combo is well-suited for 1080p gaming, capable of exceeding 100 FPS on all presets except Ultra. At 1440p, it still manages above 50 FPS on all presets. At 4K, only Low and Medium presets achieve averages above 45 FPS, with High and Ultra falling below 40 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a steep performance curve. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 170 at 1920x1080 to 110 at 2560x1440—a 35% reduction—and then to 59 at 3840x2160—a further 46% reduction. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

At High settings, the drop is from 109 FPS at 1080p to 70 FPS at 1440p (a 36% loss) and then to 38 FPS at 4K (a 46% loss from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest a predictable relationship between pixel count and frame rate, typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern: 83 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 35% of the 1080p Ultra result, highlighting the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel load at maximum settings.

This scaling behavior points to the GPU being the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance, while strong, is not the constraint here—the frame rate drops align with the GPU's rendering workload. At 1080p, the CPU may still play a role, but the data suggests that even a more powerful GPU would see diminishing returns at 4K with this combination.

Settings Recommendations

For the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT in Minimum, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the High preset offers an average of 109 FPS, which is a balanced choice for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 83 FPS is still playable but sacrifices 26 FPS for marginal visual improvements. The Medium preset at 130 FPS is ideal for competitive play, while Low at 170 FPS maximizes frame rate at the cost of visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 70 FPS, which is the recommended choice for a balance between visual quality and smoothness. The Medium preset at 84 FPS provides a better frame rate with only a slight reduction in settings. Ultra at 54 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced play but risks noticeable stutter. Low at 110 FPS is the best option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 59 FPS achieves a near-60 FPS average. The Medium preset at 45 FPS is playable but with noticeable drops to 38 FPS minimum. High at 38 FPS and Ultra at 29 FPS are not recommended for a consistent experience. For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for smooth gameplay.

Overall, the data suggests that the combo performs best at 1080p with High or Medium settings, and at 1440p with Medium or High. At 4K, users should stick to Low to maintain a playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination ranks 2635 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 71st percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects a mid-to-lower-tier position, consistent with the GPU's 70th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU's 94th percentile among all CPUs.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile (94) and the combo's overall rank (71st percentile) indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU is capable of much higher performance, but the RX 6600 XT restricts the system's overall frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits below the median. The GPU's nearest rivals—the GTX 1630, Arc A350M, GTX 780 Ti, and RTX 2080 SUPER—all have average benchmark scores within 1.1% of the RX 6600 XT, suggesting that combos with these GPUs would rank similarly. The RTX 2080 SUPER, despite being a higher-tier card in general, scores 24170—1.1% lower than the RX 6600 XT—indicating that the ranking is tightly clustered around this performance level.

The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Xeon 6511P and Xeon Platinum 8270, have average scores within 0.7% of the Core Ultra 7 265K, meaning that combos using these processors would likely achieve similar rankings if paired with a comparable GPU. The Core i7-14700KF (1% higher) and Ryzen 7 9700F (1.3% higher) are slightly stronger, which could push their combos a few positions higher in the ranking.

Ultimately, this combo's rank of 2635 out of 3712 reflects a system that is CPU-heavy but GPU-limited. Upgrading the GPU would yield a significant improvement in Minimum's frame rates, while the CPU has ample headroom for future GPU upgrades without becoming a bottleneck.