Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the classic divide between a modern, high-core-count processor and a previous-generation mid-range graphics card. This combination lands at rank 1435 out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the lower half of the database. The benchmark results indicate a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics subsystem at higher resolutions, while the processor’s capabilities only become apparent at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced drop in performance as resolution increases, which is the expected behavior for a system limited by its GPU. At the 1920x1080 High preset, the combo achieves 101.7 FPS. Moving up to 2560x1440 High, the average falls to 61.7 FPS, a reduction of exactly 40 FPS. The climb to 3840x2160 High results in a further decline to 34.7 FPS, representing another 27 FPS loss. This scaling pattern reveals that the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count, a signature of a GPU bottleneck.

The frame rate behavior from Low to Ultra settings reinforces this analysis. At 1920x1080 Low, the system produces 154.2 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 101.5 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it drops to 51.4 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K on Low settings is approximately 67%, which is substantial. For the Ultra preset, the figures are 75.8 FPS at 1080p, 48.5 FPS at 1440p, and 24.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of VRAM and its compute throughput are simply overwhelmed at this resolution.

The data suggests that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. The CPU’s role is to feed frames, and at 1080p Low, the system reaches 154.2 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to indicate that the processor is not holding things back. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows, and the frame rate plummets. The difference between the 1080p Low and 4K Low results — a drop of 102.8 FPS — shows that the graphics card is the primary constraint in this configuration.

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 by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50009 and a single-core score of 7060. Its Passmark multithread score is 58838, and it sits at the 97th percentile against all CPUs.

In the context of Minimum, these specifications matter less than in other titles. The game is from 2014, and its engine is not designed to utilize 20 cores effectively. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 4904, helps ensure that the game’s primary thread is not a bottleneck. However, the measured FPS does not scale with the CPU’s multi-core might. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution is more significant than any CPU-related variation, indicating that the game’s settings affect the GPU load far more than they affect the CPU load.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 7 265K is essentially tied. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and 0.2% behind the Intel Core i9-14900KF, while being 0.9% behind the Intel Core i9-14900K. These negligible deltas mean that the choice between these processors would not yield any noticeable difference in Minimum’s frame rates. The CPU is simply not the deciding factor in this pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture and features 1920 shading units, 30 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. It has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its memory subsystem consists of 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score is 14111, placing it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs.

The GPU’s VRAM capacity is a critical factor in this game’s results. At 4K resolution, the Ultra preset yields only 24.8 FPS, which is likely due to the combination of high-resolution textures and effects exceeding the 6 GB frame buffer. The drop from Medium (42.8 FPS) to Ultra (24.8 FPS) at 4K is a 42% reduction, which is steep and suggests that the Ultra preset is pushing the GPU past its memory capacity, causing a severe performance penalty. At 1080p, the same settings drop from 117.1 FPS on Medium to 75.8 FPS on Ultra, a loss of 41.3 FPS, which is a smaller percentage but still significant.

The GPU’s raw compute power is also a limiting factor. The RTX 2060’s FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU could theoretically push more frames, the GPU is unable to exceed 154.2 FPS. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% faster) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (1.7% slower), are in the same performance class, so the RTX 2060 is not unusually weak, but it is clearly not enough to drive high refresh rates at higher resolutions in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 7 265K and RTX 2060 ranks 1435 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the bottom 17% of all configurations in the database. The low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which is at the 58th percentile, while the CPU is at the 97th percentile. This mismatch creates a system where the processor’s potential is largely wasted in this game.

The ranking reflects that most other tested combos feature more balanced or more powerful graphics cards. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on most presets. At 1440p, it becomes marginal on High (61.7 FPS) and Ultra (48.5 FPS), and at 4K, it is only playable on Low (51.4 FPS). The rank of 1435 is a quantitative measure of this limitation, indicating that a majority of other hardware pairings deliver better performance in Minimum.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the High preset, yielding 101.7 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate while maintaining a reasonable level of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a modest improvement to 117.1 FPS, which could be preferable for users with high refresh rate monitors, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often worth the 15.4 FPS trade-off.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 61.7 FPS is the best balance, though it is not ideal for competitive play. The Medium preset at 75 FPS is a viable alternative, but the Low preset at 101.5 FPS is the only way to achieve a frame rate that approaches the 1080p experience. At 3840x2160, the data suggests that only the Low preset (51.4 FPS) is acceptable, and even that is borderline. The Ultra presets at any resolution above 1080p produce sub-60 FPS results, with 4K Ultra being unplayable at 24.8 FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings, as the game’s frame rate is heavily dependent on pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 154.2 FPS on Low, 117.1 FPS on Medium, 101.7 FPS on High, and 75.8 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 78.4 FPS, showing that the settings have a significant impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results are 101.5 FPS on Low, 75 FPS on Medium, 61.7 FPS on High, and 48.5 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops to 51.4 FPS on Low, 42.8 FPS on Medium, 34.7 FPS on High, and 24.8 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 26.6 FPS, which is the smallest of all resolutions. This compression of frame rates demonstrates that the GPU is saturated at 4K, and adjusting settings yields diminishing returns. The data clearly shows that this combo is a 1080p solution, with 1440p being a stretch and 4K being reserved for low settings only.