Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end desktop combination aimed at delivering strong performance in modern titles. In Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter, this pairing demonstrates a significant amount of headroom, with performance heavily influenced by the graphics card rather than the processor. The data indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of frame rates, while the Core Ultra 7 265K provides ample computational support without becoming a limiting factor at any tested setting.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti holds the 209th position out of 1733 total combos for Minimum. This places the system in the top 12% of all tested configurations, a strong showing that reflects its capability to handle the game's demands at high resolutions and detail levels. The processor itself is a powerhouse, ranking in the 97th percentile against all CPUs in the database, which confirms that the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is not a bottleneck. Its average benchmark score of 79102 is nearly identical to its closest rivals, with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF scoring 79240 (a difference of -0.2%), the Intel Core i9-14900KF also at 79245 (-0.2%), and the Intel Core i9-14900K at 79824 (-0.9%). This indicates that for this game, the CPU's performance is consistent with other top-tier options, and the overall combo rank is determined more by the GPU's contribution. The GPU, while ranking in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, has an average benchmark score of 44900, which places it in a competitive but not top-tier position, explaining the combo's ranking in the upper echelon rather than at the very peak of the list.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the workhorse in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for Minimum at all tested resolutions and settings, ensuring that texture loading and data transfer do not hamper performance. The GPU's clock speeds are set to a base of 2310 MHz and a boost of 2610 MHz, which are the rates at which the chip operates under load. The RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, containing 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. This raw compute power is reflected in its FP32 performance of 40.09 TFLOPS. In the context of Minimum, these specifications allow the GPU to dominate performance. For instance, at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 327 FPS, a figure that is far beyond what the CPU alone could generate, clearly indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti is the component responsible for the high frame output. The GPU's role is further emphasized by its benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 31624 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024, which show its capability in DirectX 12 workloads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic scaling pattern that confirms the GPU as the limiting component as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 209 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rate drops to 135.1 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. At 4K, the High preset yields 74.1 FPS, which is a further drop of roughly 45% from the 1440p result. This consistent decline with resolution is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. The CPU, with its high single-thread performance (a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7060), is capable of feeding frames at a much higher rate than the GPU can render at higher resolutions. This is seen clearly at 1080p with Low settings, where the system hits 327 FPS. At this low resolution and graphical load, the GPU is less stressed, and the frame rate is still extremely high, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (from 327 to 162.4 FPS) shows the GPU's workload increasing. The pattern is consistent across all settings; for instance, at Medium, the FPS drops from 249.5 at 1080p to 160.8 at 1440p and then to 87.8 at 4K. This data strongly suggests that while the Core Ultra 7 265K is a capable processor, the RTX 4070 Ti's rendering capacity is what dictates the final frame rate, especially at 1440p and 4K where the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved with the High preset. At 1080p, High produces 209 FPS, which is an excellent experience for a third-person shooter, offering smooth and responsive gameplay. At 1440p, the High preset still delivers a very playable 135.1 FPS, making it the ideal choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains a playable 74.1 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual fidelity, results in a substantial performance penalty. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 100.6 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 56.7 FPS, which may be below the target for some users. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, but the jump from Medium to High at 1080p is only a reduction from 249.5 to 209 FPS, a difference of about 16%, while providing significantly better visuals. Therefore, High is the recommended preset for this combination, as it provides the best combination of high frame rates and enhanced graphical detail across all tested resolutions. The Low preset, while producing the highest frame rates (e.g., 327 FPS at 1080p), likely sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain in performance over High at lower resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in Minimum?*

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combo ranks 209th out of 1733 tested configurations for this game.

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

A: The Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 79102, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF's 79240 (-0.2%) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF's 79245 (-0.2%). It trails the Intel Core i9-14900K's 79824 by -0.9%.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck for frame rates in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system hits 209 FPS, but this falls to 135.1 FPS at 1440p and 74.1 FPS at 4K, showing the render load scaling with the GPU.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the RTX 4070 Ti and how does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is sufficient for Minimum at all tested settings, ensuring that the GPU's compute cores are not starved of data.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 327 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 162.4 FPS. This shows a performance cost of about 50% for the highest visual settings.

Q: Is the frame rate at 4K with High settings playable?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 4K with High settings is 74.1, which is above the standard 60 FPS playability threshold and should provide a smooth experience.