Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose performance profile is surprisingly demanding for its age, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a system that can obliterate the game at lower settings but hits a clear wall at higher presets and resolutions. The measured results across twelve distinct configurations reveal a title that scales predictably with resolution but shows a sharp, non-linear cost when moving from High to Ultra, which is the single most important factor when choosing your in-game settings.

Settings Recommendations

The sweet spot for this combination is the Medium preset at 1440p. This configuration delivers an average of 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS, offering a high-refresh experience with enough headroom to avoid dips below 165Hz on typical high-refresh monitors. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 31 FPS on average (from 194 to 163), which is a significant drop for a visual upgrade that is often imperceptible in fast-paced third-person action, making Medium the practical choice for competitive play.

At 4K, the situation changes entirely. The Low preset at 2160p is the only viable option for high refresh rates, averaging 137 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 105 FPS average with a 89 FPS minimum, which is still playable but introduces a tangible risk of stutter on 120Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively a showcase mode, averaging 67 FPS, which is below the 72 FPS needed for a consistent 72Hz experience and will feel sluggish for a shooter.

For the absolute highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the undisputed king, posting a 394 FPS average. This mode is essentially a CPU-bound benchmark, as the RTX 4090 is nowhere near its limits. However, for most users with 144Hz or 240Hz monitors, the Medium preset at 1080p (301 FPS average) or even High at 1080p (253 FPS average) provides a far better visual experience while still exceeding the refresh rate of most displays. The data strongly suggests avoiding Ultra unless you have a 4K 60Hz monitor and prioritize image quality over responsiveness, as the 193 FPS at 1080p Ultra is still fast but represents a 39% performance cut compared to High at the same resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance driver in this pairing, but its massive compute resources are only fully engaged at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth is far more than Minimum requires, even at 4K with Ultra settings, indicating that memory capacity is not a bottleneck. The 16384 shading units and 512 TMUs are what push the 4K Ultra preset to a 67 FPS average, a workload that stresses the GPU's raw pixel and texture throughput.

Clock speeds are the key variable here. The GPU's base clock of 2235 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz allow it to scale its performance dynamically. At 1080p Low, the game is so light that the GPU is likely not boosting to its maximum potential, as the CPU becomes the limiting factor. The data shows a massive 81 FPS jump from 1080p Low (394 FPS) to 1440p Low (254 FPS), which is a 35% reduction in frame rate, demonstrating that the GPU's workload increases significantly with resolution even at minimal settings. The 450W TDP and triple-slot cooler are justified, as the GPU is clearly capable of sustained high load in this title, though the data does not indicate thermal throttling at any measured point.

The RTX 4090's performance percentile of 88 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60347, places it in the top tier. Its nearest rivals, the Intel Arc Pro A60 (0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (0.3% delta), are workstation cards that score similarly in synthetic benchmarks but lack the gaming-focused feature set, and the 2.9% lead over the AMD Radeon PRO V710 reinforces that this NVIDIA card is a top-tier gaming solution. In Minimum, the GPU's role is to provide headroom; the 24 GB VRAM is never stressed, and the core clock is the primary driver of the frame-rate differences seen between presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 394 at 1080p to 254 at 1440p and finally to 137 at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K, showing that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at lower presets. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low is 65%, which is substantial but expected for a game that scales rendering resolution almost linearly with the pixel count.

The scaling pattern changes at higher settings. At High settings, the frame rates are 253 (1080p), 163 (1440p), and 88 (4K). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%, indicating that the GPU is becoming more saturated as the pixel count increases. At Ultra settings, the frames are 193 (1080p), 124 (1440p), and 67 (4K). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%, which is a consistent pattern across all presets, suggesting that the 4K resolution is particularly punishing for the RTX 4090 in this title.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 394 FPS on Low settings, which is far above what most displays can show but still indicates that the GPU is not fully utilized. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiter, as the frame rates drop significantly regardless of settings. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is most balanced at 1440p, where it can deliver 254 FPS on Low and 124 FPS on Ultra, giving the user a wide range of options to tune for visual quality or raw speed. The 4K resolution is only recommended for users who accept the 67 FPS Ultra limit or the 137 FPS Low cap.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Ultra: 193 FPS average
• High: 253 FPS average
• Medium: 301 FPS average (256 min, 347 max)
• Low: 394 FPS average

At 1080p, the system is supremely fast. Even the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces an average of 193 FPS, well above the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The Low preset hits 394 FPS, which is likely a CPU limit, as the RTX 4090 is barely challenged at this resolution. The Medium preset's 301 FPS average with a 256 FPS minimum ensures smooth playback on 240Hz displays, though the jump to High (253 FPS) is still acceptable for 144Hz panels.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Ultra: 124 FPS average
• High: 163 FPS average
• Medium: 194 FPS average (165 min, 223 max)
• Low: 254 FPS average

1440p is the resolution where the RTX 4090 starts to flex its muscles. The Low preset still delivers 254 FPS, but the Ultra preset drops to 124 FPS, showing a 51% reduction from Low. The Medium preset is the standout, with a 194 FPS average and a 165 FPS minimum that matches the refresh rate of many high-end monitors. The High preset at 163 FPS is also strong, but the 31 FPS drop from Medium to High is the largest single-setting penalty at this resolution, suggesting diminishing returns from the increased texture and shadow quality.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Ultra: 67 FPS average
• High: 88 FPS average
• Medium: 105 FPS average (89 min, 120 max)
• Low: 137 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU is pushed hard. The Low preset produces a 137 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset drops to 105 FPS average, with a 89 FPS minimum that could cause noticeable stutter on 120Hz screens. The High preset at 88 FPS average is best suited for 60Hz displays, and the Ultra preset at 67 FPS average is the lower bound of playability for a shooter. The data shows a clear 32% drop from Low to Medium at 4K, highlighting the cost of enabling even modest graphical effects at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p is the optimal choice, delivering a 194 FPS average with a 165 FPS minimum, ensuring the frame rate never dips below the monitor's refresh rate. High settings at 1440p (163 FPS average) would also work, but the 31 FPS penalty from Medium is significant.

Q: Can the RTX 4090 handle 4K at high refresh rates in this game?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the highest average FPS is 137 on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 105 FPS, which is below 144Hz but usable for 120Hz displays. For a true 144Hz 4K experience, the game would need to be run at Low settings, which is not visually ideal.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K on Low settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 394 at 1080p to 137 at 4K, a 65% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is heavily utilized at 4K, while the 1080p score is likely capped by the CPU.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using?

A: At 1440p, Ultra averages 124 FPS, which is playable but 40% slower than High. At 4K, Ultra drops to 67 FPS, which is marginal for a shooter. The data suggests that Ultra is for visual fidelity over performance, and Medium or High offers better frame rates for competitive play.

Q: Why is the frame rate so high at 1080p Low?

A: The 394 FPS average at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, is the limiting factor, as the RTX 4090 is not fully stressed. This is a CPU-bound scenario where the graphics card has ample headroom.

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

A: At Medium settings, the measured minimum and maximum FPS are only available for this preset. At 1080p, the range is 256 to 347 FPS, at 1440p it is 165 to 223 FPS, and at 4K it is 89 to 120 FPS, showing a stable experience with no extreme frame time spikes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its role in Minimum is primarily to feed the GPU, and the data shows that it is more than adequate for this task at lower resolutions. The 394 FPS average at 1080p Low is a strong indicator that the CPU is the bottleneck, as the GPU is capable of far more. The processor's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game's physics and AI calculations.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. A Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and a single-core score of 2020 show strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, which is relevant for Minimum's game logic. The PassMark single-thread score of 4928 and the PassMark physics score of 3731 indicate that the CPU can handle the per-frame calculations required at high frame rates. The 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70879, places it just 1% behind the Intel Core i7-14700KF and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, showing that it is a top-tier gaming processor.

In Minimum, the CPU's 20 cores are not all utilized, but the high boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensures that the few active threads run at maximum speed. The data shows that at 4K, the CPU's role diminishes, as the GPU becomes the primary limiter, but at 1080p, the CPU's performance ceiling is what enables frame rates above 300 FPS. The 125W TDP and support for DDR5 memory make it a modern choice, and its performance in this title is consistent with its synthetic benchmark results, showing no signs of bottlenecking the RTX 4090 except in the most GPU-light scenarios.