Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that scales across a wide range of hardware, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a clear performance profile at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. The measured data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER, while an older Turing-generation card, still delivers playable frame rates in this title, though the experience is heavily dependent on the chosen quality preset and resolution. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, the role of the GPU and CPU, and how this specific combo ranks among the 2,939 tested configurations in the database.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a straightforward path to the optimal experience for this combo. Across all three resolutions, the "Medium" preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, consistently delivering frame rates that are significantly higher than "High" or "Ultra" while maintaining a smoother experience than "Low" in terms of overall quality. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 144 FPS, which is 23 FPS higher than High’s 121 FPS and 52 FPS higher than Ultra’s 92 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is only a 44 FPS difference (188 FPS to 144 FPS), but the visual uplift from Low to Medium is typically substantial in a title from this era, making Medium the clear sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves to be the most practical choice, delivering an average of 93 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and represents a 15 FPS improvement over High (78 FPS). The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 59 FPS, which is borderline for a shooter, while Low reaches 121 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiter at this resolution. For 4K (3840x2160), the situation becomes more constrained. The Medium preset yields an average of 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced third-person shooter. High drops to 42 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS, both of which are below the smoothness threshold for competitive play.

The data strongly suggests that Medium is the recommended preset for all resolutions. It provides the highest average FPS among the quality-oriented presets (High, Medium, Ultra) while avoiding the visual compromises of Low. For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, Low at 1080p (188 FPS) or 1440p (121 FPS) is viable, but for the best overall experience, Medium is the optimal balance. The 4K Medium result of 50 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced play, but users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays may need to consider dropping to Low (65 FPS) to maintain responsiveness.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the defining component in this combo for Minimum, as the game’s performance scaling across resolutions and settings points directly to GPU-bound behavior. The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it houses 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is modest by modern standards, but for a 2014 title like Minimum, it proves sufficient to drive high frame rates at lower resolutions.

The GPU’s role becomes evident when examining the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 144 FPS, which drops to 93 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 50 FPS at 4K (a further 46% reduction). This steep decline with increasing pixel count is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering workload scales directly with resolution. The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for Minimum at all tested settings, as the game’s 2014-era textures and effects do not appear to exceed this limit, even at 4K Ultra.

Comparing the RTX 2070 SUPER to its nearest rivals in the database, the data shows it sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20,282 is within 1.5% of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480) and 1.3% below the Intel Arc B570 (20,556). This indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is still a competent performer in synthetic tests, but its age is showing in newer titles. In Minimum, however, the card’s 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 64 ROPs are more than adequate, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at 1440p and even 4K Medium. The GPU’s 215 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its generation, and the data confirms that it does not become a bottleneck for this CPU until higher resolutions are used.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with an average of 144 FPS at Medium settings and 188 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still delivers a smooth 93 FPS, making it viable for high-refresh-rate gaming. The 3840x2160 resolution is playable only at Medium (50 FPS) or Low (65 FPS) settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER perform relative to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20,282, which is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20,480) and 1.3% lower than the Intel Arc B570 (20,556). Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, scores 20,582, which is 1.5% higher.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 144 FPS, dropping to 93 FPS at 1440p and 50 FPS at 4K. This steep decline with resolution confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary bottleneck, not the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 59, with no minimum or maximum data recorded. This is just below the 60 FPS threshold, so users may experience occasional dips in demanding scenes.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RTX 2070 SUPER cause issues at 4K?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM-related stuttering or crashes. At 4K Medium, the combo produces an average of 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS, suggesting that the 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for Minimum’s 2014-era graphics requirements.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Minimum?

A: The combo ranks 1,659th out of 2,939 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the pack. This ranking reflects the RTX 2070 SUPER’s mid-tier position in the GPU landscape, despite the high-end CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance.

At 1920x1080, the highest average FPS is achieved with Low settings at 188 FPS, followed by Medium at 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. High settings produce an average of 121 FPS, while Ultra drops to 92 FPS. This resolution demonstrates the GPU’s ability to push well beyond 60 FPS even at high quality, with the Medium preset offering a 52 FPS advantage over Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts downward. Low settings deliver an average of 121 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, providing a solid experience for most players. High settings drop to 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59 FPS, which is marginal for a shooter. The 1440p results show a clear performance cliff between Medium and Ultra, with a 34 FPS difference.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly stressed. Low settings yield an average of 65 FPS, which is the only preset at 4K that maintains a comfortable frame rate. Medium averages 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, making it playable but with noticeable dips. High settings produce 42 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K data reveals that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not designed for high-quality 4K gaming in this title, as only the Low preset consistently stays above 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into the limiting component of this combo. Starting with the Medium preset, the average FPS goes from 144 at 1080p to 93 at 1440p, a 35.4% decrease, and then to 50 at 4K, a 46.2% decrease from 1440p. This near-linear scaling with pixel count (1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25x the pixels of 1440p) strongly indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload is independent of pixel count.

The Low settings preset shows a similar pattern: 188 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p (a 35.6% drop), and 65 FPS at 4K (a 46.3% drop from 1440p). This consistent percentage reduction across different quality presets reinforces the conclusion that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at these frame rates, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 4K is not perfectly proportional to pixel count. If it were, 4K would be roughly 25% of 1080p performance (since 4K has 4x the pixels). Instead, 4K Medium achieves 34.7% of 1080p Medium (50 FPS vs 144 FPS), suggesting that some other factor, such as memory bandwidth or fill rate, is partially mitigating the resolution penalty. This is typical for a GPU with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 4K in older titles but not for modern ones.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a high-end desktop processor with 24 cores and 24 threads, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253 and a single-core score of 2,439. Its average benchmark score of 93,785 places it at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, scores 93,786, a negligible 0% difference.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS scales directly with GPU load. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 188 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would stress many CPUs, but the Ultra 7 270K Plus handles it without issue, as evidenced by the consistent scaling across resolutions. The CPU’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and 24 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads.

The CPU’s PassMark multi-thread score of 68,574 and single-thread score of 5,068 indicate strong performance in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded scenarios. In a 2014 shooter like Minimum, which may not be optimized for many cores, the single-thread performance is likely more critical, and the Ultra 7 270K Plus excels in this area with its high boost clock. The data confirms that the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the FPS differences between settings and resolutions are entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1,659th out of 2,939 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the 56th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the high-end CPU, but it is a direct consequence of the RTX 2070 SUPER’s position in the GPU hierarchy. The GPU ranks at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,282, which is 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.2% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534).

The ranking reflects the overall system balance. While the CPU is a top-tier performer (96th percentile), the GPU is a mid-tier component that is nearly a generation old. In a game like Minimum, which is GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the combo’s performance is capped by the RTX 2070 SUPER. The 1,659th rank suggests that there are 1,658 other combos that achieve higher average FPS in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs paired with similar or less powerful CPUs.

The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals show that the RTX 2070 SUPER is very closely matched with its competitors. The Quadro M4000M is 1% faster, the RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% faster, and the Intel Arc B570 is 1.3% faster. These small differences indicate that the GPU is in a tightly contested performance tier, and the combo’s rank could shift slightly depending on driver optimizations or game patches. For users of this combo, the data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains in Minimum, while the CPU has substantial headroom for future upgrades.