Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + Intel Arc B570

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 produces a combination that ranks in the 79.5th percentile of tested combos for Minimum, placing it at position 2336 out of 2939. This pairing delivers playable frame rates at 1080p across all settings, with performance scaling predictably as resolution increases and settings are adjusted. The data indicates a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the 24-core CPU provides ample headroom for the game's workload at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear tiering across the four settings presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 145 FPS average, which drops to 111 FPS at Medium, 93 FPS at High, and 71 FPS at Ultra. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, the Low preset provides the highest frame rate, but the drop from Low to Medium is substantial at 34 FPS. The Medium preset offers a balanced experience at 111 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, making it the only 1440p preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages exactly 60 FPS, which is playable but leaves no margin for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 94 FPS, providing a smooth experience for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. Ultra at 1440p drops to 46 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended for sustained play.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below 60 FPS. The Low preset leads with 50 FPS, followed by Medium at 39 FPS, High at 32 FPS, and Ultra at 25 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS target, so 4K gaming with this combination requires accepting significant compromises. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 44 FPS, indicating frame time consistency that may be acceptable for slower-paced sections but not ideal for action sequences.

The optimal experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1920x1080, delivering 111 FPS average with a minimum of 95 FPS. This combination provides a 16 FPS margin above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Low. For 1440p users, Medium is the recommended preset, as it is the only setting that maintains averages above 60 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset provides the best frame rate at 50 FPS, but players should expect sub-60 FPS performance regardless of settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 2336 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution. This position reflects the GPU's performance ceiling rather than any CPU limitation, as the Arc B570's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The large gap between CPU and GPU percentiles suggests that the graphics card is the primary constraint on this system's gaming performance.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 places it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807. This near-identical performance indicates that the 290K Plus offers marginal gains over its direct predecessor in synthetic workloads. Against AMD EPYC server processors, the 290K Plus leads the EPYC 4584PX by 1.1% and the EPYC 9135 by 1.2%, while trailing the EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%. These small deltas suggest that the 290K Plus is competitive with high-end server parts in multi-threaded benchmarks, though the differences are unlikely to manifest as meaningful FPS variations in Minimum.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 20556 places it virtually tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 (0.1% lower), and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582 (0.1% higher). The Arc B570 also sits 0.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon R9 M390X. This clustering indicates that the B570 performs at a level comparable to a mid-range mobile GPU from a previous generation, which aligns with its measured performance in Minimum where it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K.

The combo's rank of 2336 out of 2939 means that approximately 79.5% of tested combinations outperform it in this game. This places the system in the fourth quintile of performance, which is consistent with a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significantly larger FPS gains than upgrading the CPU, as the 290K Plus already provides substantial headroom for the B570 to operate at its full potential.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2500 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These specifications position the B570 as an entry-to-mid-range card, with 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. The GPU's 18 ray tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 indicate modern API compatibility.

The GPU's memory capacity of 10 GB is sufficient for Minimum at all tested resolutions, as the game's 2014 release date predates the high VRAM requirements of modern titles. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 145 FPS at Low settings, demonstrating that the memory bandwidth and shading resources are adequate for lower-resolution workloads. However, the frame rate drops dramatically as resolution increases, with the 4K Low preset achieving only 50 FPS, a 65.5% reduction from the 1080p Low result.

The GPU's compute capabilities, measured at 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS FP16, provide the raw processing power for the game's rendering pipeline. The pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s indicate that the GPU can handle the fill rate requirements of a 2014 title at moderate resolutions. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649 and PassMark G3D score of 14195 provide additional context for the GPU's overall performance, though the measured FPS in Minimum is the most relevant metric for this analysis.

The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556, confirms that it is a mid-range performer. The near-tie with the RTX 3070 Mobile in synthetic benchmarks suggests that the B570 delivers performance comparable to a previous-generation laptop GPU, which explains its difficulty maintaining high frame rates at 4K in Minimum. The GPU's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a power-efficient option, but the performance ceiling is clear from the measured results.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets maintain frame rates above 60 FPS. At Medium settings, the system achieves 111 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, providing the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, only the Medium preset exceeds 60 FPS with a 72 FPS average, while at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 50 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its nearest rival?

A: The 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807. This represents a marginal improvement in synthetic workloads. Against AMD EPYC server processors, the 290K Plus leads the EPYC 4584PX by 1.1% and the EPYC 9135 by 1.2%, while trailing the EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 3840x2160. The best 4K result is 50 FPS at Low settings, which falls 10 FPS short of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 4K achieves only 25 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability and 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for this resolution in Minimum.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with this system?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 94 FPS, Medium delivers 72 FPS (with a 61 FPS minimum and 82 FPS maximum), High delivers 60 FPS, and Ultra delivers 46 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that provides a consistent 60+ FPS experience, while High sits exactly at the threshold with no safety margin.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 2336 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the 79.5th percentile. This means roughly 79.5% of tested combinations perform better in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU ranks in the 96th percentile while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile.

*Q: Does the CPU's multi-threading capability help in Minimum?*

A: The 290K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a PassMark multithread score of 60860 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731. However, the measured FPS data shows that performance scales more with GPU settings and resolution than CPU capability, indicating that Minimum is primarily GPU-bound with this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate reduction as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 145 at 1080p to 94 at 1440p (a 35.2% reduction) and then to 50 at 4K (a 46.8% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the CPU's performance would not degrade with higher resolutions.

At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 111 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p (a 35.1% reduction) and then to 39 FPS at 4K (a 45.8% reduction from 1440p). The High preset shows similar scaling: 93 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p (a 35.5% reduction), and 32 FPS at 4K (a 46.7% reduction). The Ultra preset follows the same trend with 71 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p (a 35.2% reduction), and 25 FPS at 4K (a 45.7% reduction).

The consistent percentage reductions across all settings presets indicate that resolution scaling is uniform and independent of the graphics quality settings. This uniformity strongly suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline, rather than memory bandwidth or CPU overhead, is the bottleneck. The 4K results show the most significant absolute drops, with the gap between 1440p and 4K being approximately 22 FPS across all settings, while the gap between 1080p and 1440p ranges from 25 to 51 FPS depending on the preset.

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K represents a 65.5% reduction at Low settings, 64.9% at Medium, 65.6% at High, and 64.8% at Ultra. These near-identical percentages confirm that the game's performance scales predictably with pixel count, and the GPU's 10 GB VRAM capacity does not cause any capacity-related cliffs at higher resolutions. The GPU's 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth appears sufficient for the game's texture and geometry workloads, as the frame rate reductions are proportional to the pixel count increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides substantial compute resources for multi-threaded workloads, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 290K Plus demonstrates strong single-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4823. The multi-threaded results are equally impressive, with a Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 21727 and a PassMark multithread score of 60860. The CPU's PassMark physics score of 3315 and floating-point math score of 214760 indicate robust computational capabilities that exceed the requirements of Minimum, a game released in 2014.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003, places it among the top performers in the database. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a difference of only 0.2%. This marginal delta suggests that the 290K Plus offers minimal performance improvement over its predecessor, and the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor in gaming workloads.

The measured FPS data in Minimum supports the conclusion that the CPU provides sufficient headroom for the Arc B570 to operate at its full potential. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 145 FPS, which is likely constrained by the GPU rather than the CPU. The consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions suggests that the CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock are more than adequate for the game's single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, and upgrading the CPU would not yield meaningful FPS improvements in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset delivers 145 FPS average, representing the maximum performance available from this combination. The Medium preset achieves 111 FPS average with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS, providing a consistent experience above 60 FPS. The High preset drops to 93 FPS average, while the Ultra preset reaches 71 FPS average. All 1080p presets remain above 60 FPS, with the Ultra preset having the smallest margin at 11 FPS above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, frame rates decrease noticeably across all settings. The Low preset achieves 94 FPS average, which is 51 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset delivers 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, keeping the minimum just above the 60 FPS target. The High preset sits at exactly 60 FPS average, providing no headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset falls to 46 FPS average, which is 14 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold and represents a 35.2% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result.

At 3840x2160, all settings presets fall below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset achieves 50 FPS average, which is the best 4K result but still 10 FPS short of smooth gameplay. The Medium preset delivers 39 FPS average with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 44 FPS, indicating significant frame time variation. The High preset drops to 32 FPS average, while the Ultra preset achieves only 25 FPS average. The 4K results show that this combination is not suitable for high-resolution gaming, with even the lowest settings preset failing to reach 60 FPS.

The complete measured FPS dataset shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p Medium provides the best balance at 111 FPS with a 95 FPS minimum, 1440p Medium is the only 1440p preset above 60 FPS at 72 FPS, and 4K Low is the best 4K option at 50 FPS. The data also reveals that the Ultra preset consistently delivers approximately 40% lower frame rates than Low across all resolutions, indicating that the game's Ultra settings impose a significant rendering load that the B570 cannot fully handle at higher resolutions.