Minecraft: Java Edition

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a wide range of frame rates across Minecraft: Java Edition, depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of very high performance at lower resolutions, with diminishing returns as resolution climbs. The following analysis breaks down the recorded numbers by resolution and preset, examines the balance between CPU and GPU load, compares nearby hardware, and determines the best settings for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured average FPS values for three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four quality presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). No minimum or maximum frame rate data was recorded, so the analysis relies strictly on average FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results are exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset averages 298.6 FPS, which is the fastest recorded figure for this combo. Medium follows at 238.3 FPS, High at 185.4 FPS, and Ultra at 116.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial: the Low preset delivers roughly 2.6 times the frame rate of Ultra. Even at Ultra, the average comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold, leaving significant headroom for other tasks or background processes.

Moving up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low settings average 191.7 FPS, Medium 148.2 FPS, High 122.1 FPS, and Ultra 77.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 35 to 40 percent depending on the preset. For example, High goes from 185.4 FPS at 1080p to 122.1 FPS at 1440p, and Ultra falls from 116.3 FPS to 77.1 FPS. All presets still clear 60 FPS, with Ultra being the closest to the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance profile changes more dramatically. Low settings average 97.3 FPS, Medium 76.5 FPS, High 61.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40 FPS. The Ultra preset fails to meet the 60 FPS playability threshold, while High sits barely above it. The Low preset remains playable, though it is now the only preset that offers a wide margin above 60 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep: High falls from 122.1 FPS to 61.4 FPS, a reduction of approximately 50 percent, and Ultra falls from 77.1 FPS to 40 FPS, a reduction of about 48 percent.

The pattern across resolutions is consistent: the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low is 2.6 times faster than Ultra. At 1440p, the ratio is about 2.5. At 4K, Low is 2.4 times faster than Ultra. The absolute frame rate differences grow with resolution, but the relative scaling remains similar.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data suggests that this game, at these settings, is heavily influenced by both the CPU and GPU, but their relative importance shifts with resolution.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extremely high, reaching nearly 300 FPS on Low. Such high numbers indicate that the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X with 6 cores and 12 threads, is doing a substantial amount of work. Minecraft: Java Edition is known for relying heavily on single-thread performance in many of its operations, and the Ryzen 5 5600X has a single-core benchmark score of 917 in 3dmark_single_thread and 1541 in cinebench_r23_singlecore. The High preset at 185.4 FPS and Ultra at 116.3 FPS suggest that the GPU is not yet the primary bottleneck at 1080p, since the frame rates scale almost linearly with preset changes. The CPU can feed frames fast enough to keep the GPU busy even at lower presets.

As resolution moves to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on a larger role. The frame rates drop across all presets, but the drop is more pronounced for the higher presets. For instance, Ultra goes from 116.3 FPS at 1080p to 77.1 FPS at 1440p, a 34 percent reduction, while Low goes from 298.6 FPS to 191.7 FPS, a 36 percent reduction. The similar relative drops suggest that both CPU and GPU are being pushed, but the GPU's pixel throughput is becoming a limiting factor. The GTX 1660 SUPER has a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s, which are moderate figures for modern games.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The frame rates fall to a level where the CPU has ample headroom. Low settings at 97.3 FPS and Medium at 76.5 FPS indicate that the GPU is working hard to render each frame. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS shows that the GPU simply cannot keep up with the higher fidelity workload. The CPU's performance, as measured by its cinebench_r23_multicore score of 11838 and passmark_multithread score of 21858, is more than sufficient for this game's logic, but the GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus limit its throughput at high resolutions.

Comparing the scaling between resolutions provides further insight. At 1080p, the average FPS across all presets is roughly 210. At 1440p, it drops to about 135. At 4K, it falls to about 69. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 36 percent reduction, while from 1440p to 4K it is a 49 percent reduction. This steeper drop at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database lists nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU based on average benchmark scores. For the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, the closest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U, the Intel Core i7-11700, and the AMD EPYC 9554P. The Ryzen 7 4800H has an average score of 21749, which is 0.1 percent lower than the 5600X's 21771. The Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U scores 21874, 0.5 percent higher. The Core i7-11700 scores 21891, also 0.5 percent higher. The EPYC 9554P scores 21899, 0.6 percent higher. These differences are negligible, meaning any of these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in this game when paired with the same GPU.

For the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, the AMD Radeon RX 580, the NVIDIA Tesla M2090, and the AMD Radeon 740M. The RTX 3050 Ti Mobile has an average score of 12940, 0.4 percent higher than the 1660 SUPER's 12986. The RX 580 scores 12928, 0.4 percent lower. The Tesla M2090 scores 13075, 0.7 percent higher. The Radeon 740M scores 12870, 0.9 percent lower. Again, these differences are within one percent, so any of these GPUs would deliver essentially the same performance in Minecraft: Java Edition at the same settings and resolution.

In practice, a system with the Ryzen 5 5600X and any of these rival GPUs would produce frame rates very close to those recorded here. Similarly, replacing the GTX 1660 SUPER with a comparable GPU while keeping the Ryzen 5 5600X would yield similar results. The data suggests that this game is not particularly sensitive to the small benchmark differences between these parts, and the overall experience would be nearly identical.

The Verdict

The recorded data shows that this PC can run Minecraft: Java Edition, and the playability verdict depends heavily on resolution and preset.

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable. The Ultra preset averages 116.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. High averages 185.4 FPS, Medium 238.3 FPS, and Low 298.6 FPS. This resolution offers a wide range of options, and even the most demanding settings provide a smooth experience with substantial headroom.

At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS. Ultra averages 77.1 FPS, which is playable but closer to the threshold. High averages 122.1 FPS, Medium 148.2 FPS, and Low 191.7 FPS. Gamers with 1440p monitors can safely use Ultra settings and still maintain a playable frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Low preset averages 97.3 FPS, Medium 76.5 FPS, and High 61.4 FPS, all of which clear 60 FPS. However, the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS, which fails the playability threshold. For 4K gaming, users must stick to High or lower settings to stay above 60 FPS, and even High is borderline.

The overall verdict is that this combo is highly capable for Minecraft: Java Edition. At 1080p and 1440p, it handles Ultra settings with ease. At 4K, it can run High settings but not Ultra. The game's relatively modest graphical demands, compared to other modern titles, allow this mid-range pairing to excel.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this CPU and GPU combination at rank 1527 out of 1727 tested combos for this game. That puts it in the lower half of all possible pairings, but the raw frame rates tell a more positive story. The rank is likely influenced by the fact that many other combos feature much more powerful GPUs, such as modern high-end cards with larger memory bandwidth and higher pixel throughput. The GTX 1660 SUPER is an older, end-of-life product, and its benchmark percentile of 53 puts it near the median of all GPUs. The CPU has a percentile of 75, meaning it outperforms most CPUs in the database. The combination of a strong CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a pairing that is below average overall, but for a game like Minecraft: Java Edition, which is not extremely demanding, the practical performance is still very good.

The rank of 1527 out of 1727 suggests that there are over 200 combos that perform better, likely including those with higher-end GPUs. However, the frame rates recorded here are far above playable thresholds at most settings, so the rank may not fully reflect the user experience for this specific game. The data indicates that the CPU is a strong component, while the GPU is the weaker link, and this imbalance is reflected in the overall rank.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the measured data, the best settings for each resolution are those that deliver the highest visual quality while maintaining an average FPS at or above 60.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, with an average FPS of 116.3. This preset is the most demanding that still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. All lower presets also work, but Ultra provides the highest fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, averaging 77.1 FPS. This is above 60 FPS, though the margin is smaller than at 1080p. Users who prefer a larger frame rate buffer could opt for High at 122.1 FPS, but Ultra remains viable.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are High, with an average FPS of 61.4. This is just barely above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not playable, and Medium at 76.5 FPS offers more headroom but lower quality. For 4K, High is the maximum preset that maintains a playable frame rate, though it is close to the line.

The data suggests that users should adjust their expectations based on resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, Ultra is the clear choice. At 4K, High is the ceiling, and even then, the frame rate is marginal.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: The recorded average FPS is 116.3.

Q: Can this PC run Minecraft: Java Edition at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings?

A: No, the Ultra preset at 4K averages 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Which preset at 2560x1440 offers the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 191.7 FPS, which is the fastest recorded for that resolution.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to the AMD Radeon RX 580 in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986, while the RX 580 scores 12928, a difference of 0.4 percent.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 3840x2160?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop steeply across presets, while the CPU has sufficient performance headroom.

Q: What is the best preset for 1920x1080 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: Ultra is the best preset at 1080p, averaging 116.3 FPS, which is well above the threshold.