Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is a capable combination for Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Based on recorded measurements, this system delivers playable frame rates at 1440p and 1080p, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K across all tested settings. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 3060 Ti provides strong raw performance, while the Ryzen 5 2600, a six-core, twelve-thread processor from the 2000 series, keeps up well at lower resolutions. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and even reducing settings to Low only brings the average to 57.1 FPS, just under the playable mark. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the division of labor between CPU and GPU, and how this combo ranks against other tested configurations.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 60 FPS on a 4K display?*

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest recorded average is 57.1 FPS on Low settings. High, Medium, and Ultra produce averages of 39.3, 44, and 29.9 FPS respectively, all below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers the highest average FPS among playable options, reaching 70.3 FPS. Low and Medium also clear 60 FPS with averages of 110.8 and 83.3 FPS, respectively. Ultra falls short at 56.8 FPS, making it unplayable by the 60 FPS standard.

Q: Does the Ultra preset work at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces an average of 83.6 FPS, comfortably above the threshold. All four tested presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution, with averages ranging from 83.6 to 169.4 FPS.

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

A: The database places this combo at rank 2585 out of 3712 tested combinations, meaning it sits in the lower-middle portion of the field. It outperforms roughly 30% of tested combos, but it is far from top-tier hardware.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces average FPS by roughly 37% on High settings, and from 1440p to 4K reduces it by another 44%. The CPU, with a 75th percentile ranking among all processors, is less likely to limit performance at lower resolutions.

Q: What are the closest rivals to this CPU and GPU in the database?

A: For the Ryzen 5 2600, the nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (0.2% higher score), Intel Core i9-11900H (0.5% higher), Intel Xeon D-1746TER (0.7% lower), and AMD EPYC 9454 (1.2% higher). For the RTX 3060 Ti, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is 0.7% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT are 1.4% slower, and the AMD Radeon R9 370X is 1.7% faster.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded FPS data reveals a predictable shift in workload distribution as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system achieves high frame rates across all presets, with Low settings hitting 169.4 FPS average and Ultra reaching 83.6 FPS. This wide spread, nearly 86 FPS between Low and Ultra, indicates that the GPU is heavily utilized even at 1080p, but the CPU is not holding back the frame rate. The Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides enough processing headroom to feed the RTX 3060 Ti at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops significantly across every preset. High settings fall from 111.6 to 70.3 FPS, a reduction of about 37%. Low settings drop from 169.4 to 110.8 FPS, a 35% decline. This scaling is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where the increased pixel count demands more from the graphics card. The CPU’s role diminishes relatively, as the same processor that handled 1080p easily now relies on the GPU to do the heavy lifting.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the unequivocal bottleneck. The best average, 57.1 FPS on Low, is still below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield only 39.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 27.2 FPS, smaller than at lower resolutions, suggesting that even the lowest settings cannot relieve the GPU pressure enough to hit playable rates. The CPU, meanwhile, has plenty of headroom; its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1248 and a PassMark multithread score of 13160, indicate it can handle the game’s logic without issue. The data clearly shows the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p and 1440p, the combination works well together.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system performs strongly across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 169.4 FPS, the highest recorded for this combo. Medium settings follow at 128.2 FPS, High at 111.6 FPS, and Ultra at 83.6 FPS. Every preset clears the 60 FPS threshold with substantial margin, and even the most demanding Ultra setting maintains a healthy average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 85.8 FPS, showing that the RTX 3060 Ti scales predictably with graphical load at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains playable but with reduced margins. Low settings achieve 110.8 FPS, Medium reaches 83.3 FPS, and High hits 70.3 FPS. Ultra, however, falls to 56.8 FPS, just under the playable threshold. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is 13.5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset’s extra effects impose a notable cost. The best playable setting is High, with an average of 70.3 FPS, which provides a comfortable buffer above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot reach playable frame rates on any setting. Low settings produce 57.1 FPS, the closest to the threshold but still below it. Medium averages 44 FPS, High averages 39.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 29.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 27.2 FPS, and even the lowest settings fail to hit 60 FPS. The verdict data confirms this, listing no playable settings at 4K. The RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this game, regardless of preset choices.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, with Ultra delivering the best visual quality at an average of 83.6 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for 1080p gaming. At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best playable option, achieving 70.3 FPS. Low and Medium also clear 60 FPS, but High offers a stronger balance of visual fidelity and performance. Ultra at 1440p, with an average of 56.8 FPS, is not playable by the database’s standard.

At 3840x2160, the system fails to meet the playable threshold on any setting. Low settings come closest at 57.1 FPS, but this is still below 60 FPS. Users with 4K displays would need to lower resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance. The verdict data explicitly lists no playable settings for 4K. For most players, the 1440p High preset offers the best experience, as it combines playable frame rates with higher detail than the Low or Medium options. The 1080p Ultra preset is also a strong choice for those prioritizing visual quality over resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 5 2600’s nearest rivals in the database are all close in average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V scores 0.2% higher, while the Intel Core i9-11900H is 0.5% higher. On the lower side, the Intel Xeon D-1746TER is 0.7% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9454 is 1.2% higher. These processors would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Minimum, meaning the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p would remain largely unchanged when paired with the same GPU. The differences are so small, within 1.2%, that they would not alter the playability verdicts.

For the GPU, the RTX 3060 Ti’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 9060, which scores 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which scores 1.7% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT are both 1.4% lower. These cards would behave similarly in Minimum, producing average FPS within a few points of the RTX 3060 Ti at each resolution and preset. For instance, at 1440p High, a 1.7% faster card would yield roughly 71.5 FPS, while a 1.4% slower card would yield around 69.3 FPS. None of these differences would push the system across a playability boundary, as the 4K results would still fall below 60 FPS and the 1080p results would remain well above it.

Users considering alternatives should focus on the GPU, as it is the limiting factor at 4K. Swapping the RTX 3060 Ti for a faster card, such as one scoring 1.7% higher, would still not make 4K playable, since the current Low setting at 57.1 FPS would only improve to about 58.1 FPS. A significantly faster GPU would be needed to cross the 60 FPS threshold at 4K, but such a card is not among the nearest rivals listed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 2585 out of 3712 tested combinations in the database. This places it in the 30th percentile, meaning roughly 70% of tested combos perform better. The low ranking is primarily due to the CPU, which has a 75th percentile score among all processors, but the GPU only reaches the 59th percentile. In Minimum, the GPU’s 4K limitations drag down the overall ranking, as many other combos with more powerful graphics cards achieve playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

Breaking down the components, the Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 21484 is close to its nearest rivals, with deltas no larger than 1.2%. This suggests the CPU is not a significant differentiator in the ranking. The RTX 3060 Ti, with an average score of 16129, is also closely matched to its rivals, but its 59th percentile ranking means it sits below many other GPUs in the database. The combination of a mid-range CPU and a mid-range GPU results in a system that is solid for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Minimum, but it cannot compete with higher-end configurations at 4K.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo is far from the top of the database, but it is also not at the bottom. For a game released in 2014, the performance is more than adequate at mainstream resolutions. The 1080p Ultra preset, with an average of 83.6 FPS, demonstrates that the hardware handles the game with ease. The 1440p High preset, at 70.3 FPS, offers a good experience for higher-resolution monitors. The only significant weakness is 4K, where the system falls short of playable standards. Users with 4K displays would need to consider a more powerful GPU, as the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB memory and 16.20 TFLOPS FP32 performance are not enough for this game at that resolution. Overall, this combo is a reasonable choice for 1080p and 1440p play, but it does not stand out among the thousands of tested configurations.