Minimum

FAQ

Q: What is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and where does it sit in the CPU market?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a desktop processor from the Ryzen 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 (Raphael) architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. Its average benchmark score is 26324, which places it in the 78th percentile among all CPUs tested in the database.

Q: What is the Intel Arc B390 and how does it compare to other GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution from Intel, based on the Panther Lake chip and Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process. It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its average benchmark score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is quite low. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460, 1.5% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, 2.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, 2.7% slower).

Q: Can this combination run Minimum at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the combination achieves playable frame rates at High, Low, and Medium settings. The High preset averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS, and Low averages 95 FPS. Ultra, however, averages only 46 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the only playable setting is Low, which averages 61 FPS. Medium averages 47 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold. So the best playable setting at 1440p is Low, delivering exactly 61 FPS on average.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, none of the settings reach the 60 FPS threshold. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The database verdict lists no playable settings at 4K for this combination.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 has an average benchmark score of 26324. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (score 26274, which is 0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS (score 26402, which is 0.3% higher), the Intel Core i9-11900KF (score 26212, which is 0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U (score 26187, which is 0.5% lower). The differences are very small, all within half a percent.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data for Minimum reveals a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting factor across nearly every resolution and preset. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600, is a strong desktop processor with a 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 9th percentile. That massive gap suggests the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The integrated nature of the Arc B390, with system-shared memory and system-dependent bandwidth, compounds this issue, as the GPU must rely on the same memory pool as the CPU.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates show moderate scaling as settings change. Low averages 95 FPS, Medium drops to 72 FPS, High falls to 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 46 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 23 FPS loss, from Medium to High is an 11 FPS loss, and from High to Ultra is a 15 FPS loss. This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is being pushed harder at each preset, while the CPU has enough headroom to keep feeding frames. The fact that Low hits 95 FPS while Ultra only manages 46 FPS indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the primary constraint as graphical load increases.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern continues but with lower overall numbers. Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 47 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is 34 FPS, which is substantial. This suggests that resolution scaling places significant pressure on the GPU, while the CPU's role remains relatively constant. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect similar frame rates across resolutions at the same preset, since CPU workload does not change much with resolution. Instead, the clear degradation at higher resolutions points directly to the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes even more pronounced. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Low is 28 FPS, and at High it is 18 FPS. These are enormous losses that can only be explained by the GPU struggling to fill the pixel count. The Arc B390 has a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, but at 4K, the sheer number of pixels overwhelms its 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads running at up to 5.10 GHz, has no trouble keeping up with the game's logic at any resolution.

The data also shows that the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are far beyond what this game requires. The Ryzen 5 7600 scores 12735 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1852 in single-core, which places it well above the needs of a 2014 title like Minimum. The game's release date of 2014-06-25 means it was designed for hardware from that era, and modern CPUs like this one are likely idle much of the time. The GPU, however, is an integrated part that behaves more like a low-end discrete card from years ago, as evidenced by its nearest rivals being the GT 520MX, GT 710, and similar entries.

In summary, the GPU is the dominant factor at all resolutions. The CPU's influence is negligible in this pairing, and the recorded frame rates are almost entirely a function of the Arc B390's performance limits.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is High, which averages 61 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 72 FPS and Low averages 95 FPS, both also playable, but High offers the highest visual quality while still clearing the threshold. Ultra, at 46 FPS, is not playable.

At 2560x1440, the only playable setting is Low, averaging 61 FPS. This is the best and only option that reaches 60 FPS. Medium averages 47 FPS, High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS, all below the threshold. Users at 1440p must accept Low settings to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, no setting is playable. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. All fall far below the 60 FPS threshold. The database verdict confirms that no playable settings exist at 4K for this combination.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 has several nearby alternatives in terms of average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX scores 26274, which is 0.2% lower than the 7600's 26324. The AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS scores 26402, which is 0.3% higher. The Intel Core i9-11900KF scores 26212, 0.4% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U scores 26187, 0.5% lower. Any of these CPUs would deliver essentially the same performance in Minimum, since the game is not CPU-bound with this configuration. The differences are all within half a percent, so a user swapping between these processors would see no meaningful change in frame rates.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B390 is in a much more constrained position. Its average benchmark score of 1482 is only slightly above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 and is 1.3% slower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% slower. These rivals are all extremely close in performance, meaning that any of them would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum. A system with a GT 710 or GT 520MX would likely see the same inability to hit 60 FPS at 4K and the same playable results at 1080p Low through High. The delta percentages are small enough that the gaming experience would be indistinguishable across these GPUs.

It is notably the GPU's nearest rivals are all very old, low-end parts. This reinforces the conclusion that the Arc B390, despite being an integrated solution from a modern architecture, performs at a level comparable to entry-level GPUs from a decade ago. Users looking for similar behavior should expect the same limitations: playable at 1080p with lowered settings, marginal at 1440p with Low settings only, and not viable at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows the following average frame rates: High averages 21 FPS, Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with min and max values recorded, showing a narrow range that indicates consistent performance, albeit at very low frame rates.

At 2560x1440, High averages 39 FPS, Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The Medium range is wider than at 4K, with an 14 FPS spread between min and max, suggesting more variability at this resolution. Low is the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold, doing so by a single frame per second.

At 1920x1080, High averages 61 FPS, Low averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS, and Ultra averages 46 FPS. The Medium preset shows a 21 FPS spread, indicating some frame time variation but staying comfortably above 60 FPS at the minimum. Low has the highest average at 95 FPS, which is the best result across all resolutions and settings in the entire dataset.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low settings always deliver the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra grows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 49 FPS (95 vs 46). At 1440p, the difference is 31 FPS (61 vs 30). At 4K, the difference is 17 FPS (33 vs 16). This compression at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is saturated and cannot scale its output even when settings are reduced.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Minimum? The answer depends entirely on the resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, yes, with room to spare. The High preset averages 61 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium and Low are also playable, at 72 FPS and 95 FPS respectively. Ultra is not playable at 46 FPS. The database verdict lists High, Medium, and Low as playable at 1080p, with High being the best playable setting at 61 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation is much tighter. Only Low is playable, averaging 61 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 47, 39, and 30 FPS respectively. Users at 1440p must run the game at the lowest settings to maintain smooth performance, and even then, they are only one frame per second above the threshold.

At 3840x2160, the answer is no. No setting reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 33 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The verdict confirms no playable settings at 4K. This hardware should not be considered for 4K gaming in Minimum unless the user is willing to accept severe frame rate drops.

Overall, this combination is best suited for 1080p gaming with medium to high settings. It can handle 1440p only at the lowest settings, and it cannot handle 4K at all. The CPU is more than capable, but the GPU is the decisive factor in every scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3299 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. That places it in the lower portion of all systems tested, roughly in the 11th percentile from the top. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, is in the 78th percentile, so the pairing is deeply unbalanced.

What this ranking implies is that the vast majority of tested combinations deliver better performance in Minimum. The 413 combos ranked below this one would likely have even weaker GPUs or CPUs, but for users of this system, the practical takeaway is that it performs near the bottom of the database. The playable results at 1080p are a saving grace, but the inability to handle 4K and the marginal 1440p performance keep the ranking low.

The data also suggests that swapping the CPU for a different model would not change the ranking meaningfully, since the nearest CPU rivals all score within 0.5% of the Ryzen 5 7600. Swapping the GPU, however, would have a profound impact. A GPU with a higher benchmark score would move this combination up the rankings significantly, while a GPU similar to the GT 710 or GT 520MX would keep it in the same low range. For users of this system, the GPU is the component to watch, and the ranking reflects that reality clearly.