Minimum

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER in Minimum spans three resolutions and four quality presets. The measurements show a clear progression: higher resolutions and higher settings both reduce frame rates, but the magnitude of the drop differs significantly between the two factors.

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its strongest results. On Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 169.3 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average settles at 129 FPS. High settings produce 111.4 FPS average. Ultra, the most demanding preset, still holds an average of 82.5 FPS. Every preset at this resolution clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a comfortable margin, with even the slowest setting category more than 20 FPS above the threshold.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the frame rates compress but remain broadly playable. Low settings average 107.2 FPS. Medium drops to 86.1 FPS. High comes in at 71.2 FPS. Ultra falls below the playable threshold, averaging 56.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is roughly 50 FPS, which indicates that the quality preset has a substantial impact on performance. The data shows that High remains viable for smooth play, but Ultra does not.

At 3840x2160, the same GPU and CPU combination struggles. Low settings average 57.5 FPS, just short of the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 45 FPS. High averages 37.2 FPS. Ultra averages 27.9 FPS. None of the presets at this resolution reach 60 FPS average, and the highest setting produces less than half the frame rate needed for smooth gameplay. The scaling from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is steep, with even Low settings losing nearly 50 FPS compared to the same preset at the lower resolution.

The minimum and maximum frame rate values are not recorded in the database for any resolution or preset, so only average frame rates are available for analysis. The absence of min/max data means the analysis relies on sustained average performance rather than frame time consistency.

Across all twelve measured configurations, the trend is consistent. Resolution scaling matters more than preset scaling at the upper end. Going from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average from 111.4 FPS to 71.2 FPS, a drop of roughly 36%. Going from 1440p to 4K at High settings reduces the average from 71.2 FPS to 37.2 FPS, a drop of roughly 48%. The 4K resolution imposes a heavy load that this combination cannot overcome.

For users targeting 60 FPS, the usable range is clear. At 1080p, all four presets qualify. At 1440p, three of four presets qualify (Low, Medium, High). At 4K, no preset qualifies. The best playable configuration at 1440p is High with an average of 71.2 FPS. The best playable configuration at 1080p is Ultra with an average of 82.5 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: No. The database shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The highest average frame rate at this resolution is 57.5 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets at 4K average between 27.9 FPS and 45 FPS.

Q: What is the best quality setting at 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: High settings provide the best visual quality while remaining playable, with an average of 71.2 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution average 56.7 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the system ever exceed 120 FPS average?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average frame rate is 169.3 FPS. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average is 129 FPS. These are the only two configurations in the recorded data that surpass 120 FPS average.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings?

A: The loss varies by preset. At Low settings, the average drops from 169.3 FPS to 107.2 FPS. At Medium, it drops from 129 FPS to 86.1 FPS. At High, it drops from 111.4 FPS to 71.2 FPS. At Ultra, it drops from 82.5 FPS to 56.7 FPS. The relative loss is roughly 35% to 40% across presets.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck at 3840x2160?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rates at 4K are very low across all presets, and the gap between Low (57.5 FPS) and Ultra (27.9 FPS) shows that the rendering load is the dominant constraint. The CPU, a Ryzen 5 9600X with strong single-thread and multi-thread scores, is unlikely to be the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER comparable to other GPUs in the database?

A: The database lists the RTX 2060 SUPER with an average benchmark score of 18093 and a percentile rank of 62 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (score 18159, delta -0.4%), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (score 18189, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon RX 460 (score 18373, delta -1.5%), and Intel Arc A770M (score 18383, delta -1.6%). These deltas are all within roughly 2% of the RTX 2060 SUPER's average score.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data reveals how the balance between CPU and GPU shifts across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers very high frame rates, which suggests both components have enough headroom to keep up with the game's demands. The jump from 129 FPS at Medium to 169.3 FPS at Low indicates that the GPU is doing less work at lower settings, but the CPU is still feeding frames fast enough to maintain high output.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop noticeably, but the system remains playable on most presets. The gap between Low (107.2 FPS) and Ultra (56.7 FPS) shows that the GPU is increasingly responsible for the frame rate. The CPU, which has a high single-thread score of 2923 in Geekbench and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5, is unlikely to be the limiting factor at this resolution. The GPU's rendering workload is the primary determinant.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The average frame rates range from 27.9 FPS at Ultra to 57.5 FPS at Low. This spread of roughly 30 FPS across presets is larger in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, but the overall performance is too low for smooth play. The RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, appears to be the clear constraint. The CPU, by contrast, shows no signs of limiting performance at this resolution based on the data.

The scaling between resolutions also points to the GPU as the limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 111.4 FPS at 1080p to 71.2 FPS at 1440p, then to 37.2 FPS at 4K. This pattern is consistent with GPU-bound performance, where each step up in resolution increases the pixel count and therefore the rendering load. The CPU's performance does not change with resolution, so the frame rate decline must come from the GPU.

The preset scaling further confirms this interpretation. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 86.8 FPS (169.3 vs 82.5). At 1440p, the difference is 50.5 FPS (107.2 vs 56.7). At 4K, the difference is 29.6 FPS (57.5 vs 27.9). As resolution increases, the absolute gap between presets narrows, which indicates that the GPU is already saturated at higher resolutions and has less headroom to absorb additional settings increases.

For users deciding between CPU and GPU upgrades, the data for this specific game points toward the GPU as the more impactful component at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the system has enough performance to max out the game with room to spare. At 1440p, the system can handle High settings but not Ultra. At 4K, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS even on Low. A stronger GPU would likely shift the playable range upward, while a stronger CPU would have limited effect given the already high frame rates at 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database provides nearest rival comparisons for both the CPU and GPU in this combination. These comparisons help identify what other hardware would behave similarly in Minimum.

For the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, the nearest rivals by average benchmark score are all within a narrow band. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE scores 29656, which is 0.2% higher than the Ryzen 5 9600X's average score of 29713. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868, a delta of -0.5%. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29879, a delta of -0.6%. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 29955, a delta of -0.8%. These four processors would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum when paired with the same GPU, since their average benchmark scores are within 1% of each other.

The CPU's percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs indicates that it sits in the upper tier of processors in the database. Its average benchmark score of 29713 places it well above the median, and its nearest rivals are all Ryzen 7 models from various generations. For Minimum, a game from 2014, the CPU has ample headroom. The game's rendering demands are more likely to stress the GPU than a modern six-core, twelve-thread processor with a 5.40 GHz boost clock.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, the nearest rivals are also tightly clustered. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile scores 18159, a delta of -0.4% compared to the RTX 2060 SUPER's average score of 18093. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 scores 18189, a delta of -0.5%. The AMD Radeon RX 460 scores 18373, a delta of -1.5%. The Intel Arc A770M scores 18383, a delta of -1.6%. All four GPUs have average scores within 1.6% of each other, meaning they should deliver similar frame rates in Minimum when paired with a comparable CPU.

The GPU's percentile rank of 62 among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier. This aligns with the measured performance in Minimum, where the combination handles 1080p easily, manages 1440p with some settings compromises, and cannot sustain 60 FPS at 4K. A user with a different GPU from the nearest rival list, such as the RTX 3060 Mobile or the Radeon Pro 5700, could expect nearly identical behavior in this game.

It is importantly the RTX 2060 SUPER is marked as end-of-life production status, while the Ryzen 5 9600X is active. This means the GPU is no longer manufactured, while the CPU remains current. However, for the specific game Minimum, the performance characteristics of the nearest rivals are close enough that any of these alternatives would produce similar results.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's overall ranking of tested combinations for Minimum, the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X plus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2635 out of 3712 total combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the field, around the 71st percentile from the top. The rank reflects the combination's performance across all measured configurations, not just the playable ones.

The rank of 2635 out of 3712 means the system outperforms roughly 29% of all tested combos in this game. This is a modest result for a CPU that ranks in the 81st percentile among all CPUs and a GPU that ranks in the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. The gap between the component percentiles and the combo rank suggests that the GPU holds the combination back. A stronger GPU paired with the same CPU would likely improve the combo's rank substantially.

The combo rank also accounts for the fact that Minimum is an older title, released in 2014. Modern hardware tends to run it well at lower resolutions, but the game's engine still scales with resolution and settings in ways that stress the GPU. The RTX 2060 SUPER, while capable at 1080p, lacks the raw throughput needed for high-refresh 1440p or any 4K play.

The measured data supports this interpretation. At 1080p, the combination delivers playable frame rates at every preset, with Ultra averaging 82.5 FPS. At 1440p, three of four presets are playable. At 4K, none are. The combo rank of 2635 out of 3712 reflects these mixed results, where the system handles the game well at mainstream resolutions but falls short at the high end.

For context, the total of 3712 tested combinations represents a wide range of hardware pairings, from entry-level to flagship. A rank of 2635 places this combo in the lower third of that field. Users interested in Maximum-quality gameplay at 4K would need to look at higher-ranked combinations, while users targeting 1080p or 1440p would find this combo adequate.

The Verdict

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER can run Minimum, but the playable range depends heavily on the target resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable. The database lists all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable, with the best setting being Ultra at an average of 82.5 FPS. This exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by more than 20 FPS, leaving headroom for demanding scenes or background tasks. Users with 1080p monitors can enable maximum quality and still maintain smooth frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the system remains playable on most presets. High settings are the best playable option, averaging 71.2 FPS. Low and Medium also clear the threshold at 107.2 FPS and 86.1 FPS respectively. Ultra does not make the cut, averaging 56.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Users at 1440p should stick to High or lower for a consistent 60 FPS experience.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS on any preset. The database records no playable settings at this resolution. The closest option is Low, which averages 57.5 FPS, just short of the threshold. Medium averages 45 FPS, High averages 37.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 27.9 FPS. 4K gaming is not viable with this combination for Minimum.

The playable threshold in the database is set at 60 FPS. Based on the measured data, the verdict is clear: this combo is a solid 1080p performer, a good 1440p performer with settings compromises, and unsuitable for 4K. Users who prioritize high refresh rates at 1080p will find plenty of headroom, with Low settings delivering 169.3 FPS and Medium delivering 129 FPS. Users who want 1440p Ultra will need a more powerful GPU.

The CPU is not the limiting factor in any of these scenarios. The Ryzen 5 9600X has strong benchmark scores across single-thread and multi-thread tests, including a Geekbench single-core score of 2923 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17528.5. The GPU, with its mid-range percentile rank of 62, is the component that determines the playable envelope. For Minimum specifically, the RTX 2060 SUPER provides enough performance for mainstream gaming but not for high-resolution high-settings play.