Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a robust gaming experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Measured frame rate data shows that this combination provides playable performance across all tested resolutions, though the headroom varies significantly between 4K and 1080p. The data indicates that the RTX 3080, with its 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth, remains a capable performer, while the Ryzen 5 9600X's Zen 5 architecture with 6 cores and 12 threads ensures the CPU does not bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3080 and Ryzen 5 9600X combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS reaches 266, which is more than quadruple the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Moving up the quality ladder, Medium settings yield an average of 202.9 FPS, while High settings produce 172.4 FPS. Even at the most demanding Ultra preset, the system maintains an average of 131.5 FPS. This demonstrates a performance scaling pattern where each step from Low to Ultra costs roughly 30-50 FPS, but even the worst-case scenario at this resolution leaves substantial performance on the table.

The 2560x1440 resolution shows a similar trend but with reduced absolute numbers. Low settings achieve 171.8 FPS average, which is a 35% reduction compared to 1080p Low. Medium settings deliver 133.3 FPS, while High settings drop to 111.3 FPS. At Ultra, the average settles at 84.7 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 87.1 FPS, compared to 134.5 FPS at 1080p, indicating that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution increases, but the overall experience remains fluid.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes more dramatically. Low settings produce an average of 92.6 FPS, which is still well above playable. Medium settings drop to 70.4 FPS, and High settings fall further to 58.5 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 46.1 FPS average, showing that the most demanding configuration overwhelms the RTX 3080's capabilities. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 50% performance penalty, which is steeper than at lower resolutions, confirming that pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become critical constraints at 3840x2160.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the best settings that maintain at least 60 FPS are Ultra, with an average of 131.5 FPS. Since this is the highest preset available and it clears the playable threshold by a wide margin, there is no reason to compromise on visual quality at this resolution. The data shows that even the most demanding settings leave 71.5 FPS of headroom above the minimum playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, achieving an average of 84.7 FPS. This is 24.7 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable buffer for demanding scenes. The fact that Ultra is the recommended choice at 1440p indicates that the combination of the Ryzen 5 9600X's strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1253, Geekbench single-core of 2923) and the RTX 3080's compute capabilities (29.77 TFLOPS FP32) is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the best settings that stay at or above 60 FPS are Medium, with an average of 70.4 FPS. High settings at 4K average 58.5 FPS, which just misses the 60 FPS mark, while Ultra drops to 46.1 FPS. Therefore, Medium is the highest preset that maintains playable performance at 4K. The 10.4 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that a small reduction in visual fidelity yields a significant performance improvement, making Medium the pragmatic choice for 4K gaming with this hardware.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals how the CPU and GPU workloads shift across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the CPU's role is more prominent, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings (266 FPS) where the GPU has less work per frame. The Ryzen 5 9600X's single-thread performance, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 and Passmark single-thread score of 4570, allows it to feed frames quickly to the GPU. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 50.6% frame rate drop, which suggests the GPU begins to take on more responsibility as settings increase, but the CPU still has headroom.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts toward the GPU. The frame rate drop from Low to Ultra is 50.7% (from 171.8 to 84.7 FPS), which is nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. However, the absolute numbers are lower, indicating that the RTX 3080's pixel processing capabilities (164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate, 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate) are becoming the limiting factor. The CPU's multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17528.5, Passmark multithread score of 30027) appears sufficient to keep up, as the frame rates remain high.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant component. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 50.2% drop (from 92.6 to 46.1 FPS), but the absolute performance is much lower than at 1440p or 1080p. This indicates that the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily at 4K. The fact that Medium settings (70.4 FPS) outperform High settings (58.5 FPS) by 20% underscores that the GPU's memory subsystem and shading units (8704) are the primary constraints at this resolution. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases, with the Ryzen 5 9600X providing adequate support without becoming a bottleneck.

The Verdict

This system can run Minimum at all three tested resolutions, but with varying degrees of visual quality. At 1920x1080, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, with Ultra delivering 131.5 FPS. This is a fully playable configuration with no compromises needed.

At 2560x1440, the system also achieves playable performance at all settings, with Ultra averaging 84.7 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for competitive or immersive play, and the 24.7 FPS buffer above the threshold offers some protection against frame drops in intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is more nuanced. The system can run the game at Low (92.6 FPS) and Medium (70.4 FPS) settings, both of which exceed the 60 FPS threshold. However, High settings at 58.5 FPS and Ultra at 46.1 FPS fall below playable. Therefore, for 4K gaming, users must select Medium or lower settings to maintain smooth performance. The data shows that Medium is the best playable preset at 4K, offering a balance between visual quality and frame rate.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (avg score 29656, deltaPct 0.2) performs nearly identically to the Ryzen 5 9600X (avg score 29713). The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (avg score 29868, deltaPct -0.5) is slightly ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (avg score 29879, deltaPct -0.6) and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (avg score 29955, deltaPct -0.8) are marginally faster. These CPUs would deliver comparable frame rates in Minimum, with differences well within the margin of error for gaming benchmarks.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (avg benchmark score 23172) has nearest rivals that are statistically indistinguishable in performance. The NVIDIA P106-100 (avg score 23249, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (avg score 23250, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (avg score 23273, deltaPct -0.4), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (avg score 23276, deltaPct -0.4) all score within 0.4% of the RTX 3080. In practice, any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Minimum at the tested resolutions and settings, though the RTX 3080's specific features like ray tracing cores (68) and tensor cores (272) may not be utilized by this 2014 title.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 1048 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 71.8th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 72% of configurations. The high ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which show strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, with playable 4K performance at lower settings. The rank reflects that while this hardware is not top-tier by 2024 standards, it remains well above average for this specific game, which was released in 2014 and has modest system requirements compared to modern titles.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable setting at 3840x2160?

A: Medium settings, which achieve an average of 70.4 FPS. High settings fall just below the 60 FPS threshold at 58.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 46.1 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, Ultra settings at 1440p produce an average of 84.7 FPS, which is 24.7 FPS above the playable threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) exceed 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's performance at 1080p compare to 4K?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 131.5, while at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, it drops to 46.1. This represents a 64.9% reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 9600X or the RTX 3080 more important for performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the primary factor. The frame rate scaling from Low (171.8 FPS) to Ultra (84.7 FPS) shows a 50.7% drop, indicating the RTX 3080's processing limits are reached. The CPU's single-thread score of 2183.5 in Cinebench R23 suggests it provides sufficient support without bottlenecking.

Q: What are the playable settings at 1920x1080?

A: All settings are playable at 1080p. Low averages 266 FPS, Medium 202.9 FPS, High 172.4 FPS, and Ultra 131.5 FPS, all well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 1048 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper 28% of all configurations tested for Minimum. This ranking is supported by the measured FPS data showing strong 1080p and 1440p performance.