Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a surprisingly strong performance profile for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The data shows this pairing is fully capable of running the game at high frame rates across mainstream resolutions, though 4K requires a careful hand with settings. The measured results indicate a clear hierarchy: 1080p is effortless, 1440p is excellent, and 2160p is playable only at reduced presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 3840x2160, the combo starts with a Low preset average of 70 FPS, which is the only playable setting at this resolution. Stepping up to Medium drops the average to 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. High settings yield an average of 45 FPS, and Ultra dips further to 34 FPS. The pattern is linear and predictable, with each preset increase costing roughly 10-16 FPS on average.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope expands considerably. The Low preset produces an average of 130 FPS, while Medium reaches 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High settings deliver 84 FPS, and Ultra maintains a solid 64 FPS average. All four presets at 1440p stay above the 60 FPS playable threshold, which is noteworthy for a mid-range GPU. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 66 FPS, indicating that the hardware has ample headroom for visual fidelity upgrades.

At 1920x1080, the results are exceptional across the board. The Low preset hits 202 FPS, Medium runs at 155 FPS with a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS, High achieves 130 FPS, and Ultra still manages 99 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 103 FPS, showing that even the most demanding preset leaves significant performance on the table. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings scale proportionally with resolution: 131 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 46 FPS at 4K, which suggests consistent frame pacing rather than sudden drops.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals which component carries the workload. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra is 103 FPS, a massive gap that points to the GPU being the primary bottleneck. The RTX 4060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is clearly sufficient for this title at lower resolutions, but the rendering load scales steeply with preset quality. The Ryzen 5 9600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to be feeding the GPU adequately, as frame rates remain high even at the Low preset where CPU overhead would be more prominent.

At 2560x1440, the performance drop from 1080p is roughly 35-40% across all presets, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's role diminishes further as resolution increases, as the pixel fill rate and shading demands outpace the processor's ability to influence frame times. The Ryzen 5 9600X's single-thread performance, reflected in a Passmark single-thread score of 4570 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2923, ensures that even at 4K, the CPU does not become a limiting factor. The 3DMark max threads score of 7590 indicates sufficient multi-threaded capacity for a title from 2014, which is unlikely to utilize more than a few cores effectively.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4060 becomes the clear limiting factor. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 16 FPS, while the same preset jump at 1080p costs 47 FPS. This narrowing delta at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU saturation — the graphics card is running out of compute and memory bandwidth headroom. The CPU's contribution is minimal at this point, as the 70 FPS Low preset result at 4K demonstrates that the processor can handle the game logic and draw calls without issue, but the GPU cannot maintain playable rates on higher presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution. At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, which produces an average of 70 FPS. This is the only playable option at 4K, as Medium drops to 54 FPS and High falls to 45 FPS. The 70 FPS average provides some headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, but there is little margin for demanding scenes or moments of high action.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is the best setting with an average of 64 FPS. This is a tight margin above the playable threshold, but it is stable enough to recommend for a visually rich experience. High settings offer 84 FPS as a safer alternative, and Medium runs at 100 FPS for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity. The fact that Ultra is playable at 1440p is a strong result for the RTX 4060, as many titles at this resolution require turning down shadows or reflections to maintain smooth performance.

At 1920x1080, Ultra is the best setting with an average of 99 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for frame rate dips without falling below playability. The 99 FPS average at Ultra with this GPU suggests that the game is not demanding enough to stress the hardware, and even the most demanding preset cannot push the combo below playable territory. The 155 FPS Medium average with a 131 FPS minimum provides an even more stable experience for competitive play, but Ultra is the optimal choice for visual quality.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how other hardware might behave in this game. For the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, the closest performance match is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which has an average benchmark score of 29656 compared to the 9600X's 29713, a delta of 0.2%. This means the 5755GE would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minimum — the difference would be imperceptible in practice. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840H scores 29868, which is 0.5% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT scores 29879, 0.6% higher. These processors would all produce essentially the same results, as the game is not CPU-intensive at any resolution tested.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon HD 7790, which has an average score of 17666 versus the RTX 4060's 17639, a delta of -0.2%. This is a surprising pairing given the generational gap, but the benchmark data indicates they perform similarly in aggregate. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588, 0.3% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551, 0.5% lower. In practical terms for Minimum, a user with an HD 7790 or Radeon 780M would see frame rates within a few percent of the RTX 4060, meaning the same settings recommendations would apply. The RTX 4060's 8 GB memory capacity is not a differentiator at 1080p or 1440p for this title, though it could matter at 4K where the GPU is already the bottleneck.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produce an average of 70 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold, so Low is the only playable preset at 3840x2160.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 2560x1440 with an average of 64 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, though High at 84 FPS offers more headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which is 0.2% lower than the HD 7790's 17666. In Minimum, frame rates would be nearly identical, so the same settings recommendations apply.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 9600X a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 202 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them. The 6-core, 12-thread processor has ample capacity for this 2014 title.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 155 FPS with a minimum of 131 FPS and maximum of 178 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and maximum of 115 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested hardware combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2000 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle range. This percentile reflects its strong 1080p and 1440p performance, while 4K results hold it back from a higher ranking.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2000 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the 46th percentile of all hardware pairings in the database, which is a respectable position for a mid-range setup. The ranking is heavily influenced by the 4K results, where the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus limit performance to Low settings only. At 1080p and 1440p, the combo performs like a much higher-ranked pairing, with Ultra settings playable at both resolutions.

The CPU's contribution to the ranking is minimal, as the Ryzen 5 9600X's performance is more than sufficient for this game. Its 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is a strong processor overall, but in Minimum, even a much weaker CPU would likely produce similar frame rates given the GPU-bound nature of the title. The RTX 4060's 61st percentile among all GPUs is the more relevant metric, as it dictates the ceiling for frame rates and settings. The gap between the CPU and GPU percentiles — 81 versus 61 — confirms that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing, and users seeking higher 4K performance would need to upgrade the GPU rather than the processor.