Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2951 out of 3712 tested combos in the database for Minimum. This places the combination in the 21st percentile of all recorded system configurations, meaning roughly four out of five tested combos deliver a higher average frame rate in this title. The ranking reflects a mid-pack pairing for a game released in 2014, where modern hardware tends to saturate the engine's performance ceiling.

The CPU sits at the 84th percentile among all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 34260. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 at 34222 (0.1% slower), the AMD EPYC 4244P at 34220 (0.1% slower), the Intel Core i5-13450HX at 34333 (0.2% faster), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H at 34083 (0.5% slower). The GPU, meanwhile, records a 58th percentile standing among all graphics cards, with an average score of 15290. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 at 15283 (0.0% delta), the AMD Radeon 680M at 15270 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM at 15199 (0.6% slower), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 at 15171 (0.8% slower). The near-identical scores among these GPUs indicate that the RTX 2060 sits in a tightly clustered performance band where no single rival holds a meaningful lead.

The disparity between CPU percentile and GPU percentile is notable. The processor is far stronger relative to its peers than the graphics card, which suggests that in Minimum the frame rate is more likely to be constrained by the GPU's rendering throughput than by the CPU's geometry or draw-call processing. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation, as the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution, a pattern typical of GPU-bound workloads.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, every tested preset clears the 60 FPS threshold. The lowest recorded average is 76.5 FPS at Ultra settings, while Low reaches 153.8 FPS, Medium hits 117.2 FPS, and High delivers 101.6 FPS.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High, with an average of 63.3 FPS. Low averages 99.3 FPS and Medium averages 78.3 FPS, but Ultra drops to 52 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, none of the tested presets reach 60 FPS. The closest result is Low at 51.8 FPS, followed by Medium at 42.6 FPS, High at 34 FPS, and Ultra at 25.1 FPS.

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

A: High settings at 1920x1080 average 101.6 FPS, while the same preset at 2560x1440 averages 63.3 FPS. That represents a 38.3% reduction in average frame rate when increasing resolution by roughly 1.78 times the pixel count.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 bottleneck the Ryzen 7 3700X in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile among GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 3700X ranks in the 84th percentile among CPUs. At 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is 26.7 FPS (51.8 versus 25.1), a spread that grows with resolution, confirming GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What settings should be avoided entirely?

A: At 3840x2160, all settings should be avoided if the goal is 60 FPS, as even Low fails to reach it. At 2560x1440, Ultra should be avoided since it only averages 52 FPS. At 1920x1080, no settings need to be avoided, as all four presets remain above 60 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 7 3700X's nearest rivals in the database's CPU rankings are all within a 0.5% average score delta. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and AMD EPYC 4244P are essentially identical in throughput, while the Intel Core i5-13450HX edges ahead by 0.2% and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H trails by 0.5%. Any of these processors would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Minimum when paired with the same GPU, since the game's performance at the tested resolutions is not CPU-limited. The Ryzen 7 3700X's advantage in the 84th percentile CPU ranking is therefore not a decisive factor in this title.

On the GPU side, the RTX 2060's nearest rivals form an even tighter cluster. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 matches it within 0.0%, the AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% slower, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% slower. For a buyer or analyst looking at comparable hardware, swapping the RTX 2060 for any of these cards would yield essentially the same average frame rates in Minimum. The GTX 580 is particularly interesting because it is a much older architecture, yet its database score lands almost exactly on the RTX 2060's mark, suggesting that Minimum's rendering workload does not heavily leverage the newer GPU features such as ray tracing or tensor cores.

When considering a full system alternative, a configuration with the Ryzen 7 3700X and any of these rival GPUs would behave similarly. The CPU's 0.1% to 0.5% deltas against its nearest rivals are negligible in a game where the GPU is the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, where frame rates range from 76.5 to 153.8 FPS, the CPU has more headroom to matter, but the 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 processor with a 4.40 GHz boost clock and 32 MB of L3 cache already provides enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to keep up with the RTX 2060's output.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum, but the playable range depends heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, the combination clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset, including Ultra with an average of 76.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, High settings average 63.3 FPS, which is playable, but Ultra falls to 52 FPS and misses the mark. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with Low being the fastest option at 51.8 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: 1080p is fully playable across all settings, 1440p is playable up to High settings, and 4K is not playable at any tested setting. For a game from 2014, this is a reasonable outcome. The RTX 2060, despite being an end-of-life product in the database, still delivers a smooth experience at mainstream resolutions and settings. The Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 84th percentile CPU ranking, does not hold the system back. Users targeting 4K would need to lower resolution or accept sub-60 frame rates, as the highest recorded 4K average is 51.8 FPS at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages are as follows: Low runs at 153.8 FPS, Medium at 117.2 FPS, High at 101.6 FPS, and Ultra at 76.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 77.3 FPS, showing that Minimum's graphics presets have a substantial impact on frame rate even at the lowest resolution tested. Every preset stays comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra retaining a 16.5 FPS margin.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 99.3 FPS, Medium at 78.3 FPS, High at 63.3 FPS, and Ultra at 52 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 11.3 FPS, which is the difference between playable and not playable at this resolution. Low to Medium costs 21 FPS, and Medium to High costs 15 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear in absolute terms, but the Ultra preset crosses the 60 FPS boundary.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop significantly: Low at 51.8 FPS, Medium at 42.6 FPS, High at 34 FPS, and Ultra at 25.1 FPS. Even the lowest preset falls 8.2 FPS short of the playable threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra is 26.7 FPS, and the gap between Medium and High is 8.6 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain smooth frame rates at this pixel count, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The data does not include minimum or maximum FPS values, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. This means transient dips below 60 FPS at 1440p High or 1080p Ultra cannot be ruled out, but the averages are high enough that such dips would need to be severe to make the experience unplayable.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 76.5 FPS. This gives the user the full visual experience while retaining a 16.5 FPS buffer above the playable threshold. There is no reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution, as even the heaviest settings leave enough headroom.

At 2560x1440, the best setting is High, averaging 63.3 FPS. This preset clears the 60 FPS bar by only 3.3 FPS, which is a slim margin. Medium averages 78.3 FPS and would be a safer choice for users who prioritize frame rate stability, but the database verdict lists High as the best playable option. Ultra is not recommended, as its 52 FPS average falls 8 FPS short.

At 3840x2160, no preset qualifies as playable. The database records an empty playable settings list and no best settings value. Users at this resolution must either accept sub-60 frame rates or reduce the resolution to 1440p or 1080p. Low at 51.8 FPS is the highest average available, but it still misses the threshold by 8.2 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in component bottleneck behavior across resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU has more influence because frame rates are high enough that the Ryzen 7 3700X's single-thread performance, as measured by its 2656 Passmark single-thread score and 204 Cinebench R15 single-core score, can keep up with the GPU's output. The 153.8 FPS Low result at 1080p suggests the engine is capable of very high frame rates, and the 77.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution indicates that the GPU is still doing most of the work, but the CPU is not the limiting factor.

At 1440p, the GPU becomes more dominant. The frame rates drop by roughly 35% to 40% across all settings compared to 1080p, which aligns with the increased pixel count. The RTX 2060's 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 201.6 GTexel/s texture rate are being taxed more heavily, while the CPU's workload remains similar. The fact that Ultra at 1440p falls below 60 FPS while High stays above it suggests the GPU is hitting a rendering ceiling around 63 FPS with this preset.

At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly the bottleneck. The highest average, 51.8 FPS at Low, is still below the playable threshold, and the CPU has no ability to compensate. The RTX 2060's 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate and 48 ROPs are simply not enough to fill 8.3 million pixels per frame at 60 FPS with this game's shader complexity. The Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 84th percentile CPU ranking and 8899 Geekbench multi-core score, would have ample headroom if paired with a stronger GPU, but in this configuration it waits on the graphics card at every resolution above 1080p.

The scaling pattern between resolutions and presets confirms this division of labor. Going from 1080p Low to 4K Low costs 102 FPS (153.8 to 51.8), while going from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra costs 51.4 FPS (76.5 to 25.1). The absolute drop is larger at Low settings because the frame rate starts higher, but the relative drop is steeper at Ultra, where the GPU is already near its limits. This is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where higher presets increase pixel shading and memory bandwidth demands, both of which fall on the RTX 2060. The CPU's role remains constant across these changes, as its workload is determined more by draw calls and game logic than by resolution or texture quality.