Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination delivers a wide spread of performance in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Measured data shows that this pairing is highly capable at standard resolutions, but 4K gaming requires careful settings selection to maintain fluid frame rates. The benchmark results indicate a clear progression from demanding 4K Ultra settings, where the system averages 33.4 FPS, to extremely high refresh-rate territory at 1080p Low, where it hits 203.1 FPS. The playable threshold is defined at 60 FPS, and the system crosses this mark in nine out of twelve tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 paired with the 9800X3D shows substantial headroom across all presets. The lowest average FPS at this resolution is 100.6 on Ultra settings, which is 67.7% above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings produce an average of 153.8 FPS, while High settings reach 133 FPS. The Low preset delivers the highest result at 203.1 FPS, indicating that the system is far from being constrained at 1080p, even with the most demanding visual options enabled.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling cost. Ultra settings yield an average of 65.7 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS bar by a narrow margin. High settings average 81.8 FPS, providing more comfort, while Medium settings reach 101.1 FPS. The Low preset at this resolution achieves 128 FPS, demonstrating that even at 1440p, the system can push well beyond standard 60 Hz displays when visual fidelity is reduced.

The 3840x2160 results reveal the most significant performance drop. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 33.4, which is roughly half of the playable threshold. High settings improve this to 44 FPS, still below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings at 55.7 FPS remain shy of the mark, however, the Low preset reaches 71.7 FPS, making it the only 4K configuration that is playable according to the 60 FPS standard. The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier at 4K costs roughly 10-12 FPS on average, with the gap between Medium and Low being the largest at 16 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only on Low settings. The measured data shows 71.7 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Low settings, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings (55.7 FPS), High (44 FPS), and Ultra (33.4 FPS) all fall short of playable performance at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p that stays above 60 FPS?

A: Ultra settings are playable at 2560x1440 with an average of 65.7 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold, and all other presets (Low: 128 FPS, Medium: 101.1 FPS, High: 81.8 FPS) also exceed it.

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

A: The scaling cost varies by preset. At Ultra, the drop from 100.6 FPS (1080p) to 65.7 FPS (1440p) represents a 34.7% reduction. At Low, the drop from 203.1 FPS to 128 FPS is a 37% reduction. High settings drop from 133 FPS to 81.8 FPS (38.5%), and Medium from 153.8 FPS to 101.1 FPS (34.3%).

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a bottleneck at 1080p Ultra?

A: Based on the data, the system still produces 100.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is well above the playable threshold. The GPU is not limiting the experience to sub-60 FPS levels, but the 44% gap between Ultra and Low at 1080p suggests that the GPU is handling significant load from the higher preset.

*Q: What is the rank of this CPU+GPU combination among all tested combos in Minimum?*

A: The combo ranks 1989 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the 53.6th percentile. This indicates that while it is not a top-tier configuration for this specific game, it performs better than a majority of tested systems.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra result indicate a CPU or GPU limitation?

A: The 33.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, compared to 100.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra, shows a 66.8% performance drop when resolution increases. This steep scaling points to the GPU being the primary constraint at 4K, as the CPU's role typically diminishes at higher resolutions and the frame rate falls proportionally with pixel count.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results illustrate how the balance between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 4060 shifts across resolutions. At 1080p, the system produces high frame rates even at Low settings (203.1 FPS), suggesting that the CPU is feeding the GPU efficiently. The 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is well-suited to handle the game's logic at these frame rates, as evidenced by the 153.8 FPS result at Medium and 133 FPS at High.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to take on a more dominant role. The average frame rate at Ultra drops to 65.7 FPS, which is 34.7% lower than at 1080p Ultra. This reduction is consistent with the increased pixel load on the RTX 4060, which has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit bus. The CPU still provides enough throughput to avoid becoming a bottleneck, as the Low preset at 1440p reaches 128 FPS, indicating that the processor can sustain high instruction throughput when the GPU workload is lighter.

The 4K results clearly show the GPU as the limiting factor. The RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient to maintain 60 FPS at Ultra settings, where the average is 33.4 FPS. The CPU's influence is minimal at this point; the same processor that enables 203.1 FPS at 1080p Low cannot overcome the GPU's rendering limits at 4K. The fact that Low settings at 4K yield 71.7 FPS, while Medium drops to 55.7 FPS, shows that the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are the deciding factors at this resolution.

The scaling between presets further clarifies the component roles. At 1080p, the difference between Ultra and Low is 102.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU has headroom to spare and the CPU is not the primary constraint. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 62.3 FPS, and at 4K it compresses to 38.3 FPS. This pattern is typical of a system where the GPU becomes increasingly saturated as resolution increases, while the CPU's contribution remains relatively constant.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The RTX 4060's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with a delta of -0.2%, the AMD Radeon 780M at +0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at +0.5%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at +0.7%. These GPUs would likely produce very similar frame rates in Minimum at the same settings, given their near-identical average scores (ranging from 17509 to 17666). A user with a Radeon 780M integrated GPU, for instance, could expect comparable performance to the RTX 4060 in this game, though the 4060's higher percentile ranking (61) suggests it may have advantages in other titles.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D has close rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (delta +0.4%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (delta -0.7%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (delta +0.7%), and AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (delta -0.8%). These processors score between 39485 and 40081 in average benchmarks, compared to the 9800X3D's 39768. In Minimum, which appears to be more GPU-bound at higher resolutions, swapping to any of these CPUs would likely yield minimal FPS changes, as the difference in average score is under 1%.

The combination of a mid-range GPU with a high-end CPU means that the overall system performance is closely tied to the GPU's capabilities. For users considering alternatives, a system with a Ryzen 7 7700 and any of the listed rival GPUs would behave nearly identically in this game, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the GPU is the primary factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds the 1989th position out of 3712 total configurations. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, ranking better than 53.6% of combinations. While this is not a top-tier result, it is important to note that the ranking reflects performance across all settings and resolutions tested, and the system's ability to hit 60 FPS at 1440p Ultra and 1080p Ultra contributes positively to its standing.

The rank of 1989 suggests that many other CPUs paired with more powerful GPUs outperform this combo in Minimum, particularly at 4K where the RTX 4060's limitations are exposed. However, the 9800X3D's strong single-threaded performance (1212 in 3dmark single-thread, 4430 in passmark single-thread) helps ensure that the system does not fall further in the rankings due to CPU bottlenecks. The data shows that the combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it sacrifices rank at 4K due to the GPU's constraints.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum with playable performance at all tested resolutions, but with significant caveats at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four presets (Low: 203.1 FPS, Medium: 153.8 FPS, High: 133 FPS, Ultra: 100.6 FPS) clear the 60 FPS threshold with substantial margin, making this resolution ideal for high refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, including Ultra at 65.7 FPS, though the margin above 60 FPS is thinner. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (71.7 FPS) achieves playable frame rates; Medium (55.7 FPS), High (44 FPS), and Ultra (33.4 FPS) all fall below the 60 FPS standard.

For users prioritizing visual quality, the system delivers a fully playable experience at 1080p Ultra and 1440p Ultra. The 4K Ultra setting is not viable, but 4K Low provides a smooth experience for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity. The verdict is clear: this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K limited to low settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 71.7 FPS. This provides the best visual quality available while staying above the playable threshold, as Medium drops to 55.7 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are the highest playable preset, achieving an average of 65.7 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for 1440p, as it offers the full visual experience while keeping frame rates above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings produce 100.6 FPS on average, making it the best choice for this resolution. All presets exceed 60 FPS, but Ultra provides the maximum visual fidelity without compromising playability, and the 100.6 FPS result offers headroom for dips below the average in demanding scenes.