Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a highly capable gaming experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. The benchmark data, measured across three resolutions and four quality presets, shows that this combination handles the game with ease at standard display resolutions, while 4K Ultra remains a significant challenge. The following analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, the division of labor between CPU and GPU, optimal settings per resolution, and how this specific hardware pairing compares to other tested configurations in the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination provides a clear picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. With Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 211.1 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 163 FPS, while High settings yield 139.8 FPS. The most demanding preset at this resolution, Ultra, still produces a robust 107.1 FPS average. All four presets at 1080p remain far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the slowest preset delivering nearly double the required frame rate.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected impact of increased pixel count. Low settings average 137 FPS, which is a 35% reduction compared to the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 103 FPS, High settings average 90.9 FPS, and Ultra settings average 69.9 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, with the Ultra preset experiencing a 35% decrease from 107.1 to 69.9 FPS. Even at the highest quality setting for this resolution, the combo stays above the 60 FPS threshold, though the margin narrows considerably at Ultra.

The 3840x2160 resolution tells a different story. Here, performance falls below the playable threshold for most presets. Low settings average 73.6 FPS, which remains above 60 FPS. Medium settings drop to 55.6 FPS, High settings to 46.7 FPS, and Ultra settings to 37.6 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steep: the Low preset loses 46% of its average frame rate, while the Ultra preset loses 46% as well. Only the Low preset at 4K manages to stay above the 60 FPS marker, making it the sole playable option at this resolution.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all three resolutions: the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Ultra is 49% slower than Low. At 1440p, that gap grows to 49% as well. At 4K, Ultra is 49% slower than Low. This indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly burdened by the combination of higher resolution and higher quality settings, while the CPU overhead remains relatively constant.

CPU and GPU Roles

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with a Granite Ridge codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is substantial, and the processor supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23230 and a single-core score of 2080, placing it in the 87th percentile among all CPUs tested.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 3840 shading units, 120 tensor cores, and 30 RT cores. It features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 20891, and it sits in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. Its 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 299.6 GTexel/s texture rate indicate a mid-range graphics card aimed at 1080p and 1440p gaming.

In Minimum, the roles of CPU and GPU shift depending on resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU likely plays a more significant role, since the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly. The high frame rates at Low settings (211.1 FPS) suggest that the CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 and PassMark single-thread score of 4430, is sufficient to feed the GPU without bottlenecking. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 16 threads and high boost clock ensure that even the most demanding scenes at 1080p do not cause frame drops below the playable threshold.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes more heavily utilized. The frame rate drops of roughly 35% across all presets when moving from 1080p to 1440p indicate that the RTX 5060's rendering capabilities are now the limiting factor. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are adequate for this resolution, as evidenced by the Ultra preset still averaging 69.9 FPS. However, the scaling between presets remains proportional, suggesting that the CPU still has enough headroom to keep up with the GPU's output.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant bottleneck. The RTX 5060's 48 ROPs and 119.9 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at this resolution with demanding settings. The Ultra preset drops to 37.6 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The Low preset at 4K averages 73.6 FPS, indicating that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU is working near its limits. The CPU's role at 4K is diminished, as the GPU's rendering time dominates the frame time budget. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's strong multi-core performance, with a Geekbench multicore score of 18696, does not compensate for the GPU's inability to process pixels quickly enough at this resolution.

The scaling between presets at each resolution confirms this division of labor. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 104 FPS (211.1 to 107.1), a massive gap that reflects the GPU's ability to handle both settings quickly. At 4K, the same preset difference is only 36 FPS (73.6 to 37.6), showing that the GPU is so constrained that even lowering settings provides less absolute improvement. The CPU's benchmarks, including a PassMark multithread score of 40009 and a 3DMark max threads score of 10067, indicate it is not the limiting factor at any resolution tested.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold is identified as the best setting.

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 73.6 FPS. Medium settings drop to 55.6 FPS, falling below the threshold. High settings average 46.7 FPS, and Ultra settings average 37.6 FPS, both significantly below playability. Therefore, the best settings for 4K are Low, delivering 73.6 FPS average. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while allowing the game to run at its lowest quality preset.

At 2560x1440, all four presets remain playable. Low averages 137 FPS, Medium averages 103 FPS, High averages 90.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 69.9 FPS. The most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves 69.9 FPS. This is a reasonable margin above the threshold, though it is the closest call among the playable presets at this resolution. Players can use Ultra settings at 1440p and still enjoy smooth gameplay.

At 1920x1080, all presets are also playable, with frame rates ranging from 211.1 FPS at Low to 107.1 FPS at Ultra. The best settings are Ultra, which averages 107.1 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a substantial buffer for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p offers the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is nearly double the playability minimum.

In summary, the recommended settings are Low at 4K (73.6 FPS), Ultra at 1440p (69.9 FPS), and Ultra at 1080p (107.1 FPS). These choices maximize visual quality while ensuring the frame rate remains above the playable threshold.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with High settings?*

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 46.7, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Only the Low preset at 4K achieves a playable average of 73.6 FPS.

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

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 69.9 FPS, making it the most demanding setting that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets at this resolution (Low, Medium, High) also exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Low?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 211.1. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 73.6. The 1080p result is 187% faster than the 4K result.

Q: Does the RTX 5060 bottleneck the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in this game?

A: At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as frame rates drop sharply with higher presets. At 1080p, frame rates are high enough (up to 211.1 FPS at Low) that the CPU's performance is also relevant, but the GPU still handles the rendering load without issue.

Q: Is the CPU's performance a concern at any resolution?

A: No. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has strong multi-threaded and single-threaded scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23230 and a single-core score of 2080. The frame rates at all resolutions indicate the CPU is not causing a bottleneck, even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

Q: What is the playable threshold used in this analysis?

A: The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS average. Any preset with an average FPS at or above this value is considered playable. At 4K, only Low meets this criterion, while at 1440p and 1080p, all presets meet it.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provide context for its performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS has an average benchmark score of 39603, which is 0.4% lower than the 9800X3D's average of 39768. This makes the 8840HS a nearly identical performer. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048, which is 0.7% higher, placing it slightly ahead. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 scores 39485, 0.7% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 scores 40081, 0.8% higher. These four CPUs would behave similarly to the 9800X3D in Minimum, though the 9800X3D's 3D V-Cache, which contributes to its strong gaming performance, is not reflected in these rival scores.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, the nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance. The AMD Radeon 860M has an average score of 26401, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 5060's 26331. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 26421, also 0.3% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553, 0.8% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011, which is 1.2% higher. These GPUs would deliver frame rates in Minimum that are very close to those measured for the RTX 5060. However, it is important to note that the RTX 5060 has newer architecture features and higher memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s) compared to some of these alternatives, but the benchmark scores suggest comparable overall performance.

In practical terms, a system using the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS or AMD Ryzen 7 7700 instead of the 9800X3D, paired with an AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT instead of the RTX 5060, would likely produce similar average FPS results in Minimum at the tested resolutions. The deltaPct values indicate differences of less than 1.5% in either direction, which would translate to less than 2 FPS difference at most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 1784 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the middle of the database, at approximately the 48th percentile of all combinations. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing: the CPU is in the 87th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. The combination's overall rank is lower than either component's individual percentile, which indicates that the GPU's performance is the more limiting factor in this game.

Given that the playable threshold is 60 FPS, this combo comfortably exceeds it at 1080p and 1440p for all presets, and at 4K for the Low preset only. The rank of 1784 suggests that many other combinations achieve higher frame rates, likely those with more powerful GPUs that can handle 4K Ultra settings. However, the combo's performance is far from the bottom of the rankings, and it provides a solid experience for the vast majority of gaming scenarios in Minimum.

The data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates at maximum settings. At 4K, users must compromise with Low settings to maintain playability. The 3712 total combos in the database include a wide range of hardware, from entry-level to enthusiast-grade, and this combination's mid-pack ranking indicates it offers a reasonable balance of CPU and GPU performance for this specific title. The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking and the CPU's 87th percentile ranking together produce a system that is more than capable for most users, with the only limitation being the demanding 4K Ultra preset.