Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a wide range of performance in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. The data shows a system that is clearly capable at standard resolutions, but which begins to strain at 4K with higher presets. The benchmark results indicate a strong CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, and the measured frame rates reflect that balance across the tested settings and resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets demonstrates that the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the primary determinant of frame rates in Minimum. At 1920x1080, the GPU is pushed to an average of 187 FPS on Low settings, while the CPU’s single-thread capability is more than sufficient to feed the graphics card. Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rate at Low settings drops to 121 FPS, a 35.3% decrease from the 1080p figure. This substantial drop—while the CPU workload remains largely unchanged—points directly to the GPU’s rendering limits as the resolution increases.

The role of the CPU becomes more apparent when examining the highest preset at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combination still produces 92 FPS on average, and the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are not a bottleneck. However, the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 3840x2160. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls to 32 FPS, which is only 34.8% of the 1080p Ultra result. The scaling from 1440p Ultra (59 FPS) to 4K Ultra (32 FPS) represents a 45.8% reduction, a clear indication that the RX 9060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The preset scaling at each resolution further clarifies the GPU-bound nature of this game. At 1080p, the difference between Low (187 FPS) and Ultra (92 FPS) is 95 FPS, showing that the GPU has headroom to render more complex effects. At 1440p, the same preset range spans from 121 FPS down to 59 FPS. At 4K, the range is narrower—from 65 FPS at Low to 32 FPS at Ultra—because even the Low preset at 4K places a heavy load on the GPU. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253 place it in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, meaning it is unlikely to hold back the GPU at any tested resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD EPYC 9015, the AMD EPYC 7313, the Intel Core i9-14900, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M. The Ryzen 9 9900X achieves an average benchmark score of 57498, which is 0.1% higher than the EPYC 9015’s 57555 and 0.2% lower than the EPYC 7313’s 57399. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, putting it 1.1% ahead of this CPU, while the Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% ahead with a score of 58323. In practical terms for Minimum, these single-digit percentage differences mean any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates, as the game is not heavily threaded and the GPU is the bottleneck.

For the AMD Radeon RX 9060, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, the AMD Radeon RX 7700, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. The RX 9060’s average benchmark score of 16014 is 0.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129, and 1.0% higher than both the R9 370X and RX 7700, which score 15862 and 15852 respectively. The Pro W5500 trails by 2.1% with a score of 15679. These small deltas suggest that swapping the RX 9060 for any of these cards would produce nearly identical results in Minimum. The RTX 3060 Ti, being the closest match, would likely track within a few frames per second of the RX 9060 at all resolutions and presets. The RX 7700, despite its higher position in the product stack, is statistically indistinguishable in this game, as both cards sit in the 59th percentile among all GPUs.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1920x1080 with the highest settings?*

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 92 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict by resolution confirms Ultra is the best settings choice at 1080p, with an average of 92 FPS.

Q: How does the performance change from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average drops to 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. This represents a 45.7% reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates at 1920x1080 Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, with an average of 143 FPS. The 43 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates some frame time variance, but the average remains very high.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for achieving 60 FPS at 3840x2160?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS (65 FPS), while Medium averages 50 FPS and High averages 42 FPS. The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile, indicating it is not the bottleneck at 4K.

*Q: How does this combination rank among all tested hardware in Minimum?*

A: This CPU and GPU combination ranks 2179 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 58.7th percentile of all combinations, meaning slightly more than half of tested systems perform better in this game.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 78 FPS, which is the best playable setting. The Ultra preset drops to 59 FPS, just below the 60 FPS playable threshold, so High is the recommended choice for 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance is consistently high across all presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 187 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 143 FPS, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. High settings yield an average of 120 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, still achieves an average of 92 FPS. The data shows that even the lowest frame rate recorded at 1080p—122 FPS at Medium—is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain solid but begin to show the GPU’s limits. Low settings average 121 FPS. Medium settings average 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. High settings produce an average of 78 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 59 FPS, which is just below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings results in a 35.9% reduction in average frame rate, from 92 FPS to 59 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls off significantly. Low settings achieve an average of 65 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution that stays above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 50 FPS, with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 42 FPS. The Ultra preset produces an average of 32 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the entire dataset. The scaling from 1440p Ultra (59 FPS) to 4K Ultra (32 FPS) represents a 45.8% reduction, and the gap between 1080p Ultra (92 FPS) and 4K Ultra (32 FPS) is 65.2%.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the most complete picture of frame time consistency, as it is the only preset with reported minimum and maximum values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 122 to 165 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 79 to 106 FPS. At 4K, the range compresses further to 42 to 57 FPS. This compression at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving less headroom for frame rate variations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 92 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict by resolution confirms Ultra as the best settings at 1080p, with a measured average of 92 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the optimal choice, achieving an average of 78 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution falls to 59 FPS, which is just below the playable threshold. Selecting High allows for a 19 FPS margin above the 60 FPS cutoff while still providing a high level of visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, only the Low preset maintains an average above 60 FPS, with a measured 65 FPS. The Medium preset averages 50 FPS, High averages 42 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. For 4K gameplay, Low is the only viable preset according to the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 2179 out of 3712 tested hardware combinations in Minimum. This places the combo in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution, with 58.7% of tested combinations performing better. Given that the GPU sits in the 59th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU sits in the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, the ranking reflects the GPU’s relative position more closely than the CPU’s. The combination’s rank suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier component, the mid-range GPU prevents this system from reaching the upper echelons of performance in this game. The nearest GPU rivals—the RTX 3060 Ti, R9 370X, RX 7700, and Pro W5500—would all likely produce similar ranks, as their benchmark scores are within 2.1% of the RX 9060.

The Verdict

The data confirms that this PC can run Minimum at all three tested resolutions, but the playable settings vary significantly. At 1920x1080, the system achieves playable frame rates at every preset, with Ultra averaging 92 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset is playable at 78 FPS, while Ultra falls just short at 59 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 65 FPS. The verdict by resolution confirms these results: 1080p supports Ultra, 1440p supports High, and 4K supports Low. For players targeting 60 FPS, the optimal experience is at 1440p with High settings, which balances visual quality with a comfortable 18 FPS margin above the playable threshold. The system is unequivocally capable for 1080p gaming, and the 4K results show acceptable performance only at the lowest preset.