Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a strong showing in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. Across all three tested resolutions, the system maintains playable frame rates at most settings, with the 1080p and 1440p benchmarks showing particularly high headroom. The data reveals a clear scaling pattern where lower resolutions shift the performance burden toward the CPU, while higher resolutions amplify the GPU's role, ultimately defining which settings are viable at each tier.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that stays above 60 FPS at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 62.5 FPS, making it the most demanding option that clears the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset drops to 53.9 FPS, and Ultra falls further to 38.3 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X bottleneck the RTX 3070 at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1920x1080, where even the Ultra preset achieves 114.7 FPS while Low reaches 227 FPS. The GPU's raw throughput is sufficient for these frame rates, but the CPU’s single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1286) appears to cap the ceiling.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: This configuration ranks 1576 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all systems benchmarked in Minimum. The ranking reflects a balance of CPU and GPU capabilities rather than extreme performance in either category.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 147.5 FPS while Ultra averages 73.1 FPS, a difference of 74.4 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load but remains well above the playable threshold.

Q: Is the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of memory sufficient for this game?

A: The measured results indicate no memory-related performance collapse across any settings or resolutions. The highest VRAM demand occurs at 4K Ultra (38.3 FPS), but this is a compute limitation rather than a capacity issue, as lower settings at the same resolution scale proportionally.

Q: Which component has a larger percentile standing relative to its peers?

A: The CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU sits in the 61st percentile among all graphics cards. This asymmetry explains why the CPU sustains high frame rates at lower resolutions while the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, averaging 114.7 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, yet it still delivers nearly double the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset runs at 179.1 FPS and Low at 227 FPS, but there is no reason to sacrifice visual quality when Ultra remains so far above the playable line.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset still holds at 73.1 FPS, making it the recommended setting. The drop from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 41.6 FPS at Ultra, but the result remains comfortably playable. High runs at 93 FPS and Medium at 112.6 FPS, offering alternatives for those seeking extra headroom, though they are unnecessary for hitting the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Medium preset averages 62.5 FPS, which is the only high-fidelity option that clears 60 FPS. Low runs at 79.1 FPS, providing a more stable experience, while High (53.9 FPS) and Ultra (38.3 FPS) fall below the playable threshold. For 4K, Medium represents the best balance between visual quality and performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a pronounced shift in component responsibility as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the CPU dominates the performance picture. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads, combined with a 3dmark_max_threads score of 13929 and a single-thread score of 1286, allow the RTX 3070 to stretch its legs. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 112.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not the limiting factor—otherwise, the gap would be smaller. This suggests the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU dictates the upper bound.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The Ultra preset drops to 73.1 FPS from 114.7 FPS at 1080p, a 41.6 FPS reduction that is disproportionate to the pixel count increase (1.78x). This indicates the GPU is beginning to assert its influence, though the CPU still provides enough headroom to keep frame rates high. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s 64 MB L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth help maintain consistent frame delivery even as the GPU works harder.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are pushed to their limits, with Ultra averaging only 38.3 FPS. The CPU’s role diminishes significantly—the difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 40.8 FPS, nearly identical to the 41.6 FPS drop seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra. This pattern confirms that the GPU’s compute resources (20.31 TFLOPS FP32) and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at 4K, while the CPU’s 3dmark_16_threads score of 12552 provides ample margin.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores are the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555 avg, -0.1% delta), AMD EPYC 7313 (57399 avg, +0.2% delta), Intel Core i9-14900 (58115 avg, -1.1% delta), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323 avg, -1.4% delta). These processors deliver nearly identical multi-threaded performance, meaning any of them would produce similar frame rates in Minimum when paired with the RTX 3070. The EPYC 9015 and 7313 are server chips but would behave comparably in gaming workloads that rely on the CPU’s single-threaded and moderate multi-threaded performance.

For the GPU, the closest matches are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083 avg, +0.7% delta), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037 avg, +1% delta), AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019 avg, +1.1% delta), and NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468 avg, -1.5% delta). The RX 7600 XT is the most relevant modern alternative, offering nearly identical rasterization performance. The GTX 690 and HD 7970M are older architectures but score within 1% of the RTX 3070 in aggregate benchmarks, suggesting they would deliver comparable frame rates at lower resolutions, though they lack modern features like RTX 3070’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 227 FPS, Medium 179.1 FPS, High 147.6 FPS, and Ultra 114.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a consistent degradation, with each preset tier reducing performance by roughly 20-25%. The gap between Low and Medium is 47.9 FPS, while Medium to High is 31.5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 32.9 FPS—indicating a balanced load across settings.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 147.5 FPS, Medium 112.6 FPS, High 93 FPS, and Ultra 73.1 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces Low by 79.5 FPS, Medium by 66.5 FPS, High by 54.6 FPS, and Ultra by 41.6 FPS. The diminishing absolute drops at higher presets suggest that the GPU is handling the increased resolution load more efficiently when the CPU is less stressed.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 79.1 FPS, Medium 62.5 FPS, High 53.9 FPS, and Ultra 38.3 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K, Low loses 68.4 FPS, Medium loses 50.1 FPS, High loses 39.1 FPS, and Ultra loses 34.8 FPS. The relative performance drop is steepest at Low (46.4%) and gentler at Ultra (47.6%), showing that the GPU’s limits are reached across all settings at this resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Minimum at 60 FPS or higher in nearly all configurations. At 1920x1080, every preset—Low through Ultra—clears the threshold with ease, with the lowest average being 114.7 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, all four presets also remain above 60 FPS, with Ultra at 73.1 FPS and Low at 147.5 FPS. The only compromise appears at 3840x2160, where Low (79.1 FPS) and Medium (62.5 FPS) are playable, but High (53.9 FPS) and Ultra (38.3 FPS) fall short. For 4K gaming, users should stick to Medium or Low settings; for 1080p and 1440p, Ultra is fully viable.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination holds the 1576th position out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places the system in the top 42.5% of all configurations benchmarked for this game. The ranking reflects the CPU’s strong 92nd percentile standing among processors and the GPU’s more modest 61st percentile among graphics cards. The system’s performance is characterized by excellent CPU-driven frame rates at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor only at 4K. Compared to other combos, this pairing excels in scenarios where the game’s CPU demands are high—such as 1080p Ultra—but falls behind in GPU-heavy 4K scenarios where higher-end graphics cards would maintain 60 FPS at High or Ultra settings. The overall rank suggests a well-balanced system for a 2014 title, with enough headroom for modern gaming at lower resolutions while capping out at 4K Medium.