Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a decisive performance envelope for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that remains highly sensitive to both CPU and GPU scaling. Benchmark measurements place this combination in the 644th position out of 3,712 tested combos, indicating that it sits comfortably within the top 17.4% of all systems evaluated for this title. The data reveals a configuration that not only meets but substantially exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold across every resolution tested, with the only exception being the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces frame rates that are effectively unlimited for standard displays. The Low preset averages 310 FPS, while Medium delivers 237 FPS with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 273 FPS. High settings reach 199 FPS average, and even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains a 152 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is almost entirely GPU-bound at higher presets, but the sheer headroom suggests neither component is a bottleneck in any practical sense.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scaling is linear and predictable. Low settings produce a 200 FPS average, Medium drops to 153 FPS (minimum 130, maximum 176), High settles at 128 FPS, and Ultra remains highly playable at 98 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 35% across all presets, which aligns with the 77% increase in pixel count—indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased load without introducing memory-related stutters.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes more dramatically. The Low preset still delivers a robust 108 FPS average, and Medium manages 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS and maximum of 95 FPS. High settings drop to 69 FPS average, which is still above the playability threshold. However, Ultra falls to 53 FPS average, dipping below the 60 FPS line. The 4K results show a steeper performance curve than lower resolutions, with the gap between Medium and High (13 FPS) being smaller than the gap between High and Ultra (16 FPS), suggesting that Ultra settings introduce a disproportionately heavy workload on the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 224 TMUs.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 644 out of 3,712 tested combinations places it in the 82.6th percentile of all systems tested for Minimum. This is a strong showing, especially considering that the game is nearly a decade old and many modern high-end configurations would be expected to perform well. The ranking reflects the balance between the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 12 cores and 24 threads with 128 MB of L3 cache, and the RTX 4070 SUPER’s Ada Lovelace architecture with 7,168 shading units.

The CPU alone benchmarks in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,762. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (average score 55,093, delta -0.6%), Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54,053, delta +1.3%), Intel Xeon 6505P (53,701, delta +2%), and Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620, delta +2.1%). The GPU sits in the 83rd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43,223, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, delta -0.1%), NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43,301, delta -0.2%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667, delta -1%).

Given that the game is a 2014 title, the high combo rank suggests that the system is not just playable but offers headroom for future titles or higher refresh rate displays. The data indicates that this combination would be overkill for Minimum at standard refresh rates but could justify a 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitor at 1440p, where the average FPS exceeds 128 even on High settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 4070 SUPER becomes apparent when examining the scaling between resolutions and presets. At 1080p, the CPU’s influence is minimal because the GPU is processing relatively few pixels. The 310 FPS Low preset result suggests that the CPU’s 4.40 GHz base clock and 5.50 GHz boost clock, combined with its 24 threads, can feed the GPU fast enough to avoid any bottleneck. The 12-core/24-thread configuration with 128 MB L3 cache is more than sufficient for a game from 2014, which likely uses only a handful of threads.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to take a more dominant role. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all presets, indicating that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are being exercised more fully, while the CPU still has ample headroom. The fact that the Low preset at 1440p (200 FPS) is still higher than the Ultra preset at 1080p (152 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

At 4K, the GPU is definitively the bottleneck. The Ultra preset’s 53 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold, and the gap between Medium (82 FPS) and High (69 FPS) narrows compared to lower resolutions. This indicates that the GPU’s 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 192-bit bus width are being saturated, and the CPU’s role is reduced to maintaining minimum frame rates. The minimum FPS of 70 at Medium 4K suggests that the CPU is still capable of preventing major stutters, but the average FPS is clearly GPU-limited.

The CPU’s 3DMark scores reinforce this interpretation: a single-thread score of 1,269 and a 16-thread score of 12,490 show strong per-core performance, while the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47,737 indicates that the CPU can handle any multithreaded workload the game might throw at it. However, Minimum appears to be a title where the GPU scaling dominates once resolution increases beyond 1080p.

The Verdict

The verdict data is unambiguous: this PC can run Minimum at 60 FPS or above at all tested resolutions and presets, with one exception. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset produces a 53 FPS average, which falls short of the 60 FPS playable threshold. However, the High preset at 4K delivers 69 FPS, and the Medium preset provides 82 FPS, so there are multiple playable options at 4K.

At 2560x1440, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with the Ultra preset achieving 98 FPS average. This makes 1440p the sweet spot for this configuration, as it allows maximum visual fidelity without compromising frame rate. The 1920x1080 results are even more impressive, with all presets exceeding 150 FPS, including Ultra at 152 FPS.

For users with a 4K display, the recommendation is clear: stick to High settings for a 69 FPS experience, or drop to Medium for a more comfortable 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS. Those prioritizing frame rate over visual quality could even use Low settings at 108 FPS, though the visual trade-off is likely unnecessary given the High preset’s performance.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in Minimum?*

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 53, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The High preset at 4K achieves 69 FPS, making it the recommended maximum for 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution, as it allows Ultra settings at a 98 FPS average while remaining well above the 60 FPS floor. All presets at 1440p are playable, with Low at 200 FPS and High at 128 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43,223, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43,262, -0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43,268, -0.1% delta). The RTX 4090 Mobile scores slightly higher at 43,667, representing a 1% delta.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 310 FPS, which indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not limiting performance. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1,269 in 3DMark and its 91st percentile ranking against all CPUs confirm it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 130, with an average of 153 FPS and a maximum of 176 FPS. This shows consistent frame pacing without significant drops.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Minimum?*

A: The combination ranks 644 out of 3,712 tested combos, placing it in the top 17.4% of all systems. This high ranking reflects the balanced performance of the 12-core CPU and the 7,168-shader GPU.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which achieves an average of 152 FPS. This is the clear recommendation for 1080p users who want maximum visual quality without sacrificing frame rate.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are also the best choice, delivering a 98 FPS average. This provides a significant visual upgrade over High (128 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds the needs of most 144 Hz monitors.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Ultra settings fall below the 60 FPS threshold at 53 FPS, so the best playable preset is High, which averages 69 FPS. Users seeking higher frame rates at 4K can drop to Medium for 82 FPS or Low for 108 FPS, but High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s nearest performance rivals are all Intel processors. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF scores 55,093, which is 0.6% higher than the Ryzen’s 54,762 average. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54,053, representing a 1.3% deficit, while the Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F score 53,701 and 53,620 respectively, showing 2% and 2.1% deficits. Any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in Minimum, though the Ryzen’s 128 MB L3 cache might offer slight advantages in cache-sensitive workloads.

For the GPU, the RTX 4070 SUPER’s nearest rivals are a mix of workstation and mobile parts. The NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile both score within 0.1% of the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 43,223 average, while the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 is 0.2% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is 1% faster with a score of 43,667. In practical terms for Minimum, all of these GPUs would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates, with the RTX 4090 Mobile potentially delivering a few extra FPS at 4K Ultra settings.

The data suggests that users considering this combo for Minimum should not feel compelled to upgrade either component. The CPU has headroom for years to come, and the GPU’s 4K High performance at 69 FPS is respectable for a 2014 title. The only scenario where this system struggles is 4K Ultra, a setting that was not achievable on consumer hardware when the game launched.