Minimum

The Core i5-12600KF and Radeon RX 7600 combination delivers a clear performance profile for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Measured data shows that this pairing is fully capable of exceeding the 60 FPS threshold at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short at 4K. The benchmark results indicate a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary performance driver at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its strongest results. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 172.2 FPS, a figure that indicates the game is far from stressing the hardware. Moving to Medium settings, the average remains high at 134.8 FPS. The High preset delivers 109.6 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The most demanding preset tested, Ultra, yields an average of 86.8 FPS. The data shows a consistent degradation pattern across the four settings, with the step from Low to Medium representing a 37.4 FPS drop, and the further step to High reducing performance by another 25.2 FPS. The final step from High to Ultra costs an additional 22.8 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain respectable but begin to show the increased pixel load. Low settings produce an average of 109.9 FPS, which is a substantial 62.3 FPS reduction compared to the same settings at 1080p. Medium settings average 85.7 FPS, while High settings deliver 69.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS line, averaging 51.9 FPS. The scaling pattern here is similar to 1080p, with each settings tier exacting a measurable toll: the drop from Low to Medium is 24.2 FPS, from Medium to High is 16.3 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 17.5 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limits become apparent. Low settings are the only preset that approaches playability, with an average of 59.3 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 47.7 FPS, High settings drop to 37.2 FPS, and Ultra settings produce only 29.3 FPS. The performance gap between 1440p and 4K is significant at every settings level. For example, High settings at 4K are 32.2 FPS slower than High at 1440p. The overall pattern shows that the RX 7600, while capable at lower resolutions, cannot maintain smooth frame rates at 4K with this game’s workload.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the dominant performance factor in this configuration. The Core i5-12600KF, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, provides ample processing headroom. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and single-core score of 3302 suggest that the CPU is unlikely to bottleneck the RX 7600 in a game from 2014. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 16634, which places it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, aligns with the measured frame rates.

The scaling between resolutions provides evidence of GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 85.4 FPS, a range that reflects the GPU’s ability to render frames quickly when the resolution is low. At 1440p, this range narrows to 58 FPS, and at 4K, it shrinks to 30 FPS. This pattern suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor, and the settings-based performance swings diminish in absolute terms.

Conversely, the CPU’s role is more pronounced at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 172.2 FPS, which is a frame rate that even a strong GPU might not reach if the CPU were struggling to feed it. The Core i5-12600KF’s PassMark single-thread score of 3925 and multi-thread score of 27575 indicate strong per-core performance, which is essential for high-FPS scenarios. The data does not show any resolution where the CPU becomes a clear bottleneck, as the frame rates scale smoothly with GPU load.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the best settings that maintain an average at or above 60 FPS are Ultra, with a measured average of 86.8 FPS. This is the highest quality preset tested, and it clears the playability threshold by 26.8 FPS, providing a comfortable margin. All four presets at this resolution are playable, but Ultra offers the maximum visual quality without sacrificing performance.

For 2560x1440, the best playable settings are High, with an average of 69.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 51.9 FPS, so High represents the optimal balance. This preset provides a 9.4 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold, which is sufficient for smooth gameplay in most scenarios. Low and Medium settings are also playable, but they do not offer the same visual fidelity as High.

For 3840x2160, no tested settings achieve an average of 60 FPS. The closest is Low, with 59.3 FPS, which is 0.7 FPS below the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall further behind, with averages of 47.7 FPS, 37.2 FPS, and 29.3 FPS respectively. The verdict data confirms that this resolution has no playable settings for this combination.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for its performance tier. The Intel Core i9-10900K has an average score of 27872, which is 0.3% lower than the Core i5-12600KF’s average score of 27799. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, also 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% higher. These delta percentages are minimal, indicating that all four rivals would behave virtually identically to the Core i5-12600KF in CPU-bound scenarios for this game. The data suggests that swapping to any of these processors would not meaningfully change the measured FPS results.

On the GPU side, the Radeon RX 7600’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199, a 0.2% difference from the RX 7600’s 15171 average. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 15082 (0.6% higher), the AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270 (0.7% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti scores 15063 (0.7% higher). These small deltas suggest that any of these GPUs would produce frame rates within a narrow margin of the RX 7600’s performance. For a game like Minimum, the differences would likely be imperceptible, with all alternatives falling into the same playability categories at each resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1080p with the highest settings?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 produces an average of 86.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The verdict data lists Ultra as the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p for a 60 FPS experience?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 deliver an average of 69.4 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that remains playable. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 51.9 FPS, falling below the threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 59.3 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data shows no playable settings at this resolution, with Medium, High, and Ultra all averaging below 48 FPS.

Q: How does the Core i5-12600KF compare to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D?

A: The average benchmark scores are nearly identical. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896, which is 0.3% lower than the Core i5-12600KF’s 27799. In practice, there would be no meaningful difference in frame rates for this game.

Q: What GPU is closest in performance to the Radeon RX 7600?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is the closest rival, with an average score of 15199 compared to the RX 7600’s 15171, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Radeon 680M is also within 0.7% of the RX 7600’s score.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The measured average is 172.2 FPS. This is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested resolutions and settings, indicating that the CPU and GPU have significant headroom at this configuration.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum effectively at 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset providing 86.8 FPS as the best playable option. At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best playable choice at 69.4 FPS, while Low and Medium also remain above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls short at 51.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, no settings achieve 60 FPS; the Low preset comes closest at 59.3 FPS, just missing the mark. The verdict data confirms that the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium at 1440p, and all presets at 1080p. For a 2014 third-person shooter, this hardware provides a strong experience at mainstream resolutions, with the expectation that 4K gaming would require reduced settings or a more powerful GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2505 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is notable given that the game is from 2014 and the benchmarks show playable performance at 1080p and 1440p. The rank reflects the overall performance distribution across all hardware combinations tested, and it indicates that while this pairing is sufficient for the game at common resolutions, there are many other combos that achieve higher frame rates. The 57th percentile GPU ranking and 79th percentile CPU ranking suggest that the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU within the broader hardware landscape, but the combined rank of 2505 out of 3712 shows that the system is positioned below average when both components are considered together. Benchmark results indicate that the RX 7600 is the limiting factor for this game, particularly at 4K, where its performance cannot reach the playable threshold.