Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks at position 1033 out of 3712 tested combinations for Minimum. That places this build comfortably in the upper third of all recorded configurations, roughly in the 72nd percentile of tested combos. The ranking reflects a system that is clearly capable of running this third-person shooter with headroom to spare at most settings.

The CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, just 0.2% higher, the Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower, and the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. This positioning indicates the i5-9400 is a mid-pack processor, adequate for gaming but not a performance leader.

The RX 9070 XT, by contrast, sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13543. Its nearest rivals are odd bedfellows: the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13536 (0.1% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13515 (0.2% higher), the NVIDIA P106-090 at 13470 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 555 at 13407 (1% higher). The close deltas here are a database artifact, but they underscore that the GPU's raw average score does not tell the whole story for Minimum, where measured frame rates are strongly influenced by the game's age and optimization.

The decisive factor is the measured FPS data, which shows this combo delivering playable frame rates across nearly every resolution and preset. The combination of a modest six-core CPU and a high-end GPU creates a system where the graphics card carries the load in most scenarios, and the recorded numbers confirm that the pairing works well for this title.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 73.3 FPS and Low reaches 95.6 FPS, but High is the highest visual quality tier that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra drops to 44.4 FPS, which falls short of the playable mark.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are Ultra, delivering 89 FPS on average. Every preset clears 60 FPS at this resolution: Low runs at 180.4 FPS, Medium at 136.5 FPS, and High at 113 FPS. Ultra remains well above the playable threshold, so there is no reason to compromise on visual quality here.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 137.1 FPS. The lower presets are even faster: Low hits 257.5 FPS, Medium reaches 212.2 FPS, and High runs at 180.6 FPS. At 1080p, this combo has substantial headroom, and the frame rates suggest the CPU is not a limiting factor at any preset.

The pattern is clear: the RX 9070 XT provides enough raw performance to max out this game at 1440p and 1080p, while 4K Ultra is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS. The recorded data shows a drop from 63 FPS at 4K High to 44.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 29.5% penalty for the highest preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU dominates performance scaling in Minimum, but the CPU still matters at lower resolutions. The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals where each component becomes the bottleneck.

At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Ultra is 120.4 FPS (257.5 down to 137.1). This wide spread suggests the GPU is doing most of the work, but the CPU is keeping pace even at the highest preset. The i5-9400, with six cores and six threads, appears sufficient to feed the RX 9070 XT at 1080p, as the Ultra setting still produces 137.1 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low runs at 180.4 FPS, Ultra at 89 FPS, a difference of 91.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Ultra (137.1 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (89 FPS) represents a 35% reduction, which is roughly in line with the pixel count increase of 77%. The GPU is clearly the primary driver of performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes even more dominant. The spread from Low (95.6 FPS) to Ultra (44.4 FPS) is 51.2 FPS, and the 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra drop (89 down to 44.4) is a 50% reduction. The 4K resolution demands more from the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute units, and the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are clearly the determining factors.

The CPU's role is most visible at 1080p Low, where 257.5 FPS represents a ceiling that may be partially constrained by the i5-9400's single-thread performance. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and Geekbench single-core score of 1389 are modest, but for a game released in 2014, they are more than adequate. The data suggests that at 1440p and 4K, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, while at 1080p with low settings, the frame rates are high enough that CPU overhead becomes a consideration.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 44.4 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable 4K preset is High, which averages 63 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is playable at 1440p, with an average of 89 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is within 0.4% of the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246). It outperforms the Core i7-10710U by 0.3% and trails the Core i7-1068NG7 by 0.2%.

Q: Does the GPU perform better in DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 for this game?

A: The RX 9070 XT's Passmark DirectX 11 score is 292, while its DirectX 12 score is 78. The DirectX 11 score is significantly higher, which aligns with Minimum's 2014 release date and its likely reliance on older graphics APIs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Ultra and 1440p Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 137.1, while at 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 89. This represents a 35% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: Is the 4K High preset a stable experience?

A: The recorded data shows an average of 63 FPS at 3840x2160 High, which is just above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The margin is slim, so users should expect occasional dips below 60 FPS during intense scenes, though the average remains playable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 257.5 FPS, Medium averages 212.2 FPS, High averages 180.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 137.1 FPS. All presets are far above the playable threshold, with even the most demanding setting nearly 2.3 times the 60 FPS minimum.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but step down. Low averages 180.4 FPS, Medium averages 136.5 FPS, High averages 113 FPS, and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, with each setting losing roughly 30-40% of its frame rate when moving up in resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance gap tightens and the playable margin shrinks. Low averages 95.6 FPS, Medium averages 73.3 FPS, High averages 63 FPS, and Ultra averages 44.4 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only configuration across all resolutions and settings that fails to reach 60 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K costs 18.6 FPS, or roughly 30% of the High preset's performance.

The min and max FPS values are not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies on average frame rates. This means the data cannot capture frame time spikes or stutter, but the averages themselves are consistently high enough to indicate a smooth experience at all playable settings.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Minimum, and it does so with substantial margin at most settings. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low to Ultra clears 60 FPS, with the lowest average being 137.1 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, all four presets also clear 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 89 FPS. At 3840x2160, the High preset is the most demanding playable option, averaging 63 FPS, while Low and Medium also clear the threshold at 95.6 FPS and 73.3 FPS respectively.

The only configuration that fails the playable test is 4K Ultra, which averages 44.4 FPS. For users targeting 4K, the recommendation is to run High settings, which sacrifices some visual fidelity but stays above 60 FPS. For 1440p and 1080p displays, this combo offers maxed-out settings with frame rates well above the playable threshold.

The RX 9070 XT is the clear star of this pairing, delivering frame rates that range from 44.4 FPS at the most demanding setting to 257.5 FPS at the lightest. The i5-9400, while not a high-end processor by modern standards, does not appear to bottleneck the GPU in this game, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and the smooth scaling across resolutions. The combo's rank of 1033 out of 3712 tested combinations reflects a system that is well above average for this title, and the measured data confirms that it is a reliable choice for Minimum at 1080p and 1440p, with playable 4K performance at High settings.