Minimum

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 sits in a tight cluster of comparable processors according to the database's average benchmark scores. Its recorded average score of 2254 places it within a fraction of a percent of several nearby chips. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 trails it by just 0.2%. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, putting the i5-9400 0.3% ahead. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, with the i5-9400 leading by 0.4%. Finally, the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, so the i5-9400 is behind it by 0.4%. For a game like Minimum, a user moving from any of these processors to another would see nearly identical CPU-driven behavior, as all four rivals fall within a 0.8% band around the i5-9400.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti posts an average benchmark score of 41187. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 40870, a delta of 0.8% in favor of the RTX 3080 Ti. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707, which is 1.2% higher than the RTX 3080 Ti. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41897, putting it 1.7% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40377, meaning the RTX 3080 Ti leads it by 2%. These deltas are all small enough that in practice, at identical settings, these GPUs would produce frame rates within a couple of percent of each other in Minimum. The RTX 3080 Ti also holds an 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, indicating the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 60 FPS on a 4K display?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows the combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti achieves an average of 63 FPS at 3840x2160 on High settings, 71.6 FPS on Medium, and 95 FPS on Low. Only Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with an average of 47.1 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 87.3 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The database lists Ultra as the best settings at this resolution, with High at 117 FPS, Medium at 135 FPS, and Low at 178.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in raw benchmark performance?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. It trails the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 by 0.2% (2259) and the Intel Core i3-10305 by 0.4% (2264), while leading the Intel Core i7-10710U by 0.3% (2248) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 by 0.4% (2246). All four rivals are effectively within 1% of the i5-9400.

Q: What is the strongest preset at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best playable setting, averaging 135.6 FPS. High runs at 178.9 FPS, Medium at 214.5 FPS, and Low at 255.6 FPS. Every preset at this resolution clears 60 FPS by a wide margin.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, which is 2% higher than the RTX 5070's score of 40377. This is the largest gap among the GPU's nearest rivals, but still a small difference in real-world terms.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Minimum?

A: The combination ranks 1034 out of 3712 tested combos in the database for this game, placing it in the upper portion of all recorded configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database records average frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets for Minimum. Minimum FPS and maximum FPS values were not recorded for any configuration, so all figures below are averages.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 255.6 FPS. Medium rises to 214.5 FPS, High drops to 178.9 FPS, and Ultra settles at 135.6 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra is 120 FPS, a 47% reduction in average frame rate. Even the most demanding preset at 1080p remains far above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 178.6 FPS. Medium comes in at 135 FPS, High at 117 FPS, and Ultra at 87.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 91.3 FPS. The step from Medium to High is relatively small at 18 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra is larger at 29.7 FPS, showing that Ultra carries a meaningful cost at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 95 FPS. Medium drops to 71.6 FPS, High to 63 FPS, and Ultra to 47.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 47.9 FPS. Notably, the drop from Medium to High is 8.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 15.9 FPS. Ultra is the only preset at any resolution that falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold, and it does so only at 4K.

Scaling across resolutions shows a consistent pattern. At Ultra settings, the frame rate moves from 135.6 FPS at 1080p to 87.3 FPS at 1440p, a 48.3 FPS drop, then to 47.1 FPS at 4K, another 40.2 FPS drop. At Low settings, the progression is 255.6 FPS at 1080p, 178.6 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result of 95 FPS is still higher than the 1440p Ultra result of 87.3 FPS, which demonstrates how much more demanding higher settings are compared to higher resolution alone in this game.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum. The recorded verdict by resolution confirms playable performance at all three tested resolutions, with one exception. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best preset at 63 FPS average. Ultra at 4K is not playable, averaging 47.1 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets clear 60 FPS, with Ultra as the best at 87.3 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four presets clear 60 FPS as well, with Ultra at 135.6 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, the system has headroom at 1080p and 1440p even on the highest settings. At 4K, users should cap out at High settings to stay above 60 FPS. The data indicates this is a capable pairing for Minimum, with the GPU carrying most of the load at higher resolutions and the CPU proving sufficient even at the lowest settings where frame rates exceed 250 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 1034 out of 3712 tested combos in the database for Minimum. This places the pairing in the 72nd percentile of all recorded configurations, meaning roughly 28% of tested combos outperform it while the majority sit below it. Given that the CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs and the GPU at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, the rank reflects a system where the graphics card is doing most of the heavy lifting. The 4K Ultra result of 47.1 FPS is the only recorded instance where the combo fails the 60 FPS target, which suggests the rank is held back primarily by the CPU's inability to push the RTX 3080 Ti past the Ultra preset at 4K. At every other resolution and preset combination, the system exceeds the playable threshold, often by a substantial margin.

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. Medium runs at 71.6 FPS and Low at 95 FPS, but High offers the best visual quality while still clearing the threshold. Ultra at 4K is not viable, as it averages 47.1 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, averaging 87.3 FPS. This gives users the full visual experience at 1440p with 27.3 FPS of headroom above the playable threshold. High, Medium, and Low are also playable, but Ultra is the recommended choice for maximum quality.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, averaging 135.6 FPS. This provides more than double the 60 FPS threshold, so there is ample room for V-Sync or high refresh rate displays. All four presets at 1080p are playable, and Ultra is the clear recommendation for this resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that Minimum is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU becomes more relevant at low settings and low resolutions. At 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 255.6 FPS, a figure that likely approaches the practical limit of what the i5-9400 can feed the RTX 3080 Ti. At 2560x1440 Low, the frame rate drops to 178.6 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 95 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 62.8% reduction in frame rate, which is primarily attributable to the GPU's workload increasing with pixel count.

Settings scaling tells a similar story. At 4K, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average frame rate from 95 FPS to 47.1 FPS, a 50.4% drop. At 1440p, the same settings change reduces frame rate from 178.6 FPS to 87.3 FPS, a 51.1% drop. At 1080p, it drops from 255.6 FPS to 135.6 FPS, a 47% drop. The consistency of these percentages across resolutions suggests that settings changes impose a similar relative cost regardless of resolution, which points to the GPU as the dominant factor for Minimum.

The CPU's role is most visible at the lowest settings where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 255.6 FPS result is likely constrained by the CPU's single-thread performance, as the i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads. The CPU's percentile ranking of 47 among all CPUs, combined with the GPU's 83rd percentile, indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is capable of far more work than the i5-9400 can demand in CPU-limited scenarios. For most playable settings, though, the GPU is the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra result of 47.1 FPS is the only case where the system fails to hit 60 FPS, and it is the GPU that cannot keep up with the combined load of 4K resolution and maximum settings. Users targeting 4K should prioritize GPU settings over CPU settings, as the data shows the GPU is the bottleneck at that resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU still matters, but the CPU's influence grows as settings are lowered and frame rates climb toward 200 FPS and beyond.