Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, but it falls short of playable framerates at 4K. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions. This pairing is a classic mid-range setup that excels in the most common gaming resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combination is highly capable. With Low settings, the average framerate reaches 155 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS, showing excellent consistency. High settings still deliver a strong 100 FPS average. Even the most demanding Ultra preset maintains an average of 76 FPS, which clears the playable threshold with room to spare.

At 2560x1440, performance remains respectable but begins to show the GPU's limitations. Low settings produce an average of 100 FPS, which is still very smooth. Medium settings average 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS, indicating that the framerate stays above the 60 FPS threshold even in demanding scenes. High settings average 64 FPS, which is just above the playable line. The Ultra preset, however, drops to an average of 49 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target and is not considered playable.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 is clearly overmatched. Low settings average 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 26 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS playable mark, so this resolution is effectively out of reach for this hardware combination.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals in the database, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 performs almost identically to three other processors. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F has an average score of 36945, which is a 0% delta from the Intel chip's 36938 average. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, a 0.2% difference. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, a 0.4% difference. The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, a 0.5% difference. In practical terms, all four of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical framerates in Minimum, meaning any of them could be swapped in without changing the gaming experience.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, which scores 15283, a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, a 0.1% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, a 0.6% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171, a 0.8% difference. These four graphics cards would all produce very similar framerates in this game. A user with any of these GPUs paired with a similar performing CPU should expect the same results as the measured data for this combo.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 76 FPS. This means users can run the game at maximum quality settings and still maintain smooth gameplay. The data shows no need to compromise on visual fidelity at this resolution.

For 2560x1440, the best playable setting is High, which averages 64 FPS. This is just above the 60 FPS threshold, so users will get a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is not playable, so High is the recommended ceiling.

For 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. Even the lowest quality preset averages only 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Users attempting to run Minimum at 4K will need to reduce resolution or accept sub-60 FPS performance.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but not at 3840x2160. The verdict by resolution is clear. At 1080p, all four presets, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, clear the 60 FPS threshold, with the Ultra preset averaging 76 FPS. At 1440p, three presets clear 60 FPS: Low at 100 FPS, Medium at 77 FPS, and High at 64 FPS. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS does not meet the playable threshold. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with the best option being Low at 54 FPS.

For a user with a 1080p monitor, this combination is more than sufficient, allowing maximum settings with a comfortable margin above the playable line. For a 1440p monitor, High settings are the practical choice, providing 64 FPS average. For a 4K monitor, this hardware is not suitable, and users should consider either lowering the resolution to 1440p or upgrading the GPU.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals how the CPU and GPU split their responsibilities across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the framerates are exceptionally high, with Low settings reaching 155 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 79 FPS (155 minus 76), showing that the GPU has significant performance headroom and is not being pushed to its limits. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, provides enough processing power to feed the GPU efficiently at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the framerate drop becomes more pronounced. The difference between Low (100 FPS) and Ultra (49 FPS) is 51 FPS, and the average framerate at High settings is 64 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, as the increased pixel count demands more from the graphics card. The CPU still has enough headroom, but the RTX 2060's 6 GB of memory and Turing architecture start to show their age.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is entirely the limiting factor. The framerate at Low settings is 54 FPS, which is only 19 FPS higher than the Ultra preset at 26 FPS. The scaling between presets is compressed because the GPU is saturated at every quality level. The CPU's performance is largely irrelevant at this resolution, as the RTX 2060 cannot render enough frames to keep up with the processor's capabilities.

The scaling pattern between resolutions is clear. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the High preset average from 100 FPS to 64 FPS, a 36% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces the High preset average from 64 FPS to 35 FPS, a 45% drop. This demonstrates that pixel count has a compounding effect on GPU load, and the RTX 2060 is simply not equipped for 4K gaming in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this pairing ranks 2929 out of 3712 total combos. This places it in the lower middle portion of all tested systems, meaning there are about 783 combinations that perform worse and about 2928 that perform better. The percentile ranking for the CPU is 85, meaning it performs better than 85% of all CPUs in the database. The GPU's percentile is 58, meaning it performs better than 58% of all GPUs.

The discrepancy between the CPU and GPU percentiles highlights the bottleneck. The Core Ultra 5 225 is a high-performing processor, but it is paired with a mid-range GPU that sits in the 58th percentile. This combination's overall rank of 2929 out of 3712 reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. In practical terms, this means the system is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, but users with higher-resolution displays would benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU upgrade.

The recorded data indicates that this combo is a reliable choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Minimum, with a clear ceiling at 4K. The CPU provides strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 scores of 3655 single-core and 25891 multi-core, but the GPU's 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus limit its ability to handle high-resolution textures and large frame buffers. For most users, this system will deliver a smooth experience at standard resolutions, and the ranking confirms that it sits comfortably among comparable mid-range builds.