Minimum

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K with maximum quality settings?

A: Yes. The data shows the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves an average of 69 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing in Minimum?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo reaches 197 FPS average. At 2560x1440 with Ultra, it hits 127 FPS average. Both are well above the playable threshold, but 1440p Ultra offers the highest fidelity while still maintaining high frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score is 79842, which places it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79605), 0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396), and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4%, which scores 80959.

Q: Where does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 rank among all CPUs?

A: The Ultra 5 225 sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945, a negligible 0% difference.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's performance consistent across different benchmark types?

A: The data shows a wide variance. In PassMark G3D it scores 39650, while in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 it scores 18355. Geekbench Vulkan yields 376728, and OpenCL yields 334370. This indicates strong compute performance but more moderate DirectX-specific results.

Q: Does the CPU limit the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests not. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 403 FPS average, which indicates the RTX 5090 is not being bottlenecked by the Core Ultra 5 225 in Minimum. The CPU's 85th percentile standing and strong single-core scores support this interpretation.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3712 tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 80th in Minimum. That places it in the top 2.2% of all tested combos, a strong showing for a game that released in 2014.

The ranking reflects the GPU's dominant role in this title. The RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 85th percentile. The GPU's synthetic average of 79842 dwarfs the CPU's 36938, and in Minimum the GPU's headroom matters more than the CPU's multi-threaded capacity.

Consider what this rank means practically: only 79 other CPU/GPU pairings perform better in this specific game. That puts this system in the upper echelon for Minimum, even though the game is old enough that mid-range hardware from recent years can handle it competently. The RTX 5090's massive memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory give it enormous headroom, which the measured FPS confirms.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data shows consistent performance across all resolutions and presets, with no configuration dipping below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

1920x1080:

• Low: 403 FPS average
• High: 259 FPS average
• Medium: 309 FPS average, with a minimum of 262 and maximum of 355
• Ultra: 197 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo delivers frame rates that far exceed display refresh rate capabilities of most monitors. The gap between Low and Ultra is 206 FPS, but even the Ultra preset maintains nearly triple the playable threshold.

2560x1440:

• Low: 260 FPS average
• High: 167 FPS average
• Medium: 199 FPS average, with a minimum of 169 and maximum of 229
• Ultra: 127 FPS average

Moving to 1440p costs roughly 35% performance at each preset compared to 1080p. The Medium preset shows a tighter minimum-maximum spread, indicating stable frame pacing, while Ultra still holds 127 FPS average.

3840x2160:

• Low: 140 FPS average
• High: 90 FPS average
• Medium: 107 FPS average, with a minimum of 91 and maximum of 123
• Ultra: 69 FPS average

At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 69 FPS average, which clears the playable threshold but leaves less margin for demanding scenes. The Medium preset shows a 91 FPS minimum, suggesting the game's heavier moments will still stay fluid. Low at 4K produces 140 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 5090 has substantial headroom even at the highest pixel count.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent: each step down from 1080p to 1440p to 4K costs roughly 35-40% performance at the same preset. This is a GPU-bound behavior pattern, typical for a third-person shooter with moderate CPU demands.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945 average, 0% delta), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2%), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, -0.5%). All of these would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in Minimum, since the game's CPU demands are modest given the high FPS figures.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79605, 0.3% delta), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, 0.6%), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.1%), and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80959, -1.4%). The Tesla cards are data-center parts not intended for gaming, but the RX 6850M XT and Pro Vega 64X would behave comparably in raw compute terms. However, the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are unique; the rivals listed here have different memory configurations that could affect real gaming performance differently than synthetic scores suggest.

The key takeaway: if you swapped in any of these CPU alternatives, the measured FPS in Minimum would remain nearly identical, because the GPU dominates the workload. Swapping the GPU to a rival would produce a measurable drop, given the 1-2% delta in synthetic scores translates to a few FPS at most in this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates this is overwhelmingly a GPU-bound scenario. Consider the resolution scaling: at 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 197 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, 127 FPS; at 4K Ultra, 69 FPS. That's a 65% performance drop from 1080p to 4K, which is characteristic of GPU-limited rendering.

The CPU's role becomes more visible at lower resolutions and lower presets. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 403 FPS, which is a frame rate where CPU overhead can start to matter. The Core Ultra 5 225's single-core benchmark results — 368 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 891 in R20 single-core, and 3655 in R23 single-core — indicate strong per-thread performance. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 supports this. In a game like Minimum, which released in 2014 and has moderate thread demands, the CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads are more than sufficient.

The RTX 5090's specifications explain the GPU-bound behavior: 21760 shading units, 176 ROPs, and a boost clock of 2407 MHz deliver enormous raw throughput. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS means the GPU can process geometry and lighting far faster than the CPU can feed it draw calls.

At 4K, the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes decisive. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth and 512-bit bus width allow the 32 GB of GDDR7 to feed the rendering pipeline without stalling. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (69 average) shows the GPU is still the limiting factor; a weaker CPU paired with this GPU would likely produce the same result.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Minimum. The verdict data lists every resolution and preset combination as playable, with all configurations clearing the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra, running at 69 FPS average. This is above the playable threshold, though you might prefer Medium (107 FPS) or High (90 FPS) if you want more headroom for action-heavy moments. The Medium preset's minimum of 91 FPS suggests it holds up well under load.

At 2560x1440, Ultra runs at 127 FPS average, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. You could enable High (167 FPS) for even higher frame rates, but the Ultra preset already provides a substantial margin above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra runs at 197 FPS average, and the Medium preset hits 309 FPS with a minimum of 262. This resolution is overkill for this game — you'll be limited by your monitor's refresh rate, not the hardware.

The practical recommendation: if you own a 4K display, run Minimum at Ultra settings and enjoy the 69 FPS average. If you prefer locked frame rates, drop to Medium for 107 FPS with a 91 FPS minimum. At 1440p or 1080p, the Ultra preset is the obvious choice, as it stays well above the playable threshold while delivering the game's best visual quality. This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 leaves no configuration in Minimum that struggles to maintain playable performance.