Minimum

Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 pair to deliver exceptional frame rates in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The benchmark data confirms that this combination is vastly overqualified for the title at every tested resolution and preset, with all playable settings clearing the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. The RTX 5090’s raw performance dominates the workload, while the Core Ultra 5 245 provides ample headroom for the game’s CPU demands. Below is a detailed breakdown of measured performance, alternative hardware, and component-level analysis.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 69 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset approaches the playability threshold, but it still clears it comfortably. For higher refresh rates, dropping to High yields 90 FPS, while Medium produces 107 FPS and Low reaches 140 FPS.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the best playable setting is also Ultra, with an average of 127 FPS. This represents a substantial 84% performance uplift over the 4K Ultra result, confirming that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution. The lower presets scale proportionally: High hits 167 FPS, Medium achieves 199 FPS, and Low reaches 260 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Ultra preset is again the optimal choice, delivering an average of 197 FPS. This is more than three times the 60 FPS playability threshold, making the game exceptionally smooth on any display. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p shows a 55% increase at Ultra, indicating that the CPU begins to play a more noticeable role at this resolution. High produces 259 FPS, Medium reaches 309 FPS, and Low tops out at 403 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,995. Its nearest performance rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which scores 49,196 — a negligible 0.4% difference. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is similarly close at 49,228 (-0.5%), while the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48,698, +0.6%) and Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618, +0.8%) round out the immediate competitive set. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Minimum, though the Core Ultra 5 245’s 14 cores and 14 threads provide a modern foundation.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 79,842, the closest alternatives are surprising. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 (+0.3%), the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79,396 (+0.6%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78,940 (+1.1%). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is slightly faster at 80,959 (-1.4%). However, these are compute-focused or mobile parts; none of them match the RTX 5090’s 32 GB GDDR7 memory or 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, which are overkill for Minimum but ensure no memory bottleneck at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all nine tested combinations. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are: Low 140 FPS, Medium 107 FPS (with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS), High 90 FPS, and Ultra 69 FPS. The min/max range at Medium shows a 32 FPS spread, indicating some frame-time variance, but the average remains well above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the averages climb sharply: Low 260 FPS, Medium 199 FPS (min 169 FPS, max 229 FPS), High 167 FPS, and Ultra 127 FPS. The Medium preset’s 60 FPS range between min and max is proportionally similar to 4K, suggesting the game’s optimization is consistent across resolutions. The jump from High to Ultra costs 40 FPS, a 24% reduction, which is a typical trade-off for the highest visual quality.

At 1920x1080, the numbers become extreme: Low 403 FPS, Medium 309 FPS (min 262 FPS, max 355 FPS), High 259 FPS, and Ultra 197 FPS. The Low preset’s 403 FPS average is limited only by the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU; at this point, the RTX 5090 is not the bottleneck. The Medium preset shows a 93 FPS spread between min and max, the largest absolute variance in the dataset, though still far above any playability concern.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum flawlessly at all tested resolutions and presets. The verdict by resolution is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, all four presets — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with the best setting being Ultra at 69 FPS. This means users can enable maximum visual fidelity and still stay above the 60 FPS threshold, although the margin is thinner than at lower resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 127 FPS, which is more than double the playability threshold. Every setting, from Low at 260 FPS to Ultra at 127 FPS, provides a buttery-smooth experience suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The data indicates no scenario where this combination drops below 60 FPS at 1440p.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 197 FPS, making it the recommended choice for competitive play or high-refresh displays. The lowest average across all settings is Ultra at 197 FPS, which is still more than three times the 60 FPS threshold. In summary, the system is overkill for Minimum, and the only limitation is the display’s refresh rate, not the hardware.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Core Ultra 5 245 and the RTX 5090. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor. Scaling from Ultra (69 FPS) to Low (140 FPS) produces a 103% increase in frame rate, which is entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load. The RTX 5090’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth are the key enablers here; the CPU’s 14 cores are sufficient to keep up, but they are not the limiting factor.

At 2560x1440, the GPU still leads, but the CPU’s role grows. The Ultra preset jumps from 69 FPS at 4K to 127 FPS at 1440p, a 84% improvement that reflects the reduced pixel count. However, the gap between Medium (199 FPS) and Low (260 FPS) is 61 FPS, which is narrower than the 33 FPS gap at 4K between the same settings. This suggests that the CPU begins to constrain the highest frame rates as resolution drops.

At 1920x1080, the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The Low preset reaches 403 FPS, but the scaling from Medium (309 FPS) to Low (403 FPS) is only 30%, compared to a 31% jump from High to Medium. The RTX 5090 has ample headroom at 1080p; the Core Ultra 5 245’s single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,648) and 14 threads are what limit the absolute maximum. The game’s 2014 release date means it likely relies on fewer threads, making the CPU’s high clock speed (boost up to 5.10 GHz) more important than core count.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best setting for 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 69 FPS, which is the most demanding setting that stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold. High, Medium, and Low all exceed 90 FPS, offering options for higher refresh rates.

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 1440p with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 127 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS threshold. All other presets run even faster, from 167 FPS at High to 260 FPS at Low.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its closest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 5090 scores 79,842 on average, with the nearest rival being the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (0.3% slower). The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% faster. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU becomes the limiting factor at very high frame rates. The Low preset reaches 403 FPS, but the scaling from Medium (309 FPS) to Low (403 FPS) is only 30%, indicating the GPU has more headroom. The CPU’s single-core performance (Cinebench R23 score of 4,648) is the constraint.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the benchmark data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 91 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is still well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, and no other preset or resolution records a minimum below 169 FPS.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245 compare to the Core i5-14600K?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48,995, which is 0.8% higher than the Core i5-14600K’s 48,618. In Minimum, this difference would translate to a negligible frame rate variance, likely within the margin of error.