Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a consistently playable experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter released on 2014-06-25. The benchmark data, which is measured rather than estimated, shows that this combination clears the 60 FPS threshold at every tested resolution, though the margin of comfort varies significantly. At 4K, the system lands right on the edge of playability with High settings, while at lower resolutions it provides a substantial performance cushion that allows for maximum visual quality.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average framerate at or above 60 FPS is High, which produces an average of exactly 60 FPS. The data indicates that Medium settings deliver a higher average of 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, making it a safer choice if frame pacing consistency is a priority. Low settings reach 93 FPS on average, but the Ultra preset falls below the playable threshold at 45 FPS, meaning it is not viable at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the system can handle the Ultra preset, which is the highest quality option available, while still maintaining an average of 84 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold. For context, the High preset yields 110 FPS, Medium yields 132 FPS, and Low yields 172 FPS, showing that there is ample headroom even at the highest quality settings.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is again the best choice, delivering an average of 131 FPS. The performance scaling is steep here: High settings produce 171 FPS, Medium produces 204 FPS, and Low settings reach 267 FPS. The minimum framerate recorded at Medium is 174 FPS, which suggests that even the most demanding scenes at Ultra will likely stay well above the 60 FPS target, although no minimum is provided for the Ultra preset itself.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for Minimum, this specific CPU-GPU pairing holds the 1051st position out of 3712 total combos. This places it in the upper third of all tested systems, indicating that it is a strong performer for this title, though not among the absolute top-tier configurations. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU's capability and the GPU's age; the RTX 3080 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 30-series, yet its performance remains relevant for this game.

The CPU, Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, sits in the 96th percentile against all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores slightly higher at 83807 (a delta of 0.2%), and the AMD EPYC 7F72, which scores 85072 (a delta of -1.3%, meaning the 290K Plus trails it by 1.3%). The GPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, is in the 68th percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 23172. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 (23249, delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23250, delta -0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23273, delta -0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23276, delta -0.4%). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the RTX 3080's raw compute performance is closely matched by these other cards, despite their different architectural generations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

3840x2160: At Low settings, the average framerate is 93 FPS. Medium settings yield an average of 71 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 60 FPS, exactly at the playability threshold. Ultra settings are not playable, producing an average of 45 FPS.

2560x1440: Low settings deliver an average of 172 FPS. Medium settings average 132 FPS, with a minimum of 112 FPS and maximum of 151 FPS. High settings average 110 FPS. Ultra settings average 84 FPS, providing a solid experience above the 60 FPS line.

1920x1080: Low settings produce an average of 267 FPS. Medium settings average 204 FPS, with a minimum of 174 FPS and maximum of 235 FPS. High settings average 171 FPS. Ultra settings average 131 FPS, which is more than double the playability threshold.

The absence of minimum and maximum values for most presets limits the analysis of frame time variance, but where data exists (Medium presets), the spread between minimum and maximum is roughly 22-30% of the average, suggesting moderate frame pacing consistency.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, but only up to High settings. The average framerate at 3840x2160 with High settings is exactly 60 FPS, which meets the playability threshold. Medium settings provide a higher average of 71 FPS, while Ultra settings fall below the threshold at 45 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Ultra preset is recommended at 2560x1440, as it maintains an average of 84 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available and still provides a 24 FPS margin above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at the same settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average framerate at 1920x1080 is 131 FPS, compared to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a roughly 2.9x increase in performance when dropping from 4K to 1080p.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not limiting performance at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 Low settings, the system reaches 267 FPS, which is a very high framerate. The GPU's percentile rank of 68 against all GPUs is lower than the CPU's rank of 96, indicating the GPU is the more likely constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum framerate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum framerate recorded in the dataset is 60 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is exactly at the playable threshold, meaning the system should not drop below playable levels at this preset.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 1051st out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 28% of all configurations, indicating a strong but not elite standing for this specific game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals the relative importance of the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the framerates are exceptionally high, reaching 267 FPS at Low settings. This indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads and boost clock of 5.80 GHz, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution. The RTX 3080 becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Ultra settings, the average framerate drops from 131 FPS to 84 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36%. This is a significant decline, but the system remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The transition from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at Ultra is more severe, with the framerate falling from 84 FPS to 45 FPS, a 46% drop. This steep decline at 4K is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 267 FPS, which is a framerate that many CPUs would struggle to sustain. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with a passmark single-thread score of 4823 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303, provides the necessary per-core performance. However, at 4K, the difference between Low and Medium settings is 71 FPS versus 93 FPS, a 24% gap, while the difference between High and Ultra is 60 FPS versus 45 FPS, a 25% gap. These consistent gaps across presets at 4K suggest that the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are the dominant factors, with the CPU contributing less as resolution increases.

The Verdict

The data clearly shows that this PC can run Minimum successfully across all tested resolutions. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best preset at exactly 60 FPS average. The Ultra preset is not playable at this resolution, averaging 45 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra being the best at 84 FPS average. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra achieving 131 FPS average.

The verdict is straightforward: this combination delivers a playable experience at every resolution tested, provided the user selects appropriate settings. For 4K gaming, High settings are the maximum viable option, and users seeking a smoother experience should consider Medium, which offers a higher average framerate of 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS. At 1440p and 1080p, the system has enough headroom to run the game at maximum quality without concerns about dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals to the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus offer nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is a direct alternative, with an average score of 83807 versus 84003 for the 290K Plus, a negligible 0.2% difference. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090 (1.1% slower), and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980 (1.2% slower). The AMD EPYC 7F72 is slightly faster at 85072, which is 1.3% ahead of the 290K Plus. For gaming performance in Minimum, these differences are unlikely to produce measurable framerate changes, as the game is not heavily CPU-threaded.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals to the RTX 3080 are all within 0.4% of its average benchmark score. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250 (0.3% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23276 (0.4% higher). In practice, these cards should deliver nearly identical framerates in Minimum at the same settings and resolution. However, it is important to note that the RTX 3080 has a launch MSRP of 699 USD, and its architectural features, such as 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, may provide advantages in other games that are not reflected in this specific benchmark. Users considering these alternatives should expect similar performance in Minimum, but the RTX 3080's driver support and feature set may differ in other titles.