Minimum

The data for this combination is unambiguous: the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a performance ceiling that few systems will touch. Measured frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, often by a wide margin. The following analysis breaks down exactly what those numbers mean for settings, component scaling, and how this combo stacks against the broader benchmark database.

Best Settings per Resolution

The benchmark data shows this system does not just run the game at 60 FPS; it demolishes that target. The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS, and every single measured configuration exceeds it. The recommendation is therefore the most visually demanding preset available at each resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. The measured average frame rate is 69 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, though it is the only configuration at 4K that sits in the double digits above the line. The drop from High to Ultra is significant: High runs at 90 FPS, while Ultra drops to 69 FPS. That is a 23% performance cost for the highest visual fidelity. The data supports taking that hit, as 69 FPS remains smooth, but the margin for error is thinner here than anywhere else.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers a commanding 127 FPS average. This is more than double the 60 FPS threshold, leaving massive headroom. The scaling from High (167 FPS) to Ultra (127 FPS) is a 24% reduction, but the absolute numbers are so high that the choice is trivial. There is no reason to sacrifice visual quality when the frame rate sits at 127 FPS.

At 1920x1080, Ultra runs at 197 FPS average. This is over three times the playable threshold. The difference between Medium (309 FPS) and Ultra (197 FPS) is substantial, but again, the final number is so far beyond the requirement that Ultra is the only sensible recommendation. The GPU is clearly not the limiting factor at this resolution.

The verdict from the data is consistent: choose Ultra at every resolution. The lowest measured frame rate on Ultra is 69 FPS at 4K, which still clears the 60 FPS line. For users who prioritize maximum frame rates over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p hits 403 FPS and at 1440p hits 260 FPS, but the Ultra preset provides the best balance of image quality and performance.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the CPU and GPU shifts noticeably as resolution changes. At 1080p, the frame rates are astronomical — 403 FPS on Low, 309 FPS on Medium, 259 FPS on High, and 197 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate the GPU is not saturated; the CPU is feeding frames faster than most displays can even show them. The 24-core Core Ultra 9 290K with its 5.80 GHz boost clock has ample headroom to drive the RTX 5090 at these rates.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p tells the same story. At Ultra, the frame rate drops from 197 FPS to 127 FPS, a 36% reduction. At Low, it drops from 403 FPS to 260 FPS, a 35% reduction. This consistent proportional drop suggests the GPU is becoming more of a factor, but the CPU is still keeping up. The 1440p Ultra score of 127 FPS is not a CPU bottleneck; it is the GPU working harder per frame.

The jump to 4K reveals the true GPU workload. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the frame rate falls to 69 FPS. That is a 46% drop from 1440p Ultra. The pattern holds across presets: Low drops from 260 FPS to 140 FPS (46% drop), Medium from 199 to 107 (46% drop), and High from 167 to 90 (46% drop). This is textbook GPU-bound scaling — the pixel count quadruples, and the frame rate drops by roughly half. The CPU is no longer the primary driver; the RTX 5090 is doing the heavy lifting.

The data indicates the CPU matters most at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. The Core Ultra 9 290K's single-core performance (736 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 7303 in R23 single-core) supports these high rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's role diminishes. The 46% drop from 1440p to 4K at every preset is the signature of a GPU-limited scenario.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 69 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data confirms all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 4K.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo can achieve?

A: The maximum measured average is 403 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 1440p, the Low preset reaches 260 FPS, and at 4K, the Low preset reaches 140 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. The frame rates at 1080p range from 197 FPS (Ultra) to 403 FPS (Low), indicating the GPU is not saturated. The CPU's high single-core performance is what enables these frame rates.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1440p to 4K?

A: The drop is consistent across all presets at approximately 46%. For example, Ultra falls from 127 FPS at 1440p to 69 FPS at 4K, and Low falls from 260 FPS to 140 FPS.

Q: Does the Medium preset have a minimum frame rate below 60 FPS?

A: No. The lowest recorded minimum frame rate is 91 FPS, measured at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The lowest minimum across all tested configurations is 169 FPS at 1440p Medium.

Q: What percentile does this GPU rank in compared to all GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs in the database. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU show that the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has a narrow performance band around it. The closest competitor is the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 0.2% lower on average. This is within noise; the two chips will behave nearly identically in gaming workloads. The AMD EPYC 4584PX is 1.1% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9135 is 1.2% lower. The AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% higher. For a third-person shooter like Minimum, these differences are imperceptible. Any of these four CPUs paired with the RTX 5090 would produce frame rates within a few percentage points of each other.

The GPU's nearest rivals present a different picture. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 0.3% higher, and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 0.6% higher. These are datacenter cards, not consumer gaming GPUs, but the benchmark average scores are nearly identical. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% lower. The deltaPct values here are all under 1.5%, meaning any of these GPUs would deliver similar average performance in synthetic benchmarks. For Minimum specifically, the frame rates would be close, though the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth give it a real-world edge in texture-heavy scenes that these rivals lack.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3,712 tested combinations in the database, this CPU-GPU pair ranks 80th. This places it in the top 2.2% of all tested systems. The rank reflects the combined strength of the 96th-percentile CPU and the 92nd-percentile GPU. For a game released in 2014, this level of hardware is extreme overkill, but the ranking confirms there are only 79 other combinations in the database that score higher on average.

The gap between this combo and the top of the list is likely driven by CPUs with even higher single-thread scores or GPUs with higher raw compute. The RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance is near the top of the consumer stack, and the Core Ultra 9 290K's 24 cores at 5.80 GHz boost is a strong pairing. The 80th rank out of 3,712 is a strong result, indicating this system sits at the upper echelon of tested hardware.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Minimum is answered decisively by the measured data. At every resolution and every preset, the frame rate exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdictByResolution data confirms: at 3840x2160, all four presets are playable, with Ultra running at 69 FPS. At 2560x1440, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 127 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra at 197 FPS.

The weakest configuration is 4K Ultra at 69 FPS, which still clears the threshold by 9 FPS. The strongest is 1080p Low at 403 FPS, which is over six times the threshold. This system is not merely capable of running Minimum; it is capable of running it at maximum settings with a comfortable margin at 4K, and at extreme frame rates at lower resolutions.

The only caveat is the 4K Ultra margin. At 69 FPS, there is less headroom than at lower resolutions. If the game has particularly demanding scenes not captured in the average, the frame rate could dip closer to the 60 FPS line. However, the data does not show any minimum frame rate below 91 FPS (at 4K Medium), so the risk is minimal. This is a system built to run Minimum at its best, anywhere.