Minecraft

Minecraft with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER presents a fascinating case of CPU and GPU balance. The measured frames per second (FPS) data reveals that this combination is heavily influenced by the CPU, especially at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics, offering a clear picture of what players can expect from this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 389 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 246 FPS, a 143 FPS reduction. At 4K (3840x2160) Low, the average falls further to 128 FPS. This steep decline as resolution increases indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is being pushed harder at higher pixel counts. However, even at 4K, the frame rates remain highly playable, suggesting the GPU has enough headroom for this title.

The pattern holds across other settings. At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 308 at 1080p to 195 at 1440p, and finally to 102 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 113 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 93 FPS. This shows a consistent scaling pattern where each resolution step imposes a significant load on the GPU. The data suggests that while the RTX 2060 SUPER is capable at all resolutions, its performance is being taxed more heavily as pixel count increases.

The High preset shows a similar trend, with 245 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 154 FPS at 1440p, and further to 81 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset yields the lowest frame rates across the board, with 153 FPS at 1080p, 97 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS is the only measurement that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the most demanding settings at the highest resolution can strain this combination. The scaling data here points to a system where the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher ones.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. The Medium preset stands out as the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, it delivers 308 FPS with a minimum of 262 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. At 1440p, the Medium preset still maintains a robust 195 FPS average with a 165 FPS minimum. Even at 4K, Medium produces 102 FPS with an 86 FPS minimum, comfortably above the 60 FPS target.

The High preset offers a slight visual upgrade but at a noticeable performance cost. At 1080p, it produces 245 FPS, which is 63 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p, the gap widens to 59 FPS, with High delivering 154 FPS compared to Medium's 195 FPS. While these frame rates are still perfectly playable, the performance hit may not justify the visual difference for all players. At 4K, High drops to 81 FPS, which is still smooth but noticeably lower than Medium's 102 FPS.

The Ultra preset provides the highest visual fidelity but demands a significant performance penalty. At 1080p, it produces 153 FPS, which is half of what the Low preset achieves. More critically, at 4K, the Ultra preset yields just 50 FPS, which falls below the smoothness standard for many players. The data strongly suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this combination, offering high frame rates with a minimum FPS that prevents stuttering. For players prioritizing maximum visual quality on a 1080p monitor, High is a viable option, but for those with 1440p or 4K displays, Medium provides the best experience per the measured rows.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It features a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In Minecraft, the CPU's role is crucial, as the game is known for being heavily reliant on single-core performance. The 5600G's benchmark results reflect a strong single-core showing, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 872 and a passmark_single_thread score of 3177. These scores indicate the processor can handle the game's primary thread efficiently.

The CPU's multi-core performance is also robust, as evidenced by a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 10551 and a geekbench_multicore score of 8428. This headroom allows the processor to manage background tasks and game logic without bottlenecking the GPU. The 5600G's performance in the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 389 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. This suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

However, the CPU's influence is still present. The 5600G's percentileVsAllCpus of 74 places it in the upper quartile of all processors, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-1220P and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U. These comparisons show that the 5600G is a capable performer, but not at the very top of the heap. In Minecraft, this means the CPU can deliver high frame rates, but the GPU will eventually become the bottleneck as resolution and settings increase. The data confirms that the CPU provides a solid foundation for this game, with enough processing power to avoid being the primary constraint in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2556 out of 3710 tested combos in Minecraft. This places it in the lower half of all combinations tested, which is a significant finding. The rank suggests that while the individual components are capable, their pairing does not yield top-tier performance in this specific game. This could be due to the CPU's relatively modest multi-core performance or the GPU's age.

The CPU's avgBenchmarkScore is 21088, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i3-1220P has an avgScore of 21066, a deltaPct of 0.1, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V has an avgScore of 21112, a deltaPct of -0.1. This shows the 5600G is extremely close in processing power to these other chips. The GPU's avgBenchmarkScore is 18093, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, has an avgScore of 18159, a deltaPct of -0.4. This indicates the RTX 2060 SUPER is also closely matched with its peers.

Despite the individual components being competitive with their direct rivals, the combo's rank of 2556 out of 3710 indicates that there are many other combinations that perform better in Minecraft. The data suggests that while this pairing is functional and delivers playable frame rates, it does not stand out as a high-performing combination for this game. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for how well the CPU and GPU work together, and in this case, the results are middling. This could be interpreted as a sign that other CPU or GPU choices might yield better performance in Minecraft without sacrificing overall system balance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz. In Minecraft, the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution and settings are increased. The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for this game, even at 4K, as the data shows playable frame rates at that resolution.

The GPU's benchmark scores indicate a mid-range performer. Its passmark_g3d score is 16462, and its geekbench_vulkan score is 77402. The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 62, placing it just above the median. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, with deltaPct values of -0.4 and -0.5 respectively. This shows the RTX 2060 SUPER is a solid, but not exceptional, performer.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU's influence is clear. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces just 50 FPS, highlighting the GPU's struggle with the highest settings. However, at 4K Medium, it manages 102 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the resolution when settings are moderated. The GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 224.4 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for Minecraft, but the data shows that the Ultra preset at high resolutions is too demanding. The GPU's role is to provide the graphical horsepower, and while it is sufficient for most settings, the Ultra preset at 4K is beyond its comfortable limit. The 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor, but the raw compute power of the GPU is what causes the performance drop at the highest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Minecraft?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 389, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: At what resolution and settings does this combo drop below 60 FPS?

A: The only measurement below 60 FPS is at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 50.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-1220P?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G has an average benchmark score of 21088, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i3-1220P's score of 21066.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 165 FPS, with a maximum of 224 FPS and an average of 195 FPS.

Q: Does this combo rank in the top half of all tested combinations for Minecraft?

A: No, it ranks 2556 out of 3710 combinations, placing it in the lower half of all tested combos.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it relate to performance?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for Minecraft, as the game does not heavily tax memory bandwidth, allowing the GPU to maintain high frame rates at most settings.