Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, but the data shows a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. The combination ranks in the 82nd percentile of tested combos, placing it at rank 311 out of 1733 configurations. This pairing demonstrates that the older six-core CPU can still feed the modern GPU effectively at lower resolutions, though the GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet telling pattern in how performance scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 240.8 FPS, which drops to 203.5 FPS at 1440p and further to 116.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 51.6% reduction from 1080p Low to 4K Low, indicating that the GPU is being pushed significantly harder as pixel count rises. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s 672.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are taxed heavily.

Looking at High settings, the drop is equally pronounced: 203.6 FPS at 1080p falls to 135 FPS at 1440p (a 33.7% decrease) and then to 74.8 FPS at 4K (a 44.6% decrease from 1440p). This steep decline at 4K High suggests that the GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 8448 shading units are working near their limits, while the CPU’s role diminishes. The Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads clocked between 3.40 GHz base and 3.90 GHz boost, appears sufficient to avoid becoming a major constraint at higher resolutions, as frame rate drops align more with GPU workload scaling.

At Ultra settings, the pattern intensifies: 164 FPS at 1080p, 105.7 FPS at 1440p, and just 55.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 33.6% of the 1080p Ultra figure, underscoring that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s raw compute is the primary limiter at maximum settings. The data indicates that for players targeting 4K, the GPU is the decisive component, while at 1080p and 1440p, the balanced nature of this combo still allows the CPU to contribute meaningfully to overall frame delivery.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings balance depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 240.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. However, moving to Medium only costs 25.1 FPS (dropping to 215.7 FPS) while likely providing a visual improvement, making Medium the sensible choice for high-refresh monitors. High settings at 1080p yield 203.6 FPS, still well above typical 144Hz refresh rates, so High offers an excellent experience without sacrificing much performance.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 164.4 FPS is the standout option, providing a significant boost over High’s 135 FPS while remaining smooth. Ultra at 1440p drops to 105.7 FPS, which is playable but noticeably lower; the data suggests Medium or High are the sweet spots for this resolution. At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Low settings produce 116.5 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. Medium at 89.4 FPS is still viable, but High drops to 74.8 FPS and Ultra falls to 55.1 FPS, making Ultra the only preset that struggles to maintain consistent frame pacing on standard 60Hz displays.

The benchmark results indicate that players should prioritize Medium or High at 1080p and 1440p, while at 4K, Low or Medium offers the best trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. The 4K Ultra figure of 55.1 FPS highlights that this combo is not ideal for maximum settings at that resolution, despite the GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at rank 311 out of 1733 tested configurations places it in the top 18% of all pairings, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s age. The Ryzen 5 2600 sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. This gap in percentile rankings—9 points—suggests the CPU is the weaker link in this pairing, but the measured FPS data shows it rarely becomes a hard bottleneck at the tested settings.

Comparing to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 2600 trails the Intel Core i5-1345U by 0.4%, sits above the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U by 0.6%, and is behind the Intel Core i5-11600KF by 0.6% while leading the Intel Core i7-10700F by 0.7%. These negligible deltas indicate the 2600 performs in line with modern mid-range mobile and older desktop CPUs, meaning its age does not cripple gaming performance in this title. On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, is 0.7% ahead, while the RTX A2000 trails by 1.6% and the RTX A1000 Mobile by 2.0%. The Intel Arc A550M is 2.1% behind, confirming the 4070 Ti SUPER’s competitive position.

The rank of 311 out of 1733 is largely attributable to the GPU’s high standing, as the CPU’s modest scores in Cinebench R23 (11186 multi-core, 1579 single-core) are offset by the sheer power of the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. Players with this combo should expect performance that aligns more closely with the GPU’s capabilities than the CPU’s, particularly at higher resolutions where the data shows GPU-bound behavior.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo based on the data?

A: 1440p offers the best balance, with Medium settings delivering 164.4 FPS and High achieving 135 FPS, both well above the 100 FPS mark that indicates smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The 4K Low preset reaches 116.5 FPS, while Medium drops to 89.4 FPS. Ultra at 4K falls to 55.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU is within 0.7% of its closest competitors, trailing the Intel Core i5-1345U by 0.4% and leading the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U by 0.6%, showing consistent mid-range performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows a steep FPS drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings, indicating the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at that resolution.

Q: What settings should I use for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1080p, Medium (215.7 FPS) or High (203.6 FPS) both exceed 144 FPS. At 1440p, Medium at 164.4 FPS is the only preset that comfortably clears 144 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data shows high frame rates at 1080p (240.8 FPS on Low), suggesting the CPU is not a severe bottleneck, but the CPU’s 77th percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 86th indicates it is the weaker component.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample resources for Minimum’s demands at 4K. The 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs provide the raw throughput needed to push high frame rates, as evidenced by the 240.8 FPS result at 1080p Low. The boost clock of 2610 MHz, up from a 2340 MHz base, allows the GPU to sustain high performance under load, contributing to the 203.6 FPS at 1080p High.

The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs is reflected in its benchmark scores: 31811 in Passmark G3D and 5569 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. These scores place it ahead of rivals like the RTX A2000 (1.6% behind) and RTX A1000 Mobile (2.0% behind), confirming its high-end positioning. However, the 4K results show the GPU’s limits: at Ultra settings, the 55.1 FPS result indicates that even this powerful card cannot maintain high frame rates at maximum fidelity in this title. The 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 250.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are substantial, but the 4K Ultra workload proves too demanding for a 60 FPS target.

The GPU’s Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 45,900 million transistors, provides efficiency that allows the card to hit high clocks without excessive power draw, though the 285 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU indicate it is not a low-power part. The data shows the GPU’s role is to provide the bulk of the frame generation, especially at 1440p and above, where the CPU’s contribution diminishes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600, a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, plays a supporting role in this combo. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 3.90 GHz are modest by modern standards, but the Passmark multithread score of 13160 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 indicate it can handle gaming workloads adequately. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs is consistent with its position relative to rivals: it is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i5-1345U (0.4% behind) and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (0.6% ahead), showing it remains competitive despite its 2018 release.

The CPU’s 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 46.9 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for feeding the GPU at 1080p, where the measured FPS reaches 240.8 on Low settings. However, the CPU’s single-thread performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1579, is notably weaker than its multi-thread capability, which could explain why frame rates do not scale perfectly at lower resolutions. The 1080p Low result of 240.8 FPS versus 1440p Low at 203.5 FPS shows a 15.5% drop, which is less than the pixel count increase, suggesting the CPU is still contributing at 1440p but becomes less relevant at 4K.

The CPU’s 12 nm manufacturing process and Zen architecture mean it lacks the IPC improvements of newer chips, but its 6 cores and 12 threads provide enough parallelism for Minimum’s engine. The Passmark physics score of 673 and data encryption score of 12429 indicate solid general-purpose performance, but the gaming results are more dependent on the GPU. The CPU’s role is to maintain a baseline frame rate, and the data shows it succeeds at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU taking over as the primary driver at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings achieve 240.8 FPS, Medium reaches 215.7 FPS, High hits 203.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 164 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 76.8 FPS, representing a 31.9% reduction, which is relatively modest and indicates the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s demands at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear step down. Low settings produce 203.5 FPS, Medium yields 164.4 FPS, High averages 135 FPS, and Ultra falls to 105.7 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs between 15.5% (Low) and 35.5% (Ultra), with the higher settings experiencing larger percentage drops, pointing to increased GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings still manage 116.5 FPS, Medium drops to 89.4 FPS, High reaches 74.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 55.1 FPS. The 4K Low result is 51.6% lower than 1080p Low, while 4K Ultra is 66.4% lower than 1080p Ultra. These figures confirm that 4K gaming is viable only with lowered settings, as the GPU’s resources are stretched thin at the higher pixel count. The data set shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step up reduces performance more steeply at higher settings, reinforcing that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the limiting component at 4K.