Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a diverse performance profile in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released on 2014-06-25. The data reveals a system that excels at high refresh rates in lower resolutions but struggles to maintain smooth 4K gameplay, suggesting a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as the pixel count increases. The combo ranks 1298th out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it in the 44th percentile of all tested systems, a mid-pack position that belies its strengths at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced and predictable decline as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the system achieves 214 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 138 FPS at 1440p, and further to 74 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is being increasingly taxed by the pixel workload. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Low settings incurs a 46% FPS loss, while the 1080p to 1440p transition only costs 36%, suggesting a non-linear scaling pattern where the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The High preset tells a similar story but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p, the combo produces 137 FPS, which falls to 89 FPS at 1440p and 48 FPS at 4K. The proportional drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%, identical to the Low preset, but the absolute frame times at 4K are more concerning. At 48 FPS, the system is right at the edge of playability for a shooter, where frame pacing becomes critical. The Ultra preset is even more demanding, with 105 FPS at 1080p dropping to 68 FPS at 1440p and a mere 36 FPS at 4K, a 66% reduction overall.

The Medium preset provides the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values, offering insight into frame consistency. At 1080p, the system averages 164 FPS with a range of 139 to 188 FPS, a spread of 49 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 106 FPS with a range of 90 to 121 FPS, narrowing to a 31 FPS spread. At 4K, the average plummets to 57 FPS with a range of 48 to 65 FPS, a 17 FPS spread. This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming saturated, leading to more consistent but lower frame delivery.

The data implies that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 4600G with its 6 cores and 12 threads is likely the limiting component, as the GPU has headroom to push beyond 200 FPS at Low settings. However, by 4K, the RX 7700's rendering capabilities are clearly the bottleneck. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the texture loads at all resolutions, but the 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs are overwhelmed by the 3840x2160 pixel count. The scaling pattern points to a system where the CPU's Zen 2 architecture, with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions but cannot compensate for the GPU's absolute fill rate limits at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The 1920x1080 resolution provides the most comfortable performance margins, with even the Ultra preset averaging 105 FPS. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable, as High settings still deliver 89 FPS, but 3840x2160 is only playable at Low settings, where the average of 74 FPS approaches the edge of smoothness.

Q: How does the RX 7700's VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is not the limiting factor at 4K, as the memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is ample for this 2014 title. The 4K bottleneck lies in the GPU's compute throughput, evidenced by the 36 FPS average at Ultra settings, which is a far larger drop than any memory-related stall would cause.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 4600G hold back the RX 7700 at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data suggests a CPU limitation at 1080p. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost of 4.20 GHz, can sustain frame rates up to 214 FPS at Low settings, but the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (214 to 105 FPS) indicates that the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rate, though the CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919, may cap extreme frame rates.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra yields 105 FPS, which is playable but represents a 36% drop from High's 137 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, Ultra drops to 68 FPS and 36 FPS respectively, making it unsuitable for competitive play. The data suggests High or Medium are the better choices for preserving frame rate.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to its peer group?

A: The combo ranks 1298th out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it in the 44th percentile. This mid-pack ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows strong 1080p performance but weaker 4K results, reflecting a balanced but not top-tier system.

Q: What does the min FPS data tell us about frame pacing?

A: The Medium preset's min FPS values of 139 at 1080p, 90 at 1440p, and 48 at 4K reveal that the system maintains a minimum frame rate that is typically 70-85% of the average. This indicates stable frame delivery without severe hitches, though the 4K min of 48 FPS is close to the average of 57 FPS, suggesting the GPU is running near its limit.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1298 out of 2939 tested combinations places it in the 44th percentile of all systems tested in Minimum. This is a mid-pack position that aligns with the component-level benchmarks: the CPU holds a 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The CPU's average benchmark score of 17507 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, which scores 17482, a mere 0.1% difference. The GPU's average benchmark score of 15852 is similarly close to the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15862, showing a -0.1% delta.

The rank suggests that in Minimum, the combined system performs slightly below the median of all tested combos, despite having a CPU that outperforms 71% of its peers. This discrepancy implies that the game's performance is heavily GPU-bound, as the RX 7700's 58th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down. The nearest GPU rivals reinforce this: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is 1.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014, 1% higher, indicating that the RX 7700 is positioned at the edge of its competitive tier.

Looking at the game's genre as a Third-Person Shooter, the 1298th rank out of 2939 combos means there are 1641 worse-performing systems and 1297 better ones. This puts the combo in a position where it can handle the game at moderate settings and resolutions, but it will not be a top-tier experience. The data implies that users with this combo should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, as the GPU's performance ceiling is reached quickly at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1440p High, the system delivers 89 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and still provides a significant visual upgrade over Low settings. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 106 FPS and a min of 90 FPS, is a strong alternative for users who prioritize frame consistency over minor visual gains.

For users with 1080p displays, the High preset at 137 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides a high refresh rate experience without the frame rate sacrifice of Ultra (105 FPS). The Low preset at 214 FPS is only advisable for competitive players who prioritize maximum frame rates over all visual fidelity, as the 77 FPS gain from High to Low is substantial but comes with a significant visual downgrade.

At 4K, the data is less forgiving. The Low preset at 74 FPS is the only playable option, as Medium drops to 57 FPS and High to 48 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 36 FPS is not recommended under any circumstances, as the frame rate is too low for a shooter. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable choice, and even then, the system is operating near its limits.

The Medium preset's min FPS data provides additional insight. At 1080p, the min of 139 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay above 120 FPS. At 1440p, the min of 90 FPS keeps gameplay fluid, but at 4K, the min of 48 FPS indicates that the system will experience noticeable frame drops during intense action. This reinforces the recommendation to stick with 1080p or 1440p for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 214 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium averages 164 FPS with a min of 139 and max of 188, offering a wide frame range that indicates the GPU is not fully saturated. High averages 137 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 105 FPS, which is the lowest at 1080p but remains playable. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 51% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low averages 138 FPS, a 36% reduction from 1080p. Medium averages 106 FPS with a min of 90 and max of 121, showing a tight frame range that suggests GPU saturation. High averages 89 FPS, which is still smooth. Ultra averages 68 FPS, which is borderline for a shooter. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 51%, consistent with the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low averages 74 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS. Medium averages 57 FPS with a min of 48 and max of 65, indicating significant frame variability. High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra drops to 36 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 51%, again consistent, but the absolute numbers are too low for competitive play. The data shows that the 4K resolution is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the system is operating near its limit.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G's 6 cores and 12 threads, based on the Zen 2 architecture, play a critical role in Minimum's performance. The CPU's base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz provide sufficient single-thread performance for the game's engine, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919. The CPU's 8 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB per-core L2 cache are adequate for the game's data demands, though the 9,800 million transistors on a 7 nm process node suggest a modern design.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is strong for its class, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593 and a Geekbench multicore score of 6637. However, in Minimum, the game's reliance on single-thread performance is likely higher, given the 3dmark single-thread score of 726 and the Passmark single-thread score of 2653. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is more than capable for this title, but the 1080p Low preset's 214 FPS indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU well above typical refresh rates.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 with a dual-channel bus and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game, as memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution. The PCIe Gen 3 interface with 20 lanes provides adequate bandwidth for the RX 7700, though the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is technically limited by the CPU's Gen 3 support. This does not appear to impact performance significantly, as the measured FPS data shows no anomalies that would indicate bandwidth starvation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700, based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, is the primary driver of Minimum's performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 96 ROPs determine its fill rate, which is critical at 4K. The boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz, combined with the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provide the memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s needed for high-resolution textures.

The GPU's 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852, places it in the mid-range tier. The Passmark G3D score of 20974 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865 indicate that the GPU is capable of modern rendering workloads. In Minimum, the GPU's performance is consistent across presets, with the 4K Ultra preset's 36 FPS being the lowest measured value, highlighting the fill rate limitations at 3840x2160.

The GPU's RDNA 3.0 architecture with 40 RT cores and 25.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than sufficient for this 2014 game, which does not utilize ray tracing. The 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU indicate the GPU's power requirements are moderate. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor in Minimum, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory bandwidth is not saturated. The data shows that the GPU's compute throughput, not memory capacity, is the limiting factor at high resolutions, as evidenced by the 51% performance drop from Low to Ultra across all resolutions.