Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti combination delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in Minimum, with the data showing a clear trend: this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming where it can achieve high frame rates, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K Ultra settings. The benchmark results indicate that the GTX 1660 Ti is the primary performance limiter as resolution increases, while the Ryzen 5 4600G provides sufficient processing headroom for this 2014-era title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, drawing 65 W TDP. This Renoir-series chip features 8 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, with a dual-channel DDR4 memory interface providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In the context of Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU's workload is moderate. The processor's multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13593, are more than adequate for the game's physics and AI systems. Even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU typically has the most influence on frame rates, the combo achieves 135.4 FPS, suggesting that the Ryzen 5 4600G is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

The single-thread performance, measured at 1919 in Cinebench R23, is also sufficient. The game's rendering engine benefits from strong single-core performance, and the 4600G's 3DMark single-thread score of 726 indicates it handles these tasks competently. Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the Ryzen 5 4600G is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (0.1% delta), while holding a slight edge over the Intel Core i3-14100T (-0.8%) and Intel Core i3-13100F (-1%). This placement in the 75th percentile of all CPUs confirms that processing power is not the limiting factor in this configuration.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the more critical component for Minimum's performance. Built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, this GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The graphics card operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and its memory runs at an effective 12 Gbps. The GTX 1660 Ti contains 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, providing 5.437 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance.

The GPU's 6 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for Minimum at all tested settings, as the game's textures and geometry do not appear to exceed this allocation even at 4K Ultra. However, the raw compute power of the GTX 1660 Ti becomes the determining factor for frame rates as resolution climbs. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 12871 places it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 570X (0.4% delta), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (0.8%), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 (0.8%).

The data shows that the GTX 1660 Ti's performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p, it delivers frame rates well above 60 FPS on all settings, but at 4K, even Medium settings produce only 33.9 FPS. This indicates the GPU's 5.437 TFLOPS of compute power is insufficient for high-resolution rendering in this title, despite the game's age.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced impact of resolution on performance. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average frame rate from 85.4 FPS to 53.7 FPS, a drop of approximately 37%. The scaling from 1440p to 4K High is even more severe, with the average falling to 28.1 FPS, a 48% reduction from the 1440p result.

This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the GTX 1660 Ti is the limiting component. At 1080p, the CPU can keep the GPU well fed, as evidenced by the 135.4 FPS at Low settings. As resolution increases, the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the constraints. The GTX 1660 Ti's 84.96 GPixel/s pixel rate and 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are simply not sufficient for 4K rendering, even in a game as old as Minimum.

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K at each settings level are consistent: Low falls from 135.4 to 47.9 FPS, Medium from 99.7 to 33.9 FPS, High from 85.4 to 28.1 FPS, and Ultra from 67.8 to 21.2 FPS. These reductions are roughly proportional across settings, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck rather than any CPU-related constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database for Minimum, this specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 1488 out of 1733 tested combos. This places the configuration in the lower portion of the rankings, indicating that most other pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this game.

The ranking position is primarily a consequence of the GTX 1660 Ti's mid-tier performance. While the Ryzen 5 4600G is a competent processor, the GPU's 55th percentile standing among all GPUs means that many other graphics cards outperform it. The combo's rank suggests that players seeking higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K would need a more powerful GPU, while those targeting 1080p could potentially achieve similar results with a less expensive processor.

The data indicates that the combo's performance is well-balanced at 1080p, where the CPU and GPU work in harmony to deliver smooth gameplay. However, the ranking also reflects that this balance is lost at higher resolutions, where the GPU's limitations become apparent.

FAQ

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

A: The 1080p resolution provides the most consistent performance, with all settings delivering above 60 FPS, ranging from 67.8 FPS at Ultra to 135.4 FPS at Low.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 Ti scores 12871 in PassMark G3D, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 570X and 0.8% higher than both the NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile and GeForce GTX 680.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 4600G a bottleneck at 4K?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU provides ample performance headroom, evidenced by its 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 67.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive gaming.

*Q: How does the combo's ranking in Minimum compare to other games?*

A: The combo ranks 1488 out of 1733 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the lower 14% of all tested configurations.

Q: Does the CPU's integrated graphics affect performance in this game?

A: No, the Radeon Vega 7 integrated graphics are not used when the discrete GTX 1660 Ti is present, and all measured frame rates are attributed to the discrete GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 47.9 FPS
• Medium: 33.9 FPS
• High: 28.1 FPS
• Ultra: 21.2 FPS

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 85.9 FPS
• Medium: 67.9 FPS
• High: 53.7 FPS
• Ultra: 43.3 FPS

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 135.4 FPS
• Medium: 99.7 FPS
• High: 85.4 FPS
• Ultra: 67.8 FPS

The data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, all settings are playable, with even Ultra maintaining 67.8 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings exceed 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below this threshold. At 4K, no settings achieve playable frame rates above 48 FPS, with Ultra dropping to just 21.2 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p resolution. At this resolution, players can choose any settings preset and maintain frame rates above 67 FPS. For a balance between visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1080p, delivering 85.4 FPS, offers the best experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p, at 67.8 FPS, is also viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity.

For 1440p gaming, the Low preset provides 85.9 FPS and is the only setting that offers a smooth experience above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 67.9 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional frame drops during intense action sequences. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p, yielding 53.7 FPS and 43.3 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a responsive experience.

At 4K, the data clearly indicates that this combo is not suited for high-quality gaming. The Low preset achieves 47.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while all other settings fall below 34 FPS. Players with 4K displays should consider lowering resolution or upgrading the GPU to achieve acceptable performance. The recommended configuration is 1080p with High settings, which provides a strong balance of visual quality and frame rate stability for this title.