Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for this AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination in Minimum show a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 298.3 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 190.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 101.5 FPS, which is about 47% lower than the 1440p result and 66% lower than the 1080p result. This steep drop-off from 1080p to 4K is characteristic of a system where the GPU workload expands rapidly with pixel count, but the CPU is already operating near its upper bound at the lower resolution.

The scaling pattern across settings tells a similar story. At 1080p, the gap between Low (298.3 FPS) and Ultra (145.3 FPS) is substantial, indicating that the graphics card has plenty of headroom at this resolution and is being limited by other factors. At 1440p, the spread narrows slightly: Low runs at 190.6 FPS while Ultra runs at 94.7 FPS. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra range shrinks further, from 101.5 FPS down to 49.2 FPS. This compression of the performance envelope at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint as pixel throughput demands increase, while at 1080p the CPU's capability to feed frames becomes relatively more influential.

The data indicates that the RX 7900 XT is strong enough to push very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the Ryzen 5 5500's six cores and twelve threads appear to cap the ceiling. The 195.1 FPS High result at 1080p versus the 123.6 FPS at 1440p shows that even a modest resolution bump relieves some CPU pressure, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs. At 4K, the combination settles into a more balanced territory where neither component is severely bottlenecked, but the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are modest by current standards, but the processor's single-thread performance is respectable, as shown by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 836. In Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the game's engine does not appear to scale beyond a handful of threads, meaning the Ryzen 5 5500's six physical cores are sufficient for the game's logic, but the clock speed and IPC dictate the upper bound.

The benchmark data supports this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 298.3 FPS, which is high but not exceptional for a modern GPU. The fact that this same processor can push 190.6 FPS at 1440p Low and 101.5 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates that the CPU is not the sole bottleneck at higher resolutions. However, the delta between 1080p Low (298.3) and 1440p Low (190.6) is larger than the delta between 1440p Low (190.6) and 4K Low (101.5) in percentage terms, suggesting that the CPU's frame generation capability is being approached as resolution decreases.

The Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20875 places it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i5-12500 at 20897 (a -0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE at 20900 (also -0.1%). This indicates the processor sits in a crowded mid-range segment where performance differences are negligible. For Minimum, the CPU's ability to sustain high frame rates at 1080p is adequate, but the data shows it cannot fully unlock the RX 7900 XT's potential at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 298.3 FPS ceiling.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The system produces an average of 195.1 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is 97.2 FPS lower than the Low setting result of 298.3 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 49.2, which is 96.1 FPS lower than the 145.3 FPS achieved at 1920x1080 Ultra. This represents a 66% reduction in frame rate moving from 1080p to 4K at the highest settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 Medium, the system delivers 147.4 FPS. Given that the GPU has a 20 GB VRAM buffer and high memory bandwidth, the data suggests the GPU is not running out of resources, but the CPU's six cores may start to become a factor as frame rates approach 150 FPS.

Q: What is the best-performing setting at 4K for this combo?

A: The Low setting at 3840x2160 yields the highest average FPS at 101.5, followed by Medium at 76.6 FPS, High at 67.6 FPS, and Ultra at 49.2 FPS. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate at 4K.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT ranks 385th out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations.

Q: Does the 1080p Low result suggest a CPU bottleneck?

A: The 298.3 FPS at 1080p Low is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. The relatively small gap between 1080p Low (298.3) and 1440p Low (190.6) compared to the 4K Low result (101.5) indicates that the CPU's frame generation capacity is being approached at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT achieves a rank of 385 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places the setup in the 77.8th percentile of all configurations, meaning roughly 22% of tested combos outperform it. Given that the GPU alone sits in the 82nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 38358, and the CPU sits in the 79th percentile with an average score of 20875, the combo's rank reflects a pairing where the CPU is the weaker link.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349, 0% delta), the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225, 0.3% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, 0.6% delta). This indicates that the RX 7900 XT is performing in line with these high-end cards. However, the CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-12500 (20897, -0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (20900, -0.1% delta) — suggest that the processor is not holding back the GPU as much as a weaker chip might, but it also lacks the headroom of a higher-tier CPU.

The rank of 385 out of 1733 suggests that many of the combos above this one likely pair the RX 7900 XT with a more powerful processor, such as a higher-core-count Ryzen or Intel chip, which would allow the GPU to reach higher frame rates at 1080p. The data implies that for users targeting 1440p or 4K, this combo's rank is appropriate, but for esports-style 1080p play, a stronger CPU would improve the standing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, featuring 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 raster operation units. Its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus provides 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Minimum's 2014-era textures and geometry. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz drive a peak pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s, along with 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 49.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players target, indicating that the GPU's raw throughput is being taxed by the combination of high resolution and high settings. The memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s ensures that the card does not run into VRAM or bandwidth limitations, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K, the frame rate scales smoothly with settings rather than hitting a hard wall.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 38358 places it in the 82nd percentile, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349) and the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225). The 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 5623 and the passmark_g3d score of 29009 further confirm that the card is a high-end performer. However, the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is often idle-waiting for the CPU, as the 298.3 FPS Low result is far below the card's theoretical capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 298.3 FPS average, which is the peak measured result in this dataset. Medium settings follow at 232.6 FPS, High at 195.1 FPS, and Ultra at 145.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent drop of roughly 36-38 FPS per step, indicating that each settings tier adds a similar level of GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are noticeably lower but still very playable. Low settings yield 190.6 FPS, Medium drops to 147.4 FPS, High comes in at 123.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 94.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 95.9 FPS, which is slightly larger in absolute terms than the 153 FPS gap at 1080p, but the percentage difference is smaller, reflecting the GPU's increased load.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve flattens considerably. Low settings produce 101.5 FPS, Medium drops to 76.6 FPS, High falls to 67.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 49.2 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap at 4K is 52.3 FPS, which is the smallest absolute spread across all resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint regardless of settings, and the CPU's contribution to frame rate variation becomes minimal.

The data shows that for this combo, the sweet spot in terms of balanced performance is 1440p with High or Ultra settings, where the system maintains 123.6 FPS and 94.7 FPS respectively. At 1080p, the CPU limits the GPU's potential, while at 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The 4K Ultra result of 49.2 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it the only setting where the combo struggles to maintain smooth gameplay.