Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB combination delivers a clear performance profile in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher loads. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results across all measured configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is substantial, indicating a strong GPU dependency at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 133.1 at 1080p to 84.6 at 1440p, a reduction of 48.5 FPS (or roughly 36%). Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings brings the average down to 44.5 FPS, a further drop of 40.1 FPS (approximately 47%). This steep decline shows that the Radeon RX 9060 XT is the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system produces 205.6 FPS at 1080p, 135.4 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 70.2 FPS is larger than the 1440p-to-4K drop of 65.4 FPS, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being saturated more quickly at the lower resolutions, with diminishing returns as resolution increases. At Ultra settings, the trend is similar: 103.3 FPS at 1080p, 68.2 FPS at 1440p, and 34.1 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that 1080p is the most comfortable resolution for this combo, offering playable frame rates even at Ultra. At 1440p, the system remains viable for most presets, but 4K Ultra drops below 35 FPS, which is unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The scaling behavior points to a GPU with a 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of VRAM, which struggles to maintain throughput at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a balanced single-thread and multi-thread profile: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2319 and a multi-core score of 16429. The PassMark multithread score of 19330 and single-thread score of 3058 further confirm its capability.

In Minimum, the CPU does not appear to be the bottleneck at 1080p. The fact that the system reaches 205.6 FPS at Low settings suggests the Ryzen 5 5500 can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. The 3DMark single-thread score of 836 and 2-thread score of 1645 indicate that the processor's per-core performance is sufficient for this game's engine, which was released in 2014 and likely does not demand extreme multi-threading.

However, at 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further. The frame rate differences between Low and Ultra at 4K (70 FPS vs. 34.1 FPS) are almost entirely attributable to GPU load. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s are adequate for this title, as the measured FPS does not show signs of a CPU-imposed ceiling even at the lowest settings. The Ryzen 5 5500's 65 W TDP and PCIe Gen 3 interface are not limiting factors in these results.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB ranks 931 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is consistent with the GPU's modest percentile ranking of 50 among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card.

The combo rank of 931 out of 1733 means that approximately 46% of tested configurations perform worse, and 54% perform better. This is a meaningful context: the system is not a top-tier performer, but it is also not near the bottom. The data suggests that the GPU is the component holding back the overall ranking, as the CPU's own nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-12500 (deltaPct -0.1), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (deltaPct -0.1), AMD EPYC 7J13 (deltaPct 0.1), and Intel Core i5-12600T (deltaPct -0.2)—are all within a fraction of a percent in average benchmark score. The CPU is effectively at parity with these alternatives.

The GPU's lack of benchmark data (average score of 0) prevents a direct comparison, but its 50th percentile ranking and the measured FPS in this game provide the basis for the combo's position. In a 2014 title like Minimum, the RX 9060 XT's modern architecture (RDNA 4.0) should excel, yet the 4K results show it is not enough for high-refresh gaming at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 205.6 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh monitor. Medium settings drop to 158.7 FPS, still a smooth experience. High settings yield 133.1 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 103.3 FPS. All four presets at 1080p exceed 100 FPS, meaning the combo can handle this resolution with headroom to spare.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably but remains playable. Low settings average 135.4 FPS, which is excellent. Medium settings average 105.9 FPS, and High settings average 84.6 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 68.2 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold but not ideal for competitive play. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 67.2 FPS difference, indicating the GPU's workload increases by roughly half across the preset range.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings average 70 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for fast-paced action. Medium settings drop to 54.3 FPS, High settings to 44.5 FPS, and Ultra settings to 34.1 FPS. The 4K results show a clear pattern: the RX 9060 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 322.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at this resolution. The 128-bit memory bus is a limiting factor, as the pixel rate of 200.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 400.6 GTexel/s are not enough to keep up with the demands of 4K rendering.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The boost clock of 3130 MHz is high, but the memory configuration—8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with 322.3 GB/s bandwidth—is the bottleneck in Minimum.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial on paper: FP32 performance of 25.64 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 200.3 GPixel/s. In practice, the measured FPS shows that the card performs well at 1080p and adequately at 1440p, but falls short at 4K. The transition from 1440p to 4K at High settings causes a 40.1 FPS drop, which is a 47% reduction. This is a steeper decline than the 1080p-to-1440p drop, confirming that the memory subsystem is the primary constraint.

The GPU's 32 RT cores are irrelevant for this game, which was released before hardware ray tracing was common. The RDNA 4.0 architecture's efficiency is evident in the 150 W TDP, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a concern for future titles, though not for Minimum at 1080p or 1440p. The lack of benchmark scores for the GPU in the database means the measured FPS here is the only data point, but it is sufficient to characterize its behavior.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience at 1920x1080 is achieved with the High preset, which averages 133.1 FPS. This provides a 30 FPS improvement over Ultra while maintaining visual quality that is unlikely to be distinguishable in a 2014 title. For players seeking maximum frame rates, Low at 205.6 FPS is the choice, but the jump from Low to Medium (158.7 FPS) is worth the visual upgrade.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers the best balance, averaging 105.9 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and provides a significant visual improvement over Low (135.4 FPS). High at 84.6 FPS is also viable, but the 21.3 FPS penalty from Medium may not justify the added detail. Ultra at 68.2 FPS is playable but begins to approach the lower limit for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the only acceptable preset is Low, which averages 70 FPS. Medium at 54.3 FPS and High at 44.5 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra at 34.1 FPS is not recommended. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that the combo is only suitable for the lowest settings, and even then, the frame rate is marginal. Overall, the system is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, where it can maintain high frame rates across most presets without compromising playability.