Minimum

# Minimum: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 — Benchmark Analysis

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Minimum, a 2014 Third-Person Shooter. Measured frame rates show a clear progression from excellent 1080p performance to marginal 4K results, with the combo ranking in the 21st percentile of tested configurations (2929th out of 3712 combos). The data indicates a system that comfortably handles competitive play at lower resolutions but requires careful settings management at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 155 FPS average; stepping up to 1440p reduces that to 100 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 54 FPS. This represents a 35% loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 46% loss from 1440p to 4K, translating to a total 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher settings. With Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 76 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction), then to 26 FPS at 4K (a 47% further reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the RTX 2060's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count.

Examining the Medium settings rows, which include min/max data, provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 119 FPS with a range of 101-137 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 77 FPS with a range of 65-88 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 41 FPS with a range of 35-47 FPS. The consistent spacing between resolutions indicates no sudden bottleneck shift—the system scales proportionally, reinforcing that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the binding constraints.

The 4K High result of 35 FPS versus 4K Medium's 41 FPS shows a modest 6 FPS penalty for the higher preset, while 4K Ultra at 26 FPS is 15 FPS below High. This suggests that beyond Medium, each settings tier adds substantial rendering complexity that the RTX 2060 struggles to sustain at 4K. The 1080p to 4K scaling at High settings (100 FPS to 35 FPS) is a 65% drop, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling, indicating that resolution is the dominant variable regardless of quality level.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2929th out of 3712 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the lower 21% of all configurations. This percentile positioning reflects the age and tier of both components relative to the full spectrum of hardware tested. The Ryzen 5 5500's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the RTX 2060's 58th percentile among all GPUs suggest the combination is held back more by the GPU than the CPU, yet the overall combo rank is significantly lower than either component's individual standing.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19,617 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19,668 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19,499 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19,723 (0.7% higher). These sub-1% deltas indicate the Ryzen 5 5500 sits squarely in a competitive mid-range CPU cluster, with no single rival offering a decisive advantage.

For the GPU, the RTX 2060's nearest rivals are tightly grouped. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 matches at 0% delta, the AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% higher. This clustering shows the RTX 2060 holds its own against both older high-end and newer entry-level cards, though none of these rivals would dramatically alter the Minimum experience given the game's modest requirements.

The disparity between the combo's 21st percentile rank and the components' higher individual percentiles suggests that Minimum may favor configurations with newer architectures or specific feature sets. The measured data shows the combo is capable of high frame rates at 1080p, so the rank likely reflects the breadth of higher-performing combinations in the database rather than a fundamental inadequacy for this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience balances frame rate and visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed 60 FPS, with Low at 155 FPS, Medium at 119 FPS, High at 100 FPS, and Ultra at 76 FPS. For competitive play prioritizing smoothness, Medium or High provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low while maintaining well above 100 FPS. Ultra remains viable at 76 FPS for those who prefer maximum quality, but the 24 FPS penalty versus High may not justify the visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts to High at 64 FPS, which is the only preset that clears 60 FPS. Medium at 77 FPS also qualifies, but High offers better visuals at a still-smooth frame rate. Low at 100 FPS is available for high-refresh displays, while Ultra at 49 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and introduces noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenarios.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low at 54 FPS is the highest achievable average, followed by Medium at 41 FPS, High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 26 FPS. For 4K gaming, Low is the only practical choice, though the 54 FPS average suggests a variable experience. Users with 60Hz 4K displays should consider dropping to 1440p for a consistent frame rate.

The Medium preset's min/max data across resolutions reveals its stability profile: 101-137 FPS at 1080p, 65-88 FPS at 1440p, and 35-47 FPS at 4K. The frame time consistency at 1080p and 1440p indicates smooth gameplay, while the 4K range shows more variance relative to the average, reinforcing that 4K is beyond the combo's comfortable envelope.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages span 76 to 155 FPS. Low settings deliver 155 FPS, Medium averages 119 FPS with a 101-137 FPS range, High averages 100 FPS, and Ultra averages 76 FPS. The 79 FPS gap between Low and Ultra represents a 51% performance spread, with each settings tier costing roughly 20-25 FPS at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the range tightens to 49-100 FPS. Low produces 100 FPS, Medium averages 77 FPS with a 65-88 FPS range, High averages 64 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS. The 51 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is proportionally similar to 1080p, confirming consistent scaling behavior.

At 3840x2160, all presets fall below 60 FPS. Low averages 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS with a 35-47 FPS range, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The 28 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is smaller in absolute terms but represents a 52% reduction, matching the relative penalty seen at lower resolutions.

The Medium presets provide the only complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the 36 FPS spread between min and max indicates moderate variance. At 1440p, the 23 FPS spread is tighter. At 4K, the 12 FPS spread is narrowest in absolute terms but represents a 29% deviation from the 41 FPS average, suggesting less stability at the highest resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective), with a base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz. The card's 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units deliver a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS.

Given Minimum's 2014 release, the 6 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this title's textures and geometry. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions suggests the GPU's compute throughput, rather than memory capacity, is the limiting factor. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the steep 4K drop indicates the memory subsystem or fill rate struggles with the 8.3 million pixel workload.

The RTX 2060's benchmark profile shows a PassMark G3D score of 14,111 and DirectX 12 score of 53, with Vulkan scoring 65,846 in Geekbench. These numbers, combined with the measured in-game results, place the card in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The 12 nm TU106 chip with 10,800 million transistors and 445 mm² die size represents Turing architecture, which supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The GPU's 160W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin connector suggest adequate power delivery for sustained loads. The measured 4K results, however, indicate the card operates at its practical limit at that resolution, with even Low settings failing to reach 60 FPS. The 1440p results show a more comfortable operating envelope, with three of four presets exceeding 60 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 4K with acceptable performance?*

A: No preset reaches 60 FPS at 3840x2160. The best result is Low settings at 54 FPS average, followed by Medium at 41 FPS, High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 26 FPS. For a consistent experience at 4K, users should accept Low settings or reduce resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 64 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS while maintaining strong visual quality. Medium at 77 FPS also clears this threshold, while Low at 100 FPS suits high-refresh displays and Ultra at 49 FPS falls short of smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15,290 is matched by the GTX 580 (0% delta), slightly below the Radeon 680M (0.1% higher) and RTX 3050 OEM (0.6% higher), and trails the RX 7600 by 0.8%. These deltas are minor and unlikely to produce meaningful differences in Minimum.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking and sub-1% deltas from its nearest rivals suggest it is not a limiting factor. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions aligns with GPU-bound behavior, indicating the RTX 2060 is the performance constraint.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 119 FPS with a range of 101-137 FPS. This provides a smooth experience suitable for 120Hz displays, with the min frame rate remaining well above 60 FPS.

Q: Does the combo rank well among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 2929th out of 3712 combos, placing it in the lower 21% of tested systems. This rank is lower than the individual component percentiles, reflecting the broad range of higher-performing hardware in the database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) on a 7 nm TSMC process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 16 MB shared L3 cache, fed by dual-channel DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Benchmark scores position the Ryzen 5 5500 firmly in the mid-range. Cinebench R23 results show 16,429 multi-core and 2,319 single-core, while Geekbench reports 7,976 multi-core and 1,730 single-core. PassMark multi-thread score is 19,330 with single-thread at 3,058. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 836 single-thread to 5,411 max-threads, indicating efficient multi-core utilization.

For Minimum, a 2014 title, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample processing headroom. The game's era predates the multi-core scaling common in modern titles, so the Zen 3 architecture's strong single-thread performance (2,319 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is likely more relevant than raw thread count. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals—all within 0.7% average score—confirm it operates at a performance plateau shared by several contemporary processors. The 0.5% advantage over the Intel Core i7-10700F and 0.7% deficit versus the Intel Core i5-11600KF are negligible in real-world gaming. The 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates the Ryzen 5 5500 outperforms roughly three-quarters of tested processors, making it a capable partner for the RTX 2060 in this title.

The 16 MB L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for Minimum's data requirements, and the PCIe Gen 3 interface presents no bottleneck for the RTX 2060's PCIe 3.0 x16 bus. The CPU's 65W TDP and AM4 socket compatibility make it an efficient, accessible choice, though the measured in-game results show the GPU remains the determining factor for frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings.