Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a starkly GPU-limited experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Across all tested resolutions, the frame rate scales dramatically with resolution changes, indicating that the Polaris 20 GPU is the primary bottleneck, while the 6-core Zen 3 processor sits largely idle. The data shows that this combination is positioned near the bottom of the benchmark database, ranking 2682 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the 9th percentile of all system configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 91 FPS, which is a playable frame rate. However, increasing the resolution to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 59 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields only 32 FPS, which is a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline with each resolution step is the signature of a graphics card that is running out of pixel throughput.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 58 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 20 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is a 65% loss, which is nearly identical to the percentage loss seen at Low settings. This consistency across presets suggests that the RX 580's raw shading and ROP capabilities are the limiting factor, not memory bandwidth or CPU overhead.

The most telling data point is the Medium preset, where the only min/max FPS values were recorded. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52. At 4K Medium, the average plummets to 24 FPS with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the narrow min/max spread, remains stable across resolutions, which further confirms that the GPU is saturated rather than stuttering due to CPU limitations.

The data indicates that the 4K resolution is not viable for this configuration. Even at the lowest settings, the 32 FPS average falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The 1440p resolution offers a marginal experience, with only the Low preset approaching 60 FPS. The 1080p resolution is the only tier where this combo can deliver acceptable performance, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the GCN 4.0 architecture using a 14 nm process from GlobalFoundries. It features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus. This configuration provides 256.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is a critical specification for a game like Minimum that may rely on texture streaming.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest by modern standards, with an FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS. The pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 193.0 GTexel/s. These figures directly correlate with the observed performance drops at higher resolutions, as the GPU must process more pixels and texels per frame. The RX 580's percentile ranking of 53 among all GPUs places it squarely in the mid-range, but its performance in Minimum at 4K Ultra (15 FPS) suggests that the game's Ultra preset is too demanding for this hardware.

The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory is a notable asset for this GPU class. At 1080p, the memory capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential. However, at 4K resolution, the combination of higher memory pressure and the need to fill more pixels overwhelms the GPU's compute resources. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the bottleneck across all resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops that align with pixel count increases.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which scores 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon 740M and AMD FirePro W5100 score 0.5% and 0.6% lower, respectively. These small deltas indicate that the RX 580 is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no significant driver overhead or thermal throttling affecting the results.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It features a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 96 MB shared L3 cache that is characteristic of the X3D series. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The 7 nm process node and 74 mm² die size contribute to its efficiency, though the 105 W TDP is relatively high for a 6-core part.

In Minimum, the CPU role is largely supplemental. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rate is almost entirely determined by the GPU, as the resolution scaling pattern remains consistent regardless of the CPU's capabilities. The passmark single-thread score of 2941 and multithread score of 20363 indicate a capable processor, but these figures do not translate into higher frame rates in this game because the GPU cannot keep up.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, which also scores 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 0.2% lower, and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 0.3% lower. These tight deltas suggest that the 5500X3D is competitive with other mid-range processors, but its performance headroom is irrelevant when paired with a GPU that maxes out at 91 FPS at 1080p Low.

The CPU's 96 MB of L3 cache is a unique feature that could benefit games with large memory footprints. However, Minimum appears to be more sensitive to GPU throughput than cache size, as the frame rates at 4K Ultra (15 FPS) are far below what the CPU could potentially support. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting component in any of the tested configurations, as even the lowest FPS values at 4K are still above what would indicate a CPU stall.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2682 out of 2939 tested configurations places this system in the bottom 9% of all combinations in the database. This low ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's mid-range performance, as the CPU is ranked in the 85th percentile among all processors. The disparity between the CPU's percentile (85) and the GPU's percentile (53) highlights the bottleneck: the RX 580 is holding back the 5500X3D.

The average benchmark score for the CPU is 37018, while the GPU's average benchmark score is 12928. These scores indicate that the CPU is roughly three times more powerful than the GPU in synthetic workloads. In Minimum, this imbalance manifests as the GPU being unable to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p, where the CPU could theoretically support much higher FPS.

The ranking data shows that this combo is not optimized for high-refresh-rate gaming. The 1080p Low result of 91 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 60 FPS, and the 1080p Medium result of 70 FPS is the only other setting above 60 FPS. All other configurations fall below 60 FPS, making them less suitable for competitive play. The combo's position near the bottom of the rankings is consistent with the GPU's performance class, as the RX 580 was designed for 1080p gaming at medium settings, not for high-fidelity or high-resolution workloads.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset. This configuration delivers an average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which ensures that the frame rate rarely dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset provides a balanced visual quality that does not overly burden the GPU, as evidenced by the 80 FPS maximum.

For users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the best choice, delivering 91 FPS average. This setting is ideal for competitive scenarios where high frame rates are more important than graphical details. The Low preset also offers headroom for potential frame rate spikes, as the GPU is not fully saturated.

The High preset at 1080p is a borderline option, with an average of 58 FPS that falls just below the 60 FPS target. This setting is playable but may experience occasional frame drops. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as the 45 FPS average is significantly lower and may impact gameplay smoothness.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, providing 59 FPS average. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 45 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced games but not ideal for a third-person shooter. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are not recommended due to their sub-40 FPS averages. At 4K, none of the presets are playable, with the highest average being 32 FPS at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces the following results:

• Low: 91 FPS average
• Medium: 70 FPS average, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 59 FPS average
• Medium: 45 FPS average, with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52
• High: 38 FPS average
• Ultra: 29 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 32 FPS average
• Medium: 24 FPS average, with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28
• High: 20 FPS average
• Ultra: 15 FPS average

The data shows a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases. The drop from 1080p Low (91 FPS) to 1440p Low (59 FPS) represents a 35% loss, while the drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low (32 FPS) represents a 46% loss. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset data is particularly useful for understanding frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the min/max spread is 21 FPS (59 to 80), while at 1440p Medium, the spread is 14 FPS (38 to 52), and at 4K Medium, the spread is 7 FPS (21 to 28). This tightening of the frame time distribution at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming more consistently saturated, reducing the variability in frame delivery.

The Ultra preset at 4K yields a 15 FPS average, which is the lowest measured value. This result indicates that the Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly taxing on the RX 580's 32 ROPs. The 4K resolution requires the GPU to process four times as many pixels as 1080p, and the combination of high resolution and high settings overwhelms the Polaris 20 chip.