Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014-06-25, but the data reveals a clear performance hierarchy that shifts depending on resolution and settings. The measured frames per second range from a high of 204 at 1080p Low to a low of 35 at 4K Ultra, indicating that the system's capability is heavily influenced by both the graphical preset and the output resolution. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine where the bottleneck lies, which settings offer the smoothest experience, and how this specific hardware pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 131 at 1920x1080 to 85 at 2560x1440, then down to 46 at 3840x2160. This represents a 35% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p High to 4K High is approximately 65%, which is a substantial penalty that points directly at the Radeon RX 6700 XT as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced when looking at the Low preset. At 1920x1080 Low, the system produces 204 FPS, which drops to 132 at 2560x1440 and then to 71 at 3840x2160. The drop from 1440p to 4K is about 46%, nearly identical to the High preset's drop. This consistency across presets suggests that the resolution scaling is independent of the quality settings, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. When the CPU is not the bottleneck, the frame rate scales almost purely with the number of pixels being rendered.

The Medium preset data includes min and max FPS values, providing additional insight. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 54 FPS with a min of 46 and max of 62. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average jumps to 101 FPS with a min of 86 and max of 116. This shows that the variance, or the difference between min and max FPS, is relatively consistent at around 16-30 FPS, but the average scales dramatically with resolution. The 47 FPS difference between 1440p and 4K Medium is a clear sign that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor.

Interestingly, the CPU does not appear to be a bottleneck at any resolution, given the magnitude of the FPS drops. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D with its 6 cores and 12 threads, boosting to 4.00 GHz, would likely be able to feed the GPU at even the highest frame rates seen here. The fact that FPS drops by roughly half when moving from 1440p to 4K, regardless of the preset, indicates that the Radeon RX 6700 XT's compute units and memory bandwidth are being saturated, not the CPU's processing power. The data implies that for maximum frame rates, playing at 1080p is essential, while 4K will require significant compromises in visual quality.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Low preset at 204 FPS is the clear winner for competitive play or high refresh rate monitors. The High preset at 131 FPS is still excellent and provides a better visual experience, while Medium at 156 FPS offers a good middle ground. The Ultra preset at 100 FPS is the most visually demanding but still provides a smooth experience for most players, though it is the least performant of the 1080p options.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 132 FPS is the only option that exceeds the 120 FPS threshold, making it the best choice for high refresh rate 1440p gaming. The Medium preset at 101 FPS is a strong alternative, offering better visuals with only a 23% performance penalty compared to Low. The High preset at 85 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive, while the Ultra preset at 64 FPS is the most visually rich but drops below the 70 FPS mark, which could be a concern for fast-paced gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that the Ultra preset at 35 FPS is not a viable option for smooth gameplay, as it falls well below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 46 FPS is also suboptimal, but the Medium preset at 54 FPS with a min of 46 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution. The Low preset at 71 FPS is the only 4K option that delivers a smooth experience, but it requires sacrificing most graphical fidelity. The recommendation is clear: for 4K, use Low or Medium settings, for 1440p, use Low or Medium, and for 1080p, any preset works, with Low being the best for maximum FPS.

The data shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. The Ultra preset consistently delivers the lowest FPS across all resolutions, while the Low preset delivers the highest. The Medium preset offers the best balance of quality and performance, especially at 1440p and 4K, where the FPS drops are less severe than High or Ultra. For a game like Minimum, which is a fast-paced shooter, prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity is often the better choice, making the Low preset at 1080p or 1440p the most practical recommendation.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of bandwidth, but the data suggests it is still a limiting factor at 4K, where the pixel throughput demands are highest. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for all presets in this game, as there is no evidence of texture swapping or stuttering in the min FPS data, but the bandwidth is what constrains the highest resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant to the performance scaling. The base clock is 2321 MHz, with a boost clock of 2581 MHz and a game clock of 2424 MHz. These high clocks allow the GPU to maintain strong performance at lower resolutions, but as the resolution increases, the GPU must work harder to fill pixels, and the clocks alone cannot compensate for the increased workload. The shading units (2560), TMUs (160), and ROPs (64) are all fixed resources, and their utilization scales with resolution, which is why the FPS drops are so consistent across presets.

The GPU's benchmark scores put it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which has a deltaPct of -0.5%, meaning the 6700 XT is slightly slower in synthetic tests. This context is useful because it shows that while the 6700 XT is not a top-tier card, it is competitive with high-end options from previous generations. However, in Minimum, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, dropping to 35 FPS at Ultra, which is a significant limitation for a game released in 2014.

The GPU's power characteristics, including a TDP of 230 W and a suggested PSU of 550 W, are not directly visible in the FPS data, but they inform the system's overall capability. The RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC, provides a good balance of performance and efficiency, but the 4K results indicate that the card is not designed for maxed-out 4K gaming in this title. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS is a theoretical measure, but the real-world results show that at 4K Ultra, the card is producing only 35 FPS, which is less than a third of its 1080p Low performance.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The highest average FPS is 204, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: At 4K resolution, which settings preset provides the smoothest experience?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 71 FPS, which is the highest among 4K presets. The Medium preset is the second-best at 54 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 64 FPS, while the High preset at 1920x1080 delivers 131 FPS. This shows a 67 FPS difference, favoring the lower resolution High preset.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 86 FPS, with a maximum of 116 FPS and an average of 101 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p, as the FPS drops consistently with increased resolution. The CPU has a benchmark percentile of 85, indicating it is capable of keeping up with the GPU's output.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 100, while at 4K Ultra it is 35. This represents a drop of 65 FPS, or a 65% reduction in performance.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its specifications ensure it does not bottleneck the GPU. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it is a modern processor that can handle the game's logic and draw calls, but the FPS data indicates that its processing power is not the limiting factor. The CPU's base clock is 3.00 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, which is more than sufficient for a game from 2014. The 7 nm process node and Zen 3 architecture provide strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for games.

The CPU's cache configuration is particularly noteworthy, with an L3 cache of 96 MB (shared). This large L3 cache can help reduce memory latency and improve performance in games, but in this case, the FPS scaling with resolution is so consistent that it is clear the CPU is not the bottleneck. The PassMark single-thread score of 2941 and multithread score of 20363 place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37018. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, has a deltaPct of 0.2%, meaning the 5500X3D is essentially tied with it in synthetic benchmarks.

The CPU's memory support for DDR4 at dual-channel speeds with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is adequate for feeding the GPU, but again, the data shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth is the more critical factor. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to become a bottleneck due to the high frame rates, the system achieves 204 FPS, which reflects the CPU's ability to keep up. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see the FPS plateau or even drop at lower resolutions, but the data shows a linear relationship between resolution and FPS, which is a clear sign of GPU limitation.

The CPU's TDP of 105 W and socket AM4 compatibility are not directly reflected in the FPS numbers, but they indicate a balanced system. The fact that the CPU has a production status of "Active" and was released in 2025-06-04 suggests it is a current-generation part, and its performance in this game is more than adequate. The data confirms that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is not a limiting factor, and the system's performance is entirely dictated by the GPU's capabilities at each resolution and settings combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 204 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. The Medium preset delivers 156 FPS with a min of 133 and max of 180, while the High preset achieves 131 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 100 FPS, which is still a solid frame rate but 104 FPS lower than the Low preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 132 FPS, which is a 35% decrease from 1080p Low. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 101 FPS with a min of 86 and max of 116, while the High preset achieves 85 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the most demanding, with an average of 64 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest, and the gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 68 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset achieves 71 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 54 FPS with a min of 46 and max of 62, while the High preset achieves 46 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the slowest configuration tested, with an average of just 35 FPS. The total range of FPS across all configurations is from 35 FPS (4K Ultra) to 204 FPS (1080p Low), demonstrating the system's flexibility and the importance of adjusting settings based on resolution.

The data also allows for a direct comparison of settings scaling. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS by 48, from Medium to High reduces it by 25, and from High to Ultra reduces it by 31. At 1440p, the same transitions are 31, 16, and 21 FPS respectively. At 4K, the transitions are 17, 8, and 11 FPS. This indicates that the relative cost of each settings tier decreases as resolution increases, but the absolute FPS numbers become more critical due to the lower starting point.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1501 out of 2939 total combos for Minimum. This places it in the 51st percentile of all tested systems, meaning it performs better than about half of the configurations but worse than the other half. This mid-pack ranking is consistent with the FPS data, which shows strong performance at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K with high settings.

The rank of 1501 suggests that while this combo is capable, it is not a top-tier performer for this specific game. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D's CPU percentile of 85 is high, but the GPU's percentile of 72 is lower, indicating that the GPU is the weaker component in this pairing. This is reflected in the game's ranking, as the GPU's limitations at 4K likely drag the combo down compared to systems with more powerful GPUs.

The combo's rank of 1501 out of 2939 means that there are 1438 combos that perform better and 1439 that perform worse. This is a near-median result, which is expected for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The data indicates that to improve the ranking, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, as the CPU is already performing well above average. The 4K results, where the combo drops to 35 FPS at Ultra, are likely the primary factor preventing a higher rank.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals show that the 5500X3D is essentially tied with the Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Core Ultra 5 225, both with a 0.2% difference. This means that swapping the CPU for a comparable rival would not significantly change the game's performance. The GPU's nearest rivals include the RTX 3090, which is only 0.5% faster, and the RTX 4070 Mobile, which is 0% different. This suggests that the combo's ranking is more dependent on the game's optimization and the specific resolution/settings tested than on minor CPU or GPU differences.