Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D + Intel Arc B370

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D pairs with the Intel Arc B370 in a configuration that lands near the bottom of the database for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The combo ranks 2703rd out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it in the 8th percentile overall. The GPU sits at the 5th percentile among all tested graphics cards, while the CPU holds an 85th percentile ranking, creating a stark imbalance that dominates every benchmark result in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 85 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 55 FPS — a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 30 FPS, which is 65% below the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern strongly indicates the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting component, as the CPU’s 85th percentile standing should comfortably handle this 2014 title.

Looking at High settings, the trend sharpens further. The 1080p High average of 55 FPS drops to 35 FPS at 1440p (a 36% loss) and then to 19 FPS at 4K (a 65% loss from 1440p). These percentage drops are nearly identical across Low and High presets, which suggests the GPU is saturating its shading units, texture units, and raster operations pipelines regardless of quality settings. The Arc B370’s 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs produce a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s — figures that explain why 4K resolution overwhelms this integrated-class part.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data in the pack, offering a window into frame time stability. At 1080p Medium, the average is 65 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 75. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 42 FPS with a range of 36 to 48. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 23 FPS with a range of 19 to 26. The consistent spread of roughly 8-9 FPS between minimum and maximum across all three resolutions suggests the frame pacing remains stable even as the GPU becomes the bottleneck — there is no evidence of CPU-side stutter or memory bandwidth throttling.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 2703 out of 2939, this pairing sits in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations for Minimum. The GPU’s 5th percentile standing among all graphics cards is the primary driver of this poor ranking. The Arc B370’s average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it in direct competition with legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, 0.7% faster). The only rival the Arc B370 beats is the AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, 1.4% slower).

This context matters because Minimum is a 2014 title, yet the Arc B370 still struggles to deliver smooth frame rates at higher resolutions. The CPU, by contrast, is a modern 6-core, 12-thread Zen 3 part with a 96 MB shared L3 cache. Its average benchmark score of 37018 places it in a tight cluster with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0.2% slower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, 0.2% faster), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0.2% slower), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, 0.3% faster). The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking means it is not the constraint here.

The data implies that swapping the Arc B370 for almost any discrete GPU from the past decade would dramatically improve this combo’s standing. The 2703rd rank is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but rather a consequence of pairing an 85th-percentile processor with a 5th-percentile graphics solution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show that Low settings at 1080p provide the only truly smooth experience, with an 85 FPS average. This is the only preset/resolution combination that clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. Medium at 1080p hits 65 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. High at 1080p falls to 55 FPS, and Ultra at 1080p drops to 42 FPS.

For 1440p users, Low is the only viable option at 55 FPS. Medium at 1440p yields 42 FPS, High drops to 35, and Ultra falls to 27. None of these reach the smoothness of the 1080p Low preset, but 1440p Low may be acceptable for slower-paced sections of the game.

At 4K, the data shows no playable presets. Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 23, High averages 19, and Ultra averages 15. The 4K Medium row shows a minimum of 19 FPS, which means even the best-case frame times are below the threshold for responsive gameplay.

The optimal experience per the measured data is 1080p Low, which delivers 85 FPS average. If visual fidelity is a priority, 1080p Medium at 65 FPS represents the best balance, as the jump from Medium to High costs 10 FPS (15% reduction) for what is typically a modest visual gain. Ultra at 1080p (42 FPS) is not recommended given the 23 FPS drop from Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings ladder was measured. Low produces an 85 FPS average. Medium produces a 65 FPS average with a minimum of 56 and maximum of 75. High produces a 55 FPS average. Ultra produces a 42 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 51% reduction in frame rate, which is substantial but expected for a GPU with only 1280 shading units.

At 2560x1440, the same settings ladder shows: Low at 55 FPS, Medium at 42 FPS (min 36, max 48), High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 27 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 35% of the frame rate at every preset, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 78% — the GPU is not scaling linearly with pixel throughput.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 30 FPS, Medium at 23 FPS (min 19, max 26), High at 19 FPS, and Ultra at 15 FPS. The 4K resolution contains 4 times the pixels of 1080p, yet the frame rate only drops to roughly one-third of the 1080p Low value. This suggests the Arc B370 has some headroom in its memory subsystem or that the game’s engine is not fully pixel-bound at these settings.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all three resolutions. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS is 19 at 1080p, 12 at 1440p, and 7 at 4K. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes consistently saturated, leaving less variance in frame times.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated-class part built on Intel’s 3 nm process with the Xe3-LPG architecture (Panther Lake chip). Its base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, no dedicated bus width, and bandwidth that is system-dependent. This is a critical limitation for Minimum, a game that likely benefits from dedicated graphics memory.

The GPU’s 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 12.29 TFLOPS (2:1). The 10 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for this 2014 title, which predates hardware ray tracing. The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm this is not designed for sustained gaming workloads.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places the Arc B370 at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy parts from the early 2010s, with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). The fact that a 2026 GPU is competing with 2010-era hardware in synthetic benchmarks explains why Minimum — also from 2014 — struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions.

The system-shared memory architecture means the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The CPU’s dual-channel DDR4 support provides 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is shared between the processor and the integrated graphics. In Minimum, this shared bandwidth likely causes the steep FPS drops at 4K, where texture fetching and frame buffer operations place heavy demands on the memory controller.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any preset achieves a smooth frame rate. At 1080p Low, the average is 85 FPS; at 1080p Medium, it is 65 FPS. Both 1440p and 4K fall below 60 FPS at every preset.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% slower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance in this game?

A: No. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 37018. Its nearest rivals (Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, Core Ultra 5 225, Core i9-12900T) are all within 0.3% of its score, indicating consistent CPU performance. The GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a 23 FPS average at 3840x2160 Medium, with a minimum of 19 FPS and a maximum of 26 FPS. This is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

Q: How much of a drop occurs between 1080p and 4K at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, the average drops from 85 FPS at 1080p to 30 FPS at 4K, a 65% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 55 FPS to 19 FPS, a 65% reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 65 FPS to 23 FPS, a 65% reduction.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The GPU relies entirely on shared system memory, which contributes to its poor performance in this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on TSMC’s 7 nm process with the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename). Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The 96 MB shared L3 cache is the standout feature — a massive pool that should provide excellent game performance by keeping frequently accessed data close to the cores.

The CPU’s benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance: a PassMark multi-thread score of 20363 and a single-thread score of 2941. The integer math score of 60033 and floating-point math score of 34511 indicate robust arithmetic capability. The data compression score of 230392 and encryption score of 13967 round out a well-rounded profile. The physics score of 2282 and extended instructions score of 15925 complete the picture.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 37018 places it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are clustered tightly: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0.2% slower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093, 0.2% faster), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938, 0.2% slower), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112, 0.3% faster). This tight grouping suggests the 5500X3D delivers expected performance for its class.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, physics calculations, and game logic. Given that the GPU ranks at the 5th percentile while the CPU ranks at the 85th, the processor is almost certainly idle-waiting for the Arc B370 to complete its rendering work. The 96 MB L3 cache should minimize memory latency for game assets, and the 51.2 GB/s dual-channel DDR4 bandwidth is more than sufficient for a 2014 title. The data implies that upgrading the GPU would unlock substantially higher frame rates without any CPU bottleneck.

The CPU’s 105 W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility indicate a desktop part, though its production status is Active with a release date of June 2025. The 7 nm process and 74 mm² die size are modest by modern standards, but the Zen 3 architecture remains competitive for gaming workloads. The ECC memory support and Gen 4 PCIe with 20 lanes provide modern connectivity, though the Arc B370’s IGP bus interface means the CPU’s PCIe lanes are not utilized for graphics in this configuration.