Minimum

AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a pairing that targets 1080p and 1440p play in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The benchmark data shows this combo lands near the lower-middle of the tested pool, ranking 2292 out of 2939 combos. That placement is not a verdict on playability, however — the measured FPS tells a more nuanced story across resolutions and presets. This analysis uses only the provided measured rows and benchmark scores to outline what this CPU and GPU deliver together in this specific title.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) using a 7 nm process. It runs on the AMD Socket AM4 platform with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The CPU has a 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a 6-core part, plus 512 KB of L2 cache per core and 64 KB of L1 per core. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its TDP is 105 W, and it uses PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores an average of 37018 across all tests, which places it at the 85th percentile among all CPUs. That percentile is strong for a mid-range desktop part. The multi-threaded PassMark score is 20363, while the single-thread score is 2941. The physics score, which often correlates with gaming workloads, is 2282. These numbers suggest the CPU is more than capable of feeding a mid-range GPU in a 2014 title like Minimum, which is not known for being heavily threaded or CPU-bound at high resolutions. The nearest rivals show how tight the competition is: the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F averages 36945 (delta 0.2%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 averages 37093 (delta -0.2%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 averages 36938 (delta 0.2%), and the Intel Core i9-12900T averages 37112 (delta -0.3%). The 5500X3D sits almost exactly in the middle of these four, within a fraction of a percent of each. That means in CPU-bound scenarios, you would not expect a meaningful difference between this chip and those alternatives.

For Minimum, the CPU’s role is to maintain a high enough frame rate ceiling so the RTX 2060 can do its work. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 155 FPS average, which is far above any CPU bottleneck concern. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average is 76 FPS, still smooth. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance (2941 PassMark) is what matters here, as older games tend to rely more on a few fast cores. The 6-core/12-thread setup ensures background tasks won’t interfere with frame pacing. The data shows that as resolution increases, the CPU becomes less relevant, but at 1080p, it still holds up: the drop from Low to Ultra is about 79 FPS, which is a GPU-driven scaling, not a CPU collapse.

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

Looking at the measured FPS rows, the sweet spot for this combo in Minimum depends heavily on your target resolution and whether you prioritize frame rate or visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 155 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play. The Medium preset drops to 119 FPS average (with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS), which still feels very fluid. High settings at 1080p yield 100 FPS average, a perfect balance for most monitors. Ultra at 1080p drops to 76 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal if you have a 144 Hz display. If you are chasing high refresh rates at 1080p, Low or Medium is the clear choice. If you want a visual upgrade without sacrificing smoothness, High at 100 FPS is the recommended preset for 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings produce 100 FPS average, Medium produces 77 FPS (minimum 65, maximum 88), and High produces 64 FPS. Ultra falls to 49 FPS average. For 1440p, the data suggests Medium is the best compromise: 77 FPS is comfortably above 60, and the minimum of 65 FPS means you won’t see stutter in heavy scenes. High at 64 FPS is also acceptable, but it sits right at the edge of what most players consider smooth. Low is the choice for high refresh at 1440p, but Medium offers a better visual experience for only a 23 FPS cost.

At 3840x2160, this combo struggles. Low settings average 54 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS (minimum 35, maximum 47), High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The only playable preset at 4K is Low, and even that is borderline at 54 FPS. If you own a 4K monitor, the recommendation is to avoid Ultra and High entirely — they are below 40 FPS, which is poor for a shooter. Medium is marginal, but Low is the only preset that keeps you above 50 FPS. For most users, 1440p Medium or 1080p High will be the best overall experience, balancing visual quality and frame rate.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Minimum at 1080p with high refresh rates?*

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the Low preset hits 155 FPS average, Medium hits 119 FPS (minimum 101), and High hits 100 FPS. All three are above 100 FPS, which suits a 144 Hz monitor. Ultra is the outlier at 76 FPS, still smooth but not high refresh.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is the best balance at 2560x1440, averaging 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS. High at 64 FPS is close, but Medium provides a 13 FPS headroom over the minimum, which helps avoid dips below 60.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K in Minimum?*

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 54 FPS. Medium drops to 41 FPS (minimum 35), High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. For a stable experience, 4K Low is the only viable option; other presets are below the 40 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of overall benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which is within 0.8% of its nearest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 scores 15283 (delta 0%), the AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270 (delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 (delta 0.6%), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 scores 15171 (delta 0.8%). They are all effectively tied.

Q: What is the CPU’s percentile ranking, and what does that mean for gaming?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 85% of tested processors. Its single-thread score of 2941 and physics score of 2282 indicate strong gaming potential, which is reflected in the 155 FPS at 1080p Low in Minimum.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1080p Ultra?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 1080p Ultra. The CPU’s single-thread score is high, and the FPS drops from 155 (Low) to 76 (Ultra), a 79 FPS decline that tracks with increased GPU load. The CPU is not the bottleneck at these settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 2292 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. That places it in the 22nd percentile of combos — roughly the lower quarter. This low ranking is driven by the GPU, which sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is at the 85th percentile. The pairing is imbalanced in theory but works in practice for this game. The ranking is a composite measure across all tested resolutions and settings, so it reflects the combo’s average capability, not its peak.

At 1080p, this combo outperforms its overall rank suggests. The 155 FPS Low result is competitive with much higher-ranked setups. At 1440p, the 77 FPS Medium result is still respectable. The rank suffers because of the 4K results, which are weak (26-54 FPS). Many combos above it likely have GPUs with more VRAM or higher memory bandwidth, which helps at 4K. The RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are enough for 1080p and 1440p but not for 4K Ultra textures. The CPU is not the weak link — its nearest rivals are within 0.3% in average score, and it holds up well in every resolution. The combo rank of 2292/2939 should be interpreted as “mid-pack for 1080p/1440p, bottom-tier for 4K.”

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU (chip TU106) built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The GPU includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, which are irrelevant for Minimum but show the card’s feature set. Its base clock is 1365 MHz, with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory is a key constraint at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s benchmark scores are modest. PassMark G3D score is 14111, while the average benchmark score is 15290, placing it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals show tight clustering: the GTX 580 scores 15283 (delta 0%), the Radeon 680M scores 15270 (delta 0.1%), the RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 (delta 0.6%), and the RX 7600 scores 15171 (delta 0.8%). The RTX 2060 is effectively performance-identical to these cards in synthetic tests. In Minimum, the GPU drives the resolution scaling: at 1080p Low, it produces 155 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 26 FPS. That is a 6x reduction in performance as resolution increases, which reflects the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth limits.

The 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in this game, but at 4K, the Ultra preset likely exceeds what the GPU can efficiently handle, causing the 26 FPS result. The boost clock of 1680 MHz is modest by modern standards, but for a 2014 title, it is more than adequate. The GPU’s pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, which are mid-range figures. The FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS. These specs translate to solid 1080p performance and acceptable 1440p performance, with 4K being the weak point. The RTX 2060’s role in this combo is to handle the majority of the rendering load, and the data shows it succeeds at lower resolutions but falters at 4K.

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

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four presets each. Every row is a direct measurement, with some rows including minimum and maximum FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• High: 35 FPS average (no min/max provided)
• Low: 54 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 26 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• High: 64 FPS average
• Low: 100 FPS average
• Medium: 77 FPS average, 65 FPS minimum, 88 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 49 FPS average

At 1920x1080:

• High: 100 FPS average
• Low: 155 FPS average
• Medium: 119 FPS average, 101 FPS minimum, 137 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 76 FPS average

Reading these numbers, the scaling is consistent. From Low to Ultra, the FPS drops by about 51% at 1080p (155 to 76), 51% at 1440p (100 to 49), and 52% at 4K (54 to 26). This indicates the GPU is the primary limiter, as the percentage drop is nearly identical across resolutions. The Medium preset at each resolution shows the variance: at 1080p, the minimum is 101 FPS (15% below average), at 1440p, the minimum is 65 FPS (16% below average), and at 4K, the minimum is 35 FPS (15% below average). This consistent variance suggests the game’s frame pacing is stable, not spiky. The 1080p Low result of 155 FPS is the peak performance of this combo, and it is strong. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is the floor, and it is not playable. For a 60 FPS target, the best you can do is 1080p Ultra (76 FPS) or 1440p Medium (77 FPS). For a 100+ FPS target, you need 1080p Low or Medium (119 FPS) or 1440p Low (100 FPS). The data is clear: this combo is built for 1080p and 1440p, with 4K reserved for Low settings only.