Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014. The measured data shows a clear progression of performance across resolutions and settings, with the system demonstrating its strengths at 1080p and 1440p while facing limitations at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, scaling behavior, and the individual roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping the final results.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point across all tested resolutions. The data shows that Medium settings consistently provide a significant frame rate boost over High and Ultra presets while maintaining a playable experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 119 FPS, which is a solid improvement over the 100 FPS average on High settings. The gap widens at 2560x1440, where Medium delivers 77 FPS compared to 65 FPS on High, and at 3840x2160, Medium produces 41 FPS versus 35 FPS on High.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates, but it comes at a visual cost that is often unnecessary given the system's capabilities. At 1080p, Low settings push the average to 156 FPS, which is only 37 FPS higher than Medium. The Medium preset provides a more balanced experience, as it retains more visual detail while still delivering frame rates well above the playability threshold at 1080p and 1440p.

For users prioritizing a locked high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p, the High preset is a viable choice, as it maintains a 100 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the data indicates it is only suitable for 1080p gaming, where it still manages a 76 FPS average. At higher resolutions, Ultra dips below comfortable levels, with 49 FPS at 1440p and 26 FPS at 4K. Therefore, the Medium preset represents the sweet spot for this CPU-GPU pairing, offering a robust frame rate in most scenarios without sacrificing the core visual experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this hardware?*

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this setting, all presets achieve an average FPS above 76, with Low reaching 156 FPS and Medium reaching 119 FPS. The system is fully capable of delivering a smooth experience at this resolution across all quality levels.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The data shows a consistent and expected decrease in performance. For example, on the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 119 at 1920x1080 to 77 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 42 FPS. On the High preset, the drop is from 100 FPS to 65 FPS, a 35 FPS decrease.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 2560x1440?

A: The measured average FPS for Ultra at 2560x1440 is 49 FPS. While this is technically playable, it is below the smooth 60 FPS threshold that many users prefer for a shooter. The Medium preset at this resolution offers a much better experience at 77 FPS.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: The data indicates that 4K gaming is only viable on the Low preset, which achieves an average of 54 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. This suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like on the Medium preset?

A: The measured data includes min and max FPS values for the Medium preset. At 3840x2160, the average is 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 48. At 2560x1440, the average is 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88. At 1920x1080, the average is 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 and a maximum of 137. These ranges are relatively tight, indicating stable frame pacing.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination ranks 2885 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum. This reflects its capability as a solid mainstream setup rather than a high-end one.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this system. The data shows a dramatic reduction in frame rates as the resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. For instance, on the Medium preset, the average FPS falls from 119 at 1920x1080 to 77 at 2560x1440, a 35.3% decrease, and then to 41 at 3840x2160, a further 46.8% decrease from the 1440p figure.

This pattern is consistent across all settings. On High settings, the average FPS drops from 100 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p and finally to 35 at 4K. The Low preset shows the same trend, moving from 156 FPS at 1080p to 100 FPS at 1440p and 54 FPS at 4K. The scaling is not linear; the performance cost of each resolution step increases, demonstrating that the RX 6600's processing power and memory bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high fill rates at 4K.

The fact that the CPU does not become the limiting factor is evident from the substantial frame rate gains when lowering settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, reducing graphical settings would have a minimal impact on FPS. Here, the Low preset at 4K (54 FPS) is over double the frame rate of the Ultra preset at 4K (26 FPS), proving that the load on the GPU is the deciding factor. The system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results confirm that this resolution is beyond the comfortable reach of this combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system is fully capable of high-refresh-rate gaming. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 156 FPS. The Medium preset, which offers a better visual experience, still produces a strong 119 FPS average with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. The High preset delivers a smooth 100 FPS average, while the Ultra preset is the most demanding but still maintains a respectable 76 FPS average. This resolution is clearly the system's home turf, with all presets providing a fluid experience.

At 2560x1440, performance remains solid but begins to show the strain of higher pixel counts. The Low preset leads with a 100 FPS average. The Medium preset follows with a very playable 77 FPS average (minimum 65, maximum 88). The High preset maintains a 65 FPS average, which is still adequate for most players. However, the Ultra preset drops to a 49 FPS average, indicating that it is best avoided at this resolution for a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its depth. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with a 54 FPS average. The Medium preset falls to a 41 FPS average (minimum 35, maximum 48), which is stuttery and not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. The High preset produces a 35 FPS average, and the Ultra preset drops to just 26 FPS. The data shows a clear performance cliff at this resolution, making it unsuitable for anything but the lowest visual settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination has a comboRankInGame of 2885 out of 3712 tested combos. This ranking places the system in the 22nd percentile of all tested configurations for Minimum, meaning it outperforms roughly one-fifth of the tested setups. This is not a top-tier ranking, but it reflects the system's position as a mainstream, mid-range performer.

The ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. The system excels at 1080p, where it can deliver high frame rates, but its performance drops significantly at higher resolutions, bringing its overall standing down. The 4K results, in particular, are below the average, pulling the combo's rank lower than it would be if only 1080p results were considered.

In comparison to other combos, this pairing is not designed for high-end 4K or max-settings gaming. It is a setup that provides a strong 1080p experience and a decent 1440p experience, making it a good fit for gamers with standard monitors. The rank of 2885 suggests that while there are many faster configurations, there is also a substantial number of slower ones, confirming its place in the broad middle class of gaming hardware.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (codename Vermeer). It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In benchmark tests, it scores 18309 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2584 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 21541. Its average benchmark score is 20468, placing it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs.

For a game like Minimum, which is from 2014, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics. The high single-core performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2584, is particularly important for older game engines that often rely heavily on a single thread. The data supports this, as the system shows no signs of CPU bottlenecking; frame rates scale dramatically with GPU load changes, which would not occur if the CPU were struggling.

The CPU's position relative to its nearest rivals further confirms its capability. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (0.1% difference), AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (0.2% difference), AMD EPYC 9454P (0.2% difference), and AMD EPYC 7713 (0.5% difference) in average benchmark score. This indicates that the Ryzen 5 5600 offers competitive processing power, ensuring that it will not be a limiting factor in most gaming scenarios, including Minimum.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture (Navi 23 chip) and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. Its clock speeds are a base of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2044 MHz, and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. The GPU has 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs. In benchmarks, it scores 15096 in Passmark G3D and 67623 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average benchmark score of 19036, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU is the decisive factor in this combo's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The 8 GB of VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data suggests it may be a limiting factor at 4K, where the demand for memory bandwidth and fill rate increases exponentially. The measured FPS drops from 119 at 1080p Medium to 41 at 4K Medium, a 65.5% decrease, which aligns with the GPU's mid-range positioning.

The RX 6600's performance is closely matched by its nearest rivals, with a 0% difference from the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, a -0.1% difference from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, a -0.3% difference from the NVIDIA Tesla K20m, and a 0.4% difference from the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation. This shows that the GPU is a solid performer in its class. However, the 4K results clearly indicate that the GPU's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM are not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at that resolution, making the RX 6600 a capable 1080p and entry-level 1440p card for Minimum.