Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 5 5600G + AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

This pairing of a 6-core Zen 3 processor with a RDNA 1.0 graphics card produces a surprisingly balanced result in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that clearly scales with both CPU and GPU resources depending on the resolution and preset. The measured data shows this combo landing at rank 1324 out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database — a position that tells a more nuanced story once the resolution scaling and settings behavior are examined closely.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals where the bottleneck shifts. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 170.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 105.4 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 38% reduction), then further to 55.5 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 47% drop from 1440p). This pattern — where each resolution step costs roughly 40-50% of the remaining performance — is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at lower presets, since the CPU has ample headroom at 1080p Low to feed the graphics card.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 79.7 FPS, dropping to 50.7 FPS at 1440p and 25.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely playable, and the scaling from 1440p to 4K here (a 49% loss) is nearly identical to the Low preset's drop, suggesting that at Ultra, the GPU is overwhelmed regardless of resolution. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p — 170.2 FPS versus 79.7 FPS — indicates that the graphics card's pixel throughput and shading resources are the primary constraint when settings are maxed out.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the most linear scaling: 130.9 FPS at 1080p, 80.7 FPS at 1440p, and 45.9 FPS at 4K. Each step down in resolution recovers roughly 60% of the lost performance, which points to a balanced workload where neither component is fully saturated. The data implies that at Medium settings, this combo behaves most predictably, with no single component dominating the frame rate ceiling.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600G brings 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost up to 4.40 GHz, built on the Zen 3 architecture with 16 MB of L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor scores 872 in 3dMark single-thread and 5455 in 3dMark max-threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16758. These numbers place the CPU at the 78th percentile among all tested processors, which is respectable for a mid-range desktop part.

In Minimum, the CPU's role appears most critical at 1080p with lower settings, where the frame rates exceed 130 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 170.2 FPS average suggests the processor is keeping up with the GPU's output without becoming a limiting factor. The 3dMark 2-thread score of 1705 and single-thread score of 872 indicate that this game, likely relying on a few primary threads, can leverage the 5600G's strong per-core performance. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides the headroom needed for high refresh rate scenarios.

However, the CPU's influence wanes as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the 25.9 FPS result is clearly GPU-bound, as the processor's 12 threads are unlikely to be saturated when the graphics card is struggling to fill 8.3 million pixels. The data suggests that the 5600G is never the primary bottleneck in this game — even at 1080p Low, the GPU still manages to deliver 170 FPS, which is well within what a 6-core Zen 3 chip can support.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1440p in Minimum?*

A: Yes, at Medium settings the average FPS is 80.7, and at High it reaches 67.8. However, at Ultra settings the average drops to 50.7, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance influence the game?

A: The 3dMark single-thread score of 872 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2365 indicate strong per-core performance, which helps maintain high frame rates at 1080p where the game's engine may rely on fewer threads.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 170.2 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. Even at 1080p Medium, the 130.9 FPS average provides a smooth experience for fast-paced third-person shooting.

Q: Does the 8 GB of VRAM on the RX 5700 XT cause issues at 4K?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM-related stuttering or min FPS drops, but the 4K Ultra average of 25.9 FPS suggests the GPU's compute resources, not memory capacity, are the limiting factor.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 1324 out of 1733 combos in Minimum, placing it in the 24th percentile — meaning about 76% of tested combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this game.

Q: What settings preset provides the best balance of quality and performance at 1080p?

A: Medium at 130.9 FPS offers a significant improvement over High (109.7 FPS) while maintaining visual quality above Low. The jump from Medium to Ultra (79.7 FPS) costs 51 FPS, which is a steep price for marginal visual gains.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1324 of 1733 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the lower 24% of the database for Minimum. This placement is somewhat surprising given the hardware's individual capabilities — the CPU ranks at the 78th percentile among all processors, and the GPU at the 68th percentile among all graphics cards. The discrepancy between component percentiles and the combo's game-specific rank suggests that Minimum may be particularly demanding on certain GPU features or that the game's engine does not scale well with this specific hardware configuration.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the Intel Core i7-11600H (0.2% higher average score), the AMD EPYC 7713P (0.2% lower), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (0.3% higher). For the GPU, the closest competitors are the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (0.1% lower), Intel Arc A350M (0.3% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (0.6% higher). These narrow deltas indicate that the individual components are competitive with their peers, yet the combined result in Minimum falls short of what the component-level benchmarks might predict.

The data implies that the RX 5700 XT's RDNA 1.0 architecture, while strong in synthetic tests (PassMark G3D score of 16277), may not translate its raw compute into frame rates in this particular title as efficiently as newer architectures. The combo's rank suggests that users seeking higher performance in Minimum would benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU swap, given the processor's already strong 78th percentile standing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the Navi 10 chip with RDNA 1.0 architecture, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. Its boost clock of 1905 MHz and game clock of 1755 MHz drive a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a 2019 card.

In Minimum, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the 170.2 FPS average suggests the card is operating well within its limits. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 and PassMark G3D score of 16277 place the GPU at the 68th percentile, indicating it is an average-performing card in the current database.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution reveals the GPU's compute ceiling. At 1080p, the difference between Low (170.2 FPS) and Ultra (79.7 FPS) is 90.5 FPS — a 53% reduction. At 1440p, the same comparison shows a 54.7 FPS gap (105.4 vs 50.7), and at 4K, the gap narrows to 29.6 FPS (55.5 vs 25.9). This narrowing gap at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU's fixed rendering resources (shaders, TMUs, ROPs) are being fully utilized at 4K regardless of settings, whereas at 1080p, lower settings allow the card to stretch its legs.

The FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS and the 448 GB/s memory bandwidth are the key specifications that determine how this card handles the game's visual effects. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the card simply runs out of compute headroom, resulting in the 25.9 FPS average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are: Low 170.2 FPS, Medium 130.9 FPS, High 109.7 FPS, and Ultra 79.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 39.3 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 30.0 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset offers the best incremental value in terms of FPS retained per setting increase.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 105.4 FPS, Medium 80.7 FPS, High 67.8 FPS, and Ultra 50.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium (24.7 FPS) is proportionally similar to the 1080p gap, but the High to Ultra drop (17.1 FPS) is slightly smaller in absolute terms.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 55.5 FPS, Medium 45.9 FPS, High 36.8 FPS, and Ultra 25.9 FPS. The Low to Medium gap narrows to 9.6 FPS, and the High to Ultra gap narrows to 10.9 FPS, demonstrating that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant constraint and settings adjustments yield diminishing returns.

The delta between 1080p and 4K at each setting is substantial: Low loses 114.7 FPS (67% reduction), Medium loses 85.0 FPS (65%), High loses 72.9 FPS (66%), and Ultra loses 53.8 FPS (68%). These consistent percentages across settings reinforce the GPU-bound nature of the game at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 130.9 FPS provides the best experience per the measured data. It delivers 60.5 FPS more than High while sacrificing only a modest amount of visual fidelity. For players with 144Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 170.2 FPS is the only setting that fully saturates such displays, though Medium may still be acceptable for competitive play.

At 1440p, Medium at 80.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it exceeds the 60 FPS threshold with enough headroom to avoid noticeable dips. High at 67.8 FPS is viable for those prioritizing visual quality, but Ultra at 50.7 FPS falls below the smoothness standard and should be avoided.

For 4K, only the Low preset at 55.5 FPS approaches playability, and even then it sits slightly below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 45.9 FPS and High at 36.8 FPS are borderline, while Ultra at 25.9 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario. The data suggests that 4K is not a practical resolution for this combo in Minimum, regardless of settings, and users should either drop to 1440p or accept sub-60 FPS performance.