Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER combination ranks 1543rd out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems benchmarked. This is a low-tier result, and the data makes the reason clear: the GTX 1660 SUPER sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 5 5600X is much stronger at the 78th percentile among all CPUs. The pairing is heavily GPU-limited, and the overall combo ranking reflects that bottleneck.

The benchmark data confirms this is a playable but not impressive setup. At 1080p Low, the system hits 130.6 FPS, which is smooth. But at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 21.1 FPS, which is effectively unplayable. The measured FPS rows show a consistent pattern: the GPU runs out of headroom as resolution and settings climb, while the CPU has plenty of compute left on the table. In the context of all tested combos, this rank of 1543 means the vast majority of systems deliver better frame rates in this game.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming?

A: The data shows 1080p is the sweet spot. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 98.4 FPS, while at 1440p Medium it drops to 62.7 FPS. At 1080p Low, it reaches 130.6 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 84.7 FPS at 1080p to 53.8 FPS at 1440p and then to 26.5 FPS at 4K. That represents a 69% reduction from 1080p High to 4K High, clearly showing the GPU as the limiting factor.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p, where it achieves 67 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 41.1 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 21.1 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below acceptable playability thresholds.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 14286. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, scores 14314, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics scores 14315 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT scores 14389 (0.7% higher). This puts the GTX 1660 SUPER at the bottom of its immediate peer group.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600X compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600X has an average benchmark score of 20680. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT scores 20740 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core i7-10700 scores 20746 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i5-12490F scores 20794 (0.5% higher). Only the Intel Xeon 6325P scores lower at 20538 (0.7% lower), so the 5600X is competitive but not dominant in its class.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance like?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600X scores 2622 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 917 in 3DMark single-thread. These are strong numbers for a 6-core processor, indicating the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear GPU limitation. At Low settings, the system delivers 130.6 FPS at 1080p, 81.9 FPS at 1440p, and 47.8 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 37% reduction, and from 1440p to 4K is another 42% reduction. At Ultra settings, the pattern is even more severe: 67 FPS at 1080p, 41.1 FPS at 1440p, and 21.1 FPS at 4K — a 69% total drop from 1080p to 4K.

This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. The GTX 1660 SUPER's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p, but the 192-bit bus and 48 ROPs become limiting factors as pixel count rises. The CPU, by contrast, shows no such strain: its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18578 and single-core score of 2622 indicate it can feed frames far faster than the GPU can render them. The data strongly suggests that resolution scaling is entirely dictated by the graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings produce 130.6 FPS, Medium produces 98.4 FPS, High produces 84.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 67 FPS. All four settings are playable, with even Ultra exceeding 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 63.6 FPS, showing that settings have a significant but not overwhelming impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings yield 81.9 FPS, Medium yields 62.7 FPS, High yields 53.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 41.1 FPS. The 1440p results show a tighter spread between settings — only 40.8 FPS between Low and Ultra — suggesting the GPU is becoming the primary constraint. High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS, making Medium the only setting that maintains smooth playability.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings produce 47.8 FPS, Medium produces 37.8 FPS, High produces 26.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 21.1 FPS. No setting at 4K reaches 60 FPS, and even Low dips below 50 FPS. The 4K results show diminishing returns from lowering settings: the difference between High and Ultra is only 5.4 FPS, while the difference between Low and Medium is 10 FPS. This indicates the GPU is saturated at 4K regardless of settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It boosts up to 4.60 GHz from a 3.70 GHz base clock, and its 32 MB L3 cache provides ample room for game data. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 18578 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2622 in single-core, placing it at the 78th percentile among all CPUs.

For Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014, this CPU is far more capable than the workload demands. The game's CPU requirements are modest, and the 5600X's strong single-thread performance — evidenced by 917 in 3DMark single-thread and 2111 in Geekbench single-core — ensures that frame pacing is not CPU-limited. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 130.6 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit rather than a CPU constraint.

The CPU's headroom becomes obvious when comparing resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system delivers 21.1 FPS, while the CPU could theoretically push far more frames. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU. The 5600X's 65W TDP and DDR4 dual-channel memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this title. In short, the CPU is not the limiting component in this combo for Minimum.

Settings Recommendations

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which delivers 98.4 FPS — a strong balance of visual quality and frame rate. This setting provides a 13.7 FPS improvement over High at the same resolution (84.7 FPS) while still looking noticeably better than Low (130.6 FPS). For players prioritizing smoothness above all, 1080p Low at 130.6 FPS is the clear choice, but the visual trade-off is significant.

At 1440p, Medium is the only setting that remains playable, producing 62.7 FPS. High (53.8 FPS) and Ultra (41.1 FPS) both dip below 60 FPS, which many players find unacceptable. At 4K, no setting is recommended: even Low (47.8 FPS) fails to reach a consistent 60 FPS, and Ultra (21.1 FPS) is a slideshow.

The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the optimal configuration for this combo. It keeps the frame rate well above 60 FPS while retaining enough graphical fidelity for a modern third-person shooter. If the player has a 144Hz monitor, 1080p Low is the only setting that approaches that refresh rate, hitting 130.6 FPS. For 1440p users, the system is borderline, and dropping to 1080p is advisable for a consistently smooth experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is based on the TU116 chip with Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process. It features 1408 shading units, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The 6 GB GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (effective 14 Gbps) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU has a 125W TDP and supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In the context of Minimum, the GTX 1660 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck. Its 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs and avgBenchmarkScore of 14286 place it in the mid-range, but the game's demands at higher resolutions quickly overwhelm it. The 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 157.1 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for 1080p but insufficient for 4K. The 85.68 GPixel/s pixel rate, driven by 48 ROPs, is particularly limiting at high resolutions.

The GPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average score, indicating that this is a tightly contested performance tier. The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (14389, 0.7% higher) is the closest competitor, while the AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352, 0.5% higher) and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315, 0.2% higher) are marginally ahead. This means the GTX 1660 SUPER is at the very bottom of its peer group, and its performance in Minimum reflects that standing.

The measured FPS data confirms the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the 21.1 FPS result is a direct consequence of the 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus being overwhelmed. Even at 1080p Ultra (67 FPS), the GPU is working near its limit, as evidenced by the sharp drop to 41.1 FPS at 1440p Ultra. For this game, the GTX 1660 SUPER is a solid 1080p card, but it cannot sustain high frame rates at higher resolutions.