Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

This combination of AMD's 6-core Zen 4 processor with 3D V-Cache and NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace flagship-tier GPU produces a system that sits at the 211th position out of 2,939 tested combinations for Minimum, placing it comfortably in the top 8% of all hardware pairings. The benchmark data shows a setup that delivers exceptional frame rates at 1440p, remains highly playable at 4K, and exhibits classic signs of CPU limitation at 1080p where the RTX 4080 SUPER's raw power outpaces what the processor can feed it.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases, with the gap between settings presets narrowing at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 354 FPS average, which drops to 228 FPS at 1440p Low (a 35.6% reduction) and further to 123 FPS at 4K Low (a 65.3% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck—the GPU has ample headroom but cannot be fully utilized due to the processor's frame delivery limits.

Moving to High settings, the scaling is similar but the absolute numbers are lower: 228 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 35.5% mirrors the Low preset behavior, suggesting the same CPU limitation persists regardless of graphics load. However, the 4K High result of 79 FPS shows that at this resolution, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as the frame rate is only 9.7% of what the 1080p Low result achieved—a much larger relative drop than what pure CPU limitation would produce.

The Medium preset shows the most complete dataset with min and max FPS values recorded. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 271 FPS with a minimum of 230 and maximum of 312. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 175 FPS (35.4% lower) with min/max of 149/201. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 94 FPS (65.3% lower than 1080p Medium) with min/max of 80/108. The consistent percentage drops between 1080p and 4K across presets—roughly 65%—indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER's compute throughput scales predictably with resolution, while the CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions.

Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 173 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of exactly 60 FPS average suggests the system is hitting a performance wall where the combination of Ultra graphics and 4K resolution demands more from the GPU than it can deliver while maintaining frame pacing above the 60 FPS threshold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 2295 MHz with a boost of 2550 MHz, and memory operates at 1438 MHz with 23 Gbps effective throughput. These specifications position the card at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,209.

In the measured game data, the GPU's memory capacity proves more than sufficient for Minimum—even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed the 16 GB frame buffer, as the 60 FPS average at that setting is more likely compute-bound than memory-bound. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for the texture streaming and geometry loads typical of a third-person shooter from 2014, meaning the card never stalls waiting for data.

The RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the RTX 4080 (average score 54,247, a -0.1% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828, -1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55,698, -2.7%), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757, -2.8%). The RTX 4080 SUPER sits essentially tied with the non-SUPER RTX 4080, trailing the AMD cards by 1-3% in those aggregate benchmarks. However, in Minimum specifically, the measured FPS at 4K High (79 FPS) and 4K Ultra (60 FPS) indicate the card delivers playable performance even at the most demanding settings, with the Ultra preset landing exactly at the 60 FPS average that many displays target as a refresh rate floor.

The GPU's Ada Lovelace architecture with 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs provides substantial compute throughput. The 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate explain why the card can push 354 FPS at 1080p Low—the pixel throughput and shader capacity are massive relative to the demands of Minimum at that resolution. The card's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are irrelevant for this title, as the game predates ray tracing and DLSS, but they contribute to the overall die complexity and power envelope.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra the average FPS is exactly 60, and at 4K High it rises to 79 FPS. The 4K Medium preset delivers 94 FPS average with a minimum of 80, so even the most demanding settings maintain playable frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for competitive play with this hardware?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 354 FPS average, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1440p Low, it still produces 228 FPS, making 1440p a strong choice for high-refresh competitive play while retaining better image clarity.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the standard RTX 4080?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209 versus the RTX 4080's 54,247, a -0.1% delta. The SUPER card is statistically identical to its predecessor in aggregate performance, so any differences in Minimum would be within run-to-run variance.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The measured FPS data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or frame drops—even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate remains stable. The 16 GB GDDR6X buffer is more than adequate for a 2014 title, regardless of resolution or settings.

Q: What CPU benchmark score does the Ryzen 5 7500X3D achieve?

A: The processor's average benchmark score is 44,573, placing it at the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its multithread score is 25,047 and single-thread score is 3,494, with the nearest rival being the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H at 44,466 (a 0.2% delta).

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

A: The data indicates CPU limitation at 1080p. The 1080p Low result of 354 FPS and 1080p High of 228 FPS show that increasing graphics settings from Low to High reduces FPS by 35.6%, which is a smaller relative drop than expected if the GPU were fully saturated—the CPU cannot feed the GPU fast enough to realize its full frame generation potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 354 FPS average, Medium 271 FPS (min 230, max 312), High 228 FPS, and Ultra 173 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 181 FPS, demonstrating that the CPU can sustain very high frame delivery but the GPU workload at lower settings is trivial for the RTX 4080 SUPER.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain excellent but begin to show GPU influence. Low settings yield 228 FPS, Medium 175 FPS (min 149, max 201), High 147 FPS, and Ultra 112 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 35.4% at Medium to 35.6% at Low, indicating consistent scaling. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 112 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate of many gaming monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system still performs admirably. Low settings produce 123 FPS, Medium 94 FPS (min 80, max 108), High 79 FPS, and Ultra exactly 60 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS average is notable as it sits precisely at the standard display refresh rate, meaning the system can maintain a locked 60 FPS experience with V-sync enabled. The 4K Medium min FPS of 80 shows that even in demanding scenes, the system stays well above 60 FPS.

Comparing settings presets at each resolution: at 1080p, Ultra delivers 48.9% of the Low preset's FPS (173 vs 354). At 1440p, Ultra delivers 49.1% of Low (112 vs 228). At 4K, Ultra delivers 48.8% of Low (60 vs 123). The consistency of this ratio across resolutions—approximately 49%—suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a similar relative workload increase regardless of resolution, and the system scales predictably.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The processor's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is its standout feature—this large cache pool benefits gaming workloads by keeping more game data on-die, reducing memory accesses. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 83.2 GB/s theoretical bandwidth, and ECC memory support is included.

The processor's benchmark results show a single-thread score of 3,494 and multithread score of 25,047, with an average benchmark score of 44,573 (89th percentile of all CPUs). Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44,466, +0.2% delta), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44,342, +0.5%), AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44,309, +0.6%), and Intel Core i5-14600 (44,889, -0.7%). These deltas are all within 1% of the 7500X3D's score, indicating that in aggregate CPU benchmarks, the processor is competitive with high-end mobile and desktop parts.

In Minimum, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 354 FPS—this is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability, as the GPU could theoretically render far more frames at such low graphics load. The fact that 1440p Low still achieves 228 FPS (64.4% of the 1080p result) while 4K Low drops to 123 FPS (34.7% of 1080p) shows that the GPU begins to take over as the limiter at higher resolutions.

The Ryzen 5 7500X3D's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Minimum, a 2014 title that likely uses a handful of threads for game logic and rendering. The high boost clock of 4.50 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, which matters for older games that rely heavily on one or two cores. The 96 MB L3 cache likely provides a tangible benefit by reducing memory latency for frequently accessed game data, though the exact impact cannot be quantified from the available data.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset delivers exactly 60 FPS average, which is playable but leaves no headroom for frame drops. The High preset at 4K provides 79 FPS, a 31.7% improvement over Ultra, and is the recommended choice for 4K displays—it offers most of the visual fidelity of Ultra while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K yields 94 FPS (min 80), which would be ideal for 4K displays with refresh rates above 60 Hz, such as 120 Hz or 144 Hz panels.

For 1440p gaming, the Ultra preset achieves 112 FPS, which is suitable for 120 Hz displays and provides high visual quality. The High preset at 1440p reaches 147 FPS, making it the best option for 144 Hz monitors—the frame rate stays above the refresh rate in most scenes, ensuring smooth gameplay. For competitive play at 1440p, the Low preset's 228 FPS exceeds even 240 Hz display capabilities, though the visual trade-off may not be worth it for most players.

For 1080p gaming, the High preset delivers 228 FPS, which is above the 144 Hz threshold and close to 240 Hz. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 173 FPS, still well above 144 Hz and offering the best image quality. The Medium preset at 271 FPS would be the choice for 240 Hz or 360 Hz competitive monitors, though the Low preset's 354 FPS is available for those seeking absolute maximum frame rates.

The data suggests that for most players, the High preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 4K High, the system averages 79 FPS; at 1440p High, 147 FPS; and at 1080p High, 228 FPS. The High preset consistently delivers frame rates that are 30-40% higher than Ultra while requiring only a modest reduction in visual settings. The Medium preset offers even higher frame rates with a min FPS of 80 at 4K, making it the safest choice for maintaining smooth performance in demanding scenes.