Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of triple-digit performance at every tested resolution, though the scaling patterns reveal distinct bottlenecks that shift depending on the settings preset. This analysis covers the measured FPS data, component roles, and how this specific combo ranks against the broader field.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling metric in the dataset is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 373 at 1920x1080 to 149 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 224 frames per second, or roughly 60% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being progressively burdened as pixel count increases, which is expected for a rasterization-heavy title from this era. The RTX 5090 D’s raw compute power is sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but the 4K resolution demands a massive increase in shading work, cutting performance to less than half of the 1080p figure.

Scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings shows a similar pattern: 277 FPS at 2560x1440 versus 149 FPS at 3840x2160, a 46% drop. This is a substantial loss that confirms the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest resolution, even with the most modest visual settings. The data suggests that the 4K Low preset is still delivering playable performance, but the scaling curve implies that any further resolution increase would yield diminishing returns.

Comparing Medium settings across resolutions reveals a more moderate decline. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 329; at 2560x1440, it drops to 212 (a 36% reduction); and at 3840x2160, it falls to 114 (another 46% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the Medium preset introduces additional GPU workload that scales nearly linearly with pixel count, but the 1080p-to-1440p step is less punishing than the 1440p-to-4K step. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 97, which is still comfortably above typical display refresh rates.

The High preset shows a slightly different scaling profile. Performance drops from 276 FPS at 1080p to 178 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction) and then to 96 FPS at 4K (46% reduction from 1440p). The 4K High result of 96 FPS is the lowest average across all presets at that resolution, excluding Ultra, and it suggests that High settings approach the practical ceiling for this GPU in this game at 4K. The Ultra preset at 4K produces only 73 FPS, which is a 47% drop from the 1440p Ultra score of 136 FPS.

The overall scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 5090 D is the primary limiting component at 4K, particularly with higher quality settings. At 1080p and 1440p, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent, as the FPS values exceed 200 and 300 in several configurations, suggesting that the Ryzen 5 7500X3D’s six cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU without creating a significant bottleneck at those resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS in the measured data is 373, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 370 FPS, and it demonstrates the GPU’s headroom at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Low preset?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, while the 1080p Low preset averages 373 FPS. This represents a performance difference of 300 FPS, or approximately 81% lower performance at 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Low, highlighting the massive impact of resolution and settings on this GPU.

Q: Which preset provides the most consistent frame pacing at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has measured minimum and maximum values of 180 and 244 FPS, respectively, with an average of 212 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset with full min/max data, and the 64 FPS range between min and max indicates relatively stable performance compared to the wider swings seen at other resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 373 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 210 FPS. The difference is 163 FPS, meaning Ultra delivers 56% of the Low preset’s performance at the same resolution.

Q: Is the 4K Medium preset playable according to the data?

A: The 4K Medium preset averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. The minimum frame rate of 97 FPS is above 60 FPS, indicating that the combination maintains a smooth experience even in demanding scenes.

Q: How does the combo’s rank in this game compare to its overall percentile?

A: The combo ranks 35th out of 2,939 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the top 1.2% of all tested combos. This is significantly higher than the CPU’s 89th percentile and GPU’s 92nd percentile scores, suggesting the pairing is particularly well-suited to this game’s requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is far beyond what a 2014 title like Minimum would require, but it explains why the GPU does not appear to be memory-constrained at any tested resolution. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases, with the 4K results showing a clear dependency on the graphics card’s shading capabilities.

The GPU’s clock speeds—2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost—are relatively conservative for a flagship card, but the massive shader count of 21,760 units compensates. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are the likely drivers of the high 1080p performance, where the GPU can process the game’s geometry and textures without waiting on the CPU. The FP32 throughput of 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1 with FP16) provides ample compute for the game’s effects, though Minimum’s age means it likely does not utilize modern features like ray tracing.

The 4K results show that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS drops to 73. This is consistent with the GPU’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, which places it in the upper tier but not at the absolute top. The nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark data—the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% higher score) and RX 6850M XT (1.6% lower score)—have similar average scores, but the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB memory capacity gives it a distinct advantage in scenarios where VRAM usage could become a factor, though the measured data does not indicate any memory-related performance drops.

The GPU’s 575 W TDP and 950 W suggested PSU indicate that power delivery is not a constraint in this system, allowing the card to sustain boost clocks under load. The 4K Low result of 149 FPS shows that even with minimal settings, the GPU’s architecture is efficient enough to avoid a catastrophic performance drop, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its highest frame rates across all presets. The Low preset averages 373 FPS, which is the single highest recorded value in the dataset. The Medium preset averages 329 FPS with a minimum of 280 and maximum of 379, showing a tight frame time distribution. The High preset averages 276 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 210 FPS. These results indicate that even at the most demanding 1080p settings, the combo maintains over 200 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. The Low preset averages 277 FPS, which is 96 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 212 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 244, providing a smooth experience. The High preset averages 178 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 136 FPS. The 1440p results show a consistent reduction of approximately 30-40% across all presets compared to 1080p, which aligns with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. The Low preset averages 149 FPS, which is still very playable but represents a 60% reduction from the 1080p Low score. The Medium preset averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and maximum of 131, offering a stable experience above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the dataset. The 4K data shows that the step from 1440p to 4K is more punishing than the step from 1080p to 1440p, as the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity become the limiting factors.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern: Ultra settings reduce performance by approximately 44-51% compared to Low. At 1080p, the drop is from 373 to 210 FPS (44% reduction); at 1440p, from 277 to 136 FPS (51% reduction); and at 4K, from 149 to 73 FPS (51% reduction). This consistency suggests that the Ultra preset adds a proportionate amount of GPU work regardless of resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality for most scenarios. At 1080p, Medium delivers 329 FPS, which is only 44 FPS lower than Low but likely provides significantly better visual fidelity. The 1440p Medium result of 212 FPS is well above 144 Hz, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that consistently stays above 90 FPS.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset is the clear choice. It produces the highest scores at every resolution, with 373 FPS at 1080p, 277 FPS at 1440p, and 149 FPS at 4K. However, the jump from Low to Medium is relatively small in percentage terms (12% reduction at 1080p, 23% at 1440p, and 23% at 4K), so the visual improvements from Medium may be worth the slight performance cost.

The High preset provides a middle ground, with 276 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result of 96 FPS is just below the 100 FPS threshold, which might cause occasional dips on 100 Hz displays. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p or 1440p use, where it delivers 210 FPS and 136 FPS respectively. At 4K, the Ultra preset’s 73 FPS average is below the 75 Hz refresh rate of some monitors, making it a less desirable choice despite the visual benefits.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this combination, as it offers the most consistent frame pacing (as evidenced by the min/max data) and retains high performance across all resolutions. Players with 4K displays should consider Medium or High, while those targeting 1440p or 1080p can comfortably use Ultra if they prioritize visual quality over raw FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a six-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature, providing ample capacity for game data that Minimum can exploit. The CPU’s benchmark scores—including a Passmark single-thread score of 3,494 and a multithread score of 25,047—indicate that it is a capable processor for gaming workloads, though its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is not the absolute fastest available.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 300 FPS. At these high frame rates, the CPU must process game logic and issue draw calls quickly enough to keep the GPU fed. The 1080p Low result of 373 FPS indicates that the 7500X3D’s single-thread performance is sufficient for this task, as the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution. The fact that the 1080p Medium result (329 FPS) is lower than the Low result suggests that the GPU is taking on more work, but the CPU is still keeping pace.

At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes because the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The 4K results show a clear pattern where FPS scales with settings, indicating that the CPU has headroom to spare. The 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS is likely limited by the GPU’s shading rate rather than CPU throughput.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark data include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% higher score), Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (0.6% higher), while the Intel Core i5-14600 scores 0.7% lower. These close margins indicate that the 7500X3D is competitive with a range of high-end processors, and its performance in Minimum is unlikely to be a limiting factor except in extreme scenarios where frame rates exceed 300 FPS.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, provided by dual-channel DDR5, is sufficient for the game’s data streaming requirements. The 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial for a game like Minimum, which likely has a working set that fits within this cache, reducing memory latency and improving frame pacing. The CPU’s 65 W TDP is low for a desktop processor, suggesting that thermal throttling is unlikely to affect sustained performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 35th out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 1.2% of all configurations. This rank is notably higher than what the individual components’ percentile scores would suggest, as the CPU is in the 89th percentile and the GPU is in the 92nd percentile. The combo’s strong ranking indicates that the pairing is synergistic for this specific game, likely due to the CPU’s large cache and the GPU’s high fill rate.

The rank of 35 out of 2,939 means there are 34 other combos that achieve higher performance in Minimum. Given that the RTX 5090 D is a flagship GPU, the combos ranked above it likely feature even more powerful CPUs or more favorable memory configurations. However, the measured FPS data shows that the 7500X3D is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as the 4K results are consistently higher than 73 FPS even at Ultra settings.

The combo’s rank should be interpreted in the context of the game’s age. Minimum was released in 2014, and its engine is not likely to scale with modern multi-core processors or take advantage of the latest GPU features. The high rank suggests that the combo’s raw performance is sufficient to overcome any engine limitations, but the 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS indicates that the game’s visual settings are still demanding at high resolutions.

The data shows that the combo is well-balanced, with neither component consistently holding back the other. The 1080p results exceed 200 FPS at all settings, the 1440p results exceed 130 FPS, and the 4K results exceed 70 FPS. This consistency across resolutions and settings suggests that the combo is a strong choice for Minimum, and its top-1.2% rank confirms that it is among the best-tested configurations for this game. The rank also implies that users with this combo are unlikely to need upgrades for this title, as the performance headroom is substantial even at the most demanding settings.