Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable, if not spectacular, experience in the 2014 third-person shooter Minimum. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the capable six-core CPU allows frame rates to scale impressively at 1080p. This pairing sits in the lower half of the tested combos, but the measured results reveal a clear path to a smooth experience by adjusting settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic and predictable drop in frame rates, clearly identifying the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 as the limiting component in this pairing. At the "Low" preset, the average frame rate falls from 155 FPS at 1920x1080 to 100 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction in performance. Pushing further to 3840x2160 cuts the average down to 54 FPS, representing a 65% loss compared to the 1080p result. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU that is being saturated by the increasing pixel count, overwhelming its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit memory bus.

The scaling pattern persists across all settings presets. On "High," the average frame rate drops from 100 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 35 FPS at 4K. The "Ultra" preset shows an even more severe curve, starting at 76 FPS at 1080p, falling to 49 FPS at 1440p, and becoming unplayable at 26 FPS in 4K. The relative consistency of these percentage drops—roughly 35-36% from 1080p to 1440p and then another 45-46% from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the rendering load is scaling almost linearly with the pixel count, a hallmark of GPU-bound performance.

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, does not appear to be a constraining factor in these results. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would plateau or show diminishing returns as resolution decreases. Instead, the data shows consistent gains when moving from 4K to 1440p and again to 1080p. This suggests that even at its highest load, the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU, and the only thing stopping higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K is the rendering capability of the RTX 2060. The 1080p results, particularly the 155 FPS average on "Low," show that the CPU is more than capable of driving high frame rates when the GPU is not overwhelmed.

FAQ

*Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X + RTX 2060 combo capable of running Minimum at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The data shows an average of 54 FPS at 3840x2160 on the "Low" preset, which is playable. However, the "Ultra" preset yields only 26 FPS at this resolution, which is not a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a high refresh rate?

A: At 1920x1080, the combo can achieve an average of 155 FPS on the "Low" preset and 100 FPS on "High," making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 2560x1440, the maximum average is 100 FPS on "Low," which is still very good.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. The "Low" preset averages 155 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset averages 76 FPS. This represents a 51% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest graphical quality settings.

Q: Does this combo rank well compared to other tested configurations?

A: The data indicates that it ranks 2929 out of 3712 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom half of the database. Its performance is not near the top, but it is far from the bottom.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck for this game with this hardware?

A: At higher resolutions like 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as frame rates scale directly with resolution. At 1920x1080, the CPU provides enough performance to allow for high frame rates, but the GPU still limits the "Ultra" preset.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded in the data is 35 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the "Medium" preset. This indicates that even at lower settings, 4K can produce frame rate dips below 40 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 plays the decisive role in determining the playability of Minimum for this system, especially as resolution increases. The GPU's specifications—6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth—are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but become a limiting factor at 4K. The benchmarks support this, with the GPU scoring 14,111 in Passmark's G3D test and 6,451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs.

The clock speeds of the RTX 2060, with a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz, are consistent with its performance class. The data suggests that the GPU's raw compute power, not its clock speed, is what determines the frame rates. The 4K results, which show a steep drop-off, point to the memory bandwidth and capacity being overwhelmed by the demand for high-resolution textures and pixel shading. The GPU's 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present, but their impact on this non-ray-traced title is minimal compared to the standard shader performance.

The "Medium" preset at 3840x2160 provides the only minimum FPS data point at 35 FPS, with an average of 41 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is working near its limits, and even modest increases in visual fidelity can cause significant performance swings. The GPU's 160 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU are standard for its class, but the thermal and power headroom do not translate into extra performance here. The GPU is the component that must be upgraded to achieve higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K, as the CPU has demonstrated it can keep up with the demands of the game.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 2929 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the 21st percentile of all configurations. This is a low ranking, indicating that most other tested hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates. The CPU itself is a strong performer, with a Passmark multithread score of 28,390 and a percentile ranking of 79 against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K, which show an average score delta of only 0.2%, indicating the 7600X is a top-tier processor for gaming.

The GPU, however, drags the combo down. The RTX 2060's Passmark G3D score of 14,111 places it in the 58th percentile, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, which has a delta of 0%. This shows that while the GPU is not weak, it is far from the top of the performance charts. The combination of a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU creates a significant imbalance in the system, which is reflected in the low combo rank. If this combo were paired with a more powerful GPU, its ranking would likely be much higher, as the CPU would not be the limiting factor. The data implies that the RTX 2060 is the primary reason for the low rank and that the CPU's potential is being underutilized in this specific configuration for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the "High" preset offers an excellent balance, delivering an average of 100 FPS. This is a significant improvement over the "Ultra" preset's 76 FPS, while providing a much better visual experience than the "Low" preset's 155 FPS. The "High" preset is the clear choice for a smooth and visually pleasing experience at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset is the only one that guarantees a high frame rate, averaging 100 FPS. The "High" preset drops to 64 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The "Medium" preset offers a middle ground with 77 FPS. For the best experience at 1440p, "Low" is recommended for competitive play, while "Medium" is a viable option for those prioritizing visuals over a high refresh rate.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. The "Low" preset yields an average of 54 FPS, which is the only playable option. "Medium" drops to 41 FPS, and "High" and "Ultra" are too slow at 35 and 26 FPS, respectively. Therefore, for 4K gaming, the "Low" preset is the only viable choice. The data shows that the "Medium" preset can result in minimum FPS dips to 35, which can cause noticeable stuttering, so even this setting is risky. The recommendation is to play at 1080p on "High" for the best overall experience, or at 1440p on "Low" for a high-refresh-rate experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset achieves the highest average at 155 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 and a maximum of 137. The "High" preset halves the frame rate to 100 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset further reduces it to 76 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down accordingly. The "Low" preset averages 100 FPS, a 35% drop from the 1080p result. The "Medium" preset averages 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88. The "High" preset averages 64 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages 49 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is heavily constrained by the GPU. The "Low" preset averages 54 FPS, representing a 46% drop from the 1440p result. The "Medium" preset averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47. The "High" preset averages 35 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages just 26 FPS. The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy of performance, with the "Low" preset always being the fastest and "Ultra" the slowest, and the gap between settings widening as resolution increases.