Minimum

Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter, presents a demanding workload for modern hardware at higher settings. This analysis examines the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB across resolutions and settings, using only the measured data provided. The results show a system capable of very high frame rates at 1080p, but one where the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent trend: performance scales inversely with resolution, but the rate of decline is not uniform across all settings. This variance is key to understanding the system's balance. At the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 233 FPS at 1920x1080 to 150 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 83 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields 81 FPS, a substantial 69 FPS drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings suggests the GPU is being tasked with much more work per frame, but the CPU still has headroom.

The scaling at the Ultra preset tells a different story. Here, the frame rate falls from 114 FPS at 1080p to 73 FPS at 1440p, and then to 40 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 41 FPS, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is 33 FPS. While still a significant decrease, the percentage drop is more pronounced at higher resolutions, indicating the GPU is becoming the limiting factor more aggressively. The gap between the Low and Ultra presets also widens with resolution, from a 119 FPS difference at 1080p to a 41 FPS difference at 4K, showing that the GPU's workload scales heavily with both resolution and settings.

The data suggests a system where the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RTX 5060 Ti becomes the bottleneck as pixel count rises. At 1080p Low, the 233 FPS result implies the CPU is the primary driver of performance, as the GPU is not yet saturated. However, at 4K Ultra, the 40 FPS average indicates the GPU is working at its limit, and the CPU's role is diminished. The 4K Medium result of 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS, shows a playable experience, but the 4K High result of 52 FPS without a min/max frame report suggests a less stable performance profile. This scaling pattern is typical for a system where the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are the final arbiters of high-resolution performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB is the central component in this analysis, and its specifications and benchmark scores help explain its behavior in Minimum. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and features 4608 shading units. Its performance is measured by a Passmark G3D score of 21981, which places it in the 29th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals according to the data are the AMD FirePro W5130M, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, AMD Radeon R7 M265, and AMD Radeon R7 M360, with delta percentages of -0.1, 0.2, -0.6, and -0.6 respectively. These are very close scores, suggesting the RTX 5060 Ti's overall benchmark position is tightly clustered, but its real-world game performance is what the measured FPS reveals.

The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical factor at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS indicates that the GPU is struggling with the combination of high resolution and maximum settings, likely due to both processing power and memory constraints. The clock speeds, with a base of 2407 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, are high, but they cannot compensate for the sheer volume of data required at 4K. The pixel rate of 123.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 370.4 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits, and the measured FPS shows the GPU approaching these limits at lower resolutions but falling short at higher ones.

The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 220 and DirectX 12 score of 82 provide a synthetic view of API performance. The game, being from 2014, likely relies on DirectX 11, and the higher score there suggests the architecture is well-suited for that API. The FP32 performance of 23.70 TFLOPS is a measure of raw compute power, but in this game, the frame rate is more dependent on memory bandwidth and fill rate. The data shows a GPU that is very capable at 1080p, delivering 233 FPS on Low and 149 FPS on High, but its 8 GB memory capacity and bandwidth become a limiting factor at 4K, where even the Low preset drops to 81 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 40 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 8000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture and codenamed Phoenix. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943. The Passmark multithread score is 24389, and the single-thread score is 3685. These results place the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25005. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, Intel Core i7-11850H, Intel Core i7-13620H, and AMD EPYC 9474F, with delta percentages of 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and -0.4 respectively. This shows the 8400F is a solid mid-range performer, but its role in Minimum is to keep up with the GPU.

In this game, the CPU's impact is most visible at lower resolutions and settings. The 1080p Low result of 233 FPS is a clear indicator that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this point, as it can process the game logic and draw calls quickly enough to feed the GPU. However, as the resolution increases, the CPU's workload per frame remains relatively constant, while the GPU's workload increases. This is why the frame rate drops are more attributable to the GPU at 1440p and 4K. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and single-thread score of 951 suggest a processor that handles both multi-threaded and single-threaded tasks well, which is beneficial for a game that may use multiple cores for physics and AI.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s is a factor in overall system performance, but the data does not isolate its specific impact on Minimum. The L3 cache of 16 MB is shared, and the L2 cache is 1 MB per core, which aids in data access. The 4 nm process node and 25,000 million transistors indicate a modern, efficient design. The benchmark results show that the 8400F is a capable processor, and in this pairing, it does not appear to be the primary limiter at higher resolutions. The fact that the frame rate drops from 233 FPS at 1080p Low to 81 FPS at 4K Low, a 152 FPS difference, while the CPU's theoretical workload stays similar, confirms that the GPU is the performance ceiling in this scenario.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the data shows that all presets are playable, but the High preset at 149 FPS offers a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 178 FPS is also viable, with a minimum of 151 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 114 FPS is still high, but the drop from Medium suggests a significant increase in GPU load for marginal visual gains. For competitive play, the Low preset at 233 FPS provides the highest frame rate, but at a cost to visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 96 FPS is a strong choice, offering a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS is also excellent, providing a more stable frame time. The Low preset at 150 FPS is ideal for those prioritizing speed over visuals. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is playable, but it may not be suitable for fast-paced action where higher frame rates are preferred. The data suggests that Medium or High are the best options at this resolution, as they provide a balance between visual quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 81 FPS is the only setting that consistently delivers a high frame rate. The Medium preset at 62 FPS is playable, with a minimum of 53 FPS, but it may experience occasional dips. The High preset at 52 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. The data clearly shows that for 4K gaming, Low settings are required to maintain a comfortable frame rate with this GPU. For the best overall experience, the 1080p Medium or High presets, or the 1440p Medium preset, offer the most compelling balance of visual quality and performance, avoiding the steep performance penalties seen at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB ranks 1113 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 38% of all configurations tested for this game. This rank is a holistic measure that accounts for the average FPS across all tested settings and resolutions. The data indicates that while the system is not a top-tier performer, it is certainly above average, thanks to its strong 1080p and 1440p results.

The ranking is likely influenced by the system's high performance at lower resolutions, where the CPU and GPU work well together to produce high frame rates. However, its 4K performance, particularly at Ultra settings, is a weak point that prevents a higher rank. The GPU's 8 GB memory capacity is a limiting factor at 4K, and this is reflected in the measured FPS. The rank of 1113 suggests that many other combos in the database have better high-resolution performance, but the 8400F and RTX 5060 Ti combo is a solid mid-range option for gamers primarily playing at 1080p or 1440p.

The fact that the data is measured, rather than estimated, adds credibility to this rank. The combo's position, just above the median of all tested combos, suggests it offers a balanced experience for the game's requirements. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and the GPU's 29th percentile ranking show a disparity in their relative strengths, but in Minimum, the CPU's strength is sufficient to support the GPU's performance at lower resolutions. The overall combo rank of 1113 out of 2939 reflects the system's ability to deliver a good experience, but it also highlights the need to manage settings expectations at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section provides a detailed look at the exact average FPS numbers from the data, organized by resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 233 FPS. The Medium preset averages 178 FPS, with a minimum of 151 FPS and a maximum of 205 FPS. The High preset averages 149 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 114 FPS. These numbers show a clear hierarchy, with a 119 FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets.

At 2560x1440, performance is still strong but drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 150 FPS. The Medium preset averages 115 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 132 FPS. The High preset averages 96 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 73 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 77 FPS, indicating a tighter spread than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the primary limiter. The Low preset averages 81 FPS. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. The High preset averages 52 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 41 FPS, showing that the settings have a less pronounced effect on frame rate as the resolution saturates the GPU.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with min/max FPS data across all resolutions, providing a consistent metric for frame time stability. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at the High preset results in a 53 FPS drop, and from 1440p to 4K results in a 44 FPS drop, highlighting the cost of higher resolutions. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding, with a 40 FPS average, which is the lowest result in the entire dataset.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve high frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 offers the highest frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 233 FPS and the High preset achieving 149 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 96 FPS, and at 3840x2160, the High preset is only 52 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, but the Ultra preset drops to 40 FPS, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GPU's 8 GB memory affect performance?

A: The data shows a significant performance drop at 4K, where memory demand is highest. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K Ultra, the 40 FPS result suggests that memory capacity or bandwidth is a limiting factor.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The CPU appears to be a bottleneck only at low resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 233 FPS result suggests the CPU is working hard, but as resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting component, as shown by the frame rate drops.

Q: What setting preset should I use at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p averages 115 FPS with a minimum of 98 FPS, offering a good balance. The High preset averages 96 FPS, which is also smooth. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is playable but may not be optimal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1113 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 38% of all configurations. This indicates an above-average performance, but not a top-tier result, due to its weaker 4K performance.