Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, but progressively more CPU-limited as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combo delivers 61.3 FPS, which climbs to 82.7 FPS at High settings — a 34.9% improvement from lowering one step. Dropping to Medium yields 101.4 FPS, and Low reaches 128.3 FPS. This scaling pattern, where each reduction in settings produces a substantial jump, indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, as the RTX 5080's rendering workload dominates the frame time budget.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture shifts. High settings produce 157.1 FPS, while Medium hits 187 FPS and Low reaches 242.2 FPS. The jump from High to Low is 54.2%, which is still significant but less dramatic than at 4K. At 1080p, the scaling compresses further: High delivers 242.8 FPS, Medium 287.7 FPS, and Low 380.1 FPS. The 1080p Low figure of 380.1 FPS is more than double the 4K High result, yet the difference between Medium and Low at 1080p (92.4 FPS) is smaller in percentage terms than at 4K. This compression indicates the Ryzen 5 8400F's six Zen 4 cores are starting to cap performance at lower resolutions, where the GPU can render frames quickly enough that CPU throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The data suggests the sweet spot for this pairing is 1440p. At High settings, 157.1 FPS is well beyond the refresh rate of most high-refresh monitors, while 4K Ultra at 61.3 FPS remains playable but demands the most from the GPU. The gap between 4K Ultra and 4K High (21.4 FPS) is the largest single-step drop in the dataset, underscoring how much headroom remains when lowering settings at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 5080 bottleneck the Ryzen 5 8400F in Minimum?

A: Benchmark results indicate the bottleneck shifts by resolution and settings. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the constraint, as frame rates scale predictably with settings changes. At 1080p Low, the 380.1 FPS result approaches the practical ceiling for this CPU, suggesting the processor's six cores and 12 threads become more relevant at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 High provides the strongest balance, delivering 157.1 FPS. This is 52.7% higher than 4K High, while still maintaining a substantial visual quality advantage over 1080p. At 1440p, the system avoids the CPU ceiling visible at 1080p and the heavy GPU load seen at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 5080's memory configuration affect Minimum?

A: The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, is more than sufficient for a 2014 title. Even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 61.3 FPS suggests memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as the game was released before high-resolution texture packs became common.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F holding back the RTX 5080?

A: The evidence is mixed. At 1080p Low, the 380.1 FPS result is likely near the CPU's limit, given its 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and max-thread score of 6165. However, at 4K and even 1440p, the GPU remains the dominant constraint, so the CPU does not meaningfully impede performance at typical gaming resolutions.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with this setup?

A: Measured results range from 61.3 FPS at Ultra settings to 128.3 FPS at Low settings. The most realistic gaming scenario, High settings, yields 82.7 FPS. This indicates the RTX 5080 can handle 4K in Minimum without requiring compromises, though Ultra settings will dip below 60 FPS territory.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 81st out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 4.7% of all systems benchmarked for this game. This high percentile reflects the strong overall performance, despite the CPU being a mid-range part relative to the GPU's flagship status.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the frame rate patterns observed. Built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process at TSMC, the GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and boosts to 2617 MHz. Its 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines provide the raw throughput needed to push Minimum's visuals at high resolutions.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant for this game. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the RTX 5080 delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is far beyond what Minimum requires, as the game's 2014 release date predates the era of massive texture assets. The memory clock runs at 1875 MHz, with an effective data rate of 30 Gbps, ensuring that memory bandwidth never becomes a bottleneck even at 4K Ultra where the GPU is otherwise fully occupied.

The GPU's compute capabilities also play a role. The 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 879.3 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial, but Minimum's engine is not designed to exploit modern GPU features like ray tracing or DLSS. The RTX 5080's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores remain largely idle in this title, meaning the card's traditional rasterization performance is what drives the measured results. The pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s is the more relevant metric for a third-person shooter that relies on conventional rendering.

At 4K Ultra, the GPU's workload is so heavy that it produces 61.3 FPS, a result that aligns with the card's position in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The fact that lowering settings to High yields 82.7 FPS suggests that even the flagship-tier GPU is fully utilized by this game's Ultra preset at 4K, which likely includes aggressive post-processing and shadow quality settings that tax the render pipeline.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination achieves a rank of 81 out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 95.3rd percentile. This is an exceptional result for a system that pairs a mid-range six-core CPU with a high-end GPU. The rank reflects the reality that Minimum is not a CPU-intensive title — the 2014 engine does not scale well with modern multi-core processors, so the GPU's performance dominates the outcome.

The CPU's own benchmark standing provides context. The Ryzen 5 8400F sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25,064. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (25,057, 0% delta), AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25,099, -0.1%), AMD EPYC 9474F (25,103, -0.2%), and AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24,993, 0.3%). These extremely tight margins — all within 0.3% of each other — indicate that the 8400F is a solidly average performer in its class, neither a standout nor a laggard.

The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 89th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 59,188. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc A570M (58,239, 1.6% delta), Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, -1.9%), Intel Arc A580 (57,756, 2.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X (57,661, 2.6%). The RTX 5080 sits between these rivals, with the Intel Arc Pro A60 being marginally ahead and the Intel Arc A570M slightly behind. This positioning suggests the RTX 5080 is a high-performing GPU, though its percentile rank of 89 is lower than what its flagship status might imply — a reflection of the broad distribution of GPUs in the benchmark database.

The combination's 81st overall rank out of 1,733 systems is higher than either component's individual percentile, which indicates that the pairing is well-balanced for this particular game. The CPU does not drag down the GPU's performance, and the GPU's strengths are fully realized. This is the expected outcome for a game that is not heavily threaded and places most of the computational burden on the graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p (1920x1080): The highest frame rates in the dataset occur at this resolution. Low settings produce 380.1 FPS, which is the single fastest result measured. Medium settings yield 287.7 FPS, High settings deliver 242.8 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 185.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 195 FPS, representing a 51.3% reduction from the fastest setting. The progression from Medium to High (44.9 FPS) and High to Ultra (57.7 FPS) shows that each step up in quality costs roughly 15-20% of the frame rate.

1440p (2560x1440): At this resolution, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's increased workload. Low settings hit 242.2 FPS, Medium reaches 187 FPS, High achieves 157.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 117.9 FPS. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 51.3%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. However, the absolute numbers are lower across the board — Low at 1440p (242.2 FPS) is 36.3% slower than Low at 1080p (380.1 FPS). This indicates that the RTX 5080 is still the primary driver of performance at this resolution.

4K (3840x2160): The most demanding resolution shows the largest relative impact of settings changes. Ultra settings yield 61.3 FPS, which is the lowest result in the entire dataset. High settings improve to 82.7 FPS, Medium reaches 101.4 FPS, and Low peaks at 128.3 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High (21.4 FPS) is a 34.9% improvement, while the jump from High to Medium (18.7 FPS) is a 22.6% improvement. The step from Medium to Low (26.9 FPS) is the largest absolute gain at this resolution. Interestingly, the 4K Low result of 128.3 FPS is still higher than the 1440p Ultra result of 117.9 FPS, demonstrating that resolution has a greater impact on performance than quality settings in this game.

The overall pattern is consistent: Minimum scales predictably with both resolution and settings, with the RTX 5080 providing enough headroom to achieve playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra. The Ryzen 5 8400F's contribution becomes more apparent at 1080p Low, where the 380.1 FPS result is likely approaching the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability. For most gaming scenarios, however, this system delivers well above 60 FPS at any resolution and settings combination.