Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT pairing delivers a robust experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014. The measured frame rates show a combination that is generally capable of high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions, though 4K Ultra pushes the hardware to its limits. The data suggests a system well-suited for smooth 1080p and 1440p gameplay, with clear performance scaling tied to both settings and resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the High preset yields 160.3 average FPS, which is a significant drop from the 247.3 FPS seen on Low but still far above the 123.2 FPS of Ultra. The sweet spot for this combo is the High preset, as it provides a 37.1 FPS advantage over Ultra while delivering a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains 104.1 average FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 81.8 FPS, which remains playable but shows a 22.3 FPS penalty compared to High. The Medium preset at 1440p hits 120.5 FPS, offering a 16.4 FPS improvement over High, but the visual quality trade-off is unlikely to be worth it for most users given High’s already strong performance.

For 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset manages 53.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many players. Ultra drops to 42.4 FPS, which is only suitable for slower-paced or single-player sections. Medium at 67.4 FPS is the only 4K preset that clears 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays. The Low preset at 88.7 FPS is the best-performing 4K option, but the visual degradation is severe, so Medium represents the optimal balance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 both work well. At 1440p, the High preset scores 104.1 FPS, while 1080p High scores 160.3 FPS. 4K is only viable on Medium or lower, as Ultra stays at 42.4 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The Ultra preset carries a consistent penalty across resolutions. At 1080p, it is 37.1 FPS slower than High (123.2 vs 160.3). At 1440p, the gap is 22.3 FPS (81.8 vs 104.1). At 4K, the difference narrows to 11.4 FPS (42.4 vs 53.8).

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 scores 67.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. High and Ultra fall short at 53.8 and 42.4 FPS respectively. Low scores 88.7 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Q: Which component is more likely to bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high (247.3 FPS on Low), suggesting the CPU is keeping up well. The scaling from Low to Ultra (a 124.1 FPS drop) indicates the GPU workload increases significantly with settings, pointing to the GPU as the primary limiter at higher presets.

Q: How does the 9600X compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, which is 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS. This places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's standing among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RX 7800 XT scores in the 76th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 32619, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA T600 Mobile.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and reveal the GPU’s workload. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 160.3 at 1080p to 104.1 at 1440p, a 35.1% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K High brings a further drop to 53.8 FPS, a 48.3% reduction from 1440p. The total scaling from 1080p to 4K High is a 66.4% loss, indicating that pixel count heavily burdens the RX 7800 XT.

On Low settings, the scaling is similar in percentage but different in magnitude. The 1080p Low score of 247.3 FPS drops to 158.6 at 1440p (a 35.9% decrease) and then to 88.7 at 4K (a 44.1% decrease from 1440p). The absolute FPS values remain higher on Low, but the relative drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent at roughly 64-66%. This suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the main constraint, not the CPU.

The data implies that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU, as even the lowest settings cannot maintain frame rates comparable to the 1080p results. The CPU’s role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions, where the high FPS figures (247.3 on 1080p Low) show headroom for instruction throughput. The scaling pattern indicates a balanced system for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K requires reduced settings to stay smooth.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 670th out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the 61st percentile of all system pairings, meaning it outperforms the majority of configurations in this game. The rank reflects a strong mid-to-high tier position, though it is not in the top tier reserved for flagship CPUs and GPUs.

The ranking suggests that while this combo is far from the fastest available, it sits comfortably above the median. The CPU’s 85th percentile standing and the GPU’s 76th percentile standing both contribute to this solid placement. The gap between the CPU and GPU percentiles indicates the 9600X has more relative headroom than the 7800 XT, which aligns with the resolution scaling data showing the GPU as the primary limiter at higher settings.

For a 2014 third-person shooter, a rank of 670 out of 1733 is respectable, as the game is likely not heavily optimized for modern hardware. The combo’s position suggests it handles the game’s engine well, with no obvious bottleneck preventing higher performance. The measured data confirms this is a dependable pairing for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The CPU’s benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 1253 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603. This is critical for Minimum, as older titles often rely heavily on single-core performance.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also notable, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25525 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15182. However, the game’s frame rates at 1080p Low (247.3 FPS) suggest that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower settings. The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p (a 124.1 FPS drop) indicates the GPU is doing the heavy lifting as visual complexity increases.

The 9600X’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support provide sufficient bandwidth for the GPU. The measured FPS at 1440p High (104.1) and 1080p High (160.3) indicate the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at these settings. The data shows the CPU has the headroom to support high frame rates, but it is the GPU that dictates performance at Ultra and 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 247.3, Medium 188.6, High 160.3, and Ultra 123.2. The gap between Low and Ultra is 124.1 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for maximum visual quality. The Medium preset offers a balanced 188.6 FPS, which is 28.3 FPS above High.

At 2560x1440, the scores are: Low 158.6, Medium 120.5, High 104.1, and Ultra 81.8. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, ranging from a 35.9% reduction on Low to a 34.4% reduction on Ultra. This indicates a uniform scaling pattern based on pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 88.7, Medium 67.4, High 53.8, and Ultra 42.4. The 4K Ultra score of 42.4 FPS is the weakest result in the entire dataset, while 4K Low at 88.7 FPS is the only 4K setting that approaches 1080p Medium performance. The data shows a clear progression where each step up in settings reduces FPS by roughly 15-20%.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock is 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz. These specifications drive the measured performance, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth and pixel rate become critical.

The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate explain the scaling from 1080p to 4K. The high pixel throughput is necessary to maintain frame rates at 4K, but the data shows it is insufficient for Ultra settings at that resolution. The 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 performance is substantial, yet the 4K Ultra score of 42.4 FPS indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at maximum quality.

The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for a 2014 game, but the GPU’s compute resources are what limit performance. The PassMark G3D score of 24176 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4157 confirm the GPU’s mid-to-high tier status. The percentile rank of 76 places it ahead of most GPUs, but the measured FPS shows that 4K Ultra is beyond its reach. The GPU performs best at 1440p and below, where it delivers playable to excellent frame rates across all settings.