Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Measured data across three resolutions and four quality presets shows a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at 1080p. The combo ranks 2142nd out of 3712 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 121 FPS at 1080p to 78 FPS at 1440p — a 35.5% reduction — and then further to 42 FPS at 4K, representing a total loss of 65.3% from 1080p to 4K. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K while the FPS drops by roughly two-thirds.

The scaling behavior differs across presets. At Low settings, the 1080p result of 188 FPS falls to 121 FPS at 1440p (a 35.6% drop) and then to 65 FPS at 4K (a 65.4% total drop). This near-identical proportional decline across Low and High presets suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth — 448.0 GB/s on an 8 GB GDDR6 interface — are the dominant constraints, regardless of how much shading work is being requested.

Medium settings show the most consistent frame time behavior, with the only recorded minimum and maximum values in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 144 FPS with a range of 122 to 165 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the average drops to 93 FPS with a 79 to 106 FPS range; at 4K Medium, the average falls to 50 FPS with a 42 to 57 FPS range. The frame time variance remains proportionally similar across resolutions, indicating that the game's engine scales predictably with pixel count and that neither CPU nor GPU introduces erratic spikes.

Ultra settings produce the lowest overall performance, with 4K Ultra averaging just 32 FPS — below the 30 FPS threshold that many players consider the absolute minimum for playability. The 1080p Ultra result of 92 FPS is respectable, but the 4K figure represents a 65.2% drop from that baseline. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM may also contribute to the steep 4K Ultra decline, as the combination of high-resolution textures and Ultra-quality effects can exceed the available memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and playability. The 50 FPS average at 4K Medium is 18 FPS higher than the 4K High result of 42 FPS, while remaining fluid enough for a third-person shooter. Low settings at 4K reach 65 FPS, but the visual compromise may not justify the additional 15 FPS over Medium. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as 32 FPS falls below comfortable playability thresholds.

At 1440p, High settings deliver 78 FPS, which is smooth for this genre, while Medium reaches 93 FPS and Low hits 121 FPS. The 1440p High result is 19 FPS higher than the 4K Medium figure, suggesting that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo if the display supports it. Ultra at 1440p yields 59 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth than the other presets.

For 1080p, the data shows that High settings at 121 FPS are the recommended starting point, as they provide a substantial visual upgrade over Medium's 144 FPS without sacrificing the fluidity needed for responsive gameplay. Low settings at 188 FPS offer headroom for high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual downgrade is significant. Ultra at 92 FPS remains above 60 FPS, making it viable for players who prioritize image quality over maximum frame rates.

The measured results indicate that Medium settings offer the most consistent frame pacing across all three resolutions, as evidenced by the recorded minimum and maximum values showing tight ranges relative to the averages. This consistency is valuable for competitive play, where frame time spikes can disrupt aiming and movement.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: The data shows 1440p High as the strongest balance, delivering 78 FPS average. At 1080p High, the combo reaches 121 FPS, while 4K High drops to 42 FPS.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium or Low settings. The measured 4K Medium average is 50 FPS, and 4K Low reaches 65 FPS. Ultra at 4K is not playable at 32 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU affect frame rates in this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X's single-thread performance (2183.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core) keeps 1080p frame rates high across all presets, with 188 FPS at Low. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Minimum, as the frame rate drops correlate more strongly with resolution than with CPU load.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER the limiting component?

A: Yes, benchmark results indicate the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 65.3% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings aligns with the 4x pixel count increase, while the CPU's performance remains constant across resolutions.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 1080p Ultra?

A: The measured average is 92 FPS, which falls between the 144 FPS Medium result and the 121 FPS High result. This is above the 60 FPS threshold but below the fluidity offered by lower presets.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2142nd out of 3712 combos in Minimum, placing it in the 42nd percentile. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking against all GPUs is lower than the CPU's 81st percentile, confirming the GPU as the performance limiter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 188 FPS, the highest measured figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 144 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and maximum of 165 FPS. High settings average 121 FPS, while Ultra settings average 92 FPS. The spread from 188 to 92 FPS across presets shows that Minimum's quality settings have a substantial impact on GPU load at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance tiers compress somewhat. Low settings average 121 FPS, identical to the 1080p High result. Medium settings average 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS. High settings average 78 FPS, while Ultra settings average 59 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows from 96 FPS at 1080p to 62 FPS at 1440p, indicating that resolution scaling affects all presets proportionally.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 65 FPS, Medium settings average 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS, High settings average 42 FPS, and Ultra settings average 32 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 42 FPS equals the 4K High average, showing that frame pacing remains consistent even at lower performance levels. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is the only measured average below 40 FPS in the dataset.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data across all three resolutions, providing insight into frame time stability. At 1080p, the 122 to 165 FPS range spans 43 FPS; at 1440p, the 79 to 106 FPS range spans 27 FPS; at 4K, the 42 to 57 FPS range spans 15 FPS. The absolute variance shrinks with resolution, but the relative variance (range divided by average) remains roughly consistent at 29.9%, 29.0%, and 30.0% respectively.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 2142nd out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This rank reflects the GPU's age — the RTX 2070 SUPER was released in July 2019 and is now end-of-life — relative to more modern configurations. The combo's percentile position suggests that roughly 42% of tested systems perform worse, while 58% perform better in this specific title.

The CPU's individual ranking is notably stronger than the combo's overall rank. The Ryzen 5 9600X sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29656, 0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, 0.5% faster), AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879, 0.6% faster), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, 0.8% faster). These margins are all within 1% of the 9600X's score, indicating that the CPU's processing power is competitive with a broad range of modern and previous-generation parts.

The GPU's individual ranking is lower, sitting in the 65th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rivals are all within 1.5%: the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, 1% faster), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 1.2% faster), Intel Arc B570 (20556, 1.3% faster), and Intel Arc A750 (20582, 1.5% faster). This clustering shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER's raw compute performance remains competitive with mid-range modern GPUs, but its age limits its ability to handle the highest resolutions and settings in newer titles.

In Minimum, the combo's rank of 2142 out of 3712 is consistent with a system where a strong CPU is paired with a mid-tier GPU. The game's 2014 release date means it does not heavily tax modern processors, so the CPU's 81st percentile ranking translates into minimal bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, which aligns with the measured FPS scaling.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz boosts to 5.40 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's single-thread benchmark scores are particularly strong: 2183.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2923 in Geekbench single-core. These results explain why Minimum — a game from 2014 that likely does not scale beyond a few threads — achieves 188 FPS at 1080p Low without the CPU becoming a limiting factor.

The multi-threaded performance is equally robust for a 6-core part. Cinebench R23 multicore scores 17528.5, while Geekbench multicore reaches 14438. The 3DMark results show a progression from 2456 at 2 threads to 6726 at 8 threads, reaching 7590 at max threads, indicating that the CPU's scaling is efficient up to its full thread count. For Minimum, however, the game's engine likely uses fewer threads, meaning the CPU's single-thread strength is more relevant than its multi-thread capabilities.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 is ample for a game of this era. The 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node contribute to thermal headroom, allowing the boost clock of 5.40 GHz to be sustained under gaming loads. The 81st percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713, places this processor well above the median, and its nearest rivals — all within 0.8% — are similarly capable parts that would not bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER in this title.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence is evident in the high frame rates across all presets, including 188 FPS at Low. Even at Ultra, the 92 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently. The fact that frame rates decline proportionally with resolution rather than with CPU load confirms that the Ryzen 5 9600X is not the performance ceiling in Minimum.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU built on a 12 nm process, featuring 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock of 1605 MHz boosts to 1770 MHz, and it carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 9.062 TFLOPS and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are the specifications that most directly influence Minimum's rendering performance.

The GPU's 65th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20282, shows it sits slightly above the median. Its nearest rivals include mobile and desktop parts within 1.5% score differences, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER's compute capabilities are roughly equivalent to modern mid-range offerings. However, the 8 GB VRAM capacity may be a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where high-resolution textures and effects can approach or exceed this amount.

The measured FPS data demonstrates the GPU's role as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU can render between 92 and 188 FPS depending on the preset, which is sufficient for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, the range tightens to 59 to 121 FPS, with Ultra just barely maintaining 60 FPS. At 4K, the GPU's limits become apparent: even Low settings only reach 65 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 42 FPS suggests that frame times can spike under load, though the average remains adequate for casual play.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a likely contributor to the resolution scaling pattern. As pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, the memory subsystem must deliver proportionally more texture data and framebuffer writes. The 8 GB capacity, combined with the 256-bit bus, appears sufficient for Medium settings at 4K but insufficient for Ultra, where the 32 FPS result indicates severe memory pressure or compute saturation. The GPU's 12 nm process node and 215 W TDP are consistent with its 2019 release, and its end-of-life production status means performance will not improve with driver optimizations as much as newer architectures.