Minimum

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Minimum with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a clear and predictable pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution, but the degree of scaling varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 361.2 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 254.5 FPS, a 29.5% decline. Moving to 4K Low yields 137.3 FPS, which is 46% lower than 1440p and 62% lower than 1080p. This steep drop at 4K Low is a strong indicator that the GPU is being pushed hard even at minimal settings.

The picture changes when looking at higher presets. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 194.4 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 126.4 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average is 68.4 FPS, which is 45.9% below the 1440p result and 64.8% below 1080p. The consistency of these percentage drops—roughly 30-35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45-50% from 1440p to 4K—suggests that the RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are being utilized fully as resolution increases.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution rises. At 1080p, Low is 85.8% faster than Ultra (361.2 vs 194.4 FPS). At 1440p, Low is 101.3% faster (254.5 vs 126.4). At 4K, Low is 100.7% faster (137.3 vs 68.4). This implies that at higher resolutions, the GPU's shading units—16,384 of them—become the limiting factor, and the CPU's ability to feed frames becomes less relevant. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the primary bottleneck, especially at Low settings where the GPU has headroom. At 4K, the RTX 4090's raw compute (82.58 TFLOPS FP32) is the dominant constraint.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 361.2 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 68.4, which is 64.8% lower than the 194.4 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU becomes a bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the GPU is underutilized. At 4K, especially on Ultra, the GPU's rendering load dominates, making the RTX 4090 the limiting component.

Q: What settings provide the largest FPS jump from one preset to the next?

A: At 1440p, moving from Medium (193.9 FPS) to Low (254.5 FPS) provides a 31.3% increase. At 4K, the jump from Medium (104.2 FPS) to Low (137.3 FPS) is a 31.8% increase.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable framerates at all tested settings?

A: Yes. Even the lowest result—68.4 FPS at 4K Ultra—is above 60 FPS. All other presets exceed 100 FPS.

Q: How does the 5700X's multi-threading affect results in Minimum?

A: The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22620, appear sufficient to feed the RTX 4090 in most scenarios, as the measured FPS scales smoothly across resolutions without erratic drops.

Settings Recommendations

For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset is the clear choice. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 361.2 FPS, which is more than double the 1440p Ultra result. Even at 4K Low, the 137.3 FPS average provides a smooth experience on high-refresh displays. The data shows that Low settings consistently deliver the highest FPS at every resolution, and the relative gain from Low over Medium is substantial: 20% at 1080p, 31.3% at 1440p, and 31.8% at 4K.

For a balance between visual fidelity and performance, Medium is the recommended middle ground. It yields 300.9 FPS at 1080p, 193.9 FPS at 1440p, and 104.2 FPS at 4K. These numbers are still very high and offer noticeably better visuals than Low. The jump from Medium to High is smaller: High produces 251.9 FPS at 1080p (16.3% less than Medium), 162.7 FPS at 1440p (16.1% less), and 87.5 FPS at 4K (16.0% less). This suggests diminishing returns—High costs about 16% performance for a modest visual upgrade over Medium.

Ultra should be reserved for players who prioritize image quality over frame rate. At 1080p Ultra, the 194.4 FPS average is still excellent, but at 4K Ultra, the 68.4 FPS average is near the threshold for high-refresh gaming. Given that the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU (91st percentile vs all GPUs), the fact that Ultra at 4K drops below 70 FPS indicates that Minimum's Ultra preset is exceptionally demanding. The practical advice is to use Medium at 4K for a better experience, or stick to Low if using a 240Hz monitor at 1080p or 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings average 361.2 FPS. Medium settings average 300.9 FPS, which is 16.7% lower than Low. High settings average 251.9 FPS, a further 16.3% reduction. Ultra settings average 194.4 FPS, which is 22.8% below High and 46.2% below Low. The progression is linear, with each step up in quality costing roughly 15-20% performance.

At 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 254.5 FPS. Medium averages 193.9 FPS, a 23.8% drop from Low. High averages 162.7 FPS, a 16.1% drop from Medium. Ultra averages 126.4 FPS, a 22.3% drop from High. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p (128.1 FPS difference) is larger than at 1080p (166.8 FPS difference), indicating that resolution scaling amplifies the performance cost of higher presets.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 begins to show its limits. Low averages 137.3 FPS. Medium averages 104.2 FPS, a 24.1% reduction. High averages 87.5 FPS, a 16.0% reduction from Medium. Ultra averages 68.4 FPS, a 21.8% reduction from High. The 4K results are the only ones where the average FPS drops below 100 on any preset, and Ultra is the only setting across all resolutions that fails to exceed 100 FPS. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration tested, and the 68.4 FPS result reflects that.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Minimum, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 56th out of 1733 tested combos. This places it in the top 3.2% of all configurations. The rank is likely skewed by the fact that the RTX 4090 is an exceptionally powerful GPU (91st percentile vs all GPUs), while the Ryzen 7 5700X is a solid mid-range CPU (83rd percentile vs all CPUs). The combo's rank suggests that while the GPU is a top-tier performer, the CPU is not the absolute fastest, which may hold back the combo in CPU-bound scenarios like 1080p Low.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66473, which is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733) and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127). This indicates that the GPU's performance is well above the median for tested cards. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-11900KF, has an average score of 26196, which is 0.1% lower than the 5700X's 26214. This shows the CPU is competitive with Intel's top 11th-gen parts, but not a leader.

The overall rank of 56 suggests that while the combo is very fast, there are 55 other configurations that achieve higher average FPS in Minimum. These likely feature faster CPUs, such as the Ryzen 7 7600X, which has an average score of 26272 (0.2% higher than the 5700X). The delta is small, but in a game like Minimum where frame rates exceed 300 FPS at 1080p, even a 0.2% CPU difference can translate to a few FPS at the top end.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, and it boosts to 4.60 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and a 65 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 22620 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3193 in single-core. These numbers place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors but is not a top-tier enthusiast part.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the combo achieves 361.2 FPS. At this resolution and setting, the RTX 4090 is not fully utilized, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor. The 5700X's single-thread performance (3193 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is strong enough to drive high frame rates, but it is not as fast as newer Zen 4 or Intel 12th/13th gen parts. The nearest rival, the Ryzen 5 7600X, scores 0.2% higher on average, which could explain why the combo ranks 56th rather than higher.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's importance diminishes. The data shows that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% regardless of settings, and another 45-50% from 1440p to 4K. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The 5700X's 16 threads and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate to feed the RTX 4090's 24 GB frame buffer without introducing stutters or frame pacing issues, as evidenced by the smooth average FPS across all presets.

The CPU's 8 cores are well-suited for Minimum's engine, which is from a 2014 release and likely optimized for fewer threads. The 5700X's high clock speed and Zen 3 IPC ensure that it can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without bottlenecking the GPU. For players using this combo, the practical takeaway is that the CPU will not hold back the RTX 4090 at 1440p or 4K, but at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is the primary constraint.