Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER pairing delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet capable of extreme frame rates that will satisfy high-refresh-rate displays. This analysis breaks down how the CPU and GPU characteristics interact with the game’s engine to produce the observed performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 200.6 at 1920x1080 to 126.9 at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 37%. The scaling continues to 4K, where the average drops to 70 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 65% decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER’s rendering pipeline is saturated as pixel count increases, with the 4K resolution placing a massive load on its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For instance, at Low settings, the average FPS goes from 309.4 at 1080p to 200.7 at 1440p and finally to 104.3 at 4K. The proportional drops are similar, suggesting that the resolution scaling is independent of the specific graphics preset. This behavior points to a fill-rate and memory-bandwidth bottleneck at 4K, as the GPU’s 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 80 ROPs are tasked with processing four times the pixels of 1080p.

Interestingly, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p. For example, at Ultra settings, the average FPS is 153.2 at 1080p, 98.8 at 1440p, and 53.4 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition (a 46% FPS drop) is steeper than the 1080p to 1440p transition (a 35% FPS drop). This non-linear scaling suggests that at 4K, the GPU is not just pixel-bound but also begins to hit memory bandwidth ceilings, given that the 192-bit bus width must feed a much larger frame buffer.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X provides a robust foundation for this game, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture. The processor’s base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327 and 3DMark single-thread score of 943. Minimum, being a title from 2014, likely does not scale perfectly across many threads, making these high per-core clocks more critical than the total thread count.

The multi-threaded capabilities are still substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23571 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 7578. However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS reaches 309.4, which is exceptionally high. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls to achieve such frame rates, but the question remains whether the 5800X is the ceiling or if a faster CPU could push even higher.

The data implies that the CPU’s role is to provide a high enough frame-rate ceiling. With a PassMark multi-thread score of 27732 and a percentile of 84 vs all CPUs, the 5800X is well above average. For a game like Minimum, the 32 MB of L3 cache is likely beneficial for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency. The processor’s 105 W TDP and DDR4 memory support (dual-channel, 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are sufficient for this workload, and the data shows no signs of a CPU-induced performance plateau until very high FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration. Its Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process, provides 7168 shading units and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, resulting in a peak FP32 throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS. This raw compute power is what allows the GPU to maintain high frame rates across the board. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a key factor in the 4K performance figures.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its strong position. Its PassMark G3D score of 29995 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 place it in the 84th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, has an average score of 42653, which is only 0.2% higher than the 4070 SUPER’s 42576 average. This indicates that the 4070 SUPER is a high-end performer that can handle demanding titles, yet Minimum’s 4K Ultra settings still prove to be a challenge, yielding only 53.4 FPS.

The GPU’s memory configuration is particularly important. The 12 GB capacity is ample for this title, but the 192-bit bus width is a limiting factor at 4K. The texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s are high, but the 4K resolution demands a massive amount of data throughput. The measured FPS at 4K (70 FPS High, 53.4 FPS Ultra) suggests that while the GPU has the compute headroom, the memory subsystem and ROP throughput are the limiting factors, rather than the shading units or tensor cores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system excels, with an average of 309.4 FPS at Low settings. This drops to 237.6 FPS at Medium, 200.6 FPS at High, and 153.2 FPS at Ultra. The progression shows that even at the highest settings, the system maintains a frame rate well above 144 Hz, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. The average FPS at Low settings is 200.7, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings yield 150.3 FPS, while High settings produce 126.9 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 98.8 FPS, which is still playable on most 1440p displays but begins to approach the limit of 100 Hz monitors. The data shows a clear step-down in performance as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 104.3 FPS, which is acceptable. Medium settings drop to 83 FPS, and High settings yield 70 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average of only 53.4 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a smooth experience, indicating that 4K Ultra is not a viable target for this combo. The data clearly shows a linear relationship between settings and FPS, with the Ultra preset consistently costing about 25-30% performance compared to High.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combo ranks 296th out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17% of all systems. This is a strong ranking, reflecting the balanced nature of the CPU and GPU pairing. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 84th percentile ranking are nearly identical, suggesting that neither component is significantly holding back the other in this specific game.

The ranking implies that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems tested, but there is still a long tail of higher-performing configurations. The 1737 combos that rank above this one likely feature more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4080 or 4090, or higher-end CPUs like the Ryzen 9 series. However, for a 1080p or 1440p gaming setup, this combo’s ranking is very respectable. The data indicates that the system is well-balanced, with no obvious bottleneck that would cause it to fall significantly behind in the rankings. The proximity of the CPU and GPU percentile scores suggests that upgrading either component alone would yield diminishing returns, as the other would then become the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, providing an average of 153.2 FPS. This is more than sufficient for a smooth experience and takes full advantage of the GPU’s capabilities. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system has headroom, so there is no need to compromise on visual fidelity.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 126.9 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a significant visual improvement over Medium (150.3 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that is well above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 98.8 FPS is also viable for players with 100 Hz monitors, but the drop below 100 FPS might be noticeable to sensitive users. The data suggests that High is the best balance of quality and performance at 1440p.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset at 104.3 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience. Medium settings at 83 FPS are playable, but High (70 FPS) and Ultra (53.4 FPS) are below the 60 FPS threshold for a fluid experience. The recommendation for 4K is to stick with Low settings to maintain a high frame rate, or to consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to unlock higher quality presets. The data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is not a realistic target for this hardware configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 126.9 at 2560x1440 with the High settings preset.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the system achieves 104.3 FPS on Low, 83 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 53.4 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 296th out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17% of all tested systems.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 309.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate drops significantly from 1440p to 4K across all settings.

Q: What is the recommended settings preset for 1440p?

A: The High preset is recommended for 1440p, as it provides a balance of 126.9 FPS and good visual quality, compared to 98.8 FPS on Ultra.