Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers a playable experience in Minimum, but the data shows a clear and consistent pattern: this is a GPU-limited pairing at higher resolutions, with the CPU headroom becoming apparent only at 1080p. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions and four quality presets provide a detailed picture of where this combo excels and where it falls short.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation in the measured data is the steep performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "Low" setting, the average frame rate falls from 170 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p, and then to 59 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% decline from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 46% decline from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern strongly indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises, which is expected given the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Examining the "High" preset tells a similar story: 109 FPS at 1080p drops to 71 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 38 FPS at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p). The near-identical percentage drops between the Low and High presets suggest that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of quality level, reinforcing that the GPU's raw throughput—rather than memory capacity or texture bandwidth—is the primary constraint.

The "Medium" preset provides the only complete dataset with minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 130 FPS with a minimum of 111 and a maximum of 150. Stepping up to 1440p Medium yields 84 FPS average (71 min, 97 max), and 4K Medium brings that down to 45 FPS (38 min, 52 max). The frame time consistency, as indicated by the gap between minimum and average, remains relatively tight at each resolution, suggesting no severe stuttering issues—just a steady decline in overall throughput.

At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 29 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a third-person shooter. The data shows that this combo is effectively limited to 1080p and 1440p for acceptable performance in Minimum, with 4K reserved only for the Low preset at 59 FPS average. The scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 105.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K, regardless of the Ryzen 7 7700's capabilities.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its boost clock of 5.30 GHz is among the highest in its class, and benchmark results confirm strong single-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1930 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2525. This matters for Minimum, a third-person shooter that typically relies on a few primary threads for game logic and physics.

The CPU's 3DMark results further illustrate its capability: a single-thread score of 1049, 2-thread score of 2043, and 4-thread score of 3931. The scaling from 1 to 4 threads is nearly linear, indicating efficient multi-threading for lighter workloads. However, the 8-thread score of 6933 and max-thread score of 8479 show diminishing returns beyond 4 threads, which is typical for gaming workloads that rarely utilize more than a handful of cores effectively.

The Ryzen 7 7700's percentile ranking of 87 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081, places it in the top tier of desktop processors. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% faster), Intel Core 5 221E (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 270 (0.4% slower), and Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% slower). These negligible differences confirm that the 7700 is not a bottleneck in this system.

The measured FPS data supports this conclusion. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 170 FPS, which is well within the CPU's capability to feed frames to the GPU. Even at 1080p Ultra (83 FPS), the frame rate is high enough that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 1650 MHz boost clock is likely the limiting factor rather than the CPU. The 65 W TDP of the 7700, combined with its 32 MB of shared L3 cache, provides ample headroom for sustained gaming performance without thermal throttling concerns.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the "High" preset at 109 FPS average offers an excellent balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. Those seeking maximum frame rates for competitive play can drop to "Low" for 170 FPS, while "Medium" at 130 FPS serves as a middle ground. The "Ultra" preset at 83 FPS remains playable but offers diminishing returns over High given the performance cost.

At 1440p, the "High" preset delivers 71 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and provides a good experience. The "Medium" preset at 84 FPS offers a safer margin above the 60 FPS threshold, with minimums of 71 FPS ensuring no significant dips. "Low" at 110 FPS is available for those prioritizing frame rate, while "Ultra" at 54 FPS falls short of 60 FPS and should be avoided if smoothness is paramount.

For 4K, the data suggests that only the "Low" preset at 59 FPS average is viable, and even that is borderline. The "Medium" preset at 45 FPS and "High" at 38 FPS are below the playable threshold for a fast-paced shooter, while "Ultra" at 29 FPS is essentially unplayable. Users with 4K displays should either accept Low settings or consider reducing resolution to 1440p for a substantially better experience.

The measured minimum frame rates for Medium settings provide additional insight: at 1080p, the minimum of 111 FPS indicates consistent performance with no major hitches; at 1440p, the 71 FPS minimum aligns with the High preset average, showing that Medium maintains a stable frame delivery; at 4K, the 38 FPS minimum matches the High preset average, confirming that 4K Medium is too demanding for this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this pairing of AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2602 out of 3712 combos for Minimum. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER's aging architecture rather than the CPU's capabilities. The rank indicates that while the CPU is competitive—sitting at the 87th percentile among all processors—the GPU holds this combo back.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 62 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093, places it in the mid-range of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% faster), AMD Radeon RX 460 (1.5% faster), and Intel Arc A770M (1.6% faster). These close margins suggest that the RTX 2060 SUPER is performing as expected for its class, but it cannot compete with more modern GPUs that would push this combo higher in the rankings.

The combo rank of 2602 out of 3712 means that roughly 70% of tested configurations outperform this pairing in Minimum. This is not surprising given the GPU's 2019 release date and the fact that it is now end-of-life per the production status. The measured FPS data at 4K Ultra (29 FPS) particularly drags down the overall ranking, as many modern GPUs can handle this resolution at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured performance. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has sufficient memory capacity for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles with 4K textures. The 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s, which translates to the frame rates observed.

The GPU's clock speeds—1470 MHz base and 1650 MHz boost—are modest by modern standards. Its FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS is the key metric for traditional rasterization, and the measured FPS data shows this is insufficient for 4K at medium or higher settings. The 12 nm process node and 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die indicate an older architecture that cannot match the efficiency of newer GPUs.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern game features, and its Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 support cover the API bases. The 272 tensor cores and 34 RT cores provide hardware acceleration for DLSS and ray tracing, though neither appears to be leveraged in the measured FPS data—these are raw rasterization results.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 16462 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 place it in the mid-range tier. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 77402 and OpenCL score of 76957 show balanced compute performance. The 175 W TDP and suggested 450 W PSU indicate reasonable power demands for a dual-slot card of this era.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. The "Low" preset averages 170 FPS, "Medium" averages 130 FPS with a minimum of 111 and maximum of 150, "High" averages 109 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 83 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 51% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant but manageable cost for the visual quality increase.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. "Low" averages 110 FPS, "Medium" averages 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 and maximum of 97, "High" averages 71 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 54 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 51% here as well, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern. The 1440p High preset at 71 FPS matches the 4K Medium minimum frame rate, illustrating the performance cliff as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. "Low" averages 59 FPS, "Medium" averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and maximum of 52, "High" averages 38 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 7 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9 FPS. This compressed range at 4K indicates that the GPU is saturated regardless of settings, and the only way to achieve playable frame rates is to use the Low preset.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution, with 109 FPS on High and 170 FPS on Low. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 71 FPS, which is still playable, while 3840x2160 only achieves 59 FPS on Low.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 40081 and ranks in the 87th percentile. It is 0.1% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, 0.2% faster than the Intel Core 5 221E, 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 270, and 0.6% faster than the Intel Core i9-13905H.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes, the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 170 FPS, but 4K Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance is insufficient for high-resolution gaming.

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: The "High" preset at 71 FPS average is recommended, as it exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The "Medium" preset at 84 FPS with a 71 FPS minimum offers more headroom, while "Ultra" at 54 FPS falls below 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank overall?

A: This pairing ranks 2602 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the lower third. The GPU's 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary factor limiting the overall rank.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 170 FPS while Ultra averages 83 FPS, a difference of 87 FPS or 51%. The Medium preset at 130 FPS provides a middle ground with a minimum of 111 FPS.