Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Minimum, a 2014 Third-Person Shooter. The combination of an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 4 processor and an Ampere-based GPU produces frame rates that range from 47.3 FPS at 4K Ultra to 267.3 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is exceptionally capable at 1440p and 1080p, while 4K demands careful settings management to maintain smoothness.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, and fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU has a 32 MB shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core, supporting DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. Its 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a versatile part for mainstream builds.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The benchmark results from the processor show strong single-thread capability, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 1049 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4136. Multi-threaded performance is equally robust, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29302 and a Passmark multithread score of 34470.

The processor's standing among rivals is tight. The data shows the Ryzen 7 7700's average benchmark score of 40468 is just 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H's 40431, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365's 40262. It also edges out the Intel Core Ultra 5 235T's 39995 by 1.2%, but trails the Intel Core i9-13905H's 40712 by 0.6%. This places the CPU in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance.

For Minimum, the high boost clock and strong single-core results are relevant. Third-person shooters often rely on a single main thread for game logic, but the 16 threads ensure that background tasks and streaming don't cause hitches. The measured frame rates, such as 267.3 FPS at 1080p Low, suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, allowing the GPU to run at full tilt.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is a high-end graphics card from the GeForce 30-series, based on the GA102 chip and Ampere architecture, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines, along with 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with a memory clock of 1188 MHz yielding 19 Gbps effective.

Its memory subsystem is a key asset: 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. This is crucial for high-resolution textures and complex scenes. The GPU's raw compute power is rated at 29.77 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 operations, with pixel and texture rates of 164.2 GPixel/s and 465.1 GTexel/s, respectively.

The RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35787 places it in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance: the AMD Radeon Pro Duo scores 35860 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 880M scores 35646 (0.4% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 36101 (0.9% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35435 (1.0% lower). This indicates that the RTX 3080 remains competitive in its class.

In Minimum, the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 47.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title, but the sheer pixel count at 4K stresses the GPU's shading units. At 1440p, the GPU hits a sweet spot, with High settings producing 111.3 FPS and Ultra delivering 82.8 FPS, both well within high-refresh-rate territory.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High, the system produces 171.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 111.3 FPS, a reduction of 35%. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 57.6 FPS, which is 66% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting component as resolution increases.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low, the system goes from 267.3 FPS at 1080p to 170.6 FPS at 1440p and 90.5 FPS at 4K. At Medium, it falls from 205.7 FPS to 131.5 FPS and then 71.5 FPS. At Ultra, the drop is from 132.2 FPS to 82.8 FPS and finally 47.3 FPS. The relative gaps between resolutions remain similar, confirming that the scaling is driven by GPU load.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU has more headroom, as the frame rates are high enough to indicate the GPU is still the main bottleneck, but the CPU's strong single-thread performance prevents it from capping the results. At 4K, the GPU's workload increases by a factor of four compared to 1080p, and the frame rates reflect this. The RTX 3080's 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 10 GB VRAM are sufficient, but the compute throughput is taxed heavily.

The 4K Low setting produces 90.5 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that breaks the 90 FPS barrier. This shows that even a high-end GPU like the RTX 3080 requires reduced settings to achieve high refresh rates at 4K in this title. The 1440p resolution offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with High settings yielding 111.3 FPS and Ultra at 82.8 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 171.3 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 132.2 FPS is also excellent, offering better visuals with only a 23% performance penalty. For competitive play, the Low preset at 267.3 FPS is the maximum achievable, but High is recommended for a balance of image quality and speed.

At 1440p, the High preset at 111.3 FPS is the standout choice. It provides a smooth experience on 144 Hz displays and looks significantly better than Low (170.6 FPS) or Medium (131.5 FPS). The Ultra preset at 82.8 FPS is playable but may not saturate a high-refresh-rate panel. For most users, High is the sweet spot, offering 35% more performance than Ultra while maintaining good visual details.

For 4K, the options are more constrained. The Ultra preset at 47.3 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and not recommended for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 57.6 FPS is close but still under 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 71.5 FPS is the first playable option, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 90.5 FPS is the best for high refresh rates, though it sacrifices visual fidelity. The data indicates that Medium is the recommended preset for 4K, as it offers a 24% performance improvement over High while maintaining acceptable image quality.

Across all resolutions, the High preset offers the best overall experience. It provides above 60 FPS at 4K (57.6 is borderline, but 1440p and 1080p are excellent), and the visual improvements over Medium are noticeable. The Ultra preset is best reserved for 1080p or 1440p where the performance headroom exists.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 535th out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the top 31% of all system configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong 91st percentile performance and the GPU's solid 80th percentile standing.

The ranking suggests that this pairing is well-matched, with neither component severely bottlenecking the other. The CPU's high single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1049) complements the GPU's raw power, ensuring that the system can deliver high frame rates at lower resolutions without being held back by processor limitations.

Compared to other combos, the 535th rank out of 1733 indicates that there are faster configurations, likely featuring newer GPUs or higher-end CPUs. However, the data shows that this combo still delivers excellent frame rates in Minimum, with 1440p High at 111.3 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 132.2 FPS. The 4K Medium setting at 71.5 FPS demonstrates that the system can handle 4K gaming with reasonable settings.

The rank is a holistic measure, accounting for all tested resolutions and settings. The combo's performance at 1440p, where it comfortably exceeds 100 FPS on High settings, is a strong contributor to its position. The tight competition between the RTX 3080 and its rivals, with score differences under 1%, means that small variations in game-specific optimization can shift the rank. Overall, the data positions this combo as a capable high-end pairing that excels at 1440p and remains playable at 4K with adjusted settings.