Minimum

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 126th out of 3,712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 3.4% of all configurations evaluated for this title. This is a strong showing, though it reflects the game's 2014-era rendering workload rather than the absolute ceiling of either component. The RTX 4090's raw compute advantage is partially capped by Minimum's engine, which does not fully utilize modern GPU features like hardware ray tracing or DLSS-style upscaling. Still, the combo's percentile placement indicates that only a small fraction of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates in this specific third-person shooter.

The CPU's contribution to this rank is notable. The Ryzen 7 7700 sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 40,081. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40,048, +0.1%), Intel Core 5 221E (40,144, -0.2%), AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40,246, -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-13905H (40,313, -0.6%)—are separated by less than one percent in aggregate CPU performance. This clustering means the 7700 is neither a bottleneck nor a differentiator in Minimum; the GPU dominates frame production at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 8-core/16-thread design prevents stutter in less demanding scenes.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 60,347 places it at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals are unexpected: the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, +0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, -2.5%), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657, +2.9%). These workstation-class cards score similarly in synthetic benchmarks, yet the RTX 4090's massive VRAM pool and memory bandwidth yield a far larger real-world advantage in Minimum at 4K Ultra, where the measured 67 FPS average is roughly half of what the 1080p Low preset achieves.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090's 24 GB GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is the single most important specification for Minimum's high-resolution performance. The game's texture streaming and draw calls at 4K benefit disproportionately from this bandwidth; the measured 88 FPS average at 4K High versus 67 FPS at 4K Ultra shows a 31% performance drop when moving from High to Ultra, a delta that reflects the increased memory pressure and shader complexity of the Ultra preset rather than a core clock limitation.

Clock speeds are less decisive: the 2,235 MHz base and 2,520 MHz boost are modest for a 450 W TDP card, but the Ada Lovelace architecture's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 throughput ensures that Minimum's pixel shading workload is rarely the limiting factor. The GPU's 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are more relevant, as they directly scale with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 394 FPS average is likely bound by the CPU's single-thread performance; at 4K Ultra, the 67 FPS average shows the GPU's fillrate limits are being approached. The measured Medium presets all include min/max frame data (e.g., 4K Medium: 89-120 FPS), which indicates frame pacing consistency that is absent from the High and Ultra rows—a sign that the GPU's memory subsystem is well-utilized at Medium without hitting thermal or power throttling.

The RTX 4090's 12 Ultimate (12_2) DirectX support and 1.4 Vulkan API are technically ahead of Minimum's requirements, but the game's 2014 release date means it likely uses DirectX 11 paths. The 1x HDMI 2.1 and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs support modern high-refresh displays, which the 1080p and 1440p results (up to 394 FPS) can drive. However, the 16-pin power connector and 850 W suggested PSU are overkill for this title, where the GPU rarely exceeds 60% utilization at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The 2560x1440 High preset delivers 163 FPS average, which balances visual fidelity with high refresh rates. At 1920x1080, Low reaches 394 FPS, but that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors and adds no visual benefit.

Q: Does the RTX 4090 bottleneck the Ryzen 7 7700 in this game?

A: No. The CPU's 8-core/16-thread design and 5.30 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested settings. The 1080p Low result of 394 FPS is likely near the engine's simulation cap, not a CPU limit.

Q: Why is the Ultra preset so much slower than High?

A: At 4K, Ultra drops to 67 FPS average versus 88 FPS on High—a 24% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra yields 124 FPS versus 163 FPS on High (24% lower), and at 1080p, 193 FPS versus 253 FPS (24% lower). The consistent 24% delta suggests Ultra enables a fixed set of expensive effects that scale uniformly across resolutions.

*Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 4090's nearest GPU rivals in Minimum?*

A: The RTX 4090's synthetic rivals—Intel Arc Pro A60, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, Radeon Pro W6600M, and Radeon PRO V710—all score within 2.9% of the 4090 in average GPU benchmarks. However, their smaller VRAM pools and lower bandwidth would likely reduce Minimum's 4K performance more significantly than the 4090's 24 GB and 1.01 TB/s.

Q: Is the measured data reliable?

A: Yes. The `dataIsMeasured` field is true, and the Medium preset includes min/max FPS values (e.g., 1080p Medium: 256-347 FPS), which confirms the data was captured from real gameplay rather than synthetic estimation.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 ranks at the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40,081. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, is just 0.1% behind, while the Intel Core 5 221E is 0.2% ahead.

Settings Recommendations

For 3840x2160, the High preset is the optimal choice. It delivers 88 FPS average, which is 31% faster than Ultra's 67 FPS and 16% slower than Medium's 105 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to justify the frame rate penalty, especially since High still provides enough headroom for a 60 Hz display with G-Sync or FreeSync. Medium at 4K offers 105 FPS (with a 89-120 FPS range), which is a better option for 120 Hz displays, but High is the sweet spot for image quality per frame.

At 2560x1440, High again stands out with 163 FPS average. This is 76% faster than Ultra (124 FPS) and 16% slower than Medium (194 FPS). For 1440p 165 Hz monitors, Medium's 194 FPS is the only preset that fully saturates the refresh rate, but High's 163 FPS is within 1% of the refresh ceiling and provides better shadow and texture quality. Low at 254 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes competitive response times above all else.

For 1920x1080, the Medium preset (301 FPS average, 256-347 FPS range) is the recommended baseline. It offers 16% more performance than High (253 FPS) and 56% less than Low (394 FPS), but the min FPS of 256 ensures no drops below 240 Hz. High is also viable at 253 FPS, though the min FPS data is unavailable. Low's 394 FPS exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most exotic 360 Hz panels, making it a marginal choice for esports play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

3840x2160: The Ultra preset produces 67 FPS average, the lowest measured result for this combo. High improves to 88 FPS, a 31% uplift. Medium achieves 105 FPS average with a minimum of 89 FPS and maximum of 120 FPS, showing the widest frame-time variance of the 4K settings. Low reaches 137 FPS average, which is 104% faster than Ultra but still 24% slower than the 1440p High result.

2560x1440: Ultra delivers 124 FPS average, which is 85% faster than 4K Ultra due to the 2.25x reduction in pixel count. High jumps to 163 FPS, a 31% increase over Ultra—the same percentage delta seen at 4K. Medium provides 194 FPS average with a 165-223 FPS range, indicating excellent consistency. Low hits 254 FPS, which is 56% above Medium and 105% above Ultra.

1920x1080: Ultra runs at 193 FPS average, which is 56% faster than 1440p Ultra. High reaches 253 FPS, a 31% gain over Ultra. Medium is measured at 301 FPS average with a minimum of 256 FPS and maximum of 347 FPS—the tightest relative frame range of any setting. Low peaks at 394 FPS, the highest recorded value for this combo, which is 104% faster than 4K Ultra and 30% faster than 1440p Low.

The consistent 31% performance delta between High and Ultra across all three resolutions confirms that the Ultra preset adds a fixed computational burden. Similarly, the 24% delta between Medium and High is uniform. Low's scaling is less predictable: 137 FPS at 4K, 254 FPS at 1440p, and 394 FPS at 1080p, which suggests the Low preset removes resolution-dependent effects (e.g., ambient occlusion) that otherwise constrain the GPU.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 7700's role in Minimum is to provide consistent frame delivery without bottlenecking the RTX 4090. Its 8 cores and 16 threads on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael codename) run at a 3.80 GHz base clock and 5.30 GHz boost clock, with a 65 W TDP. The 32 MB shared L3 cache and 5 nm TSMC process (6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die) give it strong single-thread performance, as reflected in the 3DMark single-thread score of 1,049 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,930.

In Minimum, the game's 2014 engine likely uses no more than 4-6 threads. The 7700's 3DMark 4-thread score of 3,931 and 8-thread score of 6,933 indicate ample headroom; even the 2-thread score of 2,043 is sufficient for the game's primary simulation thread. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the 394 FPS average is likely a game engine limit rather than a CPU bottleneck, given that the 7700's PassMark single-thread score of 4,063 is among the highest in the database.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s (dual-channel DDR5) is not a limiting factor, as Minimum's texture streaming demands are modest compared to modern titles. The 7700's nearest CPU rivals—all within 0.6% in average benchmark score—would likely produce identical FPS results in this game, reinforcing that the CPU is not the performance arbiter here. The 87th percentile ranking for all CPUs confirms that the 7700 is a high-end processor, but Minimum simply does not stress it enough to differentiate it from mid-range alternatives.

The integrated Radeon Graphics are irrelevant for this discrete GPU configuration, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface (24 lanes) provides more than enough bandwidth for the RTX 4090's PCIe 4.0 x16 bus. The CPU's 16 threads ensure that background tasks (e.g., Discord, browser) do not interfere with frame pacing, which is corroborated by the stable min FPS values on Medium presets. Overall, the 7700 is a capable partner for the 4090, but its contribution to Minimum's FPS is passive—it simply stays out of the way.