Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Minimum, but the data shows a clear performance ceiling tied to the GPU. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets reveal a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint, while the processor’s strong synthetic benchmarks suggest it has ample headroom for this title. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, settings trade-offs, component roles, and ranking within the benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 has a dramatic impact on average frame rates, confirming that the RX 5700 XT is the limiting factor. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 166 at 1080p to 107 at 1440p, a reduction of 59 frames. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings further reduces the average to 58 FPS, which is a 49-frame drop. This steep decline, from 166 to 58 FPS across the full resolution range, indicates a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

The pattern holds across other presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS scales from 127 at 1080p to 82 at 1440p, and then to 44 at 4K. High settings show a similar trajectory: 107 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset follows the same trend, with averages of 82, 53, and 28 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. The consistent ratio of frame rate drops suggests the game’s rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are fully utilized at each step.

Notably, the gap between 1080p and 4K is not merely a linear scaling. At Low settings, the 4K average of 58 FPS is only 35% of the 1080p average of 166 FPS. This disproportionate drop is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where the increase in pixel count from 2.07 million to 8.29 million overwhelms the rasterization capabilities of the Navi 10 chip. The data shows no signs of CPU limitation at lower resolutions; if the Ryzen 7 9700F were the constraint, we would expect the 1080p and 1440p scores to plateau. Instead, they continue to rise, indicating that the processor is feeding the GPU adequately.

The 1440p results are particularly informative for understanding the balance. At Medium settings, the 82 FPS average is a solid middle ground, but the 4K Medium result of 44 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold often sought for smooth play. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable at Low settings, where the 58 FPS average is marginally playable. For a consistent 60 FPS or higher, the resolution must be dropped to 1440p or lower, with the 1080p Low preset providing the highest headroom at 166 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings presets, with each step down in quality yielding a significant FPS increase. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra to High is 25 FPS (82 to 107), while moving from High to Medium adds another 20 FPS (107 to 127). The most substantial gain comes from dropping from Medium to Low, which adds 39 FPS (127 to 166). This indicates that the Low preset removes a significant rendering burden, likely through reduced shadow quality, draw distance, or post-processing effects.

For players prioritizing a high refresh rate experience at 1080p, the Low preset is the only option that exceeds 160 FPS, while Medium still provides a smooth 127 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an 82 FPS average and a minimum of 70 FPS recorded in the benchmark data. This suggests the game remains fluid even during demanding scenes. The High preset at 1440p is also viable at 69 FPS, though it lacks the min/max data to confirm stability. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 53 FPS, which may feel less responsive in a third-person shooter.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset achieves 58 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches playability. The Medium preset at 44 FPS and High at 37 FPS are noticeably less smooth, while Ultra at 28 FPS would be a compromised experience. The data indicates that the RX 5700 XT’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K with higher quality assets.

The best experience per the measured rows is the 1440p Medium preset. It delivers an 82 FPS average with a defined minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 94 FPS, offering a robust frame rate window that avoids the extremes seen at other settings. This preset balances visual fidelity with performance, making it the recommended choice for this combo. For those with 1080p displays, the Medium preset at 127 FPS is also an excellent choice, providing a 19 FPS buffer above the High preset’s 107 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the central component in these results, and its specifications explain the observed frame rates. The GPU features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines, with a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates across a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. These specifications place the GPU at the 59th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, indicating it is a mid-range performer.

The synthetic benchmarks for the RX 5700 XT support its role as a bottleneck. The PassMark G3D score of 16277 is the primary gaming metric, and the GPU’s average benchmark score of 16361 aligns closely with its nearest rivals. The data shows a 0.1% delta compared to the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, and a -0.3% delta versus the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell. This tight clustering suggests the RX 5700 XT performs at a predictable level for its class.

In Minimum, the GPU’s memory bandwidth appears to be a critical factor. The drop from 107 FPS at 1080p High to 69 FPS at 1440p High corresponds to a 2.25x increase in pixel count, but the frame rate only falls to 64% of the 1080p value. This suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as resolution increases. The 4K High result of 37 FPS further confirms this, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, yet the frame rate is only 35% of the 1080p value.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data shows they are insufficient for sustained 4K performance. The 58 FPS at 4K Low is the best 4K result, indicating that the GPU can handle lighter loads but struggles with higher presets. The pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s is a limiting factor, as the 4K resolution requires the GPU to process 8.29 million pixels per frame, and at 58 FPS, this equates to nearly 481 million pixels per second, approaching the theoretical limit.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RX 5700 XT is ranked 2164 out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the 73rd percentile of all tested combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly 73% of the configurations tested. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning, as the CPU is a high-end part that does not constrain the system.

The CPU’s performance metrics are notably strong. The Ryzen 7 9700F has a PassMark multithread score of 36470 and a single-thread score of 4691, with a percentile ranking of 94 against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% delta), Intel Core i7-14700KF (-0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% delta), and Intel Core i7-14700K (0.9% delta). These small deltas indicate the 9700F is in a competitive performance tier.

Given the CPU’s high percentile, the combo’s rank of 2164 is almost certainly dragged down by the GPU. The RX 5700 XT’s percentile of 59 is significantly lower than the CPU’s 94, and its average benchmark score of 16361 is typical of a mid-range graphics card. In a game like Minimum, which appears to be GPU-bound based on the resolution scaling data, the GPU’s capabilities directly dictate the final FPS, and thus the combo’s rank.

Comparatively, a combo with the same CPU but a higher-tier GPU would likely rank much higher, as the CPU has headroom to support faster graphics cards. The 73rd percentile rank indicates that this combo is not a top-tier performer, but it is far from the bottom. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the rank is acceptable, but for 4K, the combo falls into the lower quartile of test results, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS averages at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo based on the data?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 offers the highest frame rates, with a Low preset average of 166 FPS and a Medium preset average of 127 FPS. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable, with Medium settings at 82 FPS, but 3840x2160 only achieves 58 FPS at Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 5700 XT has an average benchmark score of 16361. It sits 0.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M at 16351, and 0.3% below the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell at 16408. The differences are negligible, indicating similar raw compute capabilities.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data suggests no. The CPU has a PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470, ranking at the 94th percentile. The resolution scaling shows frame rates dropping consistently with pixel count, which is characteristic of a GPU limitation, not a CPU one.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 166, recorded at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. The next highest is 127 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 28, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset. This is followed by 37 FPS at 4K High and 44 FPS at 4K Medium.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combos for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2164 out of 2939 tested combinations, placing it in the 73rd percentile. This indicates it outperforms a majority of other tested configurations, though it is not near the top.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 166 FPS. The Medium preset averages 127 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS. The High preset averages 107 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 82 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each preset step reduces performance by 20-39 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 107 FPS. The Medium preset averages 82 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 94 FPS. The High preset averages 69 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 53 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Low preset losing 59 FPS and the Medium preset losing 45 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 58 FPS. The Medium preset averages 44 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. The High preset averages 37 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. The 4K results show a notable compression, with the difference between Low and Ultra being only 30 FPS, compared to 84 FPS at 1080p. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily constrained that preset changes have a smaller absolute impact.

The min/max FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the range is 108 to 147 FPS, a spread of 39 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 70 to 94 FPS, a 24 FPS spread. At 4K, the range is 38 to 51 FPS, a 13 FPS spread. This narrowing range suggests that at higher resolutions, the frame pacing becomes more consistent, likely because the GPU is consistently saturated and cannot burst above its sustained capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture on a 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration, providing a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. Its PassMark benchmarks are robust, with a multithread score of 36470 and a single-thread score of 4691.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 166 FPS average is well above what a weaker processor could sustain, and the frame rate scales down smoothly as resolution increases. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau at lower resolutions, where the GPU has spare capacity but the CPU cannot keep up.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database reinforce its high standing. The Ryzen 7 9700F scores 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.2% below the Intel Core i7-14700KF, 0.7% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% above the Intel Core i7-14700K. These deltas are minimal, placing the 9700F in a performance tier where any of these processors would yield similar results in a GPU-bound game.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy, with 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3, is sufficient for gaming workloads. The 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die indicate a dense design, and the 4 nm process from TSMC contributes to its efficiency. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is ample for the game’s data streaming needs, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across settings.

Given the CPU’s performance, the 73rd percentile combo rank is likely a direct result of the GPU’s limitations. The CPU has headroom to support a faster GPU, meaning that any upgrade to the graphics card would likely improve the combo’s rank in this game. The data shows that the Ryzen 7 9700F is a capable partner, and the frame rates achieved are constrained by the RX 5700 XT’s mid-range capabilities.