Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter from 2014. The measured data shows this combination handles the game's highest presets at 1440p with room to spare, while 4K Ultra presents a more demanding scenario. The dataset reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings, with the combo ranking in the 82nd percentile among 2,939 tested configurations, indicating strong but not top-tier standing for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this pairing. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 300 at 1920x1080 to 193 at 2560x1440, then to 104 at 3840x2160. That is a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling curve. The pattern suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution climbs, since the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the pixel count quadruples.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly less steep: 230 FPS at 1080p, 148 at 1440p, and 80 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This non-linear behavior indicates that at 4K, the RX 7900 XT's raw throughput becomes more constrained, whereas at lower resolutions, the Ryzen 7 9700F's 8 cores and 16 threads can feed frames fast enough to keep the GPU busy.

High settings show a similar trend: 193 FPS at 1080p, 124 at 1440p, and 67 at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 36%, and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 46%, mirroring the Medium preset's scaling. Ultra settings follow the same pattern but at lower absolute numbers: 147 FPS at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, and 51 at 4K. The consistent ~46% reduction from 1440p to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra strongly suggests the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting component at high resolutions.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-bound in some scenarios, particularly at Low settings where 300 FPS approaches the practical ceiling for many display refresh rates. At 1440p, the balance shifts toward the GPU, but the RX 7900 XT still has enough headroom to push well above 100 FPS on High. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, with even Medium settings dropping to 80 FPS average.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, brings 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is generous for a 2014 title, and the data suggests it is not a limiting factor in Minimum. The GPU's boost clock of 2394 MHz and game clock of 2025 MHz provide substantial compute headroom, with 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs driving the pixel output.

The benchmark results indicate the GPU's memory bandwidth is more than sufficient for this game. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 51 suggests the GPU's compute and pixel fill rates are the limiting factors, not memory capacity or bandwidth. The 20 GB frame buffer is unlikely to be stressed by a game from 2014, even at 4K with Ultra settings, as modern titles rarely exceed 12-16 GB at that resolution, and older games are typically far less demanding.

The GPU's 51.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 459.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are impressive on paper, yet the measured 4K Ultra average of 51 FPS shows that Minimum's Ultra preset places significant demands on the hardware. The GPU's performance relative to its average benchmark score of 13,745 places it in the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon 660M (deltaPct -0.5) and NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (deltaPct -0.5). This mid-pack standing in general benchmarks, combined with the game's specific demands, explains why 4K Ultra is challenging.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are relevant for a game from 2014, which may rely on older DirectX 11 paths. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 340 suggests strong performance in that API, which is likely what Minimum uses. The DirectX 12 score of 110 is lower, indicating the game may not fully leverage newer APIs, but the GPU's raw power compensates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 230 FPS average with a minimum of 195 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. At 1440p, Medium provides 148 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. Even at 4K, Medium holds 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS, which is acceptable for most players.

The High preset is a viable alternative for those who prefer better visual fidelity, especially at 1440p where it delivers 124 FPS average. At 1080p, High achieves 193 FPS, still excellent. However, at 4K, High drops to 67 FPS average, which is below the 80 FPS of Medium, making Medium the better choice for 4K if frame rate consistency is prioritized.

Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p and 1440p users who value maximum visual quality over frame rate headroom. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 147 FPS, and at 1440p, it drops to 95 FPS. At 4K, Ultra falls to 51 FPS average, which is playable but may feel less fluid, especially in fast-paced third-person shooter combat. The Low preset, while delivering 300 FPS at 1080p and 193 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that runs well on Medium.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a 75% frame rate increase over Ultra at 4K (80 vs 51) while maintaining a playable minimum of 68 FPS. At 1440p, the jump from Ultra to Medium (95 to 148 FPS) represents a 56% improvement, with the minimum FPS rising from an unmeasured value to 126 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread across settings. Low settings achieve 300 FPS average, which appears to be a practical ceiling for the game engine or the measurement methodology. Medium delivers 230 FPS average with a minimum of 195 FPS and a maximum of 264 FPS, indicating consistent performance. High settings reach 193 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 147 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 153 FPS, a 51% reduction, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a significant performance cost even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low settings achieve 193 FPS, Medium delivers 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS, High reaches 124 FPS, and Ultra drops to 95 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 126 FPS is notably higher than the 1080p Ultra average of 147, indicating that Medium at 1440p provides a smoother experience than Ultra at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings achieve 104 FPS, Medium delivers 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS, High reaches 67 FPS, and Ultra drops to 51 FPS. The Medium preset's frame time consistency, evidenced by the 68 FPS minimum, suggests that even at 4K, this combo can maintain a playable experience without stutter.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max values recorded at all three resolutions, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 195-264 FPS range shows tight variance. At 1440p, the 126-170 FPS range maintains consistency. At 4K, the 68-92 FPS range widens slightly but remains acceptable. This consistency across resolutions reinforces the recommendation for Medium as the default choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination ranks 521 out of 2,939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 17.7% of all configurations. This is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing, though not the top-tier result one might expect given the hardware's specifications. The rank suggests that while this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, it faces stiff competition from configurations with more powerful GPUs or better-optimized pairings at 4K.

The combo's rank of 521 indicates that 2,418 other combinations performed better in this specific game. This could be due to the game's age and its potential preference for certain hardware architectures, or it could reflect that the RX 7900 XT, while powerful, is not the optimal GPU for Minimum's rendering engine. The GPU's low percentile (55th) against all GPUs, despite its high raw specifications, hints that the game may not fully utilize the RDNA 3.0 architecture's features.

The CPU's percentile is much stronger at 94th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69,996. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (deltaPct 0.2), Intel Core i7-14700KF (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (deltaPct 0.7), and Intel Core i7-14700K (deltaPct 0.9). This indicates the Ryzen 7 9700F is competitive with top-tier desktop and mobile CPUs, providing ample compute power for the game's CPU demands.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-pack percentile suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in the combo's overall rank. The data implies that pairing the Ryzen 7 9700F with a higher-performing GPU, such as the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (which is only 1.5% ahead in average benchmark score), could improve the combo's standing, though the measured FPS at 4K Ultra suggests the RX 7900 XT is already delivering near-optimal performance for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, part of the 9000 series based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), features 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration provides substantial single-thread and multi-thread performance, as evidenced by its PassMark single-thread score of 4,691 and multithread score of 36,470. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core ensure the CPU can efficiently feed data to the GPU in a game like Minimum.

The CPU's role in this game is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the 300 FPS average suggests the CPU is capable of driving the game engine to its practical limits. The fact that 1080p Ultra delivers 147 FPS while 4K Ultra delivers 51 FPS indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate scales down consistently with pixel count.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 4nm process node (TSMC) contribute to its efficiency, but the more relevant metrics for gaming are its clock speeds and cache hierarchy. The boost clock of 5.50 GHz is among the highest available, which helps in single-threaded game logic. The PassMark physics score of 2,122 and integer math score of 120,788 suggest strong computational throughput for game physics and AI, which are often CPU-intensive in third-person shooters.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score—the Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, deltaPct 0.2) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163, deltaPct -0.2)—show that the Ryzen 7 9700F is within 0.2% of these alternatives. This means that swapping to a different CPU in this performance class would likely yield negligible frame rate differences in Minimum, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The data implies that the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for a 2014 game, even at high frame rates. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s (DDR5 dual-channel) is ample for the game's data transfer requirements, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface (24 lanes) ensures the GPU can communicate with the CPU without bottlenecks.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p offers the best balance, with Medium settings achieving 148 FPS average and High at 124 FPS. At 1080p, Medium hits 230 FPS, but the visual upgrade to 1440p is substantial. At 4K, Medium drops to 80 FPS, which is playable but less ideal for competitive play.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69,996, placing it 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875) and 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163). It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515) and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700K (69,355).

Q: Is the RX 7900 XT's 20 GB VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM limitations at any resolution, as the game from 2014 is unlikely to exceed even 8 GB at 4K Ultra. The 20 GB capacity provides headroom for future titles, but for Minimum, the GPU's compute and pixel throughput are the limiting factors, not memory capacity.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 51 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, so players may prefer Medium settings at 4K, which delivers 80 FPS average with a minimum of 68 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 521 out of 2,939 configurations, placing it in the top 17.7%. The CPU's strong 94th percentile ranking and the GPU's 55th percentile ranking indicate that the GPU is the more limiting component for this game.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop significantly from 1080p to 4K?

A: The data shows a 65% reduction at Low settings (300 to 104 FPS) and a 65% reduction at Ultra settings (147 to 51 FPS) when moving from 1080p to 4K. This consistent scaling indicates the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while pixel count quadruples.