Minimum

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process node. It operates at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boosts up to 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The chip features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, yielding 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, and the CPU connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

In synthetic PassMark testing, the 9700F posts a single-thread score of 4691 and a multithread score of 36470. Its overall average benchmark score is 69996, placing it at the 94th percentile among all CPUs. The nearest rivals bracket it tightly: the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163 (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.7% higher), and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69355 (0.9% higher). This means the 9700F sits in a performance band where small percentage differences separate it from top-tier desktop and mobile parts.

For a third-person shooter like Minimum, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining frame pacing and feeding the GPU with draw calls. The 8-core/16-thread configuration is ample for modern game engines, and the 5.50 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for single-threaded game logic. The 9700F's 94th percentile standing indicates it is near the top of the CPU hierarchy, so in this game, it is unlikely to be the limiting factor at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom. At 1080p, the high boost clock and strong single-thread performance help sustain maximum frame rates, while at higher resolutions the CPU load decreases relative to the GPU, making the 9700F a stable foundation across the board.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture (GA104 chip) using Samsung's 8 nm process. It has 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, along with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1575 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with memory clocked at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's FP32 compute is 21.75 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RTX 3070 Ti's average benchmark score is 29945, placing it at the 75th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are closely matched: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile scores 29928 (0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 scores 30095 (0.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti scores 29783 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 scores 30433 (1.6% lower). This places the 3070 Ti in a competitive mid-to-high tier, though it is not at the absolute top of the GPU hierarchy.

In Minimum, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a key consideration. The measured frame rates show that at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 41 FPS, which suggests the GPU is heavily stressed by both resolution and settings. The 608.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is substantial, but the 8 GB capacity may become a constraint at 4K with high-detail textures, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory swaps. At 1080p, the GPU has ample headroom, with Low settings hitting 240 FPS, indicating that the card is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions. The 3070 Ti's 75th percentile ranking relative to all GPUs means it outperforms the majority of cards, but in Minimum's most demanding scenarios, its VRAM and compute limits become apparent.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 1005 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the top 34% of all CPU-GPU pairings, which is a solid position given that the GPU is at the 75th percentile and the CPU at the 94th percentile. The rank reflects a balanced pairing where the CPU's strong synthetic scores complement the GPU's capable mid-to-high-tier performance.

The ranking suggests that this combo is well above the median but not at the extreme high end. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals (e.g., Ryzen 9 7940HX, Core i7-14700KF) would likely pair with higher-tier GPUs to achieve better overall rankings, while the RTX 3070 Ti's nearest GPU rivals (e.g., RTX 5070 Mobile, RX 6800) might be paired with weaker CPUs in other systems. The 1005th rank out of 2939 combos indicates that this pairing delivers performance that is respectable but leaves room for improvement at the top end, particularly at 4K Ultra where the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo in Minimum are as follows:

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: 240 FPS average
• Medium: 184 FPS average (min 156, max 212)
• High: 155 FPS average
• Ultra: 118 FPS average

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: 155 FPS average
• Medium: 119 FPS average (min 101, max 137)
• High: 100 FPS average
• Ultra: 76 FPS average

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: 84 FPS average
• Medium: 64 FPS average (min 54, max 74)
• High: 54 FPS average
• Ultra: 41 FPS average

These numbers show a clear progression: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 240 FPS, which is the maximum measured across all configurations. At 1080p Ultra, it drops to 118 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter as settings increase. At 1440p, the range is from 155 FPS on Low to 76 FPS on Ultra, a 51% reduction from Low to Ultra. At 4K, the range tightens to 84 FPS on Low and 41 FPS on Ultra, a 51% drop as well, but the absolute values are much lower, showing that resolution scaling has a compounding effect on the GPU load.

The min FPS values, where available, provide insight into frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the min is 156 FPS against a 184 average, meaning the 1% lows are about 15% below the average. At 1440p Medium, the min is 101 FPS against a 119 average (15% lower), and at 4K Medium, the min is 54 FPS against a 64 average (16% lower). This consistent pattern suggests that the combo maintains relatively stable frametimes across resolutions, with no severe stuttering indicated by the data.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component at each resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 240 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game's engine. Moving to 1080p Ultra reduces the frame rate to 118 FPS, a 51% decrease, indicating that the GPU is now the primary constraint. At 1440p, the Low setting yields 155 FPS (35% lower than 1080p Low), and Ultra yields 76 FPS (36% lower than 1080p Ultra). At 4K, Low produces 84 FPS (65% lower than 1080p Low), and Ultra produces 41 FPS (65% lower than 1080p Ultra).

The scaling pattern is roughly linear with pixel count: 1080p to 1440p is a 1.78x pixel increase, and the FPS drop is about 35-36%. 1080p to 4K is a 4x pixel increase, and the FPS drop is about 65%. This indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom (given its 94th percentile ranking) is unlikely to be exhausted until the GPU is fully saturated. The fact that 4K Low (84 FPS) is still higher than 1080p Ultra (118 FPS) shows that settings have a larger impact on frame rate than resolution alone, but the absolute ceiling is set by the GPU's compute and VRAM capabilities.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the combo can deliver high frame rates suitable for competitive play, especially on Low or Medium settings. At 4K, the frame rates are playable but not high-refresh-rate territory, with even Low settings only reaching 84 FPS. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the RTX 3070 Ti, as its 8 GB VRAM and 21.75 TFLOPS compute are pushed to their limits, while the CPU's 8 cores and high boost clock are more than sufficient for the game's logic.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 144+ FPS reliably?

A: At 1080p, all settings except Ultra achieve at least 155 FPS, with Low hitting 240 FPS and Medium at 184 FPS. At 1440p, only Low reaches 155 FPS, while Medium is at 119 FPS. For 144+ FPS, 1080p with High settings (155 FPS) is the most demanding configuration that still meets this target.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% lower than the Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875), 0.2% higher than the Core i7-14700KF (70163), 0.7% higher than the Ryzen 9 7950X (69515), and 0.9% higher than the Core i7-14700K (69355). The differences are minimal, indicating near-parity with these parts.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Minimum at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 41, and at 4K High it is 54. The low frame rates suggest the GPU is heavily loaded, and the 8 GB VRAM may contribute to performance degradation at 4K with high-detail textures. At 4K Low, the FPS rises to 84, indicating that reducing texture loads helps.

Q: What is the frame consistency like at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 184 FPS with a minimum of 156 FPS (15% lower). At 1440p Medium, the average is 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS (15% lower). At 4K Medium, the average is 64 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS (16% lower). The consistent ~15% gap between average and minimum suggests stable frame pacing.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings in Minimum?

A: The combo ranks 1005 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the top 34% of all pairings. This is a solid mid-to-high tier position, reflecting the CPU's 94th percentile and GPU's 75th percentile standings.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 155. At 4K High, it drops to 54 FPS, a 65% reduction. This is consistent with the pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K (4x), indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target frame rate and resolution. For 1080p, the High preset at 155 FPS offers a strong balance between visual quality and smoothness, especially for players with 144 Hz monitors. If higher refresh rates are desired, Medium at 184 FPS or Low at 240 FPS are viable, with Low providing the absolute maximum frame rate. Ultra at 118 FPS is still playable but may not justify the visual gains over High given the 24% FPS penalty.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 119 FPS is the sweet spot for maintaining a smooth experience, as High drops to 100 FPS and Ultra falls to 76 FPS. Low at 155 FPS is an option for competitive play, but the visual trade-off may be noticeable. For 1440p users, Medium offers the best combination of detail and frame rate, with the min FPS of 101 ensuring that dips stay above the 100 FPS threshold.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low at 84 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for fluid gameplay. Medium at 64 FPS is playable but closer to the 60 FPS boundary, while High at 54 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are best reserved for slower-paced segments or screenshot purposes. The data indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB VRAM and compute resources are insufficient for high-detail 4K gaming in Minimum, so Low or Medium are the practical choices at this resolution.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p at High or Medium for high-refresh-rate monitors, 1440p at Medium for a balance of quality and performance, and 4K at Low for playable frame rates. The combo's strength lies in its ability to deliver high FPS at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires significant settings reductions to remain smooth.