Minimum

Minimum, the 2014 third-person shooter, shows a clear performance hierarchy for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The measured data reveals that this combination is highly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but begins to struggle at 4K, particularly with higher graphical presets. The benchmark results indicate a system that is well-balanced for mainstream resolutions, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific configuration, the "High" preset at 1920x1080 delivers the most balanced experience, producing an average of 130 FPS. This is a substantial frame rate that fully utilizes high-refresh-rate monitors. The "Ultra" preset at the same resolution drops to 99 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 24% performance cost for marginal visual gains. The "Medium" preset at 1080p yields 155 FPS, offering a smoother experience, but the jump from "High" to "Medium" is smaller than the jump from "High" to "Ultra", suggesting "High" is the sweet spot for visual fidelity versus performance.

At 2560x1440, the "High" preset maintains a solid 84 FPS, which is excellent for a more demanding resolution. The "Medium" preset provides 100 FPS, and "Low" reaches 130 FPS. The "Ultra" preset at 1440p drops to 64 FPS, which is still smooth but begins to show the GPU's limitations. For players prioritizing frame rate over absolute visual quality, "Medium" at 1440p offers a strong balance, but "High" remains the recommended choice for the best overall experience.

The 4K resolution data shows a different story. At 3840x2160, even the "Low" preset only achieves 70 FPS. The "High" preset falls to 45 FPS, and "Ultra" drops to a demanding 34 FPS. Consequently, the "Low" preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth 4K experience on this hardware. The "Medium" preset at 4K, with an average of 54 FPS and a minimum of 46 FPS, is borderline, but the lower minimum frame rate could lead to noticeable stutters in intense firefights.

The data suggests that the "High" preset at 1080p or 1440p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. The "Ultra" preset offers diminishing returns, and 4K requires significant compromises in settings to achieve playable frame rates. The "Medium" preset at 1080p is a good alternative for competitive play where maximum frame rates are desired, but for the vast majority of players, "High" is the optimal choice.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded in the data is 202 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the "Low" preset.

Q: How does the frame rate at 1440p "High" compare to 1080p "High"?

A: The average frame rate drops from 130 FPS at 1080p to 84 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 46 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the higher resolution.

Q: Is the "Ultra" preset playable at 4K resolution?

A: The "Ultra" preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 34 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth, playable performance in a fast-paced third-person shooter.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the entire benchmark set?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 34 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the "Ultra" settings preset.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system achieve a frame rate above 100 FPS?

A: The system achieves over 100 FPS at 1920x1080 with "Low" (202 FPS), "Medium" (155 FPS), and "High" (130 FPS) presets. It also surpasses 100 FPS at 2560x1440 with the "Low" preset, reaching 130 FPS.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from "High" to "Low" at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset achieves 130 FPS, which is 46 FPS higher than the "High" preset's 84 FPS, representing a substantial performance gain for lower visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The processor features 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. In this game, the CPU's role appears to be one of providing a strong foundation that allows the GPU to perform at its full potential.

The benchmark data shows that at lower resolutions like 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, frame rates are very high, reaching up to 202 FPS on the "Low" preset. This suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain these high frame rates. However, the frame rate difference between settings presets at the same resolution is significant, which indicates that the GPU is still the primary factor determining performance as settings are increased. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between "Low" and "Ultra" is 103 FPS, a massive gap that is driven by the GPU's workload.

The CPU's high single-thread performance, as shown by its 4691 Passmark score, is likely beneficial for a third-person shooter, where game logic and physics calculations often rely on a few powerful cores. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides ample headroom for background tasks and modern game engines that can utilize multiple threads. While the CPU is certainly not a bottleneck in this pairing, its performance is sufficient to avoid limiting the RTX 4060 in most scenarios, particularly at 1440p and 4K. The data shows that as resolution increases, the frame rates drop consistently, which is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the limiting component, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds a rank of 1549 out of 2939 tested combos. This places it in the middle of the pack, which is a reasonable position for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The ranking reflects the overall performance of the system across various benchmarks, and while the CPU is a strong performer, the GPU's relative standing brings the combo's overall rank down. The GPU, the RTX 4060, is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile, showing a mismatch in their relative performance tiers.

The combo rank of 1549 out of 2939 means that roughly 47% of tested combinations perform better, and 53% perform worse. This suggests that while the system is capable, there are many other pairings that achieve higher average frame rates in a variety of games. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Intel Core i7-14700KF, have average scores that are nearly identical, with a deltaPct of 0.2% or less. This shows that the 9700F is on par with other high-end processors from its generation. However, the GPU's nearest rivals, like the AMD Radeon HD 7790, are much older and less powerful, which highlights the RTX 4060's position as a more modern but still mid-range part.

The data implies that the combo's rank is largely dictated by the GPU's performance. If the RTX 4060 were paired with a weaker CPU, the rank might be similar, as the GPU would still be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios. Conversely, pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would likely result in a much higher combo rank. For this specific game, "Minimum", the measured FPS data shows the system performs well at 1080p and 1440p, but the overall combo rank against all other hardware pairings across all games is a more general indicator of its standing in the broader market.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable trend as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "High" preset, the average frame rate drops from 130 FPS at 1080p to 84 FPS at 1440p, and then to 45 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% decrease when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% decrease when moving from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component in this configuration.

If the CPU were the primary bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates remain relatively constant as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload is largely independent of resolution. However, the data shows a significant drop in performance at higher resolutions, which is the classic behavior of a GPU-bound system. The number of pixels being rendered increases exponentially, and the RTX 4060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus struggle to keep up with the demands of 4K rendering. The difference between the "Low" preset at 4K (70 FPS) and the "Ultra" preset at 4K (34 FPS) is 36 FPS, which shows that the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth are being heavily taxed at this resolution.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep. For example, at "Medium" settings, the frame rate drops from 100 FPS at 1440p to 54 FPS at 4K, a 46% reduction. This suggests that the GPU's capabilities are exceeded when trying to render a 4K image, even at moderate settings. The data clearly shows that for a smooth experience, players should stick to 1080p or 1440p, where the system can maintain high frame rates. At 4K, the system is only capable of providing a playable experience on the "Low" preset, and even then, it falls short of the frame rates achieved at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset of measured FPS provides a detailed view of the system's performance. At 1920x1080, the system delivers the following average frame rates: 202 FPS on "Low", 155 FPS on "Medium", 130 FPS on "High", and 99 FPS on "Ultra". The "Medium" preset shows a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS. This shows a wide performance range, with the "Low" preset nearly doubling the frame rate of the "Ultra" preset.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: 130 FPS on "Low", 100 FPS on "Medium", 84 FPS on "High", and 64 FPS on "Ultra". The "Medium" preset has a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all presets, with an average reduction of around 35%. This resolution provides a good balance of visual clarity and performance, with all presets except "Ultra" maintaining average frame rates above 80 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are: 70 FPS on "Low", 54 FPS on "Medium", 45 FPS on "High", and 34 FPS on "Ultra". The "Medium" preset has a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS. This resolution is clearly demanding for the RTX 4060. Even the "Low" preset, which yields 70 FPS, is just at the edge of what could be considered a high-refresh-rate experience. The "Ultra" preset at 34 FPS is likely to feel sluggish and unresponsive in a fast-paced game. The data shows a clear hierarchy of performance, with the system being best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is a mid-range GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with a 5 nm process node. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2460 MHz, and it features 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 19545, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and the AMD Radeon 780M, which have nearly identical average scores, showing that the RTX 4060's raw compute performance is in a specific, well-defined tier.

In this game, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The data shows that as the settings preset is increased from "Low" to "Ultra", the frame rate drops consistently at every resolution. At 1080p, the drop from "Low" to "Ultra" is 103 FPS, and at 4K, it is 36 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's processing power and memory bandwidth are fully utilized by the game's rendering demands. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is likely a limiting factor at 4K, where texture data and frame buffers can consume a large amount of memory.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals, such as the AMD Radeon HD 7790, is interesting because it shows that the RTX 4060 is a modern part that is only slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks. However, the RTX 4060 supports modern API features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which are not available on older hardware. The measured FPS data demonstrates that the GPU is capable of delivering excellent performance at 1080p and 1440p, but it is not designed for 4K gaming at high settings. The RTX 4060's role in this combo is to provide a solid gaming experience at mainstream resolutions, and the data confirms that it does so effectively.