Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Benchmark data shows this combination is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and solid 4K performance, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component’s workload begins and ends. This analysis breaks down the measured results, the role of the GPU’s memory and clocks, resolution scaling behavior, and the optimal settings for this specific pairing.

FAQ

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

A: The combo ranks 282nd out of 1733 tested combinations, placing it in the top 16% of all systems measured for this game.

Q: What is the best 4K result available with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 107 FPS. The High preset yields 71.8 FPS, while Ultra drops to 54.5 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p at high refresh rates?

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 198.9 FPS, Medium hits 151.4 FPS, and High reaches 128.6 FPS. Only Ultra falls below 100 FPS at 99 FPS.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded at 1080p?

A: The highest average is 308.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Medium delivers 237.8 FPS, High hits 202 FPS, and Ultra still manages 153 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X scores 36029 on average benchmark score, which is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845. It trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% and the Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%.

Q: How does the GPU’s average score stack up against its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER averages 42576 in benchmark scores. It is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, while leading the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 1.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 1.6%.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for a game from 2014. The GPU’s 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present, but Minimum’s age means those features are largely secondary to raw rasterization throughput. The card’s 7168 shading units and 80 ROPs handle the pixel workload, with a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling predictably as settings increase. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium drops the average from 308.6 to 237.8 FPS, a 23% reduction. High to Ultra shows a similar pattern: 202 to 153 FPS, a 24% decline. This consistent step-down indicates the GPU is the primary driver of performance at these settings, with the Ryzen 7 9700X’s 8 cores and 16 threads providing enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking even at the highest frame rates.

At 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes more critical. The 504.2 GB/s figure supports the observed scaling: Ultra at 3840x2160 produces 54.5 FPS, while Low nearly doubles that to 107 FPS. The 12 GB capacity is not a limiting factor here, as the game’s textures are modest by modern standards. The card’s boost clock of 2475 MHz, up from a base of 1980 MHz, helps maintain frame pacing across all resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system produces 308.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 198.9 FPS, a 35.5% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 107 FPS, another 46.2% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates the RTX 4070 SUPER is the limiting component at lower settings, with the CPU able to feed frames faster than the GPU can render them.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more moderate. 1080p Ultra yields 153 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 99 FPS (35.3% less), and 4K Ultra falls to 54.5 FPS (45% less than 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests the GPU is the bottleneck throughout, but the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at high frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 308.6 FPS result approaches the practical limit of what the Ryzen 7 9700X can feed, given its 3.80 GHz base and 5.50 GHz boost clocks.

The gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is 50.4% slower than Low. At 1440p, that gap is 50.2%. At 4K, it grows to 49.1%. This shows that the GPU’s workload scales almost linearly with resolution, while the CPU overhead remains relatively constant. For players targeting 4K, the 71.8 FPS at High settings is the sweet spot, offering a 31.7% improvement over Ultra while staying above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 282 out of 1733 tested combos, this pairing sits in the 83.7th percentile of all systems measured for Minimum. This places it firmly in the upper tier, but not at the absolute top, which makes sense given the GPU’s 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU’s 89th percentile among all CPUs. The combination of a top-decile processor and a high-end GPU results in a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested hardware.

The CPU’s nearest rival data provides context for its contribution. The Ryzen 7 9700X’s average benchmark score of 36029 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940, +0.2%) and the Core Ultra 9 185H (36165, -0.4%). This means that swapping to any of these four rivals would produce a negligible change in Minimum’s frame rates, as the game is not heavily multi-threaded. The CPU’s single-thread performance, indicated by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1280 and a cinebench r23 single-core score of 4459, is what matters most here, and the data shows it is sufficient.

The GPU’s ranking is similarly tight. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s average score of 42576 is within 1.6% of all four nearest rivals. This indicates that the card’s performance is well-established and that no significant variance exists between it and the closest alternatives. The 282nd overall rank reflects this balanced pairing: neither component is a weak link, and the system performs slightly better than the median of all high-end combos.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 1080p High, the system averages 202 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors. At 1440p High, the 128.6 FPS average is also sufficient for high-refresh displays. The Ultra preset provides diminishing returns: at 1080p it drops to 153 FPS, and at 1440p it falls to 99 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 22.6% of the frame rate compared to High at 1440p.

For 4K, the choice is more nuanced. The High preset at 71.8 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 82 FPS offers a 14.2% improvement over High, which could be worth it if the visual difference is acceptable. Ultra at 54.5 FPS is below 60 FPS and should only be used if the player prioritizes image quality over frame rate. Low at 107 FPS is viable for competitive play, but it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that likely benefits from better textures.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most efficient at 4K, providing an 11.8% frame rate increase over High while maintaining a playable experience. At lower resolutions, the gap between Medium and High is larger: at 1440p, Medium (151.4 FPS) is 17.7% faster than High (128.6 FPS), while at 1080p, Medium (237.8 FPS) is 17.7% faster than High (202 FPS). This consistency makes Medium a safe fallback if the user wants extra headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 308.6 FPS average
• Medium: 237.8 FPS average
• High: 202 FPS average
• Ultra: 153 FPS average

At 1080p, the system is heavily GPU-bound. The jump from Low to Medium costs 22.9% of the frame rate, and from Medium to High another 15.1%. Ultra is 24.3% slower than High, showing that the most demanding settings have a significant impact. The 308.6 FPS Low result demonstrates that the CPU can push very high frame rates, but the GPU is the limiting factor in every preset above Low.

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 198.9 FPS average
• Medium: 151.4 FPS average
• High: 128.6 FPS average
• Ultra: 99 FPS average

The 1440p results show a similar pattern with a 35.5% drop from Low to Medium, a 15.1% drop from Medium to High, and a 23% drop from High to Ultra. The 99 FPS Ultra result is notable as it is the only sub-100 FPS figure at this resolution, indicating that Ultra settings are too demanding for consistent high-refresh play. The High preset’s 128.6 FPS is the best option for a 144 Hz monitor.

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 107 FPS average
• Medium: 82 FPS average
• High: 71.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 54.5 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU’s workload increases dramatically. Low drops to 107 FPS, a 46.2% reduction from 1440p Low. Medium hits 82 FPS, High manages 71.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 54.5 FPS. The scaling between presets is consistent: Medium is 23.4% slower than Low, High is 12.4% slower than Medium, and Ultra is 24.1% slower than High. For 4K gaming, the High preset is the only one that stays above 60 FPS without requiring a significant visual compromise, though Medium offers a 14.2% improvement for those who prefer higher frame rates.