Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a benchmark profile that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU's strong single-thread performance becoming the limiting factor only at 1080p. The combo ranks 14th out of 1,733 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the top 1% of all systems evaluated. Measured frame rates range from 68.5 FPS at 4K Ultra to 409.1 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating an exceptionally wide performance envelope that spans both demanding 4K scenarios and high-refresh-rate esports-style settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear transition in system bottleneck behavior. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 409.1 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 140.1 FPS — a 65.8% reduction that points to the GPU becoming the primary constraint as pixel count quadruples. The same pattern appears across all settings presets, but the magnitude varies significantly.

At High settings, the drop from 261.6 FPS (1080p) to 92.6 FPS (4K) represents a 64.6% decrease. Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 311.8 FPS at 1080p falls to 108.4 FPS at 4K, a 65.2% reduction. Ultra settings exhibit the steepest relative decline, from 200.9 FPS at 1080p down to 68.5 FPS at 4K — a 65.9% drop. These consistent percentage decreases across all presets indicate that resolution scaling in Minimum follows a predictable pattern, with the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth handling data throughput efficiently, but the raw compute load at 4K overwhelming even this flagship GPU.

The 1440p results sit between these extremes, with High settings delivering 170.5 FPS, Medium at 200.3 FPS, Low at 259.6 FPS, and Ultra at 129.6 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p (roughly 35-40% lower FPS at 1440p) is narrower than the gap between 1440p and 4K (another 45-50% reduction), suggesting that the GPU has sufficient headroom at 1440p to maintain high frame rates but begins to saturate its shading units and ROPs more aggressively at 4K. The Ryzen 7 9700X's 5.50 GHz boost clock and 89th percentile CPU ranking become less relevant as resolution increases, since the GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the dominant factor.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Minimum?*

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 409.1, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the least demanding configuration tested.

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

A: It ranks 14th out of 1,733 combinations, placing it in the top 1% of all evaluated configurations for this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the system delivers 68.5 FPS, which is 66% lower than the 200.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This substantial drop indicates the RTX 5090 is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's workload does not scale significantly with resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 259.6 FPS while Ultra produces 129.6 FPS — a 50.1% reduction. This shows that graphics settings have a major impact on frame rates even at mid-range resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rival in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84,306 is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D and 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon PRO W6600, but 1.6% lower than the NVIDIA CMP 40HX.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700X hold back performance at 1080p?

A: The CPU's single-thread score of 1,280 in 3DMark and 4,459 in Cinebench R23, combined with its 89th percentile ranking, suggests it has sufficient headroom. The 409.1 FPS at 1080p Low indicates the GPU is still keeping pace, though the CPU becomes more relevant at these high frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The 14th place ranking out of 1,733 tested combinations places this system in the 99.2nd percentile of all configurations evaluated for Minimum. This is an exceptional result, though not the absolute top, suggesting that a handful of combinations with even more extreme hardware exist. The combo's ranking reflects the synergy between the Ryzen 7 9700X's 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 architecture and the RTX 5090's massive compute resources.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores include the Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.2% higher average score), the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (0.4% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.6% higher). These small deltas indicate that the 9700X sits in a tight performance cluster among modern processors, with no clear winner by more than a fraction of a percent. The GPU's nearest rivals show similar clustering: the RTX 5090 D is 0.1% lower, the RTX 5050 Mobile is 0.2% lower, and the CMP 40HX is 1.6% higher.

Within the context of Minimum specifically, the combo's 14th place finish suggests that the game is well-optimized for both CPU and GPU workloads, allowing this hardware duo to showcase its strengths. The measured FPS values are higher than what the 89th percentile CPU and 94th percentile GPU rankings might individually suggest, indicating favorable scaling in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 409.1 FPS, Medium achieves 311.8 FPS, High reaches 261.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 200.9 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 50.9% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the significant cost of higher graphical fidelity at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance envelope tightens. Low settings still manage 259.6 FPS, Medium hits 200.3 FPS, High maintains 170.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 129.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is exactly 50.1%, nearly identical to the 1080p scaling, suggesting that the relative cost of settings presets remains constant regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more modest. Low settings produce 140.1 FPS, Medium achieves 108.4 FPS, High delivers 92.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68.5 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra reduction at 4K is 51.1%, consistent with the other resolutions. However, the absolute numbers show that even the RTX 5090 cannot maintain 100+ FPS at 4K Ultra, making this a 60-90 FPS experience at maximum quality.

The pattern across all resolutions shows a consistent ~50% performance penalty when moving from Low to Ultra settings, with each preset step (Low→Medium, Medium→High, High→Ultra) costing roughly 15-20% performance. This linear scaling suggests that Minimum's graphics options have predictable computational costs, allowing users to estimate frame rates based on their preferred preset.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090's specifications directly inform its behavior in Minimum. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the GPU provides 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth — more than sufficient for the game's asset streaming at any resolution. The 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs (producing a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s) handle the rasterization workload, while 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores support any ray tracing or AI-enhanced features the game might employ.

The GPU's 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,306, confirms its position near the top of the performance hierarchy. Its closest competitor, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84,241 (0.1% lower), indicating that the standard RTX 5090 is marginally faster than its regional variant. The AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3%, while the NVIDIA CMP 40HX leads by 1.6%.

The 5 nm process node and Blackwell 2.0 architecture enable a boost clock of 2407 MHz, which is modest compared to some rival cards but compensated by the sheer scale of the GPU — 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. This density allows for 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which is the primary driver of the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the 68.5 FPS result suggests the GPU is fully utilized, with the 575 W TDP indicating substantial power draw under load.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, Low settings provide 409.1 FPS — far beyond any display's refresh rate capability, making Medium (311.8 FPS) or even High (261.6 FPS) more practical choices for competitive play while still maintaining triple-digit frame rates. Even Ultra at 200.9 FPS exceeds 144 Hz displays, so 1080p Ultra is viable for high-refresh monitors.

At 1440p, the data shows that High settings (170.5 FPS) offer an excellent balance for 165 Hz displays, while Medium (200.3 FPS) accommodates 240 Hz panels. Ultra at 129.6 FPS remains above 120 Hz, making it suitable for high-refresh gaming, though users with 144 Hz or higher displays might prefer High for additional headroom.

For 4K gaming, the recommendations shift based on display capabilities. Ultra at 68.5 FPS is playable on 60 Hz displays but leaves no room for frame drops. High at 92.6 FPS provides a more comfortable margin for 90+ Hz monitors, while Medium at 108.4 FPS approaches 120 Hz territory. Low at 140.1 FPS offers the best competitive performance at 4K, though the visual compromise may be significant.

The most balanced configuration across all resolutions appears to be High settings, which delivers 261.6 FPS at 1080p, 170.5 FPS at 1440p, and 92.6 FPS at 4K. This preset maintains playable frame rates at every resolution while preserving visual quality. For users with 4K 120 Hz displays, Medium settings (108.4 FPS) represent the sweet spot, while 4K 60 Hz users can safely enable Ultra (68.5 FPS) for maximum fidelity.