Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a robust experience in Minimum, a 2014-released Third-Person Shooter. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rates at 1440p, with 4K remaining firmly playable. The pair ranks 430th out of 1733 tested combos, placing it in the top quarter of all configurations for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and expected performance curve as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 179 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 115.8 FPS, a decrease of roughly 35%. The jump to 4K is more severe, landing at 61.8 FPS, which is another 47% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a system where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the spread from Low (277.1 FPS) to Ultra (138.8 FPS) is 138.3 FPS, showing significant headroom. At 4K, the spread narrows to 50.8 FPS, from Low (98.1 FPS) to Ultra (47.3 FPS). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is saturated even at Low settings, leaving less room for graphical enhancements before frame rates become marginal.

The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing. High settings at 1440p yield 115.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Medium settings push this to 138.9 FPS. At 4K, High settings achieve 61.8 FPS, which is playable but leaves little overhead for demanding scenes. The 1080p results, particularly the 277.1 FPS at Low settings, indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the frame rates scale freely with GPU load.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070’s specifications directly correlate with the observed frame rates. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Minimum’s texture demands at 4K, but the architecture’s raw compute is the limiting factor. The card’s 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs, running at a boost clock of 2475 MHz, deliver 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This is reflected in the benchmark scores, where the GPU achieves a Passmark G3D score of 26927, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 37283 places it in close competition with several rivals, but the deltaPct values are telling. It trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 by a negligible 0.6%, while it is ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A by 1.9%. The most relevant comparison is against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, which outscores it by 2.2%. This suggests the desktop RTX 4070 is performing near the expected level for its class, though it is not a top-tier performer.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role is clear: it is the primary determinant of frame rates at 4K. The measured FPS at 4K High (61.8 FPS) versus 4K Low (98.1 FPS) shows a 37% improvement when reducing settings, which is a direct consequence of the GPU’s pixel throughput limits. The card’s 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate is the bottleneck here, as higher resolutions demand more pixel fill. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores present in the Ada Lovelace architecture do not appear to influence these results significantly, as Minimum is not a ray-traced title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provides ample processing power to keep the GPU fed. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), it operates at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The large 96 MB shared L3 cache is a notable asset for gaming workloads, reducing memory latency. The CPU’s benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and a single-core score of 4800, the latter being crucial for game logic and draw call processing.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 37780 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6353P (deltaPct of -0.1%) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (deltaPct of -0.1%), indicating that the 9800X3D is statistically tied with these parts in synthetic tests. It is also 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600KF, showing that its multi-threaded performance is competitive, though not dominant.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU’s role is to ensure the GPU is never starved. The 1080p Low result of 277.1 FPS is a strong indicator that the CPU can handle high frame rate scenarios without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 and the Passmark single-thread score of 4430 suggest that the CPU’s per-core performance is sufficient for the game’s thread scheduling. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation in this title, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across all settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p High settings deliver 115.8 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K High, the average drops to 61.8 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the minimum threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rival?

A: The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score of 37283 is 2.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, which scores 38135. It is also 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37507.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a strong CPU for gaming?

A: Yes, the CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4800 indicate excellent per-core performance. Its 96 MB L3 cache also helps reduce latency in gaming workloads.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the system is GPU-bound even at 1080p. The frame rates scale significantly with settings, from 277.1 FPS at Low to 138.8 FPS at Ultra, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 4K, the average FPS drops from 98.1 at Low settings to 47.3 at Ultra settings, a difference of 50.8 FPS. This shows that Ultra settings at 4K are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in this game?

A: The combination ranks 430th out of 1733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 430 out of 1733 places it in the upper quartile of all tested configurations for Minimum. This is a strong result, indicating that the pairing of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 4070 is well-suited for this title. The CPU’s high percentile rank (90th) and the GPU’s solid percentile rank (81st) contribute to this overall standing.

Comparing the components to their nearest rivals provides context for this rank. The CPU is statistically tied with the Intel Xeon 6353P and Intel Core Ultra 5 225, both showing a deltaPct of -0.1%, meaning the 9800X3D is essentially equal in synthetic performance. The GPU, however, shows more variance, with the RTX 4070 being 2.2% slower than the RTX 4080 Mobile, yet 2.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M. This suggests that the GPU is the weaker link in the combo, but it still delivers playable frame rates at 4K.

The data shows that the combo’s strength lies in its 1440p performance, where it achieves 115.8 FPS at High settings. This is a significant margin above the 60 FPS baseline, providing a smooth experience. At 4K, the 61.8 FPS at High settings is adequate, but the 47.3 FPS at Ultra indicates that users should moderate settings for a consistent experience. Overall, the rank of 430 reflects a balanced system that excels at mainstream resolutions, with the CPU providing ample headroom for future GPU upgrades.