Minimum

# Minimum — AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers strong performance in Minimum, a Third-Person Shooter released in 2014. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU's capabilities become more apparent at 1080p. The data shows a combo ranking in the 78th percentile among 1,733 tested combinations, indicating that this pairing is well above average for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline varies significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 300 FPS at 1920x1080 to 190.9 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 107 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern here is steep, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the frame rate falls from 192.7 FPS at 1080p to 122.4 FPS at 1440p to 65.9 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36% and 46% respectively — a similar pattern to Low settings but with an even sharper cliff at 4K. Medium settings show 228.4 FPS at 1080p, 146.4 FPS at 1440p, and 82.8 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 43%. Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers: 145.6 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 52.8 FPS at 4K, with drops of 35% and 44%.

The uniformity of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is striking. Whether at Low or Ultra, the frame rate decreases by roughly one-third when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and by another 43-46% when moving to 4K. This consistency strongly suggests that the rendering pipeline is uniformly GPU-bound at every resolution tested. The RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient at all tested resolutions, as frame rates remain playable even at 4K Ultra — but the data indicates that the GPU's compute throughput, not memory capacity, is the constraining factor at higher resolutions.

The 1080p results are particularly revealing. At Low settings, the system hits 300 FPS, which appears to be a practical ceiling for this title. At High settings, 192.7 FPS at 1080p suggests the CPU is still keeping up, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (300 vs. 145.6 FPS) shows that the GPU workload scales dramatically with settings. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 16 threads and 96 MB of shared L3 cache provide ample headroom for this older title, which likely does not utilize the CPU's full multi-threading capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 374th out of 1,733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 21.6% of all pairings in the database. This is a strong result, though not elite — the rank reflects that many higher-end GPU configurations (likely with more powerful graphics cards) can outperform this setup in this particular game. The RTX 5070's percentileVsAllGpus of 83 indicates it outperforms 83% of all GPUs in the database, while the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's percentileVsAllCpus of 90 shows the CPU is even more dominant in its field.

The CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average benchmark score. The Intel Xeon 6353P scores 37,811 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 37,831 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HK scores 38,020 (0.6% higher), and the Intel Core i5-13600KF scores 38,028 (0.7% higher). This clustering suggests that the 9800X3D's average benchmark score of 37,780 is competitive with a broad range of modern CPUs, though the 3D V-Cache architecture does not provide a decisive advantage in synthetic averages.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar tight grouping. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 41,610 (0.2% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41,897 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 scores 41,441 (0.6% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 41,991 (0.7% higher). The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41,687 places it in close contention with these cards, though the RTX 3090 — a previous-generation flagship — remains slightly ahead. This context explains the 374th rank: the GPU is good but not top-tier, and the CPU is excellent but not the sole determinant in this game's performance.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data shows that High settings at 192.7 FPS provides an excellent balance, delivering more than double the refresh rate of standard 60 Hz displays. Low settings at 300 FPS offers the maximum frame rate but with reduced visual quality. Medium at 228.4 FPS is a strong middle ground, while Ultra at 145.6 FPS still exceeds 144 Hz displays, making it viable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 1440p, High settings at 122.4 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it comfortably exceeds 60 FPS and approaches 120 Hz territory. Medium at 146.4 FPS is the better option for those with 144 Hz displays, while Ultra at 95 FPS remains playable but with diminishing returns. Low at 190.9 FPS is unnecessary unless chasing maximum frame rates for competitive play.

At 4K, the situation changes. High settings at 65.9 FPS is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 82.8 FPS provides a more comfortable margin and is the recommended preset for 4K, offering a 26% improvement over High while maintaining solid visual fidelity. Ultra at 52.8 FPS drops below 60 FPS and is not recommended for smooth gameplay. Low at 107 FPS is the only preset that provides a truly comfortable frame rate at 4K, but it sacrifices significant visual quality.

The overall best experience across the board is Medium at 1440p, delivering 146.4 FPS with balanced visual quality. For those prioritizing high refresh rates, High at 1080p at 192.7 FPS is the optimal choice. The data indicates that this combo can handle 4K gaming, but users should expect to use Medium settings to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides the best balance at 146.4 FPS, while 1440p High at 122.4 FPS is also excellent. At 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, with the best option being Medium at 82.8 FPS.

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings (82.8 FPS) or lower. High settings at 4K produce 65.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to the RTX 3090 in this setup?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41,687, while the RTX 3090 scores 41,441 — a 0.6% difference in favor of the RTX 5070. In Minimum specifically, the combo rank of 374 out of 1,733 reflects this competitive positioning.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 5070 in this game?

A: No. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 90 and its strong benchmark scores (e.g., 34,004 in Cinebench R23 multicore) indicate it is not the limiting factor. The consistent frame rate drops across resolutions suggest GPU limitation is the primary constraint.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 145.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This is above 144 Hz, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors, though the visual quality improvements over High settings (192.7 FPS) may not justify the 24% performance hit for all users.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 4K?

A: Low settings at 4K produces 107 FPS, while Ultra produces 52.8 FPS — a 103% improvement in frame rate. This dramatic difference indicates that settings have a substantial impact on GPU load at 4K resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 plays a central role in this combo's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Minimum at all tested settings — there is no indication of memory capacity limitations. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 192 texture mapping units deliver a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s, which directly impact the rendering of this third-person shooter.

The clock speeds — 2325 MHz base and 2512 MHz boost — are modest for a modern GPU, but the Blackwell 2.0 architecture's efficiency compensates. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the key specification for rasterization performance in this title. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687, confirms it is a solid mid-to-high-end performer.

The measured frame rates in Minimum align with the GPU's capabilities. At 4K, the frame rates across settings (52.8 to 107 FPS) show that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance. The consistent 35-46% frame rate drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K indicate that the GPU's compute throughput scales predictably with pixel count. The RTX 5070's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this 2014 title, which predates widespread ray tracing adoption.

The GPU's 250 W TDP and dual-slot design are moderate for its class, and the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is future-proof for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 52.8 FPS is limited by compute, not memory. The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals — within 0.7% of the Radeon Pro 5300, Tesla M40, RTX 3090, and Radeon Pro 580X — positions it as a competitive choice for this title. The data confirms that the RTX 5070 is the right partner for the 9800X3D in Minimum, providing strong performance across all tested configurations.