Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose benchmark data reveals a system profoundly limited by its graphics component. With an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X pairing with an Intel Arc B390, the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings tell a clear story of CPU headroom going unused, as the integrated GPU struggles to keep pace.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and consistent across all settings, pointing squarely at the GPU as the bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 61 at 1920x1080 to 39 at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction, and then to 21 at 3840x2160, a further 46% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where each pixel added requires proportional rendering work.

The Low settings curve shows similar behavior, with average FPS dropping from 95 at 1080p to 61 at 1440p (a 36% decline) and then to 33 at 4K (a 46% decline from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across different quality presets indicate that resolution is the dominant variable, not the complexity of the scene or effects. When a system is CPU-limited, raising resolution typically has a much smaller impact on frame rate; here, the steep cliffs at every step confirm the Intel Arc B390's rendering pipeline is saturated.

Ultra settings exacerbate the issue. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 46 FPS, which falls to 30 at 1440p and 16 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 16 FPS is effectively unplayable, and even the 1440p Ultra score of 30 FPS sits at the edge of smoothness. The data suggests that the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply overwhelmed when fill-rate demands increase with resolution.

The Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 72 FPS with a range of 62 to 83 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 47 FPS with a range of 40 to 54 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 25 FPS with a range of 21 to 29 FPS. The spread between min and max remains proportionally similar across resolutions, suggesting that the GPU is consistently stressed rather than spiking unpredictably.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) using TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts up to 4.80 GHz. This is a desktop-class CPU with substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 and Geekbench multicore score of 14118.

However, in Minimum, the CPU's role is almost entirely secondary. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU limitation; if the 5900X were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau across resolutions, particularly at Low settings where GPU load is minimized. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with resolution at every setting, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload.

The 5900X's single-thread performance is strong, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527. This matters for Minimum's game logic and physics, but the actual frame delivery is gated by the GPU. The data suggests that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would theoretically have the most room to influence frame rates, the 95 FPS average is likely capped by the Arc B390's ability to issue draw calls and process geometry, not by the 5900X's instruction throughput.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are more than adequate for a game from 2014. The processor's percentile rank of 87 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41376, places it in the upper echelon of processors. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (0.3% higher score) and the Intel Core i7-14650HX (0.5% lower score), are all close in aggregate performance, but none of that headroom translates into higher FPS here because the GPU cannot utilize it.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the clear limiting factor in this configuration. It is an integrated graphics solution (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with 12 ray-tracing cores. Its clocks are listed at a 300 MHz base and 2500 MHz boost, and it uses System Shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is "System Dependent."

The GPU's benchmark scores are extraordinarily low. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% higher), GeForce 800M (1.5% higher), GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% higher), and GeForce GT 710 (2.7% higher). This places the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which is consistent with its 80 W TDP and integrated design.

The FP32 compute throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. On paper, these numbers might suggest modest 1080p capability, but the measured FPS tells a different story. The shared memory architecture likely introduces latency and bandwidth constraints that severely hamper performance in real-world gaming. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is the theoretical maximum, but the system-dependent memory bandwidth means that achieving this rate is unlikely in practice.

The GPU's percentile rank of 9 vs. all GPUs is telling. Over 90% of GPUs tested perform better. This explains why the 1080p High average is only 61 FPS, and why the 4K Ultra average collapses to 16 FPS. The Arc B390 simply does not have the raw fill-rate or memory bandwidth to handle Minimum at higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In terms of overall performance for Minimum, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2602 out of 2939 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations, which is expected given the GPU's limitations. The rank is a direct consequence of the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU score; the 5900X's 87th percentile CPU score does little to boost the combo's standing.

The data shows that the combo rank is almost entirely determined by the weakest link. The 5900X's CPU-bound benchmark scores (e.g., Passmark multithread score of 39002) are irrelevant to the game's outcome when the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize that compute capacity. This is a classic case of a high-end CPU being paired with an entry-level integrated GPU, resulting in a system that is mismatched for gaming.

Comparatively, if the 5900X were paired with a more capable GPU, the rank would likely be much higher, but the FACT PACK provides no alternative GPU data for this CPU. The rank of 2602 serves as a warning that this specific pairing is not suitable for Minimum, particularly at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 95 FPS average. This is the only playable setting at this resolution, offering smooth performance.
• Medium: 72 FPS average (min 62, max 83). Playable, but there is noticeable headroom for improvement if the GPU allowed it.
• High: 61 FPS average. Borderline playable; the frame rate is adequate but not smooth for a shooter.
• Ultra: 46 FPS average. Dips into the territory where fast-paced action becomes less responsive.

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 61 FPS average. Just at the threshold of playability; the drop from 95 FPS at 1080p is significant.
• Medium: 47 FPS average (min 40, max 54). Marginal for a third-person shooter; expect stutter in busy scenes.
• High: 39 FPS average. Below the preferred 60 FPS target for competitive play.
• Ultra: 30 FPS average. Playable only in the most forgiving sense.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 33 FPS average. Noticeably choppy, but technically playable.
• Medium: 25 FPS average (min 21, max 29). The frame pacing is tight but the overall speed is low.
• High: 21 FPS average. Slideshow territory for most players.
• Ultra: 16 FPS average. Effectively unplayable; the rendering pipeline cannot keep up with the pixel count.

The Medium settings at each resolution include min/max data, which shows that the frame delivery is consistent. At 1080p Medium, the min is 62 and max is 83, a spread of 21 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 14 FPS (40-54). At 4K, the spread is 8 FPS (21-29). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working at its absolute limit, with less variance because it is constantly saturated.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p Low provides the highest average FPS at 95. For a more balanced experience, 1080p Medium offers 72 FPS average, but the 5900X's processing power is wasted at all settings due to the GPU limitation.

Q: Why does the CPU score well in benchmarks but the game runs poorly?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X has a high average benchmark score of 41376 and ranks in the 87th percentile of CPUs, but the Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile of GPUs. The game's frame rate is determined by the GPU, which cannot render frames quickly enough to leverage the CPU's compute capacity.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Arc B390 scores 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, which is 2.7% lower. All of these are in a similar low-performance tier.

Q: Is the frame rate stable across resolutions?

A: The Medium settings data shows consistent frame delivery. At 1080p, the range is 62-83 FPS (average 72). At 1440p, the range is 40-54 FPS (average 47). At 4K, the range is 21-29 FPS (average 25). The spread narrows as resolution increases, indicating the GPU is fully saturated.

Q: What does the combo rank of 2602 out of 2939 indicate?

A: It places this specific CPU-GPU pairing in the bottom 11.5% of all tested combinations for Minimum. This low ranking is driven entirely by the GPU's poor performance, as the CPU is in the top 13% of all processors.

Q: Does the GPU's shared memory architecture affect performance?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses System Shared memory with System Dependent bandwidth. This means the memory bandwidth available to the GPU varies based on system configuration, and in practice, the shared architecture likely contributes to the low frame rates observed, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase.