Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that still appears in modern benchmark databases, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti produces a revealing set of frame rate data. The measured results across three resolutions and four quality presets show a system that is clearly capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p, but which begins to show its age as pixel count and graphical load increase. The data indicates a configuration where the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial thread count and clock speeds provide a strong foundation that never appears to bottleneck the frame rate delivery.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which points directly at the graphics card as the primary constraint. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 194.5 at 1920x1080 to 126.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 35%, and then plummets to 68.9 at 3840x2160, which is less than half of the 1080p figure. This pattern is not a sign of CPU limitation; it is the classic signature of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the resolution climbs.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing. At High settings, the system delivers 78.9 FPS at 2560x1440 but only 43.3 FPS at 3840x2160, a drop of 45%. At Ultra, the 1440p score of 60.5 FPS falls to 33.9 FPS at 4K, which is a 44% decline. These percentages are nearly identical across presets, suggesting that the rendering load at 4K overwhelms the GTX 1080 Ti’s 11 GB of GDDR5X memory and 352-bit bus regardless of how much graphical detail is enabled.

What this means for the analyst is that the Ryzen 9 5900X is not the limiting component in this game, even at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 194.5 FPS average indicates the CPU is feeding the GPU well, and the 12-core, 24-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz is more than adequate for a title from 2014. The bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU once the resolution increases, and the data suggests that for 4K play, even the Medium preset at 49.4 FPS will struggle to maintain smoothness, while Low at 68.9 FPS is the only viable option for playable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 5900X brings 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 33150 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4680 in single-core, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700F, which is 0.9% behind in average score, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS, which is 0.7% ahead, showing that this is still a highly competitive processor for gaming workloads.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to maintain high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck, and the data shows it excels at this. At 1080p Low, the 194.5 FPS average is a clear indication that the processor is not holding back the GTX 1080 Ti. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the GPU is working harder, the 95.3 FPS result is respectable and suggests that the CPU can push well beyond 100 FPS if the GPU allows it. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 6601 and 16-thread score of 9075 further confirm that this chip has ample headroom for both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded game engines.

The interesting question is whether the 5900X’s 12 cores are even fully utilized in a game from 2014. The passmark multithread score of 39002 and the data encryption score of 31106 indicate strong parallel performance, but Minimum likely does not scale perfectly with core count. The single-thread score of 3469 in Passmark and the 3DMark single-thread score of 941 are more relevant for older game engines, and these are solid numbers. The boost clock of 4.80 GHz is the key factor for frame pacing, and the measured FPS at 1080p suggests that the CPU is delivering consistent frame times without stutter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain over 60 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 78.9 FPS and Medium delivers 93.9 FPS, both above 60. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 68.9 FPS exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium drops to 49.4 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in raw performance?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 19402, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 at 19405, a delta of 0%. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X is 0.1% behind, and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp is 1.1% ahead.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 194.5, and even at Ultra it remains at 95.3. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking and boost clock of 4.80 GHz indicate it is not limiting the GTX 1080 Ti in this game.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 126.7 FPS, while Ultra drops to 60.5 FPS. This is a reduction of 66.2 FPS, or roughly 52%, showing the significant cost of enabling all graphical features.

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

A: The combo ranks 1011 out of 1733 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is consistent with the GPU’s age despite the strong CPU.

Q: Does the GPU’s 11 GB VRAM help at 4K?

A: Despite having 11 GB of GDDR5X memory, the 4K results are low, with Ultra at 33.9 FPS and High at 43.3 FPS. The memory capacity is not the issue; the GP102 chip’s raw compute power is insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 125 FPS is the sweet spot for competitive play, offering a massive jump from Ultra’s 95.3 FPS while still looking good. For those seeking maximum frame rates, Low at 194.5 FPS is the choice, but Medium at 148.5 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and speed. Ultra at 1080p is only for those who prioritize image quality over smoothness, as the 95.3 FPS result is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 93.9 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining most visual features. High at 78.9 FPS is also viable, and it will look noticeably better. Low at 126.7 FPS is for high refresh rate monitors, but the visual compromise is significant. Ultra at 60.5 FPS is right at the edge; it is playable but will dip below 60 in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low at 68.9 FPS is the only preset that maintains a playable average, and it will require compromises in texture quality and draw distance. Medium at 49.4 FPS and High at 43.3 FPS are too slow for consistent 60 FPS, and Ultra at 33.9 FPS is essentially a slideshow for this game. The data suggests that 4K play is only feasible with Low settings, which confirms the GTX 1080 Ti’s age rather than the CPU’s capability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Ryzen 9 5900X and GTX 1080 Ti ranks 1011 out of 1733 tested combinations in Minimum, placing it in the 58th percentile of all systems in the database. This is a modest ranking that reflects the GPU’s performance ceiling rather than the CPU’s potential. The Ryzen 9 5900X alone is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, but the GTX 1080 Ti is only in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, and its benchmark score of 19402 is nearly identical to the much older GTX 780.

This disparity is telling. The CPU is capable of driving much faster GPUs, but in this pairing, the GTX 1080 Ti is the limiting factor. The rank of 1011 suggests that many systems with newer or higher-end GPUs will outperform this combo, even if they have weaker CPUs. For a game from 2014, the data shows that the GTX 1080 Ti’s Pascal architecture, with its 3584 shading units and 11.34 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is still adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are as follows: Low settings produce 194.5 FPS, Medium produces 148.5 FPS, High produces 125 FPS, and Ultra produces 95.3 FPS. This shows a clear scaling pattern where each increase in preset level costs roughly 20-30 FPS, with the largest drop occurring from Low to Medium. The 95.3 FPS at Ultra is still above 60, making 1080p the most versatile resolution for this combo.

At 2560x1440, the scores are 126.7 FPS for Low, 93.9 FPS for Medium, 78.9 FPS for High, and 60.5 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 66.2 FPS, which is larger than the 1080p gap of 99.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is working harder at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 60.5 FPS is exactly at the threshold of playability, while Medium and High offer comfortable margins.

At 3840x2160, the results are 68.9 FPS for Low, 49.4 FPS for Medium, 43.3 FPS for High, and 33.9 FPS for Ultra. The scaling here is brutal, with Ultra delivering less than half the frame rate of Low. Even Low at 68.9 FPS is only marginally above 60, and any scene with heavy effects will likely cause dips. This resolution is only recommended for Low settings, and even then, the experience will be inconsistent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the defining component in this analysis, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs, running at a base clock of 1481 MHz and a boost clock of 1582 MHz. The 11 GB of GDDR5X memory operates at 1376 MHz with an 11 Gbps effective rate, providing a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s over a 352-bit bus. This gives the card a theoretical FP32 performance of 11.34 TFLOPS, which was impressive in 2017 but is now considered mid-range.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show a mixed picture. It scores 18600 in Passmark G3D, 83108 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 67717 in Geekbench OpenCL, but its DirectX 12 score in Passmark is only 66, which is low compared to its DirectX 11 score of 151. This suggests that the Pascal architecture does not handle modern APIs efficiently, which could explain some of the performance drops at higher settings. The GPU’s percentile rank of 61 places it in the upper-middle of all GPUs, but its nearest rival is the GTX 780, which is a much older card, indicating that the 1080 Ti has aged poorly in relative terms.

In Minimum, the GPU’s role is clear: it is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p. The 4K results, where even Low settings only produce 68.9 FPS, are a direct consequence of the card’s limited pixel fill rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s. The 11 GB VRAM is not the issue, as the game from 2014 likely does not exceed this capacity even at 4K Ultra. Instead, the GP102 chip simply lacks the compute power to maintain high frame rates at 4K, and the data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming.