Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 presents a stark study in bottlenecking when running Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The benchmark data reveals a system where the 16-core processor is vastly overqualified for the task, while the 4 GB graphics card struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions. This combination ranks 1645th out of 1733 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of configurations for this specific title.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 83 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the only configuration in the dataset to break the 80 FPS barrier.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X scores 38,607 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600K's average score of 49,166 in the overall average benchmark, though the deltaPct between the two is only -0.2%.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The GTX 1650 features a 128-bit memory bus with GDDR5 memory running at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective), providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: Which resolution and settings produce the lowest average FPS?

A: The worst performance is at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, yielding just 12.3 FPS average. This is the only configuration in the dataset that drops below 15 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The CPU has a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 43rd percentile, and the frame rate drops to 15.9 FPS at High settings despite the CPU's ample headroom.

Q: What is the best playable experience according to the measured data?

A: The 1080p Medium setting at 61.3 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and smoothness, as it maintains over 60 FPS while providing better fidelity than the Low setting.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 64 MB L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark results are formidable: it scores 38,607 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,450 in single-core, with a PassMark multi-thread score of 45,424. Its percentile rank of 93 against all CPUs confirms that this processor is in the top tier for general compute workloads.

However, in Minimum, a game released in 2014, this processing power is largely untapped. The game's engine—being nearly a decade older than the CPU—likely cannot utilize 32 threads effectively. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (83 FPS) and 1080p High (52.4 FPS) show substantial variation that aligns more closely with GPU workload than CPU capability. The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Core i5-14600KF—have average benchmark scores of 49,166 and 49,367 respectively, with deltaPct values of -0.2% and -0.6% relative to the 5950X. This means the 5950X is essentially at parity with these modern mid-range parts in aggregate benchmarks, yet all three would behave identically in Minimum given the same GPU, as the game does not stress multi-core architectures.

The data implies that the 5950X's 16 cores are irrelevant for Minimum's frame pacing. The processor's single-thread score of 5,450 in Cinebench R23 is more relevant, as older games often rely on one or two primary threads. Even so, the 5950X's single-core performance is far beyond what a 2014 title expects, meaning the CPU never becomes a limiting factor. The bottleneck is unequivocally the graphics card, particularly at resolutions above 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a Turing-architecture GPU based on the TU117 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 12 nm process. It features 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is rated at 2.984 TFLOPS, and it draws a modest 75 W TDP. The GPU's benchmark scores include a PassMark G3D score of 7,880 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 39,112, placing it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs.

In Minimum, the GTX 1650's limitations become immediately apparent. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 12.3 FPS, while 4K High yields 15.9 FPS. These numbers indicate that the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count, regardless of the modest graphical demands of a 2014 shooter. The GPU's nearest rivals—the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and AMD Radeon 550X—have average scores of 8,746 and 8,749 respectively, with deltaPct values of -0.4% for both. This places the GTX 1650 in a tight performance cluster, but none of these cards are designed for high-resolution gaming.

The 4 GB VRAM is a significant constraint. At 1080p, the card can maintain playable frame rates—83 FPS at Low, 61.3 FPS at Medium, 52.4 FPS at High, and 42 FPS at Ultra—but the drop-off from 1080p to 1440p is stark. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate falls to 27.7 FPS, a 34% decrease from 1080p Ultra. This pattern suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate are insufficient for higher resolutions, making the GTX 1650 a strictly 1080p-oriented solution for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1645th out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the bottom 5% of all configurations. This ranking is surprising given the CPU's high percentile rank of 93, but it underscores how severely the GPU drags down the overall experience. The data indicates that this combo performs worse than 94.9% of all tested systems, which is a direct consequence of pairing a top-tier processor with an entry-level graphics card.

The rank suggests that most users with this combination would be better served by a more balanced pairing. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 10,810 and PassMark multi-thread score of 45,424 are wasted in a game that cannot leverage them. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 7,880 is the limiting factor, and the data shows that the combo's performance in Minimum is almost entirely a function of the GPU's capabilities. In terms of frame rates, the combo's 1080p High result of 52.4 FPS aligns with what one would expect from a GTX 1650, while the CPU's influence is negligible.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, delivering 61.3 FPS average. This configuration provides a smooth, playable frame rate while offering better visual fidelity than the Low preset. The Low setting at 1080p achieves 83 FPS, which is smoother but sacrifices graphical quality. For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, Low is the choice. For those wanting the best visual experience that remains fluid, Medium is the sweet spot.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. The best 1440p result is 54.2 FPS at Low settings, which is playable but not ideal. At 1440p Medium, the frame rate drops to 38.1 FPS, and at High it falls to 35.8 FPS. The 1440p Ultra setting at 27.7 FPS is borderline unplayable for a fast-paced third-person shooter. For 4K gaming, the data shows that only the Low setting (31.1 FPS) approaches playability, while High (15.9 FPS), Medium (24.6 FPS), and Ultra (12.3 FPS) are all too low for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 distinct measurements across four resolutions and three settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 83 FPS, Medium at 61.3 FPS, High at 52.4 FPS, and Ultra at 42 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 49.4% drop in performance, indicating the settings have a substantial impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 54.2 FPS, Medium at 38.1 FPS, High at 35.8 FPS, and Ultra at 27.7 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 48.9%, similar to the 1080p scaling. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low at 31.1 FPS, Medium at 24.6 FPS, High at 15.9 FPS, and Ultra at 12.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 60.5%, showing that the GPU's limitations become more pronounced at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (83 FPS) to 1440p (54.2 FPS) represents a 34.7% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (31.1 FPS) another 42.6% drop. The total drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low is 62.5%. At High settings, the drops are even steeper: 1080p High (52.4 FPS) to 1440p High (35.8 FPS) is a 31.7% reduction, and 1440p High to 4K High (15.9 FPS) is a 55.6% reduction, totaling 69.7% from 1080p to 4K.

These scaling patterns are characteristic of a GPU that runs out of memory bandwidth and shading power as pixel count increases. The CPU's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 cores are irrelevant to this scaling; the GTX 1650's 128.1 GB/s bandwidth is the constraint. The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra (12.3 FPS) is less than one-sixth of the 1080p Low result (83 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. The data strongly implies that this CPU-GPU pairing is fundamentally unbalanced for Minimum, with the processor's capabilities far exceeding what the graphics card can deliver at any resolution above 1080p.