Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a study in stark generational contrast. You have a 2024 flagship CPU built on the 4 nm Zen 5 architecture, paired with a 2016 mid-range GPU based on the 16 nm Pascal architecture. In "Minimum," a third-person shooter from 2014, this pairing produces a heavily GPU-bound experience, where the ancient graphics card is the undisputed bottleneck. The data shows that this combo ranks 1441 out of 1733 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the bottom 17% of all tested combos, a position dictated almost entirely by the graphics card's age and performance ceiling.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a substantial 64 MB of shared L3 cache. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 120 W TDP, designed for the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its benchmark scores are stellar, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a single-core score of 6555. It also achieves a Geekbench single-core score of 3341 and a multicore score of 19827. In the broader CPU landscape, it sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54450.

In the context of "Minimum," this CPU is immense overkill. The game was released in 2014, and its engine is not designed to leverage 24 threads or 64 MB of L3 cache. The measured frame rates show this clearly. At 1080p Low settings, the system hits an average of 140.5 FPS. This is a very high frame rate, but it is not the ceiling of what this CPU could theoretically push. The fact that the frame rate scales down to 71.1 FPS at 1080p Ultra is a direct result of the GPU struggling to keep up, not the CPU. The CPU is essentially idle, waiting for the GTX 1070 to finish rendering each frame. The data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings level. Its single-threaded performance is more than adequate for a game from this era, and its multi-threaded capabilities are left largely unused.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the defining component of this combo. It uses the GP104 chip on the Pascal architecture and operates on a 16 nm process. It has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz. The card is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. It has 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, giving it a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s. Its FP32 performance is 6.463 TFLOPS. In the database, it sits in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rivals, the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and the GeForce GTX 880M, highlight its mid-pack status; it is only 0.7% ahead of the Quadro K4200 and 1.3% behind the GTX 880M.

This GPU is the clear bottleneck. In "Minimum," the performance at 1080p Low is 140.5 FPS, but this drops significantly as settings increase. At 1080p High, it falls to 90.3 FPS, and at Ultra, it drops to 71.1 FPS. This scaling pattern is a textbook example of a GPU struggling with increased shader complexity and texture loads. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for this game, but the raw compute power of the Pascal architecture is not enough to maintain high frame rates at higher presets. The GTX 1070's age is the single most important factor in this combo's ranking. It is an end-of-life product, and its performance relative to modern GPUs is simply insufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 140.5 at 1080p to 92.3 at 1440p, and then to 49.1 at 4K. This is a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the frame rates are 107.6 at 1080p, 70.7 at 1440p, and 36.6 at 4K. This is a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers are 90.3 at 1080p, 58.6 at 1440p, and 30.7 at 4K, a 66% drop. Finally, at Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 71.1 at 1080p to 43.9 at 1440p, and all the way down to 22.1 at 4K, a 69% drop.

This consistent ~65-69% performance penalty when moving from 1080p to 4K is a definitive indicator of a GPU-bound system. The number of pixels being rendered quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rate drops almost in direct proportion. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller performance delta as resolution increases, because the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant while the GPU's workload skyrockets. The fact that the frame rate scales so predictably with pixel count confirms that the GTX 1070 is maxed out, and the Ryzen 9 9900X is waiting for it at every step. The 4K results are unplayable for a shooter, with the High preset yielding only 30.7 FPS and Ultra dropping to a slideshow-like 22.1 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 1441 out of 1733 tested combinations in "Minimum." This places it in the bottom 17% of all tested systems, which is a poor result for a CPU that is in the 94th percentile of all processors. This ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU’s limitations. The data suggests that pairing a top-tier modern CPU with a low-tier older GPU yields a system that is only as strong as its weakest link.

When examining the CPU's nearest rivals, the data shows a cluster of similar-performing processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores an average of 54681, which is 0.4% higher than the 9900X's 54450. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 54097, which is 0.7% lower. These differences are minuscule and would have no impact on the gaming performance in "Minimum," as the GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF are slightly further ahead, by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. The conclusion is that any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical results in this game when paired with the GTX 1070. The combo's rank is not determined by the CPU but by the GPU's position in the 51st percentile of all graphics cards.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the data, the goal is to find a playable balance between frame rate and visual quality. For a third-person shooter, a smooth frame rate is critical. The measured results show that the Low preset is the only setting that consistently provides a high refresh rate experience. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 140.5 FPS, which is excellent for fast-paced gameplay. At 1440p Low, it maintains a very respectable 92.3 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combo.

The Medium preset is the most balanced option, but it comes with a significant cost. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate is 107.6 FPS, which is still good. However, at 1440p Medium, it drops to 70.7 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The High preset is only viable at 1080p, where it hits 90.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this game with this GPU. It only achieves 71.1 FPS at 1080p and falls below 60 FPS at any higher resolution. For the best experience, the Low preset at 1080p or 1440p is the clear choice. If the user prefers a bit more visual fidelity, the Medium preset at 1080p is a reasonable compromise, but the Low preset offers the most headroom for a stable, high-FPS experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following data is from measured benchmarks for "Minimum" with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070.

1920x1080

• Low: 140.5 FPS average
• Medium: 107.6 FPS average
• High: 90.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 71.1 FPS average

2560x1440

• Low: 92.3 FPS average
• Medium: 70.7 FPS average
• High: 58.6 FPS average
• Ultra: 43.9 FPS average

3840x2160

• Low: 49.1 FPS average
• Medium: 36.6 FPS average
• High: 30.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 22.1 FPS average

In summary, this combination is a prime example of a mismatched pairing. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a powerhouse CPU, but its capabilities are entirely wasted in "Minimum" due to the GTX 1070's inability to render frames fast enough. The benchmark results indicate that the system is best utilized at 1080p, where it can achieve high frame rates on the Low and Medium presets. Any attempt to push higher resolutions or settings will result in a significant performance penalty, making the game less responsive and less enjoyable. This combo is not suited for 4K gaming, and even 1440p requires turning settings down to Low to achieve a smooth experience.