Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose benchmark results with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B370 reveal a system where the integrated graphics solution is the definitive performance ceiling. The data shows a combination ranking 2703rd out of 2939 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all combos. Across all resolutions and settings, frame rates are consistently low, with the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) producing an average of just 15 FPS, while the least demanding (1080p Low) reaches 85 FPS. This page analyzes the measured FPS data, component roles, and scaling behavior to provide a clear picture of this hardware pairing's capabilities in this specific title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achievable with this combo in Minimum?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 85, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the measured data that approaches playable smoothness, as all other settings at 1080p and all settings at higher resolutions fall below 65 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 2703rd out of 2939 tested combos. This places it in the 92nd percentile of performance from the bottom, meaning only 236 configurations performed worse in this game.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 55 on Low to 27 on Ultra. This represents a 28 FPS reduction, or roughly a 51% decrease in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B370 have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The GPU's memory configuration is listed as "System Shared" for size, type, and bus width. Its bandwidth is "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than having its own dedicated video memory pool.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Medium settings, and what are the minimum and maximum recorded?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 23, with a minimum of 19 and a maximum of 26. This is the only 4K configuration with min/max data available.

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

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a PassMark single-thread score of 4646. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, has an average benchmark score that is 0.6% lower overall, though specific single-thread comparisons are not provided in the rival data.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Minimum provides a clear hierarchy of playable settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 85 FPS, which is the only configuration that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset drops to 65 FPS, which is still technically playable but shows a significant 23.5% reduction in frame rate. High settings at 1080p produce 55 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 42 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. Low settings average 55 FPS, matching the 1080p High result. Medium at 1440p averages 42 FPS, while High drops to 35 FPS and Ultra is only 27 FPS. None of these 1440p presets provide the headroom needed for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, all presets are below playable thresholds. Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The data suggests that 1080p Low is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth experience, while 1080p Medium offers a compromise for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate stability.

The recommended preset is therefore 1080p Low, as it provides the best balance of playability and visual fidelity given the hardware constraints. Users who prefer Medium settings should be prepared for occasional dips, as the minimum recorded FPS at 1080p Medium is 56, which is close to the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 128 MB L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 47737 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6739 in single-core, indicating strong multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities.

However, in Minimum, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU's limitations. The game is from 2014, and the benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low, the frame rate is only 85 FPS. This is well below what the CPU could theoretically support, as its PassMark multithread score of 56154 and 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 demonstrate substantial processing power.

The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and PassMark single-thread score of 4646 suggest that even a single core is capable of driving higher frame rates than what is observed. The bottleneck is clearly not the processor, as the frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings changes, which primarily affect GPU load.

The 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for Minimum's engine, which was designed for the hardware of its 2014 release era. The 128 MB L3 cache and DDR5 memory support provide ample bandwidth for game data, but this hardware is significantly overprovisioned for the actual demands of this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2703rd out of 2939 tested combinations in Minimum. This places it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested, a position that reflects the GPU's performance class rather than the CPU's capabilities.

The CPU itself ranks in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55093, a difference of -0.6%. This indicates the CPU is competitive with modern mid-range processors.

In stark contrast, the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, a difference of -0.2%. This places the Arc B370 in the same performance class as graphics cards from over a decade ago.

The disparity between the CPU's 91st percentile ranking and the GPU's 5th percentile ranking explains the combo's overall poor position. The system is fundamentally limited by its integrated graphics solution, which is designed for low-power mobile scenarios rather than gaming performance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The GPU includes 10 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Its memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. This means the GPU relies on the system's DDR5 memory, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." The lack of dedicated memory is a significant limitation, as it forces the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, the Arc B370 scores 1184 points. This places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186 points, -0.2%) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190 points, -0.5%). These scores indicate performance levels typical of entry-level discrete GPUs from the early 2010s.

The GPU's pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. Despite these specifications, the measured frame rates in Minimum are consistently low, reflecting the GPU's inability to handle modern game engines efficiently.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 85 FPS on Low, 65 FPS on Medium, 55 FPS on High, and 42 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS, showing a 19 FPS range.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 55 FPS on Low, 42 FPS on Medium, 35 FPS on High, and 27 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 36 FPS and maximum of 48 FPS, a 12 FPS range that indicates tighter frame pacing than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 30 FPS on Low, 23 FPS on Medium, 19 FPS on High, and 15 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset records a minimum of 19 FPS and maximum of 26 FPS, showing that even the best-case scenario at 4K is below playable thresholds.

The pattern is consistent: each resolution step up from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 35-40%, and each step from 1440p to 4K reduces them by a further 45-50%. This scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the integrated graphics solution is the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 85 FPS at 1080p to 55 FPS at 1440p (a 35.3% decrease) and then to 30 FPS at 4K (another 45.5% decrease). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 55 FPS, representing a 64.7% reduction.

At Medium settings, the progression is 65 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p (35.4% decrease), and 23 FPS at 4K (45.2% decrease). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 42 FPS, or 64.6%.

At High settings, the averages are 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p (36.4% decrease), and 19 FPS at 4K (45.7% decrease). The total drop is 36 FPS, or 65.5%.

At Ultra settings, the progression is 42 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p (35.7% decrease), and 15 FPS at 4K (44.4% decrease). The total reduction is 27 FPS, or 64.3%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings indicates a purely GPU-bound scenario. The pixel count increases by 2.25x from 1080p to 1440p and by 2.25x from 1440p to 4K, yet the frame rate drops by only 35-36% and 45-46% respectively. This non-linear scaling suggests that the GPU is not purely fill-rate limited, but rather constrained by its overall compute throughput and memory bandwidth limitations.

The fact that the CPU's performance remains constant regardless of resolution, while the GPU's workload increases with pixel count, confirms that the Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this system. Upgrading the CPU would yield no measurable improvement in Minimum, as the frame rates are entirely determined by the integrated graphics solution's capabilities.