Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a playable but constrained experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. The data shows a system where the aging GPU is the definitive bottleneck, particularly at higher resolutions, while the modern 12-core processor provides ample headroom. This combination ranks in the 15th percentile of tested combos, indicating that while it can run the game, it does so with significant compromises compared to the rest of the database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, confirming that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 84 FPS at 1920x1080 to 54 FPS at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 29 FPS, which is a 65% decline from the 1080p result and a 46% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth at higher resolutions.

The trend is identical across all settings. At Low, the frame rate drops from 131 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p and then to 46 FPS at 4K. At Medium, the figures are 100 FPS, 65 FPS, and 35 FPS respectively. Even at Ultra, where the average is already low, the decline continues from 64 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p and 22 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern of roughly halving the frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 84 to 29 FPS at High) indicates that the GPU's rendering pipeline is saturated, and the CPU is not a limiting factor in this scaling.

The data suggests that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo can provide a consistently smooth experience. At 1440p, the results are playable but require lower settings to maintain high refresh rates. The 4K results are largely unplayable for competitive or fast-paced gameplay, as the average frame rates fall below the 30 FPS threshold for even the most forgiving titles. This is a clear case of a CPU that is generations ahead of its GPU counterpart, creating a scenario where the graphics card dictates the resolution ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the clear performance limiter in this configuration. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is insufficient for the demands of 4K textures and high-resolution rendering in modern game engines. The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 5.027 TFLOPS for FP32, are simply not enough to push the pixel counts required at 3840x2160, resulting in the sub-30 FPS averages seen at High and Ultra settings.

The card's clock speeds, with a base of 1530 MHz and a boost of 1785 MHz, are relatively modest by modern standards. While the boost clock helps in lighter scenes, the sustained load of a 4K resolution causes the card to operate near its limits, leading to the observed frame rate drops. The 48 ROPs and 88 TMUs are also a bottleneck, as the card struggles to fill the screen with pixels and apply textures at higher resolutions. The data shows that the GTX 1660 SUPER is a capable 1080p card, but its architectural limits are exposed when the resolution scales up.

The GPU's benchmark scores reflect this positioning. Its Passmark G3D score of 12699 places it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range part. The nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 580 (score 12928, deltaPct 0.4) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (score 12940, deltaPct 0.4), show that it is competitive with other entry-level to mid-range cards from its era. However, in the context of Minimum, the game's release date of 2014 means the GTX 1660 SUPER is a much newer part, yet it still struggles at 4K, highlighting the game's demanding nature at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2509 out of 2939 tested combos in the database for Minimum. This places it in the bottom 15% of all configurations, which is a poor result for a system with a top-tier processor. The ranking underscores the massive imbalance in this pairing; the CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver, and the overall system performance is dragged down by the graphics card.

The combo's rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations. While the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a high-end part, the GTX 1660 SUPER holds the system back, resulting in average frame rates that are lower than what many other, more balanced combinations achieve. The data indicates that systems with a more modest CPU but a better GPU would likely rank much higher, as the game's performance is almost entirely dependent on the graphics card. This pairing is a classic example of a bottleneck, where the weakest link in the chain dictates the overall outcome.

In terms of absolute performance, the combo's average FPS across all settings and resolutions is heavily skewed by the poor 4K results. The benchmark results show that the system can achieve high frame rates at 1080p, but the inability to maintain playable performance at higher resolutions prevents it from climbing the ranks. The 2509th position is a clear signal that this is not a recommended combination for a game like Minimum if the user intends to play at resolutions above 1080p or with high graphical fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the combo's performance across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. With Low settings, it achieves an average of 131 FPS. Medium settings yield 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High settings produce 84 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage a respectable 64 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the GTX 1660 SUPER is sufficient to provide a smooth experience at all presets, with even the most demanding Ultra preset clearing the 60 FPS mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 85 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings average 65 FPS, with a range of 55 to 74 FPS. High settings drop to 54 FPS, which is on the edge of playability for some users. Ultra settings fall to 41 FPS, which is a significant compromise. The data shows that 1440p is playable but requires the user to dial back settings to Medium or Low to maintain a consistent frame rate above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 46 FPS, which is borderline. Medium settings average 35 FPS, with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS. High settings drop to 29 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 22 FPS. These results are below the standard for smooth gameplay, and the system is not recommended for 4K gaming with this GPU. The frame time consistency also degrades at 4K, as indicated by the widening gap between average and maximum FPS at Medium settings. The data clearly shows that 1080p is the intended resolution for this GPU, with 1440p being a stretch and 4K being out of reach.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this combination is at 1920x1080 resolution. At this resolution, all settings presets are playable, but the best balance of visual quality and performance is achieved with the High preset, which delivers an average of 84 FPS. This provides a significant visual improvement over Medium (100 FPS) and Low (131 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable at 64 FPS, but the jump in visual fidelity from High to Ultra is often not worth the 24% performance hit.

For users with 2560x1440 monitors, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 65 FPS. This is the only setting at 1440p that consistently stays above the 60 FPS mark, albeit with a minimum of 55 FPS. The High preset at 54 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional stutters in demanding scenes. For those who prioritize frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 85 FPS provides the smoothest experience at this resolution.

The 3840x2160 resolution is not recommended for this GPU. While the Low preset at 46 FPS is technically playable, it falls short of the 60 FPS target and requires sacrificing most visual quality. The Medium preset at 35 FPS is too inconsistent for a smooth experience. The data suggests that users should avoid 4K entirely with this graphics card and instead focus on 1080p or 1440p, where the system can provide a much more satisfying gaming experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a minimal role in the performance of Minimum at the resolutions tested. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, this processor is overkill for a game that is clearly GPU-bound. The CPU's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and large 128 MB L3 cache provide ample processing power, but the game does not utilize it to a significant extent. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates scale directly with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent variables.

The processor's strong performance is evident in its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. These scores place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (avgScore 55093, deltaPct -0.6) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (avgScore 53620, deltaPct 2.1), show that it is a top-tier part. However, this raw processing power is largely unused in Minimum, as the GTX 1660 SUPER is unable to feed the CPU with enough frames to saturate its capabilities.

In this specific game, the CPU's role is to ensure that frame times are consistent and that there are no CPU-side hitches. The data shows that the system is able to achieve high frame rates at 1080p, which confirms that the CPU is not causing any performance limitations. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a future-proof component for this system, but in the context of Minimum, it is effectively wasted potential when paired with such a modest GPU. The game's performance is entirely dictated by the graphics card, and the CPU's high-end specs provide no tangible benefit in this scenario.