Minimum

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a mid-pack experience in Minimum, landing at rank 2047 out of 2939 tested combinations. This places the combo in the 30th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it is far from the top of the leaderboard, it remains ahead of a substantial portion of the field. The data suggests a pairing where the GPU, a Turing-era part, is the primary constraint in this third-person shooter, as the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded headroom goes largely underutilized at the frame rates observed.

How This Combo Ranks

At position 2047 out of 2939, this configuration sits in the lower half of the performance distribution, but it is not an outlier. The rank reflects a system that can handle the game at playable levels, yet it is clearly outclassed by combinations featuring more modern GPUs. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s own percentile ranking of 62 against all GPUs suggests it is a mid-range performer, and that positioning is directly reflected in the combo’s overall standing. Interestingly, the CPU’s percentile of 91 against all CPUs is significantly higher, which underscores a mismatch: the processor is capable of far more, but the graphics card cannot translate that potential into higher frame rates in this title.

Compared to the nearest rival GPUs, the RTX 2060 SUPER shows a negligible performance delta. The data indicates it is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5700. It is also 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 460 and 1.6% behind the Intel Arc A770M, though those deltas are within the margin of error for most benchmarking. This clustering suggests that the GPU is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no silicon lottery luck or driver anomaly pushing it ahead of its peers.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s average benchmark score of 54762 puts it in a tight race with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which scores 55093, a delta of -0.6%. It is 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, and 2.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F. These margins are small, reinforcing that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo. The rank of 2047 is thus a direct consequence of the GPU’s position in the hierarchy, and any upgrade path would focus on the graphics card to move up the leaderboard.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D overkill for this game?

A: The data suggests yes. The CPU’s percentile of 91 versus all CPUs, combined with the combo’s rank of 2047 out of 2939, indicates the processor’s capabilities are far beyond what the RTX 2060 SUPER can utilize in Minimum. The CPU is not the limiting factor.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU is effectively tied with its nearest competitors. It is 0.4% behind the RTX 3060 Mobile, 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, and 1.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 460. These deltas are minor and unlikely to be perceptible in gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 100 FPS across most settings. At 2560x1440, performance drops to a playable but less fluid range, and 3840x2160 dips below 60 FPS in all presets.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p, where it averages 83 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 29 FPS, which is not a smooth experience for a third-person shooter.

Q: Does the 128 MB of L3 cache on the CPU help in this game?

A: While the cache is a feature of the CPU, the benchmark data does not isolate its impact. Given that the GPU is the bottleneck, the cache’s potential benefit is overshadowed by the graphics card’s limitations in this specific title.

Q: What is the combo’s overall standing?

A: It ranks 2047 out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the lower 30th percentile. This is a mid-to-low tier result, driven primarily by the GPU’s mid-range performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It features a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache, which is a key characteristic of the X3D lineup. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU posts strong numbers: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 22884. These figures place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier processing power.

However, in the context of Minimum, this CPU power is largely untapped. The measured FPS data shows that the bottleneck is firmly on the GPU side. For instance, at 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 170 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see little variation in FPS across different resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The CPU’s role here is to feed frames to the GPU without becoming a constraint, and with a processor this powerful, that is a given.

The 3DMark scores further illustrate the CPU’s capability: 13795 in the max threads test and 1269 in single-thread. These are strong results, but they do not translate into a higher combo rank because the RTX 2060 SUPER cannot keep pace. The CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 is nearly double what the GPU achieves in its own 3DMark Steel Nomad test (2011), highlighting the disparity in performance headroom. In essence, the CPU is waiting on the GPU, and any frame rate ceiling observed in the measured data is a direct result of the graphics card’s rendering limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of this combo’s performance envelope. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 170 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. Medium settings yield 130 FPS, with a minimum of 111 FPS and a maximum of 150 FPS, showing good consistency. High settings drop to 109 FPS, still smooth for most displays. Ultra settings bring the average down to 83 FPS, which is acceptable but begins to strain the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the impact of the resolution increase is immediate. Low settings average 110 FPS, which remains fluid. Medium settings drop to 84 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. High settings average 71 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Ultra settings fall to 54 FPS, which is borderline for a third-person shooter, as the frame pacing may feel inconsistent during camera movements.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings average 59 FPS, which is barely playable. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, indicating significant frame drops during intense scenes. High settings average 38 FPS, which is stuttery, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS, which is not recommended for gameplay. The data shows a steep performance cliff at 4K, confirming that this combo is not suited for that resolution in Minimum.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 109. Moving to 1440p High, it drops to 71 FPS, a 34.9% reduction. At 4K High, it falls to 38 FPS, a 65.1% reduction from 1080p. This scaling pattern is steep and consistent with a GPU that has limited bandwidth and compute resources. The RTX 2060 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, but this is insufficient for 4K rendering in a modern title.

The scaling for Medium settings follows a similar trajectory. From 130 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 84 FPS at 1440p (a 35.4% decrease) and 45 FPS at 4K (a 65.4% decrease). Low settings show a slightly less dramatic drop, from 170 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p (35.3% decrease) and 59 FPS at 4K (65.3% decrease). The consistency of these percentages across settings indicates that the bottleneck is purely pixel throughput and memory bandwidth, not the CPU or game logic.

This pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU would be doing the same amount of work regardless of pixel count. Instead, the frame rate scales inversely with resolution, which is the hallmark of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s 12 cores and high boost clock are more than sufficient to handle the frame generation at these rates, leaving the GPU as the sole arbiter of performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with High settings. This preset delivers an average of 109 FPS, which is smooth and responsive for a third-person shooter. It offers a balanced visual quality without the performance penalty of Ultra, which drops to 83 FPS. High settings at 1080p provide a 31.3% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a frame rate that is suitable for most monitors, including those with 120 Hz refresh rates.

For players who prioritize maximum fluidity over visuals, Low settings at 1080p yield 170 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play where frame rate is king, but the visual fidelity is significantly reduced. Medium settings at 1080p offer a compromise at 130 FPS, with a minimum of 111 FPS, which keeps the game responsive even in demanding scenes. This preset is a strong choice for those who want a mix of quality and speed.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that High settings at 71 FPS are the upper limit for a smooth experience. Medium settings at 84 FPS are also viable, but the minimum of 71 FPS may cause occasional hitches. Low settings at 110 FPS are the best option for 1440p if frame rate consistency is the goal, but the visual downgrade is noticeable. Ultra at 1440p is not recommended, as 54 FPS is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay in a fast-paced title.

At 3840x2160, the data indicates that this combo should avoid High and Ultra presets entirely, as they average 38 FPS and 29 FPS respectively. Low settings at 59 FPS are barely playable, and Medium at 45 FPS is not ideal. The recommendation is to stick to 1080p or 1440p for this game, as 4K is beyond the capabilities of the RTX 2060 SUPER in Minimum. The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally 1080p High, which balances frame rate and visual quality without pushing the GPU to its breaking point.