Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that remains a useful benchmark title because it scales across a wide range of hardware. The data for this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7700 shows a system that delivers playable frame rates at 1440p and 1080p, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher presets. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the role of each component, and how this pairing ranks against other tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with all settings presets delivering at least 105 FPS on average. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 89 FPS, while 3840x2160 only manages 48 FPS on High, so 1080p is the sweet spot for high refresh rate gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9950X3D compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 75779, which places it within 0.4% of its closest rivals. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D, 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 8224P, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 7700 a strong performer in its own class?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 15852, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, scores nearly identically at 15862, a difference of only -0.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 1.7% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% slower.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 106 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 90 and 121 FPS respectively. This suggests a generally smooth experience, though not quite as consistent as the 1080p results.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset provide a playable experience?

A: No, the 3840x2160 Ultra preset yields an average of only 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay. Even the 4K High preset at 48 FPS is marginal, so 4K is only viable with the Low preset, which hits 74 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Minimum?

A: This pairing ranks 1298 out of 2939 tested combos for this specific game. This places it in the upper-middle portion of the database, indicating that it is a capable but not top-tier configuration for Minimum.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. Its memory clock runs at 2438 MHz, translating to 19.5 Gbps effective. These specifications are directly reflected in the game's performance scaling.

The data shows that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU is likely doing more of the heavy lifting. For example, at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 214, which is a very high number that suggests the GPU is not struggling. However, as resolution increases to 2560x1440, the GPU's workload grows, and we see a significant drop. At 1440p High, the average FPS falls to 89, a 35% decrease from the 1080p High result of 137 FPS. This trend continues at 3840x2160, where the 4K High preset only manages 48 FPS.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this 2014 title, even at 4K, so VRAM capacity is not the limiting factor. Instead, the GPU's raw compute power, measured at 25.18 TFLOPS FP32, dictates performance. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s are the relevant metrics for filling those 4K pixels. The benchmark results show that the RX 7700 has the horsepower for high-refresh 1080p gaming, but it is overtaxed by the pixel count at 4K, especially with higher quality settings that increase the shading load.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data clearly illustrates how performance degrades as resolution increases. Starting at 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally strong. The Low preset hits 214 FPS average, Medium drops to 164 FPS, High to 137 FPS, and Ultra to 105 FPS. This is a very tight and playable range across all settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop substantially. The Low preset averages 138 FPS, Medium 106 FPS, High 89 FPS, and Ultra 68 FPS. Compared to 1080p, this represents a performance hit of roughly 35-36% for the High and Low presets, and a 35% drop for Medium. This consistent drop indicates that the GPU is scaling with the increased pixel count, but the CPU is still able to feed it enough data to maintain a playable experience.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more punishing. The Low preset averages 74 FPS, which is playable. However, Medium drops to 57 FPS, High to 48 FPS, and Ultra to 36 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is significant. For instance, the 4K High preset is 46% slower than the 1440p High preset. This steep decline confirms that the Radeon RX 7700 is the limiting component at 4K. The data suggests that the CPU is no longer the primary constraint; the GPU's rendering throughput is being saturated.

This pattern indicates that for this game, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D has enough headroom to push high frame rates at 1080p. The bottleneck shifts almost entirely to the GPU at 4K, where even the Low preset shows a 65% reduction in FPS compared to its 1080p Low counterpart. For a smooth 4K experience, users would need to accept Low settings, or consider a more powerful GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations for Minimum, this CPU and GPU pairing holds the 1298th position out of 2939 total combos. This places it in the 56th percentile, meaning it outperforms a slight majority of other configurations but is not near the top. This is a solid, mid-to-upper-tier result for a game that is not particularly demanding by modern standards.

The ranking is likely held back by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions. While the CPU is a top-tier part, ranking in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, the GPU is only in the 58th percentile against all GPUs. This mismatch is significant. The CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver, especially at 4K. The combo's rank of 1298 reflects this imbalance; the system is not fully utilizing the CPU's potential in this game.

For context, the CPU's average benchmark score of 75779 is within 0.4% of its nearest rivals, showing it is at the very top of its class. The GPU's average score of 15852 is much closer to mid-range parts like the RTX 3060 Ti, which is 1.7% faster. Therefore, while the CPU is a flagship, the GPU is a mainstream part. This combination results in a system that is excellent for high-refresh 1080p gaming but cannot handle 4K with high fidelity. The ranking reflects this reality: it is a good all-around performer, but not a top contender for Maximum quality at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). It has a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz. It features a large 128 MB L3 cache, which is a key asset for gaming. Its synthetic benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42018 and a single-core score of 2259. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 95, confirming its top-tier status.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is to handle game logic and draw calls. The high boost clock and large cache are well-suited for this. The measured FPS at 1080p demonstrates the CPU's strength. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 214, which is a very high number that suggests the GPU is not struggling. This indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve these high frame rates.

However, the data also shows that the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops at 1440p and 4K are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering load. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, as it has ample headroom. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1292 and multi-thread score of 17184 (max threads) suggest that even the most demanding single-threaded game logic is handled with ease. The PassMark multi-thread score of 70255 further reinforces the CPU's massive computational capacity.

The CPU's 170 W TDP and 16 cores are more than necessary for a game like Minimum. The 32 threads are largely unused, but the high clock speed of 5.70 GHz is beneficial for the game's primary thread. The data suggests that this CPU is overkill for this game in a sense, but it ensures that the GPU is never starved for data, allowing the system to hit its maximum potential at 1080p. The CPU is a future-proofing choice, but for this specific game, its performance is more than sufficient.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact frame rates measured for the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination in Minimum.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 74 FPS.
• Medium: Average 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 65 FPS.
• High: Average 48 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 36 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 138 FPS.
• Medium: Average 106 FPS, with a minimum of 90 and a maximum of 121 FPS.
• High: Average 89 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 68 FPS.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 214 FPS.
• Medium: Average 164 FPS, with a minimum of 139 and a maximum of 188 FPS.
• High: Average 137 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 105 FPS.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS on Low settings and maintaining over 100 FPS on Ultra. This makes it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p. At 1440p, performance remains strong, with the High preset providing an 89 FPS average, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with a 68 FPS average, is also playable.

At 4K, the system begins to struggle. The Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently smooth experience at 74 FPS. The Medium preset, with a 57 FPS average, is borderline, and the High and Ultra presets fall below 50 FPS, making them unsuitable for fast-paced action. The minimum FPS readings at Medium settings for each resolution also show that the 4K result has a tighter but lower range (48-65 FPS), indicating a consistent, GPU-bound performance. Overall, the measured FPS shows a system that is perfect for 1080p and capable for 1440p, but not designed for 4K gaming.