Minimum

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT sits at rank 396 out of 1,733 tested combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the top 23% of all configurations tested for this title, a strong showing for a processor that launched in 2020 paired with a flagship-class GPU from 2022. The data indicates the combo is capable of high refresh rate gameplay at most settings, though the rank reflects the inherent bottleneck created by the six-core Comet Lake CPU when driving such a powerful graphics card.

In terms of the CPU's synthetic standing, the Core i5-10400F holds a 73rd percentile rank against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14,168. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115, +0.4% delta), AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14,277, -0.8%), Intel Core i5-8500 (14,332, -1.1%), and AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 (14,336, -1.2%). These deltas are all within a narrow 1.2% band, indicating the i5-10400F is positioned at a performance plateau where generational improvements yield marginal synthetic gains.

For the GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XT achieves an 82nd percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38,358. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38,349, 0.0% delta), NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38,225, +0.3%), NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38,494, -0.4%), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135, +0.6%). The GPU's synthetic score places it in elite company, yet the in-game rank of 396 suggests that the CPU pairing limits the realization of that raw potential in Minimum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. Memory support is DDR4 over a dual-channel bus, providing 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor uses the Intel Socket 1200 interface and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 CPU lanes.

In Minimum, a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining a stable frame pacing floor. The 3DMark synthetic results show a single-thread score of 688 and a max-thread score of 4,735, with the 2-thread score of 1,350 being notably lower relative to the scaling curve. This indicates that while the processor has sufficient thread count for modern workloads, its per-core performance is modest by current standards. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10,297 and single-core score of 1,453 reinforce this: the i5-10400F can handle multi-threaded tasks competently, but its single-thread ceiling is a limiting factor in a game like Minimum that likely relies heavily on a few primary threads.

The benchmark data shows the CPU sitting at a 73rd percentile against all CPUs, which is respectable but not top-tier. The nearest rival deltaPct values—all within roughly 1% of the i5-10400F's average score—suggest that the CPU is in a crowded mid-range segment. For a 2014 title, this CPU provides ample headroom, but the data reveals that at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU becomes the primary constraint, capping performance at 268.4 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring the Navi 31 chip with 57,700 million transistors on a 529 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1,387 MHz, a boost clock of 2,394 MHz, and a game clock of 2,025 MHz. Memory consists of 20 GB of GDDR6 across a 320-bit bus, delivering 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card includes 5,376 shading units, 336 TMUs, 192 ROPs, and 84 ray tracing cores, with pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s.

In Minimum, the GPU's massive memory pool and bandwidth are largely underutilized given the game's age, but the compute muscle shows in the frame rates. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking against all GPUs is reflected in its PassMark G3D score of 29,009 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,623. The nearest rival deltas are negligible—0.0% to the RTX 5080 Mobile, +0.3% to the CMP 70HX, -0.4% to the MX570, and +0.6% to the RTX 4080 Mobile—indicating the RX 7900 XT sits at a performance parity point with those cards in synthetic tests.

The GPU's raw throughput is evident in the measured FPS data. At 1080p Ultra, the card delivers 145.9 FPS, which is nearly triple the 49.9 FPS seen at 4K Ultra. This scaling pattern suggests the GPU is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the CPU becoming more of a factor as resolution drops. The 20 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what Minimum requires, but it ensures no memory-related stuttering occurs even at 4K with high textures.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its highest performance ceiling. Low settings produce an average of 268.4 FPS, while Medium reaches 227.5 FPS, and High delivers 192.5 FPS. Ultra settings drop the average to 145.9 FPS, still comfortably above 144 Hz refresh rate thresholds. The gap between Low and Ultra is 122.5 FPS, representing a 45.6% reduction in frame rate when maxing out settings. This suggests the GPU is not the primary limiter at 1080p; rather, the CPU's single-thread performance caps the maximum achievable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the data shows a predictable decline. Low settings yield an average of 191.9 FPS, Medium produces 149.1 FPS, High reaches 121.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 93.1 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 98.8 FPS, a 51.5% reduction. At this resolution, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role, but the frame rates remain high enough for smooth gameplay on high refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload increases substantially. Low settings average 103.1 FPS, Medium drops to 81.4 FPS, High produces 69.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 53.2 FPS, a 51.6% reduction, showing that the GPU is now the dominant constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 49.9 FPS is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, indicating that players targeting 4K should opt for High settings or lower to maintain smooth performance.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-10400F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14,168, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD EPYC 7552 (14,115), 0.8% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (14,277), 1.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-8500 (14,332), and 1.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 (14,336). All rivals are within a 1.2% performance band.

*Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in Minimum?*

A: The highest average frame rate measured is 268.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium produces 227.5 FPS, High delivers 192.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145.9 FPS.

Q: Is the Radeon RX 7900 XT capable of 4K gameplay in this title?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the GPU delivers an average of 103.1 FPS on Low settings, 81.4 FPS on Medium, 69.8 FPS on High, and 49.9 FPS on Ultra. Only Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS, so players can achieve smooth 4K performance on High settings.

Q: How does the GPU's synthetic performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38,358, which is essentially identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38,349, 0.0% delta) and 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38,225). It is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38,494) and 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135).

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination ranks 396th out of 1,733 tested combos for Minimum, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests yes at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 Low, the frame rate is 268.4 FPS, while at 2560x1440 Low it is 191.9 FPS. The smaller-than-expected gap between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings indicates the CPU limits performance before the GPU's full potential is reached.