Minimum

The data for Minimum with the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB shows a pairing that is heavily influenced by graphics settings and resolution. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the 12 tested configurations provide a clear picture of where this combo excels and where it begins to struggle, allowing for precise recommendations based on the target display.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the High preset is the most balanced choice for this hardware configuration in Minimum. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 136.1 FPS, which is a substantial 36.9% higher than the 99.4 FPS achieved on the Ultra preset. This difference represents a significant gain in smoothness for a relatively small visual fidelity drop, making High the optimal choice for competitive or fast-paced play at 1080p.

For users with a 2560x1440 display, the High preset remains the strongest recommendation. The average of 84.4 FPS at this resolution is well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable gameplay, while the Ultra preset drops to 69.2 FPS. The data shows that the performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is steep at 1440p, with a reduction of 15.2 FPS. This suggests that the visual enhancements of Ultra are not worth the performance penalty on this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset yields only 46 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The Low preset, at 71.5 FPS, is the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience at 4K. While the Medium preset at 53.9 FPS is technically playable, it sits in an awkward middle ground. Consequently, for 4K displays, the data suggests that Low settings are necessary to maintain a high frame rate. The jump from High to Low at 4K represents a 25.5 FPS improvement, a massive margin that makes Low the only viable option for serious play at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 37.7 FPS is effectively a slideshow and should be avoided.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process node. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 322.3 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2530 MHz, and a boost clock of 3130 MHz. This configuration allows for a pixel rate of 200.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 400.6 GTexel/s, with an FP32 throughput of 25.64 TFLOPS.

In Minimum, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is severe, indicating that the graphics card is being pushed to its limits. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a relevant factor, as the game at Ultra settings at 4K requires more memory bandwidth and capacity than other configurations, potentially contributing to the low 37.7 FPS result. The data suggests that while the GPU is capable at 1080p and 1440p, it becomes the bottleneck at 4K, where only the Low preset allows it to maintain a high frame rate. The boost clock of 3130 MHz is high, but the data shows that this alone cannot overcome the memory and compute demands of higher resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB combination holds a rank of 907 out of 1733 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, which is a notable finding given the hardware specifications. The rank of 907 suggests that while this combo is capable of playable frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, it is not a top-tier performer for this specific title.

The ranking reflects the measured FPS data, which shows that the combo only achieves very high frame rates (over 200 FPS) at 1080p with Low settings. As settings and resolution increase, the performance drops off quickly, which likely contributes to its mid-pack ranking. The percentile for the CPU versus all CPUs is 75, indicating it is a capable processor, but the GPU's performance characteristics in this game seem to hold the combo back from a higher ranking. The data indicates that many other combinations of hardware are able to achieve higher frame rates in Minimum, particularly at higher settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are generally high, starting with an average of 209.4 FPS on Low. The Medium preset delivers 157.7 FPS, which is a 51.7 FPS drop from Low. High follows at 136.1 FPS, and Ultra brings up the rear at 99.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a total reduction of 110 FPS, illustrating the heavy cost of the highest quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases across the board. The Low preset averages 137.1 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium drops to 104.1 FPS, and High comes in at 84.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 69.2 FPS, which is notably lower than the 1080p Ultra result by 30.2 FPS. This resolution shows a more pronounced performance gap between Low and Ultra, with a difference of 67.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall significantly. Low is the only preset that maintains a high average at 71.5 FPS. Medium drops to 53.9 FPS, High falls to 46 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 37.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 33.8 FPS, but the absolute values are much lower than at other resolutions. This data clearly shows that 4K is only viable with the Low preset for this hardware combination.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear trend in how the combo scales from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 136.1 at 1080p to 84.4 at 1440p, a 38% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the FPS drops further to 46, a 45.5% reduction. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases.

For the Low preset, the scaling is more linear. The FPS drops from 209.4 at 1080p to 137.1 at 1440p (a 34.5% reduction), and then to 71.5 at 4K (a 47.8% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at 4K for even the Low preset suggests that the GPU's compute and memory resources are exhausted at this resolution. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely the bottlenecks here, as the game at 4K requires more memory bandwidth than the 322.3 GB/s provided.

The scaling analysis shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The Intel Core i5-11400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has a boost clock of 4.40 GHz and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372. This is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU work per frame increases, and the frame rate drops, confirming that the GPU is the performance ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 868 in 3DMark and a multicore score of 5652 in 3DMark with max threads.

In Minimum, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 209.4 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires a capable CPU to maintain. The i5-11400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it has the single-thread performance necessary for this task. However, the CPU's limitations are not exposed in this game, as the frame rates are primarily dictated by the GPU workload.

The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate for Minimum, a game from 2014. The data does not show any signs of CPU bottlenecking, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 indicates strong multi-threaded performance, but this is not heavily utilized by the game. The processor's role is to provide a stable platform for the GPU, and the measured results indicate it does so without becoming a limiting factor. The combo rank of 907 out of 1733 is a result of the GPU's performance at higher settings, not the CPU's capabilities.