Minimum

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 pairs with the Intel Core i5-9400 to deliver a playable but heavily resolution-dependent experience in Minimum. The benchmark data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the combination ranking 1677th out of 2939 tested configurations. The system handles 1080p with ease, becomes more strained at 1440p, and falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K in all but the Low preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 187 FPS at 1920x1080 to 121 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 66 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 drops the average further to 65 FPS, meaning the 4K result is just over one-third of the 1080p performance. This steep decline is characteristic of a graphics card struggling with pixel throughput rather than a CPU limitation.

The High preset tells a similar story. The average FPS at 1080p is 120, which falls to 78 at 1440p and then to 42 at 4K. That represents a 65% performance loss from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 92 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and just 32 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1440p figure, indicating that the Radeon RX 9060's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface become critical bottlenecks at extreme resolutions.

The scaling pattern between Medium and High settings is consistent across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 143 FPS versus 120 FPS for High, a 23 FPS gap. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 14 FPS (92 versus 78). At 4K, the difference shrinks to 8 FPS (50 versus 42). This convergence suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that reducing settings from High to Medium provides diminishing returns, whereas at 1080p, the headroom allows settings changes to have a larger relative impact.

The data clearly indicates that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the system has enough GPU headroom to push frame rates well beyond 120 FPS on High, suggesting the CPU could become a factor at extremely high frame rates. At 4K, however, the GPU is unquestionably the bottleneck, with even the Low preset failing to reach 70 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides six cores and six threads, operating at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture processor has a 9 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor's average benchmark score of 2254 places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating mid-pack performance.

Cinebench R23 results show a multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that likely relies heavily on one or two threads. The Geekbench single-core score of 1389 supports this assessment. The processor's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 on average, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the i5-9400 is essentially performance-equivalent to that part. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 trails by 0.4%, while the Intel Core i3-10305 leads by 0.4%.

In the context of the measured FPS, the CPU's role appears secondary. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 187 FPS, which is high enough that CPU overhead could theoretically limit maximum frame rates. However, the consistent scaling across resolutions suggests that the game is not severely CPU-bound in these tests. The i5-9400's six physical cores without hyper-threading provide adequate thread count for a game from 2014, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance.

The lack of an unlocked multiplier means no overclocking headroom, but the stock clocks appear sufficient for this workload. The CPU's 65 W TDP indicates efficient operation, and the L3 cache size of 9 MB is reasonable for gaming workloads. The processor's position at the 47th percentile suggests it is neither a strong asset nor a liability in this configuration.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the dominant component in this pairing. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, this GPU features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The boost clock reaches 2990 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. Memory consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 16014 places it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, a delta of -0.7%, meaning the RX 9060 is essentially tied with that card. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, a 1% deficit, while the Radeon Pro W5500 trails by 2.1%. This positioning suggests the RX 9060 offers performance comparable to a mid-range card from the previous generation.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the GPU scores 3322, and the Geekbench Vulkan score is 39476. The Passmark G3D score of 17631 reinforces the mid-range positioning. The FP32 compute throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS indicates solid raw processing power, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit memory bus are clear constraints at higher resolutions.

The measured FPS data reflects these limitations. At 4K Ultra, the GPU manages only 32 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users. Even at 4K Medium, the average of 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS suggests inconsistent frame pacing. The 4K Low result of 65 FPS is the only 4K preset that approaches smooth gameplay, but it requires significant visual compromises.

At 1440p, the GPU performs much better. The Ultra preset delivers 59 FPS, which is borderline acceptable. High settings at 1440p produce 78 FPS, and Medium reaches 92 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p hits 121 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom when settings are reduced. The 1080p results are uniformly strong, with the weakest preset (Ultra) still delivering 92 FPS and the Low preset reaching 187 FPS.

The GPU's 28 ray tracing cores are present but unlikely to matter for a 2014 title. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility ensure modern driver support, but the game's age means it likely uses older rendering paths. The 4 nm process node from TSMC allows high clock speeds, with the 2990 MHz boost being particularly impressive for a mid-range card.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combination in Minimum?*

A: The benchmark data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets exceed 90 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 59 FPS, and at 3840x2160, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 9060 compare to its closest competitor?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. It is 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 and 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-9400 bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 187 FPS, which is high enough that CPU limitations could emerge. However, the CPU's single-core Geekbench score of 1389 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 suggest adequate performance for a 2014 title, and the data shows no evidence of a hard CPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the largest FPS difference between presets at a single resolution?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (187 FPS) and Ultra (92 FPS) is 95 FPS. At 2560x1440, the gap is 62 FPS (121 versus 59), and at 3840x2160, the gap narrows to 33 FPS (65 versus 32).

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The data suggests the 8 GB frame buffer is a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU delivers only 32 FPS at 4K Ultra and 42 FPS at 4K High, indicating that memory bandwidth and capacity constraints significantly impact performance at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-9400 scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core. Its average benchmark score of 2254 puts it 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U, and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results. The Low preset averages 187 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 143 FPS with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. High settings average 120 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 92 FPS. Even the weakest preset at 1080p exceeds the refresh rate of standard 60 Hz monitors by a wide margin.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains solid but shows the GPU starting to work harder. Low settings average 121 FPS, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings deliver 92 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. High settings average 78 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 59 FPS, which is exactly at the threshold for smooth 60 Hz gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 65 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium settings average 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and a maximum of 57 FPS, indicating noticeable frame drops during intense scenes. High settings average 42 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 32 FPS, which is below acceptable playability for most users.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 122-165 FPS, a spread of 43 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 79-106 FPS, a spread of 27 FPS. At 4K, the range is 42-57 FPS, a spread of just 15 FPS. This compression of frame times at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the variance decreases when the GPU is fully saturated.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080 users, the High preset at 120 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The jump from High to Ultra costs 28 FPS (from 120 to 92) for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a 2014 title. The Medium preset at 143 FPS is a strong alternative for players prioritizing frame rate, while the Low preset at 187 FPS is excessive for most displays.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 78 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining reasonable visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 92 FPS is preferable for gamers with high refresh rate monitors, as it maintains a minimum of 79 FPS. The Ultra preset at 59 FPS is borderline, and the Low preset at 121 FPS sacrifices too much visual quality for the performance gain.

For 3840x2160, no preset delivers an ideal experience. The Low preset at 65 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, but it requires significant visual compromises. The Medium preset at 50 FPS with a 42 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stuttering in action sequences. The High preset at 42 FPS and Ultra at 32 FPS are not recommended for serious gameplay. Users with 4K displays should either reduce resolution to 1440p or accept the Low preset's visual limitations.

The overall recommendation is to target 1080p High or 1440p High based on display capability. The system's 1677th place ranking out of 2939 combos suggests it is a mid-tier configuration, and the data shows it performs best when not pushed to extreme resolutions. The Ultra preset is rarely worth the performance cost, especially at 4K where it delivers just 32 FPS.