Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter, and this dataset captures how the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination handles it. The measured results reveal a system that scales predictably with resolution, but with some surprising behavior at the top end. The data suggests this pairing is capable of high frame rates at standard resolutions, yet the upper limits of the RTX 2070 SUPER are tested at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the combo's ranking among thousands of tested configurations, and the specific roles the CPU and GPU play in the game's performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the primary constraint. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 188 FPS at 1920x1080 to 121 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 65 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the rendering workload is heavily GPU-bound, as the resolution-dependent pixel count directly impacts the performance of the RTX 2070 SUPER.

At High settings, the scaling is slightly less severe but still shows a massive drop. The average FPS goes from 121 at 1080p to 78 at 1440p, and finally to 42 at 4K. This represents a 65% decrease from 1080p to 4K, which is nearly identical to the Low setting's drop. The consistent percentage drop across settings suggests that the resolution scaling is a fundamental property of the GPU's fillrate and bandwidth limits, rather than a CPU-side bottleneck.

The Medium setting is the only one with min and max FPS recorded across all resolutions. At 1080p, the average is 144 FPS, with a range of 122 to 165. At 1440p, the average is 93 FPS, ranging from 79 to 106. At 4K, the average is 50 FPS, with a range of 42 to 57. The tight range at each resolution indicates that the frame rate is relatively stable, with no major hitches. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is a 65% drop, which is consistent with other settings, again pointing to the GPU as the primary constraint.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the average is 92 FPS. This drops to 59 FPS at 1440p, and then to just 32 FPS at 4K. This is a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, exactly the same as the other settings. The consistency of this percentage across all four settings is remarkable. It suggests that the game's engine is scaling with resolution in a very linear fashion, and the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component, with the i5-9400 never being the bottleneck at any resolution.

The data clearly shows that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU. The CPU, with its six cores, has plenty of headroom, but the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and its memory bandwidth are being pushed to their limits. The consistent 65% performance drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings reinforces the idea that the game's rendering demands at higher resolutions are purely a GPU workload. This is a classic example of resolution scaling behaving as expected, with no surprises in the data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2142nd out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 58% of all configurations. The ranking is based on the measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions, giving a combined performance metric. With this ranking, the combo is positioned slightly above the middle of the pack, which is a reasonable result for a 6-core CPU from 2018 and a 20-series GPU from 2019.

The ranking is more a reflection of the GPU than the CPU. The RTX 2070 SUPER, with a percentile standing of 65 among all GPUs, is a solid performer. The i5-9400's percentile is 47 among all CPUs, which is below average. The combo's rank of 2142 out of 3712 suggests that the CPU's lower percentile is dragging the overall performance down slightly. However, the GPU's strong showing helps to boost the combo above the median. In a game like Minimum, which is a shooter but not a new one, the GPU is often the primary driver of performance, so the combo's rank is likely more influenced by the GPU's capabilities.

The nearest rivals for the i5-9400 include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which has a similar average score, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. These rivals are all within 0.4% of the i5-9400's average benchmark score, indicating that the CPU is in a highly competitive mid-range segment. The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, the GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, and the Intel Arc B570 and A750, all within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER's average score. This shows that the GPU is also in a tight performance band. The combo's rank of 2142 is a result of this mid-tier CPU and GPU pairing, which is neither a top-tier nor a low-end combination.

The benchmark results show that the combo is not a top performer, but it is far from the bottom. The rank of 2142 out of 3712 means that there are many worse combinations, but also many better ones. The data indicates that for a game like Minimum, this pairing is likely to provide a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p, but will struggle at 4K with high settings. The ranking is a useful metric for comparing the combo to other tested builds, and it shows that this is a balanced mid-range setup.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 121.

Q: How does the combo rank in Minimum?

A: It ranks 2142nd out of 3712 tested combos.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS at 4K?

A: The lowest average FPS at 4K is 32, on Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU have a high benchmark percentile?

A: The i5-9400 has a percentile of 47 among all CPUs, which is slightly below the median.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has a percentile of 65.

Q: Which settings give a stable frame rate at 1440p?

A: Medium settings give an average of 93 FPS with a min of 79 and max of 106, which is stable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the Low setting yields an average of 188 FPS, but this is excessive for most monitors. The Medium setting at 1080p gives an average of 144 FPS with a min of 122 and max of 165, which is a very strong and stable experience for a 144Hz monitor. The High setting at 1080p gives 121 FPS, which is also good but slightly lower. The Ultra setting at 1080p drops to 92 FPS, which is still playable but not as high. For the best balance of performance and image quality at 1080p, the Medium preset is recommended.

At 1440p, the Low setting gives an average of 121 FPS, which is excellent for a 1440p monitor. The Medium setting gives an average of 93 FPS, which is still good, and the High setting gives 78 FPS. The Ultra setting at 1440p drops to 59 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The best 1440p experience is the Medium setting, as it provides a high frame rate with a stable range. The High setting is also acceptable, but the Ultra setting is not recommended for a competitive shooter.

For 4K, the data shows that the Low setting is the only one that reaches an average of 65 FPS, which is barely playable. The Medium setting gives 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the High setting gives 42 FPS. The Ultra setting is not recommended at 4K, as it only achieves 32 FPS. The best 4K experience is the Low setting, which is the only option that can maintain a fluid frame rate. The game is not well-optimized for 4K on this GPU, so players should lower resolution or settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low setting delivers an average of 188 FPS. The Medium setting has an average of 144 FPS, with a range of 122 to 165. The High setting has an average of 121 FPS, and the Ultra setting has an average of 92 FPS. The data shows a clear progression from Low to Ultra, with a 96 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. This is a significant gap, indicating that the Ultra settings are quite demanding.

At 2560x1440, the Low setting averages 121 FPS. The Medium setting averages 93 FPS, with a range of 79 to 106. The High setting averages 78 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 59 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 62 FPS, which is a smaller difference than at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at this resolution, and the settings have a less pronounced impact.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS for the Low setting is 65. The Medium setting averages 50 FPS, with a range of 42 to 57. The High setting averages 42 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 32 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 33 FPS, which is the smallest of all resolutions. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the difference between settings is less than at lower resolutions. The 4K Medium setting has a min of 42 and max of 57, which is a relatively tight range, suggesting that the frame rate is stable but low.

The data shows that the game is not well-optimized for high resolutions. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, at about 65%. This is a clear indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, is not a factor at these resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has a 9 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory. Its benchmark scores, such as 935 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 6629 in multi-core, are mid-range.

The i5-9400's percentile of 47 indicates that it is a average performer compared to all CPUs. In this game, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor at any resolution. The frame rates are primarily determined by the GPU. The CPU's role is to handle the game's AI, physics, and other logic, which does not seem to be very demanding in Minimum. Even the lowest performance at 4K, with 32 FPS on Ultra, is unlikely to be CPU-bound, as the GPU is the limiting component.

The i5-9400's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is sufficient for the game. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are more than enough for a game that was released in 2014. The CPU's performance is not a concern. The benchmark results show that the CPU's scores are in line with its rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, which have similar average scores. This indicates that the CPU is in a competitive segment, but its performance is not a differentiator in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 shading units. It has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The memory runs at 14 Gbps effective, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a 65th percentile among all GPUs, and its benchmark scores, such as a PassMark G3D score of 18169 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 83358, place it in the upper-mid range.

In Minimum, the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 65% reduction, which is a clear sign of the GPU being the limiting component. The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance at 4K is limited, with the Ultra settings only achieving an average of 32 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is not capable of handling Ultra settings at 4K. The Low setting at 4K, with 65 FPS, is the only playable option.

The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game, but the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is being pushed at 4K. The texture and pixel rates are also a factor. The GPU is a strong performer for 1080p and 1440p, with the Medium setting giving 144 FPS at 1080p and 93 FPS at 1440p. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, the RTX 3070 Mobile, and the Intel Arc B570, all of which are within 1.5% of its average score. This shows that the GPU is in a tight performance band, but it does not have the headroom for 4K Ultra.