Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that still gets played for its tense, methodical combat. The measured performance for the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile combo shows a clear pattern: this is a laptop pairing that can handle the game at high refresh rates on standard monitors, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with maximum quality settings. The data indicates a system that is far more capable at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU has enough headroom to push high frame rates, while 4K Ultra demands more than the mobile silicon can reliably deliver.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which is a classic sign that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 116 at 1920x1080 to 75 at 2560x1440, and then down to 40 at 3840x2160. That is a 65% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, showing how quickly the GPU's workload scales with pixel count. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly harsh, a 47% decrease, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are being saturated at the higher resolution.

Looking at the Low settings row, the pattern holds but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS goes from 180 at 1080p, to 116 at 1440p, and finally to 62 at 4K. This shows that even when the graphical load is minimized, the GPU still cannot maintain a 60 FPS floor at 4K. The difference between Low and High settings at 4K is only 22 FPS (62 vs 40), whereas at 1080p the difference is 64 FPS (180 vs 116). This compression of the settings gap at higher resolutions is a strong indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck; the CPU has enough headroom to handle the extra draw calls, but the graphics card simply runs out of pixel-pushing capability.

The Medium settings data provides the only min and max FPS readings in the entire pack, which offers a glimpse into frame time consistency. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 138 FPS with a min of 117 and max of 158, showing a stable experience with no major stutters. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 89 FPS with a min of 75 and max of 102, still a smooth experience. However, at 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 48 FPS with a min of 41 and max of 55, meaning the frame rate is dipping below the 60 FPS threshold and is likely to feel less fluid. The data suggests that the transition from playable to borderline occurs between 1440p and 4K for this hardware.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p display, the measured results show that this combo is overqualified for Minimum. The Low preset delivers an average of 180 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. Even the Ultra preset, which averages 88 FPS, provides a comfortable margin for a 60 Hz or 144 Hz panel. The High preset at 116 FPS is a balanced choice, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining a high frame rate. For competitive play, the Low preset's 180 FPS average gives the lowest input latency, but for general play, High is the sweet spot in the data.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more nuanced. The High preset averages 75 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset averages 89 FPS, and with a min of 75 FPS, it provides a more stable experience for a 75 Hz or 144 Hz monitor. The Ultra preset drops to 57 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay and not recommended for action-heavy sequences. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal preset for 1440p, as it balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that stays above 75 FPS in the worst case. High is acceptable if you prefer better shadows and textures, but you will be closer to the 60 FPS line.

At 4K, the measured results are less encouraging. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset averages 48 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth. The High preset averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS, both of which are too low for a third-person shooter where aiming precision matters. For 4K, the only sensible recommendation from the data is the Low preset, and even then, you should be prepared for occasional dips below 60 FPS. If you own a 4K display, the data indicates you should strongly consider running the game at 1440p with Medium settings instead.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is the decisive factor in this game's performance, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This is a modest memory configuration for a modern card, and it becomes a clear constraint at 3840x2160. The game's texture and geometry data at 4K likely exceeds the comfortable working set of the 8 GB buffer, which contributes to the sharp frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant. With a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz, the RTX 4060 Mobile is a mid-range part that relies on its Ada Lovelace architecture for efficiency. The 3072 shading units and 96 texture mapping units are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 48 ROPs are a limiting factor for pixel fill rate at 4K. The measured pixel rate of 90.72 GPixel/s is simply not enough to drive a 4K display at high settings while maintaining high frame rates. The FP32 performance of 11.61 TFLOPS is decent, but it is not the bottleneck; the memory bandwidth and ROP count are.

The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution. The benchmark scores for the GPU, such as the Passmark G3D score of 17469, place it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, which is solid but not top-tier. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which has an average score of 22895, meaning the RTX 4060 Mobile is 0.7% behind that older desktop card. This comparison is useful because it shows the mobile part is roughly equivalent to a previous-generation desktop GPU, which explains why it can handle 1440p well but struggles with 4K. The GPU's TDP of 115 W is typical for a mobile part, and the fact that it is an IGP (integrated graphics package) means it shares thermal constraints with the CPU, but the measured FPS data suggests this is not causing unexpected throttling in Minimum.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and RTX 4060 Mobile combo delivers strong performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 180 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 138 FPS, with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, indicating a very stable frame time. The High preset averages 116 FPS, which is still excellent for a 1080p monitor. The Ultra preset averages 88 FPS, which is playable and smooth, but it is a 24% drop from High, showing the cost of maximum settings. For a 1080p gamer, every preset is viable, and the choice comes down to visual preference versus frame rate headroom.

At 2560x1440, the performance is still good but requires more careful preset selection. The Low preset averages 116 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High preset, showing that the GPU can handle the extra pixels when the visual load is low. The Medium preset averages 89 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS, which is a comfortable experience for most monitors. The High preset averages 75 FPS, which is exactly at the threshold for a 75 Hz display, but the lack of min FPS data means you should expect some dips. The Ultra preset averages 57 FPS, which is below 60 and not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low and Medium are the safe choices at 1440p, High is acceptable, and Ultra is not recommended.

At 3840x2160, the performance is limited. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is the only preset that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, but it is a marginal result. The Medium preset averages 48 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS, which means the game will feel sluggish during firefights. The High preset averages 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 31 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for playable performance in a third-person shooter. The measured data is consistent: 4K is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, you are on the edge of playability. The 8 GB VRAM and the GPU's memory bandwidth are the likely culprits, as the frame rate does not improve enough when settings are lowered, suggesting a hard memory or bandwidth ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in Minimum is 2262 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and RTX 4060 Mobile in the bottom 39% of all tested systems. This is a low ranking for a modern laptop combo, and it reflects the game's age and its tendency to favor desktop CPUs with high single-thread performance. The CPU's percentile rank is 79, meaning it is better than 79% of all CPUs, but its nearest rivals show it is not a top-tier part. For example, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 has an average score of 27535, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H's average of 27507. Similarly, the Intel Core i5-12600K is 0.3% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is also 0.3% ahead. These are all desktop parts, and the mobile CPU is essentially on par with them, which is a good sign for a laptop chip.

However, the GPU's rank is more telling. The RTX 4060 Mobile is in the 67th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22729. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 2080 (0.7% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.8% behind), and the Intel Arc B580 (1.3% ahead). The RTX 5060 Mobile is 1.3% ahead of the RTX 4060 Mobile, showing that the newer generation is only marginally faster in synthetic benchmarks. Yet, in Minimum, the combo rank is low because the game's engine likely does not utilize the CPU's 14 cores effectively. The CPU has 14 cores and 18 threads, but Minimum is a 2014 title that was designed for quad-core processors. The data suggests that the game is not scaling well with the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, and the GPU is not powerful enough to overcome the CPU's single-thread limitations at 4K.

The deltaPct values for the CPU rivals are all within 0.5% of each other, which means the Core Ultra 5 125H is a solid performer, but it is not a standout. The combo rank of 2262 out of 3712 indicates that there are many other systems that can run Minimum better, likely due to faster single-core CPUs or more powerful GPUs. For a laptop, this is not a terrible result, but it is not a top-tier gaming experience either. The data shows that the combo is better suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can compete with desktop systems, but it falls behind at 4K due to the GPU's memory and bandwidth constraints.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the best resolution, as it delivers an average of 180 FPS on Low and 116 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 75 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only averages 62 FPS.

Q: Can this laptop run Minimum at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Only with the Low preset, which averages 62 FPS. The Medium preset averages 48 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS, all of which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729. It is 0.7% behind the RTX 2080, 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, and 1.3% behind both the Intel Arc B580 and the RTX 5060 Mobile.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 27507, which is within 0.3% of desktop rivals like the Intel Core i5-12600K. However, the low combo rank of 2262 out of 3712 suggests that the game does not fully utilize the CPU's 14 cores, and the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 116. At 4K High, the average FPS drops to 40, a 65% reduction in performance.

Q: Which preset provides the most stable frame times at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset has the only min and max FPS data at 1440p, showing an average of 89 FPS with a min of 75 FPS and a max of 102 FPS. This indicates a stable experience, while the High preset averages 75 FPS with no min/max data, suggesting it may dip lower.