Minimum

This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile in the 2014 third-person shooter Minimum. The data is derived from measured frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets. The benchmark results show a configuration that is heavily influenced by resolution, with the GPU acting as the primary performance driver at higher pixel counts while the CPU’s capabilities become more apparent at lower resolutions. The combo ranks in the 834th position out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of tested systems.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound behavior. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average frame rate is 180 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops performance to 116 FPS, a reduction of 64 FPS. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 62 FPS, representing a 118 FPS decline from the 1080p result. This scaling indicates that the RTX 4090 Mobile is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput demands increase substantially.

The Low settings preset shows even more dramatic scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 280 FPS. At 1440p Low, this drops to 180 FPS, and at 4K Low, the average is 97 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 65%, which is consistent with a GPU that is being pushed to its limits by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K output. The fact that the 1080p Low result exceeds 280 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s rendering capacity becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

The Medium settings preset provides the only complete data with min and max frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 214 FPS with a minimum of 182 FPS and maximum of 246 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 138 FPS with a range of 117 to 159 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 74 FPS with a range of 63 to 86 FPS. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min-max spread, remains relatively stable across resolutions, suggesting that the system does not experience severe stuttering even when the average frame rate drops significantly.

The Ultra preset shows the most pronounced resolution sensitivity. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 137 FPS. This falls to 88 FPS at 1440p Ultra, and further to 48 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, indicating that this preset pushes the GPU to its absolute limit. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings represents a 65% reduction in frame rate, which is nearly identical to the scaling observed at Low settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. The GPU contains 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 121.1 million per square millimeter. The chip, designated AD103, operates with a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective.

The GPU’s compute resources include 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. It also features 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. The pixel rate is 189.8 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 515.3 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 32.98 TFLOPS, with FP16 performance also at 32.98 TFLOPS due to a 1:1 ratio. The power consumption is rated at 120 W, and the interface is PCIe 4.0 x16.

In the Passmark G3D benchmark, the RTX 4090 Mobile scores 27212, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 43667. The nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 with an average score of 43301, representing a 0.8% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile with a score of 43268, a 0.9% delta. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 44075, which is 0.9% higher than the 4090 Mobile. These comparisons show that the 4090 Mobile sits in a competitive position relative to these workstation and mobile GPUs.

The GPU’s performance in Minimum is consistent with its benchmark standing. At 1080p High, the 180 FPS average demonstrates that the GPU has ample headroom for this title. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS, however, shows that even this high-end mobile GPU cannot maintain smooth frame rates at maximum settings and resolution. The DirectX 12 benchmark score of 107 and DirectX 11 score of 262 from Passmark provide context for the GPU’s API-specific performance, though the game’s actual behavior is measured directly.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The thermal design power is rated at 28 W, and the processor is manufactured on Intel’s 7 nm process node. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus, providing a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG with 96 execution units.

In the Passmark multithread benchmark, the CPU scores 21100, while the single-thread score is 3399. The Cinebench R23 results show a multicore score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5. The Cinebench R20 results are 7161 for multicore and 1010 for single-core. The Cinebench R15 results are 2021.5 for multicore and 241 for single-core. The Passmark physics test yields a score of 1439, and the integer math test scores 69986. The floating point math score is 51670, and the data encryption score is 14251.

The CPU’s percentile ranking is 79th among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27507. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with an average score of 27535, representing a -0.1% delta, and the Intel Core i5-12600K with a score of 27578, a -0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X also scores 27578, matching the i5-12600K. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, which is 0.5% higher than the Core Ultra 5 125H.

In Minimum, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 280 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU can deliver frames faster than the GPU can render them at this resolution and settings combination. The fact that 1080p High only reaches 180 FPS, compared to 280 FPS at Low, shows that the GPU workload increases with settings, but the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p. The 4K results, ranging from 48 FPS at Ultra to 97 FPS at Low, are all well below the CPU’s maximum frame delivery capability, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile ranks 834th out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places the system in the top 22.5% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a mobile platform. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, with the RTX 4090 Mobile providing the bulk of the gaming performance while the Core Ultra 5 125H offers sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck at most settings.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27507 places it nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with deltas of only -0.1% to 0.5%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 125H is competitively positioned within its performance class. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 43667 is similarly close to its nearest rivals, with deltas ranging from -0.9% to 0.9%. The combo rank of 834 suggests that the pairing works well together, with neither component significantly dragging down the overall performance.

The percentile rankings provide additional context. The CPU is in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. The combo rank of 834 out of 3712 corresponds to approximately the 77.5th percentile of tested combos, which is slightly lower than either component’s individual percentile. This suggests that the pairing in Minimum performs slightly below what the individual component rankings might predict, likely due to the game’s specific engine characteristics and the CPU’s mobile power constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low settings preset achieves an average of 280 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 214 FPS with a minimum of 182 FPS and maximum of 246 FPS. The High preset averages 180 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 137 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 143 FPS difference, representing a 51% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 180 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High result. The Medium preset averages 138 FPS with a range of 117 to 159 FPS. The High preset averages 116 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 88 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 92 FPS, a 51% reduction that mirrors the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 97 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 100 FPS. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS with a range of 63 to 86 FPS. The High preset averages 62 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 49 FPS, a 51% reduction that is consistent with the other resolutions.

The Medium settings preset is the only one with complete min and max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the spread between min and max is 64 FPS (182 to 246). At 1440p, the spread is 42 FPS (117 to 159). At 4K, the spread is 23 FPS (63 to 86). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame time consistency improves as the GPU becomes more uniformly loaded, reducing the variance between minimum and maximum frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo in Minimum?*

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 280 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the 4K Medium preset averages 74 FPS, and the 4K Low preset averages 97 FPS. However, the 4K Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535 with a -0.1% delta, the Intel Core i5-12600K scores 27578 with a -0.3% delta, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382 with a 0.5% delta.

Q: What is the GPU’s benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 27212 and an average benchmark score of 43667.

*Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Minimum?*

A: The combo ranks 834th out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of tested systems.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average is 180 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 116 FPS. At 4K High, it further drops to 62 FPS, representing a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Minimum. For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, the 1080p Low preset delivers 280 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently available. The 1440p Low preset at 180 FPS also offers excellent performance for high-refresh-rate monitors, matching the 1080p High result while providing additional pixel density.

For users with 1440p displays seeking a balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 138 FPS is the recommended choice. This configuration provides a 51% improvement over the High preset at 116 FPS while maintaining a frame rate well above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The min frame rate of 117 FPS ensures that even demanding scenes remain fluid.

At 4K resolution, the Medium preset at 74 FPS is the optimal choice for maintaining a smooth experience. The Low preset at 97 FPS offers a higher frame rate but with reduced visual fidelity. The High preset at 62 FPS is playable but approaches the edge of acceptable performance, while the Ultra preset at 48 FPS should be avoided for competitive play. The frame time data at 4K Medium shows a min of 63 FPS and max of 86 FPS, indicating that the experience remains consistent without major dips.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with 1080p displays who prioritize maximum visual quality. At 137 FPS, this configuration still provides a smooth experience while delivering the highest settings available. At 1440p Ultra, the 88 FPS average is acceptable for most users, but the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and should be reserved for screenshots or non-competitive play. Overall, the Medium preset at 1440p or 4K offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across the tested configurations.