Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that remains a useful stress test for modern hardware, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 provides a clear picture of how this mobile combo handles the title. The benchmark results, gathered across three resolutions and four quality presets, show a system that is well-balanced at 1080p, capable at 1440p, and ultimately constrained by the GPU at 4K. This analysis walks through the scaling behavior, the specific roles of the CPU and GPU, and the practical settings recommendations derived from the measured FPS rows.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a system that becomes progressively more GPU-bound as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate starts at 175 FPS at 1920x1080, falls to 113 FPS at 2560x1440, and then drops to 61 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a strong indicator that the rendering workload, not the processor, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The trend is consistent across all presets: High settings go from 112 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p and 39 FPS at 4K, while Medium settings scale from 134 FPS down to 86 FPS and then 46 FPS.

The scaling pattern is not perfectly linear, which tells a more nuanced story. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 35% across all settings; from 1440p to 4K, the drop is closer to 45-50%. This accelerating decline is typical of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth as the resolution increases. The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, and at 4K the data shows the card cannot maintain playable frame rates on higher presets. The Low preset at 4K still manages 61 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but the Medium preset falls to 46 FPS, and High drops to 39 FPS.

The implication is clear: the limiting component at 4K is the GPU. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 18 threads, does not appear to bottleneck the system at any resolution, as the frame rates continue to scale down with resolution rather than plateauing due to processor limits. At 1080p, the higher frame rates could theoretically expose CPU limitations, but the data shows the GPU still delivers a 175 FPS result at Low settings, suggesting the processor can feed the graphics card adequately. The resolution scaling data therefore points to a combo that is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower quality presets if the user accepts the frame rate trade-off.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, built on the Meteor Lake architecture using a 7 nm process. It features 14 cores and 18 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700, which places it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score is 29093, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123, -0.1% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, +0.5% delta).

For a game like Minimum, which is a third-person shooter from 2014, the CPU demands are modest compared to modern titles. The data shows that the processor’s single-thread performance, as measured by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1700, is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p. The 175 FPS result at Low settings is evidence that the CPU is not holding back the GPU in this scenario. The multi-core performance, with a PassMark multithread score of 22422, is also more than adequate for the game’s threading model, which likely uses only a handful of cores. The processor’s 18 threads provide headroom for background tasks, but the game itself does not appear to be CPU-bound based on the measured FPS data.

The CPU’s memory support, which includes dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, is another factor that contributes to the smooth performance at lower resolutions. The L3 cache of 18 MB is shared across all cores, which helps with data locality in gaming workloads. However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary driver of performance differences between settings; the FPS scales almost entirely with the GPU workload as resolution increases. The processor’s nearest rivals, which include the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, -0.6% delta), show that the 135H is competitive in raw compute, but the game’s results are more dependent on the graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the observed frame rates. It is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a chip designated as GB206. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The base clock is 2280 MHz, with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and the memory operates at 1750 MHz, yielding an effective 28 Gbps. The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory is connected via a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5060 achieves a PassMark G3D score of 20891 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 113321. Its average benchmark score is 26331, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (26401, -0.3% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26421, -0.3% delta), which are both close in average score, but the RTX 5060’s dedicated memory and higher power envelope give it a distinct advantage in gaming workloads. The GPU’s 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s are the key metrics that drive the FPS results in Minimum.

The measured data shows that the GPU’s performance scales predictably with settings and resolution. At 1080p, the RTX 5060 delivers 175 FPS at Low, 134 FPS at Medium, 112 FPS at High, and 85 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is about 51%, which is consistent with the increased shading and texture work. At 1440p, the same settings yield 113, 86, 72, and 55 FPS respectively, showing a similar relative drop. At 4K, the GPU’s limitations become apparent: Ultra settings produce only 30 FPS, which is not playable for a fast-paced shooter, while High settings manage 39 FPS and Medium reaches 46 FPS.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor at 4K. While the game is from 2014 and likely does not use more than 4 GB of VRAM at Ultra settings, the memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is the bottleneck when pushing 8.3 million pixels. The GPU’s texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s is high, but the fill rate at 4K overwhelms the memory subsystem, leading to the steep FPS drops observed. The data suggests that the RTX 5060 is best utilized at 1080p and 1440p, where it can maintain high frame rates without hitting memory bandwidth walls.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1920 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the lower half of all CPU-GPU pairings, which is a surprising result given the individual components’ percentile scores (81st for CPU, 72nd for GPU). The ranking suggests that while the hardware is competent, many other tested combos deliver higher frame rates in this specific game, likely due to more powerful desktop GPUs or higher-clock mobile parts.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the fact that Minimum is not a demanding title, so even mid-range GPUs can achieve high frame rates, and the ranking is determined by the absolute FPS at various settings. The RTX 5060’s performance at 1080p is strong, but the 4K results drag down the overall ranking when compared to combos with more powerful GPUs that can maintain higher frame rates at that resolution. The data shows that the combo’s best results are at 1080p Low (175 FPS) and 1440p Low (113 FPS), which are respectable but not top-tier.

The rank of 1920 out of 2939, which is roughly the 35th percentile, indicates that this mobile combo is better suited for 1080p gaming than for pushing high frame rates at 4K. The CPU and GPU are well-matched for each other, as neither consistently bottlenecks the other, but the overall system is limited by the GPU’s memory bandwidth at higher resolutions. In comparison to other combos, the 135H and RTX 5060 pair offers a balanced experience, but it does not excel in the absolute FPS rankings for Minimum.

FAQ

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

A: The average FPS is 112 at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves 61 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 46 FPS, and at High it falls to 39 FPS, which may not be smooth enough for a shooter.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29093, which is virtually identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X at 29123, a delta of -0.1%.

Q: What is the GPU’s VRAM size and memory type?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain high frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the best resolution, with all presets delivering above 85 FPS, and Low settings reaching 175 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting component at 4K, as the FPS drops significantly with resolution, while the CPU’s performance is sufficient to feed the graphics card at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield an average of 175 FPS, Medium settings yield 134 FPS with a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 154, High settings yield 112 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 85 FPS. These numbers show that the combo is more than capable of handling the game at full HD, with even Ultra settings staying well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s workload. Low settings produce 113 FPS, Medium settings produce 86 FPS (with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 99), High settings produce 72 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 55 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the combo can still deliver playable frame rates on all presets, though Ultra dips below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings achieve 61 FPS, Medium settings achieve 46 FPS (with a minimum of 39 and maximum of 53), High settings achieve 39 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 30 FPS. The 4K results show that only the Low preset is viable for smooth gameplay, while higher presets suffer from significant frame rate drops. The data also shows that the Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 39, which indicates occasional stutters that would be noticeable in a fast-paced game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s resolution and frame rate preferences. For 1920x1080, the combo can handle Ultra settings with an average of 85 FPS, which is smooth for a third-person shooter. If the user prefers higher frame rates for competitive play, Low settings at 175 FPS are the best choice, but High settings at 112 FPS strike a good balance between visual quality and performance.

For 2560x1440, the recommendation is High settings, which deliver 72 FPS, as this provides a good visual experience while staying above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings at 86 FPS are also viable if the user wants more headroom, but Ultra at 55 FPS may feel less consistent. For users who prioritize frame rate, Low at 113 FPS is the smoothest option.

For 3840x2160, the data is clear: Low settings are the only preset that maintains a playable average of 61 FPS. Medium settings at 46 FPS and High at 39 FPS are not recommended for a shooter, as the frame rate drops could impact gameplay. Ultra at 30 FPS is not viable. Therefore, the best experience at 4K is achieved with Low settings, which sacrifices visual fidelity for playability. In summary, the combo is best used at 1080p with High or Ultra settings, at 1440p with High settings, and at 4K with Low settings, based on the measured data.