Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose performance profile on this Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p, with the measured data showing a clear hierarchy of settings and resolutions that can guide user expectations.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a dramatic and consistent drop as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers 177 FPS average; moving to 1440p drops that to 114 FPS (a 35.6% reduction), and at 4K it falls further to 61 FPS (a 65.5% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is not linear, and the steepness of the decline between 1440p and 4K — where the frame rate nearly halves again — indicates that the Radeon RX 6650 XT's rendering throughput is being saturated as pixel count increases.

Looking at the High preset, the trend is similar but with lower absolute numbers: 114 FPS at 1080p, 73 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K here is 65.8%, almost identical to the Low preset's 65.5%, which suggests that the relative performance cost of resolution scaling is consistent regardless of graphical complexity. This consistency implies that the bottleneck is primarily the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity rather than any CPU-side limitation, since a CPU bottleneck would typically show a smaller FPS gap between resolutions.

The Medium preset data provides min and max FPS values that further illustrate the GPU-bound nature. At 1080p Medium, the average is 135 FPS with min 115 and max 156; at 1440p Medium, the average drops to 87 FPS with min 74 and max 100; at 4K Medium, the average falls to 47 FPS with min 40 and max 54. The fact that even the minimum FPS at 4K Medium (40) is barely above the 4K Ultra average (30) shows how hard the GPU is working at that resolution. The data strongly suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 4.90 GHz boost clock, is not the limiting factor in any of these scenarios; the FPS is being dictated by the GPU's ability to process pixels.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, and its specifications provide context for the measured frame rates. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. For a 2014 title like Minimum, this memory configuration is more than sufficient in terms of capacity, but the bandwidth and the GPU's compute resources are what drive the resolution scaling seen in the data.

The clocks are notable: the base clock is 2055 MHz, the game clock is 2410 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2635 MHz. These are relatively high frequencies for a GPU in this class, and they help explain why the card can achieve 177 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the 4K results (30-61 FPS depending on settings) reveal that the GPU's 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The FP32 performance of 10.79 TFLOPS and texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s are mid-range figures, and the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system drops to just 30 FPS average, which is at the edge of playability.

The VRAM situation is interesting when considering the 4K results. With 8 GB of GDDR6, the card does not appear to be running out of memory in this game, as the Low preset at 4K still manages 61 FPS. This suggests that the limitation at 4K is not memory capacity but rather the sheer computational load of rendering more pixels. The GPU's 32 ray accelerators (RT cores) are present but likely unused in this 2014 title, meaning the card's traditional rasterization performance is what matters here. The data indicates that this GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers 87-177 FPS depending on settings, while 4K should be reserved for Low or Medium presets if playable frame rates are desired.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the broader database of tested combinations for Minimum, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1895 out of 2939 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is consistent with the GPU's percentile ranking of 65 (meaning it performs better than 65% of all GPUs in the database) and the CPU's percentile of 85. The combo rank suggests that while both components are above average individually, their combination does not boost them to the top tier for this game, likely because the GPU is the limiting factor.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19765, which is very close to the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (19885, deltaPct -0.6%) and the AMD FirePro W7000 (19905, deltaPct -0.7%). It slightly outperforms the AMD FirePro D300 (19637, deltaPct 0.7%) and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19602, deltaPct 0.8%). These are professional-grade cards, which is an interesting comparison, but for gaming, the RX 6650 XT's modern architecture gives it an edge in actual game performance that synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1859 is a more relevant gaming metric, and it supports the idea that this GPU is a solid mid-range option.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it performing nearly identically to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0), with a slight deficit against the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (-0.2%) and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (-0.4%), and a tiny deficit against the Intel Core i9-12900T (-0.5%). This means the Core Ultra 5 225 is essentially on par with these CPUs in synthetic benchmarks, which reinforces that the combo's rank is not being dragged down by CPU performance. The data implies that if a user were to pair this CPU with a stronger GPU, the combo rank would likely improve significantly, as the current rank is a reflection of the GPU's limitations in this specific game.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience at each resolution, balancing frame rate and visual quality. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the data suggests that Medium or High offers the sweet spot. The Low preset hits 177 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the Medium preset at 135 FPS (min 115, max 156) still provides a very high frame rate while likely offering better visual fidelity. The High preset at 114 FPS is also smooth, but the Ultra preset drops to 87 FPS, which is still playable but may not justify the visual gains for a 2014 title.

At 1440p, the recommendations shift downward. The Low preset delivers 114 FPS, which is excellent for this resolution, and the Medium preset at 87 FPS (min 74, max 100) is a strong choice for a balance of quality and performance. The High preset at 73 FPS is borderline for a smooth experience, and the Ultra preset at 56 FPS may feel less responsive. For most users, Medium at 1440p appears to be the best choice, as it maintains a frame rate above 85 FPS average while offering better visuals than Low.

At 4K, the data shows that only Low and Medium presets are viable. The Low preset achieves 61 FPS, which is playable, and the Medium preset at 47 FPS (min 40, max 54) is on the edge of acceptable, with the minimum FPS dipping below 40. The High preset at 39 FPS and Ultra at 30 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. Based on the measured rows, the best experience at 4K is with Low settings, as it provides a frame rate above 60 FPS, while Medium is a compromise for those who prioritize visuals over smoothness.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: The measured average FPS is 114 at 1920x1080 with High settings, with no min or max FPS recorded in the data.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 19765, which is 0.6% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (19885) and 0.7% lower than the AMD FirePro W7000 (19905), but 0.7% higher than the AMD FirePro D300 (19637) and 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19602).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as FPS drops significantly with increasing resolution (177 FPS at 1080p Low to 61 FPS at 4K Low), which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's high percentile (85) and similar performance to rivals support this conclusion.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Minimum?

A: The combo ranks 1895 out of 2939 total tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 74 FPS, with a maximum of 100 FPS and an average of 87 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU support DirectX 12 Ultimate?

A: Yes, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), along with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz and boost clock is 4.90 GHz, which provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655 and Passmark single-thread score of 4412. In a game like Minimum, which is from 2014 and likely not heavily multi-threaded, this CPU's single-thread performance is more important than its multi-thread capabilities.

The CPU's multi-thread scores are also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 30459. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the frame rates scale linearly with resolution changes. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across different resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 114 at 1080p to 73 at 1440p to 39 at 4K, a clear indication that the GPU is struggling to keep up.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per core L2 cache, along with its dual-channel DDR5 memory support (102.4 GB/s bandwidth), are more than sufficient for this game. The processor's 65W TDP and PCIe Gen 5 support (20 lanes) ensure that it can feed the GPU data without creating a bottleneck. The CPU's percentile ranking of 85 (better than 85% of all CPUs) and its average benchmark score of 36938, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, confirm that it is a strong performer that will not hold back the RX 6650 XT in this or similar titles.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 177, followed by Medium at 135 (min 115, max 156), High at 114, and Ultra at 87. The gap between Low and Ultra is 90 FPS, which is substantial and indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant rendering load on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 114 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra averages 56 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 58 FPS, showing that the performance penalty for Ultra settings is somewhat less severe at this resolution, but the frame rates are lower across the board.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly struggling. Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), High averages 39 FPS, and Ultra averages 30 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is just 31 FPS, but the absolute numbers are all near or below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider smooth. The Medium preset's min FPS of 40 is notable, as it means the system can dip below 40 FPS even at this settings level.

The complete data table is as follows: 1080p Low 177, 1080p Medium 135 (min 115, max 156), 1080p High 114, 1080p Ultra 87; 1440p Low 114, 1440p Medium 87 (min 74, max 100), 1440p High 73, 1440p Ultra 56; 4K Low 61, 4K Medium 47 (min 40, max 54), 4K High 39, 4K Ultra 30. This breakdown shows a consistent ~35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and another ~45% drop from 1440p to 4K across most settings, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this system. For users seeking a consistent 60+ FPS experience, the data suggests sticking to 1080p with any preset, 1440p with Low or Medium, and 4K only with Low settings.