Minimum

Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter, shows a fascinating performance profile when paired with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. This combination of a modern 10-core CPU and a flagship 24 GB GPU produces frame rates that range from highly playable to exceptionally high, depending on the resolution and quality settings selected. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which transitions to a more balanced or CPU-influenced state at 1080p, particularly when settings are lowered.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K in Minimum clearly illustrates the shift in bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 253 FPS at 1920x1080 to 163 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 88 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 35.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.0% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steep decline at 4K indicates that the RTX 4090's rendering workload is becoming the dominant limiting factor, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, placing immense pressure on the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically when the preset is lowered to Low. At this setting, the average frame rate is 394 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 254 FPS at 1440p and 137 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 35.5% and 46.1%, respectively, which is a similar relative decline to the High preset. However, the absolute frame rates are significantly higher at every resolution, suggesting that the GPU is still the primary constraint even at Low settings. The fact that the 1080p Low result of 394 FPS is not higher suggests that the CPU, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, is beginning to reach its limit in this older title, preventing the RTX 4090 from achieving even higher frame rates.

The data from the Medium preset provides further insight. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 105 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. The gap between the Low and Medium presets at 4K is 32 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 17 FPS. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU is handling the incremental increases in visual complexity from Low to Medium more efficiently than the jump from Medium to High, likely due to specific shader effects or texture filtering changes. The overall scaling strongly suggests that for players targeting 4K, the RTX 4090 is the definitive performance ceiling, while at 1080p, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225's capabilities are more relevant.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 4K with the High preset?

A: The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 with the High preset is 88 FPS.

Q: How does the 1080p Low preset performance compare to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset achieves an average of 394 FPS, which is nearly six times higher than the 4K Ultra preset's average of 67 FPS.

Q: Are there any recorded minimum frame rates for this game with this hardware?

A: Yes, the only measured minimum and maximum frame rates are for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the range is 256 to 347 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 165 to 223 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 89 to 120 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rate in this game?

A: Based on the data, 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates across all settings. With the Low preset, it reaches an average of 394 FPS, while the High preset still achieves a very high 253 FPS.

Q: Is the combo more likely to be CPU or GPU limited at 1440p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter at 1440p. The average frame rates drop from 254 FPS at Low to 124 FPS at Ultra, a clear indication that the GPU's rendering capabilities are being taxed by the increased resolution and visual fidelity.

Q: Does the game support high refresh rate monitors well at 1440p?

A: Yes, the performance is sufficient for high refresh rate displays. At 1440p, the High preset averages 163 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold, and the Medium preset at 194 FPS is even better. Only the Ultra preset, at 124 FPS, falls below the 144 FPS mark.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how different settings impact performance in Minimum. For players prioritizing the highest possible frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p is the clear choice, delivering an average of 394 FPS. This would be ideal for competitive play on a 360 Hz or higher refresh rate monitor. However, the visual quality trade-off may be significant for a game released in 2014, where the art style and effects could be considerably downgraded at the Low preset.

For a balanced experience that maintains high visual quality without sacrificing too much performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 stands out. It delivers an average of 163 FPS, which is comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many gaming monitors, while providing a substantial upgrade in visual fidelity over the Low preset. The jump from Low to High at 1440p costs 91 FPS, but the improvement in lighting, shadows, and texture detail is likely worth it for most players.

If the target is 4K, the Medium preset is the most sensible option. It achieves an average of 105 FPS, which is very playable and only 17 FPS lower than the High preset. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 67 FPS, which, while smooth, may not be optimal for fast-paced third-person shooter action, especially on displays with a 120 Hz or 144 Hz refresh rate. The Medium preset at 4K also provides a minimum frame rate of 89 FPS, indicating a consistent experience without significant stutters. Ultimately, the best experience per the measured rows is either High at 1440p for a blend of speed and quality, or Medium at 4K for maximum resolution with playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a rank of 126 out of 3712 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the top 3.4% of all configurations in the database, indicating that it is an exceptionally high-performing pairing for this game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the RTX 4090 provides massive graphical horsepower, and the Core Ultra 5 225 offers enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to avoid being a severe bottleneck in most scenarios.

The combo's high rank is supported by the measured frame rates, which are exceptionally high at 1080p and 1440p. The fact that it can push over 250 FPS at 1080p High and over 160 FPS at 1440p High puts it ahead of the vast majority of the 3712 tested combinations. The rank of 126 also suggests that there are a handful of combos that perform even better, likely featuring top-tier CPUs with higher core counts or possibly more optimized memory configurations. However, for a game from 2014, this modern pairing clearly delivers a top-tier experience, and the data shows it outperforms the vast majority of other systems tested.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. In a game like Minimum, which was released in 2014, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw call submissions. The single-core performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, is strong and likely sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions. The multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891, is also robust, ensuring that background tasks and modern operating system overhead do not interfere with game performance.

The benchmark data indicates that at 1080p with the Low preset, the system achieves 394 FPS. This is an extremely high frame rate, and it is plausible that the CPU is the limiting factor at this point, as the GPU is likely capable of rendering even more frames if fed data fast enough. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 and the multi-thread score of 30459 support this, showing a balanced processor that excels in both areas. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s also contribute to its ability to deliver data to the GPU efficiently.

In contrast, at 4K with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate drops to 67 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the CPU is waiting for the graphics card to finish rendering frames. The data suggests that the Core Ultra 5 225 is more than capable of handling Minimum's CPU demands, and its performance is only truly tested when the GPU is underutilized at lower resolutions. With a percentile rank of 85 against all CPUs, it is a well-above-average processor, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Ryzen 5 5500X3D, show very similar average benchmark scores, indicating that this Intel chip is right in the expected performance bracket for its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 394 FPS, the Medium preset averages 301 FPS (with a minimum of 256 and a maximum of 347), the High preset averages 253 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 193 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a total performance cost of 201 FPS, or roughly 51% of the Low preset's frame rate, as visual quality is increased to maximum.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show a notable decline from 1080p. The Low preset averages 254 FPS, the Medium preset averages 194 FPS (with a minimum of 165 and a maximum of 223), the High preset averages 163 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 124 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with the Low preset losing 140 FPS, the Medium preset losing 107 FPS, the High preset losing 90 FPS, and the Ultra preset losing 69 FPS. This indicates that the higher pixel count is increasingly taxing the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still playable but the GPU is clearly the primary constraint. The Low preset averages 137 FPS, the Medium preset averages 105 FPS (with a minimum of 89 and a maximum of 120), the High preset averages 88 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 67 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a further significant drop, with the Low preset losing 117 FPS, the Medium preset losing 89 FPS, the High preset losing 75 FPS, and the Ultra preset losing 57 FPS. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K is 70 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at lower resolutions, but still represents a 51% performance reduction, showing that the graphical settings have a proportional impact even at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is an absolute powerhouse of a graphics card, featuring 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. It is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and utilizes 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This immense bandwidth is crucial for high-resolution textures and is a key reason why the card performs so well at 4K in Minimum. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power allow it to handle even the most demanding modern titles, and its performance in this 2014 game is predictably dominant.

The data shows that the RTX 4090 is the main driver of performance at 1440p and 4K. The steep frame rate drops as resolution increases are a direct result of the GPU's rendering load. At 1080p, the card is so powerful that it is likely being held back by the CPU in some scenarios, as indicated by the massive 141 FPS difference between the Low and High presets. However, at 4K, the GPU is fully saturated, and the difference between settings is more attributable to the GPU's internal workload. The card's 24 GB of VRAM is far more than any game from 2014 would require, meaning there is no risk of memory capacity limiting performance. The RTX 4090's percentile rank of 88 against all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 60347 place it near the top of the performance hierarchy, and its nearest rivals in the database are professional-grade workstation cards, highlighting its consumer flagship status.