Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 5th out of 3,712 tested combos in Minimum, placing it firmly in the top 0.1% of all systems evaluated. This is an exceptional result for a game that is over a decade old, but the data reveals a fascinating dynamic where the sheer brute force of the GPU is consistently held back by the processor's capabilities, even at higher resolutions. The combo's percentile ranking against all CPUs is 85th, while the GPU sits in the 92nd percentile, suggesting a slight theoretical imbalance that becomes quite evident in the measured frame rates. The benchmark results indicate that this is a system built for maximum frame rates, but the specific bottlenecks shift dramatically depending on the resolution and settings chosen.

How This Combo Ranks

The 5th-place finish out of 3,712 combos is a statement of raw performance. It places this specific pairing among the absolute elite configurations for Minimum. The data shows that the combination of the Core Ultra 5 225 and RTX 5090 D is capable of delivering frame rates that only a fraction of other tested systems can match. This top-tier rank is expected given the components, but the specific breakdown of performance across resolutions provides a more nuanced picture. While the overall rank is superb, the delta between this combo and the top spot is not defined in the data; however, the fact that it sits at rank 5 rather than rank 1 implies that at least four other CPU/GPU pairings have managed to edge it out, likely due to superior CPU performance in specific scenarios.

The CPU's nearest rival data shows it is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a 0% deltaPct, and only slightly behind the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450. This indicates that while the Core Ultra 5 225 is a very capable processor, it is not a performance outlier in its own right. The GPU, conversely, shows a more complex rivalry picture. The RTX 5090 D is 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, but 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and 2.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB. This data suggests that the GPU's lead over its rivals is not overwhelming in synthetic benchmarks, making its strong showing in this specific game title all the more interesting.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node. It comes equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The core clocks are set at a base of 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz. These specifications are all top-tier, and for a game like Minimum, they are far beyond what is typically required. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking against all GPUs reinforces its position as a high-end part.

In this context, the GPU's role is to produce as many frames as possible, and its performance scaling with resolution is a key indicator of when it becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not being fully utilized in lower settings, as the CPU likely becomes the bottleneck. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's workload increases, and its performance drops are more consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The 32 GB VRAM buffer is more than sufficient for any scenario in Minimum, ensuring that memory capacity is never a limiting factor. The GPU's raw compute power, with 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is what allows it to push such high frame rates, even when the CPU is struggling to keep up.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 430 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 277 FPS, a 35.6% decrease. At 4K Low, it falls to 149 FPS, a further 46.2% decrease from 1440p. This steep decline suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiter, unable to feed the GPU enough frames to keep it fully occupied. The GPU is capable of far more than 430 FPS, but the Core Ultra 5 225 simply cannot issue draw calls fast enough.

This trend becomes more pronounced when looking at the High settings. At 1080p High, the system produces 276 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 178 FPS (a 35.5% decrease), and at 4K High, it yields 96 FPS (a 46.1% decrease from 1440p). The percentage drops are remarkably consistent between Low and High settings, which is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck. The frame rate is being dictated by the CPU's processing speed, and the GPU's workload scaling just adds a fixed overhead. However, there is a hint of the GPU taking over at 4K Ultra. The jump from 4K High (96 FPS) to 4K Ultra (73 FPS) is a 24% drop, which is a larger relative drop than what is seen between other settings at the same resolution, indicating that at this extreme quality level, the GPU is starting to become more of a contributing factor to the overall frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular look at the system's capabilities across all combinations of resolution and settings.

• 1080p: At Low settings, the system achieves an average of 430 FPS. Medium settings drop this to 329 FPS, with a minimum of 280 and a maximum of 379. High settings produce 276 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 210 FPS. This shows a clear progression of increasing GPU workload reducing the frame rate, but all numbers are exceptionally high.

• 1440p: The frame rates remain very high. Low settings average 277 FPS. Medium settings average 212 FPS, with a minimum of 180 and a maximum of 244. High settings average 178 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 136 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly a 35% reduction across all settings, reinforcing the CPU-bound nature of the system at these resolutions.

• 4K: At 4K, the GPU begins to show its limits, but performance is still strong. Low settings average 149 FPS. Medium settings average 114 FPS, with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 131. High settings average 96 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 73 FPS. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system is able to maintain a playable frame rate, which reflects the GPU's power.

The presence of min and max FPS data for Medium settings across all resolutions is notable. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 280 to 379 FPS, a spread of 99 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 64 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 34 FPS. This shrinking variance at higher resolutions further supports the idea that the CPU is causing frame time inconsistencies at lower resolutions, while the GPU's more consistent workload at 4K leads to a tighter frame rate range.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for Minimum?

A: The data shows that this combo is capable of producing over 400 FPS at 1080p Low and over 200 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This is an extreme level of performance for a game from 2014, indicating the system is far more powerful than necessary for standard play.

Q: At what resolution does the GPU become the limiting factor?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, as frame rate drops are consistent across settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor, as indicated by the larger percentage drop from High to Ultra settings at that resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F in average benchmark score, with a 0% deltaPct. It is only 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for maximum smoothness?

A: For the highest possible frame rates, 1080p Low offers an average of 430 FPS. However, 1440p High still provides a very high 178 FPS, which is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p High or 4K High are excellent choices.

Q: How does the graphics card's memory bandwidth affect performance?

A: The RTX 5090 D has a 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. This is far more than Minimum requires, ensuring that memory bandwidth is never a bottleneck in this game and allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential.

Q: What is the highest quality setting this combo can run smoothly at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system averages 73 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate. At 4K High, it averages 96 FPS, which is a smoother experience. Both are viable options depending on the user's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2 (Arrow Lake architecture) with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process and has a 65 W TDP. Its benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25,891 and a single-core score of 3,655. These scores place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a strong mid-range contender.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data. The benchmark results indicate that this CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are high, but they do not scale perfectly with the GPU's power. The CPU's 10 cores are likely not fully utilized by a game from 2014, which might rely more on single-threaded performance. The Passmark single-thread score of 4,412 is strong, but the game's engine may not be able to leverage the multi-core capabilities fully. The data suggests that the CPU's maximum frame delivery rate is being hit, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential at 1080p. The fact that the CPU has an 85th percentile rank while the GPU has a 92nd percentile rank supports the idea that the CPU is the weaker link in this pairing, even though both are powerful components.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's display and preference for frame rate versus visual quality. For users with a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor (240Hz or higher), the High settings at 1080p, which average 276 FPS, provide an excellent balance of smoothness and visual fidelity. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p still yields a very high 210 FPS, but the visual difference between High and Ultra may not be worth the 24% performance drop.

For 1440p users, the High preset is the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 178 FPS, which is smooth on most high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 136 FPS is also viable, but it is a noticeable step down. For 4K users, the High preset is the recommended choice, as it provides an average of 96 FPS, which is a solid experience. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is playable, but the drop to below 100 FPS is significant. In all cases, the Medium preset offers a balanced middle ground, but the High preset appears to be the best compromise between performance and visual quality across all resolutions.