Minimum

Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter, shows surprising scaling behavior with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination. The benchmark data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet demonstrates exceptional headroom at 1080p, where frame rates climb to levels that challenge even the most demanding display refresh rates. This analysis examines the measured performance across three resolutions and four settings presets, interpreting what the numbers indicate about the underlying hardware dynamics.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rates across every settings preset, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 209 FPS at 1080p to 135 FPS at 1440p, then further to 72 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that indicates the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is being pushed to its limits by the pixel throughput required at Ultra HD resolution.

The Low preset shows the steepest absolute decline, dropping from 325 FPS at 1080p to 209 FPS at 1440p and finally to 113 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K here is 65.2%, almost identical to the High preset’s scaling. This consistency across presets suggests that resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel count rather than settings complexity. The Medium preset follows the same trajectory: 249 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 86 FPS at 4K, a 65.5% reduction.

Ultra settings exhibit the most severe scaling, with frame rates falling from 159 FPS at 1080p to 103 FPS at 1440p and 55 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop of 65.4% aligns with the other presets, but the absolute values are notably lower across all resolutions. This indicates that Ultra settings impose additional computational load beyond mere resolution scaling, likely through increased shading complexity and post-processing effects that stress the GPU’s compute units.

The data reveals that 1440p serves as a middle ground where the system still delivers high frame rates, with all presets except Ultra remaining above 135 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, suggesting that the RX 7900 XTX’s 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 24 GB GDDR6 frame buffer are sufficient for 1440p but begin to bottleneck at 4K pixel counts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, demonstrates its capabilities through the benchmark data. Its boost clock of 2498 MHz and game clock of 2365 MHz provide the raw processing power needed to drive the high frame rates observed at 1080p. The GPU’s 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s, which explains the strong performance at lower resolutions.

The memory subsystem plays a critical role in the 4K results. With 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, the card achieves 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. This is sufficient for the 4K High preset’s 72 FPS average, but the Ultra preset’s 55 FPS average suggests that the additional memory pressure from higher-quality textures and effects begins to exceed what the bandwidth can efficiently deliver. The 4K Medium preset’s minimum frame rate of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS indicates some variance, but the average of 86 FPS shows stable performance when settings are moderated.

The GPU’s 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 compute power is evident in the 1080p results, where even the Ultra preset maintains 159 FPS. However, the 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS represents a 65.4% reduction from 1080p, indicating that the GPU’s compute resources are increasingly consumed by pixel shading operations as resolution increases. The RDNA 3.0 architecture’s dual-issue design, reflected in the 122.8 TFLOPS FP16 throughput, does not appear to provide additional benefit for this game’s rendering pipeline, as the scaling remains linear with pixel count.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination ranks 368th out of 2939 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 12.5% of all configurations, a strong showing that reflects the GPU’s high-end positioning. The rank is particularly notable given that the GPU’s overall percentile versus all GPUs is 64, meaning the RX 7900 XTX outperforms 64% of tested graphics cards in aggregate benchmarks.

The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 89, indicating that the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 outperforms 89% of tested processors in synthetic benchmarks. This combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-high-percentile GPU produces a balanced system that ranks well in this specific game. The combo’s rank of 368 suggests that while many configurations achieve higher frame rates, this pairing delivers competitive performance within the broader database context.

It is worth remembering the GPU’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, which scores within 0.4% of the RX 7900 XTX’s average benchmark score of 19410. This is a surprising comparison that highlights the variability in benchmark methodologies, as the RX 7900 XTX’s real-world game performance in Minimum at 4K Ultra (55 FPS) far exceeds what a GTX 1060 would be expected to achieve. The aggregate benchmark scores do not directly translate to game-specific performance, and the combo rank reflects actual measured data for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 325 FPS, which represents the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 249 FPS with a minimum of 211 FPS and maximum of 286 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings yield 209 FPS, while Ultra settings still maintain a comfortable 159 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck, and the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate displays without compromise.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected reduction. Low settings deliver 209 FPS, identical to the 1080p High result, which suggests that the GPU is still able to maintain high throughput at this resolution. Medium settings produce 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS and maximum of 184 FPS, demonstrating consistent frame delivery. High settings achieve 135 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 103 FPS. All 1440p results remain above 100 FPS, making this resolution a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become apparent. Low settings produce 113 FPS, which is still respectable for 4K gaming. Medium settings deliver 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS, showing some variance but maintaining playability. High settings achieve 72 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 55 FPS. The 4K results indicate that the RX 7900 XTX can handle 4K gaming comfortably at Medium settings, but Ultra settings push it below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 249 FPS with a minimum of 211 FPS, ensuring no frame drops below 200 FPS. At 1440p, Medium maintains 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS, comfortably above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. Even at 4K, Medium achieves 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS, which remains playable on standard 60 Hz displays and offers a significant improvement over the High preset’s 72 FPS average.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 325 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play on 360 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors. However, the visual quality trade-off may not be worthwhile for most players, as the Medium preset still provides over 200 FPS at 1080p with better visual fidelity. The High preset at 1440p (135 FPS) offers a good middle ground for users with 144 Hz displays, providing higher visual quality than Medium while maintaining frame rates above the display’s refresh rate.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for users with 60 Hz displays at 1080p, where the 159 FPS average provides ample headroom. At 1440p, Ultra’s 103 FPS is playable but begins to approach the limits of 120 Hz displays. At 4K, Ultra’s 55 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The data suggests that Ultra settings are best avoided at 4K, while Medium or High settings provide the optimal experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, demonstrates that CPU performance is not a limiting factor in Minimum. The processor’s base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz provide ample single-thread performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and PassMark single-thread score of 4516. These scores indicate strong per-core performance that can handle the game’s physics and AI calculations without bottlenecking the GPU.

The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for game workloads. The 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support ensures that the CPU can feed data to the GPU efficiently, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p Low, the 325 FPS average demonstrates that the CPU can maintain high draw call throughput without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor’s 89th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062, places it in the same performance tier as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% delta) and Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, -0.1% delta). This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 235 provides competitive CPU performance that is well-matched to the RX 7900 XTX for this game. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 3 nm process node from TSMC contribute to its efficiency, though the benchmark data does not show any thermal throttling impacts on frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved with this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 325 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Minimum?

A: This Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination ranks 368th out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the top 12.5% of all configurations.

Q: Is the system capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium settings, the system achieves 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS. At 4K High, it delivers 72 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 55 FPS.

Q: What settings preset provides the best experience at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays. High settings achieve 135 FPS, while Ultra drops to 103 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s aggregate benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 19410, which is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (19334) and 1% above the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19602).

Q: What is the frame rate variance at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the system produces an average of 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS, showing a variance of 26 FPS between minimum and maximum.