Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose performance profile with the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 reveals a classic case of resolution-driven scaling, where the GPU's immense power is progressively constrained by pixel count, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high at lower resolutions. The data shows a system that can deliver extremely high refresh rates at 1080p but settles into more standard 60-100 FPS territory at 4K, with the exact behavior varying significantly based on the chosen graphics preset.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 4090 becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 280 FPS at 1920x1080 to 180 FPS at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction, and then to 97 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 46% drop from 1440p. This pattern shows that while the GPU is capable of massive frame output at 1080p, the sheer pixel count at 4K (over four times the area) demands proportionally more rasterization work, cutting performance to roughly one-third of the 1080p result.

The scaling is even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 180 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 62 at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). Ultra settings follow a similar curve: 137 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The consistent ~35-47% drops between each resolution step suggest that the game's engine scales predictably with pixel count, and that the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM is not a bottleneck at any tested resolution.

The limiting component shifts clearly as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's influence is visible: the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 143 FPS (280 vs 137), which indicates the GPU is barely taxed and the frame rate is more dependent on how many draw calls the CPU can feed. At 4K, the same settings gap narrows to 49 FPS (97 vs 48), showing the GPU is now the dominant constraint, working at or near its limits across all presets. The data suggests that for maximum frame rates on this combo, 1080p is the sweet spot, while 4K users should expect a more console-like experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. Its memory configuration is substantial: 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The base clock runs at 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and the memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications translate into a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s, which are directly relevant to how quickly the card can fill pixels and apply textures in a third-person shooter.

In Minimum, the GPU's role is most evident in the 4K results, where it becomes the bottleneck. At Ultra settings, 3840x2160 yields only 48 FPS average, which is notably low for a flagship card, suggesting the game's Ultra preset may include effects that are particularly heavy on the rasterization pipeline. The Medium preset at 4K shows 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS, providing a playable range that stays above 60 FPS for most of the run. High settings at 4K land at 62 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay but shows the card is near its limit.

The GPU's 2.9% deltaPct over the AMD Radeon PRO V710 in average benchmark score (60347 vs 58657) is modest, but in this game the RTX 4090 demonstrates clear scaling advantages at lower resolutions. The 88th percentile ranking versus all GPUs indicates it is a top-tier card, yet the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS shows that even this hardware cannot brute-force every title at maximum settings. The card's 512 tensor cores and 128 RT cores are not directly leveraged by Minimum's traditional rendering, so the raw FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS is what drives performance here.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a mobile processor with 14 cores and 14 threads, a configuration that favors single-thread performance over multi-thread density. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, and it features 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 192 KB L1 and 3 MB L2 per core. This is an Arrow Lake-HX architecture built on a 3 nm TSMC process, and its Cinebench R23 scores of 34731 multi-core and 4903 single-core place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The single-thread score is particularly relevant for Minimum, as older game engines often rely heavily on one or two primary threads.

In this game, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 280. This result, combined with the 180 FPS at 1080p High, indicates that the processor can sustain very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The passmark single-thread score of 4683 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 (from the GPU) suggest a balanced system, but the CPU's 14 threads (with no hyperthreading) are more than adequate for a 2014 title. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is a key asset, as Minimum likely benefits from raw clock speed rather than core count.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 8124P (52121, -0.1% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (51947, +0.2%), and Intel Core i7-14700 (52301, -0.4%). These scores are all within 0.7% of each other, showing that the Ultra 5 235HX is competitive with desktop-class parts from previous generations. In Minimum, the CPU does not appear to limit performance at 1440p or 4K, as the FPS drops align with GPU scaling rather than CPU stalls. At 1080p Ultra, the 137 FPS average still leaves headroom, suggesting the CPU is not the primary constraint even at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 280 FPS, which is exceptional for any game. Medium settings drop to 214 FPS average with a minimum of 182 FPS and a maximum of 246 FPS, providing a very consistent experience. High settings yield 180 FPS average, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 137 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 143 FPS, showing that the graphics preset has a massive impact at this resolution, but even the lowest result (Ultra at 137 FPS) is well above any high-refresh-rate monitor's needs.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload. Low settings average 180 FPS, which matches the 1080p High result, indicating a balance shift. Medium settings average 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 159 FPS, keeping the frame pacing smooth. High settings average 116 FPS, and Ultra settings average 88 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 92 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p but still significant, confirming that the GPU is taking on more work.

At 3840x2160, the results are more modest. Low settings average 97 FPS, which is still playable but a far cry from the 280 FPS at 1080p. Medium settings average 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS, providing a stable 60+ FPS experience. High settings average 62 FPS, which is right at the edge of smooth gameplay. Ultra settings average 48 FPS, which is not ideal for a fast-paced third-person shooter. The data shows that for 4K, the Medium preset is the best balance of visual quality and performance, while Ultra should be reserved for slower-paced play or screenshots.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 599th out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the top 20.4% of all configurations. This rank reflects the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's raw power, but the relatively low position (compared to what one might expect from a flagship GPU) suggests that the mobile CPU may be holding back the desktop-class GPU in some scenarios. The combo's average benchmark score of 60347 for the GPU and 52073 for the CPU indicates a system that is well above average, but the 91st CPU percentile and 88th GPU percentile do not translate to a top-100 game rank.

The rank is likely influenced by the fact that Minimum is older and may not fully utilize the RTX 4090's newer features, such as ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo only achieves 48 FPS, which is low for a card with 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This suggests the game's Ultra preset may have unoptimized effects or that the CPU's memory bandwidth (102.4 GB/s, dual-channel DDR5) is insufficient to feed the GPU's 1.01 TB/s bandwidth at high resolutions. Compared to other combos, this one is solidly in the upper quintile, but it does not dominate the leaderboard, indicating that pairing a top-tier GPU with a mid-range mobile CPU yields diminishing returns in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rates with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 280 FPS, which is the highest result in the data. Even at 1080p Ultra, it maintains 137 FPS, so 1080p is the clear choice for maximum refresh rates.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low (97 FPS average), Medium (74 FPS average), and High (62 FPS average) settings. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX has an average benchmark score of 52073, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (51947) and 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 8124P (52121). It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700 (52301).

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect Minimum?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth. The data shows no VRAM-related performance drops, as the FPS scaling is consistent with pixel count rather than memory capacity limits.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark ranking match its in-game performance?

A: The GPU ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 60347, but in Minimum the combo ranks 599th out of 2939. This discrepancy suggests the game does not fully leverage the GPU's capabilities, particularly at 4K Ultra where it only averages 48 FPS.

Q: What settings should be used at 1440p for a competitive advantage?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 180 FPS and Medium settings average 138 FPS with a minimum of 117 FPS. For competitive play, Low offers the highest frame rate, while Medium provides a balance of visual quality and smoothness.