Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a playable experience in Minimum, a 2014 Third-Person Shooter. Benchmark results show this combo is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and solid performance at 1440p, though 4K requires significant settings compromises. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced for its target resolutions, with the GPU generally being the primary performance limiter.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combination of Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, the measured FPS data points to Medium as the optimal preset for most users. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset produces an average of 134 FPS, with a minimum of 114 FPS and a maximum of 154 FPS. This sits well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a comfortable margin for smooth gameplay. While the Low preset at 1080p reaches 175 FPS, the jump to Medium offers a substantial visual quality improvement for only a 41 FPS drop, which is a favorable trade-off.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot, delivering an average of 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS. This ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 60 FPS, offering a fluid experience on higher-resolution displays. The High preset at 1440p drops to 72 FPS average, which is still playable but offers less headroom for dips. For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset is the highest viable option at 1440p, as the Ultra preset falls to 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5060 begins to struggle. The Medium preset yields a 46 FPS average with a minimum of 39 FPS, making it borderline playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset is the only option that consistently holds above 60 FPS, averaging 61 FPS. Given the age of the game, the visual difference between Low and Medium may not be drastic enough to justify the performance hit. Therefore, at 4K, Low is the recommended preset to maintain a consistent frame rate, as the Ultra preset drops to an unplayable 30 FPS average.

The data suggests that the High preset is not the best choice for this combo. At 1080p it matches the 112 FPS average, which is respectable, but the Medium preset provides a better balance of visual quality and performance headroom. The performance differences between settings are linear enough that Medium offers the best overall experience across all tested resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: Can this CPU and GPU combo handle 4K gaming in Minimum?*

A: The data shows that 4K gaming is possible but requires significant settings compromises. The Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 61 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 46 FPS. The Ultra preset is not viable, producing only 30 FPS.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 175, achieved with the Low preset at 1920x1080. The highest recorded maximum FPS is 154, also at 1080p, but on the Medium preset.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: According to the benchmark data, the RTX 5060 has an average score of 26331. It is 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 860M and 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX550. It is 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this game at 1080p?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a limiting factor. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX has a high single-thread score of 4903 in Cinebench R23, which is sufficient for this title. The FPS scaling from 1440p to 1080p shows a significant increase, suggesting the GPU is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 113 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. This represents a 58 FPS difference, or roughly a 51% reduction in performance when moving to the highest settings.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX rank against other CPUs?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 52073, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD EPYC 8124P, which is 0.1% faster, and the Intel Core i7-14700, which is 0.4% faster.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Minimum, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 holds a rank of 1920 out of 2939 combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, which is a surprising result given the individual component specifications. The RTX 5060, for instance, is in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, and the CPU is in the 91st percentile.

This discrepancy suggests that the game's engine, released in 2014, may not be optimized to fully utilize the capabilities of modern hardware. The measured FPS data shows that the system is capable of high frame rates, but its relative position against other combinations indicates that many other systems achieve better performance in this specific title. The combo rank is a holistic measure that considers all tested settings and resolutions, and the relatively low score is likely dragged down by the poor 4K Ultra performance.

When looking at the GPU's rivals, the RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26331 is very close to the AMD Radeon 860M (26401) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26421). This indicates that in raw compute, these cards are nearly identical. However, the RTX 5060's performance in Minimum at 1080p (175 FPS on Low) is strong, suggesting the game's specific workload favors the architecture. The CPU's rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Core i9-13900F, have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the 235HX is a high-end mobile processor.

The data suggests that the low combo rank is not due to a weak component, but rather the combination of a mobile CPU and a mid-range GPU struggling to push the game to its highest potential at 4K, which is a significant portion of the ranking criteria. For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the combo performs admirably, but its overall rank reflects the challenging 4K results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 175 FPS. The Medium preset averages 134 FPS, with a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 154 FPS. The High preset averages 112 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 85 FPS. This shows a clear linear progression, with each settings tier reducing the frame rate by roughly 20-40 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down as expected. The Low preset averages 113 FPS. The Medium preset averages 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 99 FPS. The High preset averages 72 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 58 FPS, which is a larger percentage drop than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations are exposed. The Low preset averages 61 FPS. The Medium preset averages 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53 FPS. The High preset averages 39 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS. At this resolution, the RTX 5060's 8 GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus are insufficient for high-detail textures, as evidenced by the steep performance cliff from Low to Medium.

The data shows that the system is most comfortable at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset maintains an average above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best balance, while at 4K, only the Low preset provides a consistently playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals important information about the system's bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 175 at 1080p to 113 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 61 at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the frame rate is primarily limited by the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth.

At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 134 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 46 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across these resolutions indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance difference between 1080p and 1440p, as the CPU would be maxed out at the lower resolution.

The scaling at the Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with FPS dropping from 85 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 30 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p). This consistent ~35-45% reduction per resolution step-up confirms that the game's performance is heavily dependent on the GPU's ability to process pixels.

The data clearly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary limiting component. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, with its high single-thread and multi-thread scores, is not a constraint at any of the tested settings. The large FPS increases when lowering the resolution are a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. For users looking to improve performance, reducing the resolution or lowering the texture quality will yield the most significant gains.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 55 W. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34731 and a single-core score of 4903, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The game's release date of 2014 means it was designed for older, lower-core-count CPUs. However, the data shows that the 235HX handles this workload with ease. The FPS scaling pattern, which is consistent across all settings, confirms that the game is not CPU-limited in any scenario tested.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Core i9-13900F, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0.2% and 0.7% respectively. This indicates that the 235HX offers performance comparable to top-tier desktop CPUs from previous generations. Even the AMD EPYC 8124P, a server chip, is only 0.1% faster in average score.

Given the high single-thread performance (4903 in R23), the CPU is well-suited for the game's primary thread. The 14 cores and 14 threads provide ample multi-threading capability for background tasks, ensuring that no CPU-related stutters occur during gameplay. The benchmark results show that the system's FPS is entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering performance, with the CPU providing a stable and capable foundation. For this particular title, the CPU is a non-factor in performance, which reflects its strength.