Minimum

# Minimum with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT pairing delivers a mid-range experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter that remains surprisingly demanding at higher resolutions. The measured data shows this combo handles 1080p with ease, becomes playable at 1440p, but struggles to maintain smooth framerates at 4K. The CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all processors tested, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile, suggesting a processor-heavy balance that becomes increasingly apparent as resolution drops.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Minimum?*

A: 1920x1080 is clearly the sweet spot. At High settings the combo produces 114 FPS average, while Low settings reach 177 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops High settings to 73 FPS, and 3840x2160 High plummets to 39 FPS.

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

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, placing it just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196) and 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228). It edges ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RX 6650 XT scores an average of 19765 across all benchmarks, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla K40m, scores 19885, which is only 0.6% higher.

*Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM become a limitation in Minimum?*

A: The data shows the GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K Ultra settings, average FPS drops to 30, suggesting the card's compute capabilities, rather than VRAM capacity alone, are the primary constraint.

Q: Which settings preset delivers the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality between Low and High.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Minimum?*

A: The combination ranks 1895th out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the overall distribution for this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, provides the graphical muscle for this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 128-bit bus delivers 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Minimum's demands at most settings. The card's clock behavior shows a base of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, with memory running at 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective).

The GPU's compute specifications include 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. Its pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s give it enough throughput for a 2014 title, yet the measured FPS data reveals clear boundaries. At 4K Ultra, the card drops to 30 FPS average, indicating that the RX 6650 XT's 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient for maxed-out 4K in this game.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, all of which are relevant for a game from 2014 that may utilize multiple rendering paths. The card's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface provides adequate bandwidth for its 8 GB frame buffer. Interestingly, the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17166 and DirectX 12 score of 62 suggest that raw API-level performance may not directly translate to Minimum's specific workload, as the game's older engine likely favors different bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a dramatic scaling curve as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 High settings, the combo achieves 114 FPS, but this drops to 73 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 36% reduction) and further to 39 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 66% reduction from 1080p). This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom cannot compensate for the increased pixel count.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The jump from 1080p Ultra (87 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (56 FPS) represents a 36% drop, while moving to 4K Ultra (30 FPS) yields a 66% decrease from 1080p. This consistent scaling factor across settings presets suggests that resolution is the dominant variable, with the GPU's render output units and memory bandwidth constraining performance at 4K.

Low settings show the most dramatic scaling, going from 177 FPS at 1080p to 114 FPS at 1440p and 61 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result being above 60 FPS indicates that even at minimal graphical fidelity, the GPU still struggles with the sheer pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. The fact that 4K Low (61 FPS) barely exceeds 1080p Ultra (87 FPS) in the opposite direction highlights how resolution impacts this GPU more than settings changes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce 177 FPS average, which drops to 135 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS). High settings achieve 114 FPS, while Ultra still manages a respectable 87 FPS. All 1080p results exceed the 60 FPS threshold comfortably, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained but remains playable. Low settings hit 114 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (minimum 74, maximum 100), and High drops to 73 FPS. Ultra dips to 56 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target but remains within a playable range for less demanding scenarios. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance, staying above 60 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes marginal. Low settings achieve 61 FPS average, just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 47 FPS (minimum 40, maximum 54), High falls to 39 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K provides a smooth experience, and even then, the margin is thin. The Medium preset's minimum of 40 FPS indicates noticeable stuttering during intense scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1895th out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 36th percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier position (65th percentile among all GPUs) rather than the CPU's strong showing (90th percentile among all CPUs). The data suggests that the RX 6650 XT is the limiting factor in this pairing, as the processor has ample headroom to drive higher framerates if the graphics card could keep pace.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 48995 places it very close to its nearest rivals, with deltas of only -0.4% to 0.8% against four competing processors. This tight clustering indicates that the Core Ultra 5 245 provides consistent, competitive performance for its class. The GPU's average score of 19765 similarly clusters tightly with its rivals, showing deltas between -0.7% and 0.8%. This suggests that neither component significantly outperforms or underperforms its direct competition.

The 1895th rank out of 2939 combos means roughly 64% of tested configurations deliver better performance in Minimum. However, this ranking must be contextualized: the game's 2014 release date means many older, high-end GPUs from that era may still be benchmarked, potentially skewing the comparison. The combo's ability to handle 1080p Ultra at 87 FPS indicates it is well-suited for the game's typical use case.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, Ultra settings at 87 FPS are the clear recommendation. The game runs smoothly at maximum fidelity, and the 87 FPS average leaves headroom for demanding scenes without dropping below playable framerates. If targeting very high refresh rates, Low settings at 177 FPS provide the smoothest experience, though the visual trade-off may not be worthwhile for a game from 2014.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings with 87 FPS average (minimum 74, maximum 100) offer the best experience. This preset provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality between the barren Low and the more demanding High/Ultra presets. High at 73 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visual fidelity, but Ultra at 56 FPS risks dipping below 60 FPS during intensive sequences.

For 3840x2160, Low settings at 61 FPS are the only reliably smooth option. Medium drops to 47 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced sections but will struggle during combat. The gap between Low (61 FPS) and Medium (47 FPS) represents a 23% performance penalty for one step of visual improvement, making Low the pragmatic choice for 4K. Users with 4K displays should consider either lowering resolution or accepting reduced graphical fidelity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, part of the Core Ultra Series 2 based on Arrow Lake architecture, provides substantial processing power for Minimum. Its 14 cores and 14 threads operate at a base clock of 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, giving it strong single-threaded performance that matters for a 2014 game. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain smooth frame pacing.

The CPU's benchmark results show balanced performance across workloads. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and single-core score of 4648 indicate strong capabilities in both threaded and single-threaded scenarios. PassMark scores reinforce this: a multi-thread score of 38706 and single-thread score of 4394 place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The processor's 65W TDP suggests efficient operation, and its DDR5 memory support with dual-channel configuration (102.4 GB/s bandwidth) provides adequate bandwidth for the GPU.

In Minimum, the CPU's role appears largely supportive rather than limiting. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 177 FPS, which likely approaches the game's engine limits or the GPU's maximum output at these settings. The fact that 1080p Ultra (87 FPS) is lower than 1440p Low (114 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, while the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the graphics card. The nearest CPU rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and Ryzen 9 7900, show average scores within 0.5% of the Core Ultra 5 245, indicating that this processor is competitive with other mid-range options for gaming workloads.