Minimum

Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014, is an older title that nonetheless provides a clear picture of how the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT handle modern rendering demands at various quality levels. The benchmark data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with the CPU’s strong single-thread performance allowing it to step back and let the graphics card do the heavy lifting. The measured frames per second across the three resolutions and four settings presets reveal a predictable scaling pattern, where the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as pixel count increases, pointing to the Radeon RX 7600 XT as the primary bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rates, confirming that the graphics card is the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 115 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p, and finally to 40 at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is even more severe when moving from the Medium preset, where the average drops from 137 at 1080p to 88 at 1440p and then to 48 at 4K. The data indicates that the RX 7600 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, simply runs out of pixel throughput as the resolution increases, making the 4K experience playable only at the lowest settings.

The pattern is consistent across all presets, but the relative penalty for 4K is steepest at the Ultra setting, where the average FPS collapses to 30. This is a clear sign that the game’s highest quality assets and effects are too demanding for the GPU at 3840x2160. In contrast, the 1080p results show a system that has ample headroom, with Low settings producing 179 FPS and even Ultra managing 88 FPS. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate, suggesting that 1440p is the sweet spot where the GPU’s limitations start to become noticeable but the frame rates remain respectable for a smooth experience. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal, as the Core Ultra 5 245’s 5.10 GHz boost clock and high single-thread scores ensure it is not the source of the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a 60 FPS baseline, the data suggests that 1080p is the most forgiving environment. The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers an average of 137 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. Even the High preset at 1080p, with an average of 115 FPS, is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. However, at 1440p, the choice becomes more critical. The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS target. The High preset at this resolution drops to an average of 74 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

The 4K resolution presents a significant challenge. The Low preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 62 FPS, which barely crosses the 60 FPS line, while the Medium preset drops to 48 FPS. For a stable experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the average is close to the threshold. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not recommended for a 60 FPS experience, as it only achieves 88 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance is achieved with the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p, where the system can maintain high frame rates without compromising on visual quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Minimum?

A: The highest average FPS is 179, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which produces an average of 62 FPS at 3840x2160. The Medium preset at 4K averages 48 FPS, which may be below the target for many players.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1440p compared to 1080p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS, while at 1920x1080, it averages 88 FPS. This represents a significant 32 FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p at the highest quality settings.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the data for any configuration?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 40, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Medium settings preset.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the Core Ultra 5 245 maintains high frame rates at 1080p, with the Low preset reaching 179 FPS. The system is clearly GPU-limited, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution changes.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 179 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 88 FPS, a difference of 91 FPS in favor of the Low preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination is ranked 1828 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places the pairing in the lower-middle tier of all tested configurations, indicating that while it is capable of running the game, many other systems deliver higher performance. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 60 out of 100 versus all GPUs, combined with the CPU’s 90th percentile ranking, suggests that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this specific game, pulling the overall combo rank down. The CPU’s strong benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648, are far above what this game requires, but the RX 7600 XT’s average benchmark score of 17083 and its 60th percentile ranking show it is a mid-range performer.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the fact that Minimum is a 2014 title, and modern GPUs with higher memory bandwidth and more shading units will naturally outperform the RX 7600 XT. The data shows that the GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, have a higher average score of 17208, which is 0.7% better, indicating that the RX 7600 XT is just slightly behind a previous-generation mid-range card. The CPU’s rivals, like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, score 49228, which is 0.5% higher, showing that the Core Ultra 5 245 is competitive but not at the top of its class. For a game like Minimum, the combo’s rank of 1828 reflects a system that can handle the game smoothly at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K, placing it in the middle of the pack.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. For a game like Minimum, which was released in 2014, the CPU’s single-thread performance is the most critical factor. The processor’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and PassMark single-thread score of 4394 indicate excellent per-core performance, which is more than sufficient for the game’s physics and AI calculations. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and the high boost clock ensure that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s demands at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 179 FPS average at 1080p Low.

The CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads are more than the game can utilize, as Minimum was designed for the quad-core era. The multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924, reflects the processor’s capability, but it is not a limiting factor in this title. The data shows that the CPU’s percentile ranking of 90 versus all CPUs puts it in the top 10%, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core i5-14600K, with score differences of less than 1%. In the context of Minimum, the CPU role is to provide a stable platform with high frame times, which it does effectively, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rate scaling across resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system’s performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 179 FPS, the Medium preset averages 137 FPS with a minimum of 116 and a maximum of 157, the High preset averages 115 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 88 FPS. These numbers show a linear progression, with each step up in quality costing roughly 20-30 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 115 FPS, the Medium preset averages 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 101, the High preset averages 74 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 56 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with the Low preset losing 64 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 32 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, the Medium preset averages 48 FPS with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 55, the High preset averages 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS. The 4K data shows a stark contrast, with the Low preset being the only one that can maintain a frame rate above 60 FPS on average. The Medium preset’s minimum of 40 FPS indicates that there are significant frame drops in demanding scenes, making it less suitable for a smooth experience. The data reveals that the RX 7600 XT’s 16 GB of VRAM is not the issue, but rather its 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, which are insufficient for the pixel workload at 4K. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch only at the lowest settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, based on the Navi 33 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, is the primary determinant of frame rates in Minimum. With 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operations units, the GPU is well-equipped for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth limit its 4K performance. The GPU’s boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz provide solid compute throughput, but the data shows that the frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, highlighting the memory bandwidth constraint. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is a generous amount for a 2014 title, but it is not fully utilized, as the game’s textures are not demanding enough to require more than a fraction of that capacity.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 17083 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 and AMD Radeon HD 7970M, which are older cards. The RX 7600 XT’s performance in Minimum is consistent with its PassMark G3D score of 17132, and its DirectX 11 score of 167, which is the API used by the game. The GPU’s 32 ray tracing cores are not relevant for this title, but its 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 performance ensures that it can handle the game’s shader complexity at higher settings. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU has ample headroom, and the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the key constraint. For a game like Minimum, the RX 7600 XT provides a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p, but its 4K performance is only suitable for Low settings.