Minimum

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination delivers a thoroughly playable experience in Minimum, a 2014 third-person shooter. Across the measured configurations, this pairing shows a clear pattern: the CPU provides ample headroom, while the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions and graphical presets. The data suggests that players can prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing smooth frame rates, provided they make informed choices about settings and resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware pairing, the optimal settings depend heavily on your target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the data shows that the High preset is the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 151 FPS, which is more than sufficient for fast-paced gameplay. While the Low preset reaches 234 FPS, the jump from High to Low is only 83 FPS, a gain that most players would trade for the visual improvements of the High preset. The Ultra preset, at 115 FPS, is also viable, but the 36 FPS drop from High to Ultra suggests diminishing returns for what is likely a marginal increase in visual quality for a game from this era.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the best choice. It delivers an average of 97 FPS, keeping gameplay smooth on most 1440p displays. The Medium preset offers 116 FPS, but the difference between Medium and High is only 19 FPS. Given that the High preset still provides a near-100 FPS experience, it is the better balance of performance and fidelity. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is playable but begins to dip below the 80 FPS threshold that many consider optimal for competitive shooters.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Medium preset, with an average of 62 FPS, is the only configuration that consistently hits a playable range. The High preset drops to 52 FPS, which is on the edge of playability but may feel less responsive. The Low preset at 81 FPS is the performance king, but it requires the most significant visual compromise. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended for serious play, as it falls below the 60 FPS standard. For 4K users, the Medium preset is the recommended balance, as it provides the best experience per the measured rows without dropping into the sub-60 FPS territory where the High preset resides.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This is a significant asset for Minimum, as the game's texture-heavy environments can benefit from ample VRAM. The GPU's boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz show that it operates at high frequencies under load, which directly contributes to the frame rates seen in the data.

The GPU's performance percentile stands at 67, placing it above the average of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and RTX 4060 Mobile, are within 0.8% of its score, indicating that the RX 7700 XT is a solid mid-range performer. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, where even the Low preset only reaches 81 FPS, a stark contrast to the 234 FPS at 1080p Low. This indicates that the RX 7700 XT, while capable, cannot fully sustain high frame rates at 4K with this game's workload.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS and its 54 RT cores suggest it has substantial raw compute power. However, the 12 GB VRAM capacity is the more critical factor for Minimum, as it prevents memory-related stuttering at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data confirms that the GPU's role is to drive resolution and settings, but it becomes the bottleneck when the pixel count increases, as evidenced by the 40 FPS average at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 234 at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This demonstrates the CPU and GPU's capability to handle the game at high frame rates when graphical settings are reduced.

*Q: Can this system run Minimum at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?*

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 81 on Low, but the Medium preset drops to 62 FPS, and High falls to 52 FPS. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, but it requires the most significant visual compromise.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, has an average score of 22435, which is 0.5% lower. The RTX 4060 Mobile scores 22729, which is 0.8% higher.

Q: Is there a significant FPS difference between the Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: Yes, but it is not drastic. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 116 FPS, while the High preset averages 97 FPS. This 19 FPS difference is noticeable but may be worth it for the improved visual details of the High preset.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average FPS is 40, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is the only configuration that falls below 50 FPS, indicating it is not suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: No. The data shows that the FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's high benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924, suggest it has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution offers the highest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 234 FPS, which is the highest in the entire dataset. The Medium preset follows with 179 FPS, with a minimum of 153 FPS and a maximum of 206 FPS, showing a stable frame time distribution. The High preset drops to 151 FPS, still an excellent result. The Ultra preset, at 115 FPS, is the lowest at this resolution but remains highly playable. The transition from Low to Ultra represents a 119 FPS drop, but even the lowest value is above 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases as expected. The Low preset averages 151 FPS, matching the 1080p High result. The Medium preset averages 116 FPS, with a minimum of 98 FPS and a maximum of 133 FPS. The High preset averages 97 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS standard. The Ultra preset drops to 74 FPS, which is playable but shows the GPU's strain at this resolution. The gap between Low and Ultra is 77 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming a more significant factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting component. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is the only setting that breaks the 60 FPS barrier. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS, making it the only other configurable option that stays near 60 FPS. The High preset drops to 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 40 FPS. The data shows a steep decline from Low to Ultra at this resolution, with a difference of 41 FPS, highlighting the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 234 at 1080p to 151 at 1440p, a 35.5% decrease, and then to 81 at 4K, a 46.3% decrease from 1440p. This scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the pixel count directly impacts the workload.

At High settings, the drop is more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 151 at 1080p to 97 at 1440p, a 35.8% decrease, and then to 52 at 4K, a 46.4% decrease from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the CPU's performance is not affecting the scaling.

At Ultra settings, the decline is the steepest. The average FPS drops from 115 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p, a 35.7% decrease, and then to 40 at 4K, a 45.9% decrease from 1440p. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings points to a single limiting component: the GPU. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, does not show signs of bottlenecking, as the FPS scales proportionally with the pixel count, which is a classic GPU-bound behavior.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. In broader benchmarks, it scores in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, scores 49196, a mere 0.4% difference, indicating that the Ultra 5 245 is positioned competitively in the desktop market.

In the context of Minimum, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data. The data shows that at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, the FPS reaches up to 234, indicating that the CPU can handle high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The CPU's single-core performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, is strong enough for the game's logic and physics calculations. The multi-core score of 32924 in Cinebench R23 shows that it has ample processing power for background tasks while gaming.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support ensures that data can be transferred quickly to the GPU. This is crucial for a game like Minimum, where asset streaming can impact performance. The CPU's 14 threads are more than sufficient for a game from 2014, which likely uses fewer than 8 threads. The benchmark results confirm that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the FPS scales consistently with the GPU's workload. The data indicates that this processor provides a stable foundation, allowing the RX 7700 XT to perform to its full potential.