Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter whose measured performance on the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combo offers a clear picture of how this mid-range pairing handles a title from that era. The data, drawn from direct testing, shows a system that can comfortably push high frame rates at mainstream resolutions, though 4K Ultra demands more than this combo can deliver. With the CPU sitting in the 90th percentile among all processors and the GPU in the 66th, the pairing is balanced toward compute-heavy workloads, but the game’s rendering engine still leans heavily on the graphics card. Below, the FAQ, settings guidance, ranking context, and component-level analysis break down exactly what these numbers mean for playability.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a smooth 60+ FPS experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo delivers 74 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. For a higher refresh rate, 1920x1080 on High hits 115 FPS, while Low settings at the same resolution reach 179 FPS. The data shows 1440p High is the sweet spot for visual fidelity and fluidity, with 1080p Medium providing 137 FPS for competitive play.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Minimum?

A: Barely, and only at Low settings. The measured 3840x2160 results show 62 FPS on Low, which is playable, but Medium drops to 48 FPS, High to 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The data indicates that 4K is only viable with significant graphical compromises, and even then, the frame pacing will not match lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 5050’s 8 GB VRAM affect Minimum’s performance?

A: The game’s measured frame rates do not show a VRAM capacity bottleneck at any tested setting, as even the Ultra preset at 4K produced a stable 30 FPS average. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for this title, given that the game launched in 2014 and its texture demands are modest by modern standards.

Q: What is the CPU’s contribution to gaming performance in this combo?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with 14 cores and 14 threads, posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. In Minimum, the CPU’s single-thread performance is likely more relevant, as the game’s engine does not heavily utilize multi-threading. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (179 FPS average) suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: For Minimum, this combo ranks 1764 out of 2939 tested combinations. This places it in the lower-middle tier, meaning many other systems outperform it, but it still delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The rank reflects the GPU’s 66th percentile standing, which is below the CPU’s 90th percentile, indicating the graphics card is the primary constraint.

Q: Are the measured FPS numbers consistent across different settings?

A: The data shows predictable scaling. At 1920x1080, the average FPS goes from 179 on Low, to 137 on Medium, 115 on High, and 88 on Ultra. The same pattern holds at 2560x1440 (116 to 57) and 3840x2160 (62 to 30). The only setting with min/max data is Medium, where 1080p shows a range of 117-158 FPS, 1440p shows 75-102 FPS, and 4K shows 41-55 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing Minimum on this Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 5050 combo. The goal is to achieve a stable frame rate that matches the display’s refresh rate, typically 60 Hz or higher, while preserving visual quality where possible. Based on the numbers, the recommended presets vary by resolution.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset, Ultra, still yields 88 FPS average, which is above 60 FPS and suitable for most monitors. However, High settings at 115 FPS offer a significant improvement in smoothness, and the visual difference between High and Ultra in a 2014 shooter is often subtle. For players targeting 144 Hz or higher, Low settings at 179 FPS is the only preset that approaches that refresh rate, though it sacrifices shadows, textures, and post-processing. Medium at 137 FPS is a balanced middle ground for high-refresh displays, providing a 20 FPS boost over High while still maintaining decent image quality. The data suggests that 1080p Medium or High is the best experience for most users, with Ultra reserved for those who prioritize visuals over frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens. High settings deliver 74 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS and the recommended choice for a 60 Hz monitor. Medium at 88 FPS is even better for smoother motion, but it drops the minimum frame rate to 75 FPS, still playable. Low at 116 FPS is the only preset that pushes toward 120 Hz territory, but it comes with the same visual compromises as at 1080p. Ultra at 57 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so it is not recommended for consistent play. The best experience at 1440p is High, as it balances the 74 FPS average with better graphics than Medium, and the lack of min/max data for High suggests stable frame times.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low at 62 FPS barely clears 60 FPS, making it the only playable preset for a standard refresh rate. Medium at 48 FPS is borderline, and High at 40 FPS and Ultra at 30 FPS are too slow for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the recommendation is to use Low settings if the display is 60 Hz, but even then, the frame rate will dip during intense scenes. Alternatively, dropping to 1440p High provides a much better experience with minimal visual loss on a 4K display’s pixel density. The data clearly shows that this combo is not built for 4K gaming in Minimum, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for optimal results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1764 out of 2939 tested configurations places this system in the 60th percentile of all tested combos for Minimum, meaning roughly 40% of tested systems perform worse. This rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s 66th percentile standing, as the RTX 5050’s average benchmark score of 21035 lags behind many other graphics cards. The CPU, however, is a strong performer, sitting in the 90th percentile with an average benchmark score of 48995. The disparity between the two components suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck in most gaming scenarios, and the combo rank reflects that.

Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 5050 scores 1.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (average score 20713) and 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (average score 21153). It is also 1% behind the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (average score 21237) and 1.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (average score 21379). These are all older or lower-tier parts, indicating that the RTX 5050 is competitive with previous-generation midrange GPUs but does not push into higher performance tiers. In Minimum, this translates to the measured FPS numbers, which are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but not exceptional.

The CPU’s nearest rivals tell a similar story. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (average score 49196) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (average score 49228). It beats the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% (average score 48698) and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8% (average score 48618). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU’s performance is essentially on par with its nearest competitors. In gaming, this level of CPU performance is rarely a limiting factor, especially in a title like Minimum that does not stress multi-core processors heavily.

The combo rank of 1764 suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU holds the system back. For a game like Minimum, where the GPU handles most of the rendering work, the RTX 5050’s 66th percentile performance is the primary reason the system does not rank higher. However, the rank is not a verdict on playability; the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p are solid, and the system can run the game well at those resolutions. The rank simply indicates that other combos with stronger GPUs will deliver higher frame rates, particularly at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Minimum on this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with only the Medium preset providing minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system delivers its best performance. Low settings average 179 FPS, which is exceptionally high and suitable for 144 Hz displays. Medium settings average 137 FPS, with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, indicating a stable frame time range. High settings drop to 115 FPS, still well above 60 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 88 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly linear, with a 51% performance drop from Low to Ultra, which is typical for a game of Minimum’s age.

At 2560x1440, the performance decreases as expected. Low settings average 116 FPS, which is a 35% drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. High settings average 74 FPS, and Ultra settings average 57 FPS. The 1440p numbers show that the system can handle the resolution well up to High settings, but Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset’s min/max range of 75-102 FPS suggests that frame times are not perfectly consistent, but the average is still playable.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings average 62 FPS, which is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings average 48 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS, showing significant frame dips. High settings drop to 40 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 30 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that this combo is not suited for 4K gaming, as even Low settings provide only marginal playability. The difference between 1080p Low (179 FPS) and 4K Low (62 FPS) is a 65% reduction, highlighting the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 117-158 FPS, at 1440p it is 75-102 FPS, and at 4K it is 41-55 FPS. These ranges show that frame times are generally stable, with the gap between min and max being roughly 30-40% of the average. This suggests that the game does not have severe frame spikes, but the lower minimums at 4K could cause noticeable stutter. For a smooth experience, the data points to 1080p or 1440p with Medium or High settings as the optimal choices.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the primary driver of Minimum’s visual performance, and its specifications explain the measured FPS results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is modest by modern standards, but for a 2014 game, it is more than sufficient. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (30 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not running out of memory, as the frame rate is consistent with the GPU’s compute capabilities rather than a memory bottleneck.

The RTX 5050’s clock speeds are 2317 MHz base and 2572 MHz boost, which are relatively high for a budget-oriented card. The boost clock is what matters in gaming, and the 2572 MHz helps the GPU achieve its measured performance. The GPU has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. These numbers indicate that the GPU is capable of handling the pixel and texture workloads of Minimum, but the FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS is a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 21035 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the measured FPS results. In Minimum, the GPU’s performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, as shown by the FPS data. The 179 FPS at 1080p Low versus 62 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU is more than capable of feeding it frames. The RTX 5050’s 5 nm process node and Blackwell 2.0 architecture provide good efficiency, but the 130 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a mainstream part, not a high-end performer.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile, have similar average scores, but the RTX 5050 edges out the RX 5600 XT by 1.6%. In Minimum, this means the RTX 5050 can deliver slightly higher frame rates than those older cards, but the difference is small. The 8 GB VRAM is a key advantage over older 4 GB cards, though Minimum does not seem to require more than 4 GB based on the measured performance. Overall, the GPU’s role is to provide playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, which it does, but it falls short at 4K.

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. This is a high-core-count desktop CPU, but Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that likely uses few cores. The CPU’s single-core performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, which is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. This single-thread strength is crucial for gaming, as many older titles rely on one or two cores.

The CPU’s multi-core score of 32924 in Cinebench R23 shows it can handle heavily threaded workloads, but Minimum does not appear to benefit from this. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (179 FPS) is likely limited by the GPU, not the CPU, as the RTX 5050’s 66th percentile performance is weaker than the CPU’s 90th percentile. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would be similar across settings, but the data shows clear scaling with GPU load, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU’s cache configuration includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This is a generous amount of cache, which helps with gaming performance by reducing memory latency. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than enough for Minimum. The fact that the CPU has a 90th percentile rank and an average benchmark score of 48995 means it is a high-end part, but in this combo, it is paired with a mid-range GPU, so the gaming performance is not fully CPU-bound.

The CPU’s nearest rivals all score within 1% of it, meaning its performance is on par with the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core i5-14600K. In Minimum, the CPU’s role is to provide a stable frame delivery to the GPU, which it does without issue. The measured FPS at 1080p High (115 FPS) and 1440p High (74 FPS) show that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and physics without causing frame drops. The only scenario where the CPU might become a factor is at very low settings and resolutions, but even at 1080p Low, the 179 FPS average suggests the GPU is still the limiting factor. Overall, the CPU is more than sufficient for Minimum, and the combo’s performance is constrained by the RTX 5050.