Minimum

# Minimum Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + AMD Radeon RX 9060

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a solid 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Minimum, a third-person shooter released in 2014. The combination ranks 1677th out of 2939 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. Across the measured resolution and settings matrix, the pair shows a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU's strong single-thread performance helps at lower resolutions. The data indicates this combo is best suited for high-refresh 1080p or smooth 1440p play, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Minimum with this combo?*

A: Based on measured average FPS, 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 78 FPS, which is smooth for a shooter. At 1920x1080, High settings hit 120 FPS, and Low reaches 187 FPS. The 3840x2160 results are less favorable, with even Low settings only achieving 65 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, which is 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129), 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862), and 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852). This places it in a tight performance band around those three cards.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a strong CPU for gaming?

A: The CPU holds a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 is strong, and multi-core performance is robust at 42216, making it well-suited for both gaming and heavy multitasking.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 143 FPS, with a minimum of 122 FPS and a maximum of 165 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above typical 60Hz displays and supports higher refresh rate monitors.

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

A: The data shows 4K is playable but not ideal. At 3840x2160, Low settings yield 65 FPS, Medium yields 50 FPS, High yields 42 FPS, and Ultra drops to 32 FPS. Only Low settings approach a consistently smooth experience at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU rank against its nearest competitors?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265's average score of 64640 is 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 4464P (64823), 0.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64438), 0.7% above the AMD EPYC 7343 (64202), and 0.7% below the AMD EPYC 9124 (65104). This shows it sits right in a competitive cluster.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a boost clock of 2990 MHz, and a game clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU's memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory bandwidth is a critical factor in Minimum, as the game's measured FPS drops significantly when moving from 1440p to 4K, indicating the GPU is hitting memory or compute limits at higher resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 21.43 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a card in this segment. The 28 RT cores support ray tracing workloads, though the game's age suggests this may not be heavily utilized. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in Minimum, as evidenced by the measured FPS, but the 4K results suggest the frame buffer or bandwidth becomes constrained at that resolution.

The RX 9060's overall benchmark percentile is 59th among all GPUs, with an average score of 16014. In game-specific results, the GPU's PassMark G3D score is 17631, while DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 scores are 182 and 44 respectively. These numbers indicate the card is well-rounded but not top-tier, aligning with its positioning near the RTX 3060 Ti. The GPU's power draw is rated at 132 W TDP with a suggested 300 W PSU, making it an efficient option for the performance delivered.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data points to 2560x1440 with High settings as the sweet spot for this combo. At this configuration, the measured average FPS is 78, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Dropping to Medium at 1440p raises the average to 92 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. The difference between High and Medium at 1440p is 14 FPS, suggesting Medium offers a more comfortable margin for demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080, the choice depends on the user's display refresh rate. High settings deliver 120 FPS average, which is ideal for 120Hz or 144Hz monitors. For 165Hz or higher displays, Medium settings at 143 FPS provide a better match, while Low at 187 FPS maximizes competitive advantage. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 92 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns over High given the 28 FPS difference.

The 4K results are more restrictive. Low settings at 65 FPS are the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, while Medium at 50 FPS and High at 42 FPS are playable but may show stutter in fast-paced scenes. Ultra at 32 FPS is not recommended for a third-person shooter, as the response time would be negatively impacted. For 4K users, Low or Medium is the practical ceiling, with a preference for Medium if the 42 FPS minimum is acceptable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the performance scales downward as settings increase. Low settings produce an average of 65 FPS, Medium yields 50 FPS with a minimum of 42 and maximum of 57, High delivers 42 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 32 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 33 FPS, a 51.5% reduction, highlighting the heavy load at 4K.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results improve substantially. Low settings reach 121 FPS average, Medium achieves 92 FPS with a range of 79 to 106, High hits 78 FPS, and Ultra manages 59 FPS. The step from Medium to High is 14 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra is 19 FPS, showing diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 1920x1080, the combo performs at its best. Low settings deliver 187 FPS, Medium produces 143 FPS with a minimum of 122 and maximum of 165, High reaches 120 FPS, and Ultra drops to 92 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 95 FPS, a 50.8% drop, but even the lowest result remains well above playable thresholds.

Comparing resolutions at High settings, the data shows 120 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely contributors to the 4K bottleneck, as the pixel throughput demand increases fourfold from 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1677th out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU's strong 93rd percentile performance and the GPU's 59th percentile standing. The CPU is clearly not the bottleneck in this pairing, as its single-thread and multi-thread scores are well above average.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for the combo's positioning. The RX 9060's average score of 16014 is nearly identical to the RTX 3060 Ti's 16129 (0.7% difference), which means combos using those cards would likely rank similarly in Minimum. The RX 9060 also edges out the Radeon RX 7700 by 1% and the Radeon R9 370X by 1%, though these are older or lower-tier cards.

The rank of 1677 suggests that while this combo is not in the top tier for Minimum, it outperforms a majority of tested systems. The 4K results drag the overall ranking down, as many higher-ranked combos likely maintain playable FPS at 4K with high settings. At 1080p and 1440p, the combo would rank much higher, as the measured FPS is competitive with systems featuring stronger GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, which provides strong single-thread performance critical for Minimum's frame pacing. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 is high, and the multi-core score of 42216 indicates robust all-core throughput.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache. This layout supports low-latency access to frequently used data, which benefits game logic and physics calculations. The processor's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which aligns with the GPU's memory bandwidth to prevent starvation in data transfer.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p results. At Low settings, the combo achieves 187 FPS, which is well above what the GPU alone could produce if CPU-bound. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic runs efficiently. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking across all CPUs confirms its capability, and its average benchmark score of 64640 places it just 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F.

The CPU's 65 W TDP is modest for a 20-core part, indicating efficient power management. This allows the processor to sustain high clocks without thermal throttling, which is important for maintaining consistent FPS in extended gaming sessions. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU is not relevant for gaming with a discrete GPU, but its presence adds flexibility for troubleshooting or secondary display output. Overall, the Core Ultra 7 265 provides ample headroom for Minimum, ensuring the RX 9060 operates at its full potential in most scenarios.