Minimum

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Minimum reveals a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, and the pattern strongly suggests a GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers 180 FPS. Dropping to 2560x1440 Low yields 116 FPS, a 35.6% reduction, and at 3840x2160 Low the average falls to 62 FPS, which is 65.6% below the 1080p figure. This is a classic sign that the rendering workload is scaling directly with pixel count — the RTX 4060's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are being pushed harder as resolution increases.

The story becomes more nuanced when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the combo produces 116 FPS. At 1440p High, that number drops to 75 FPS, a 35.3% decrease. At 4K High, it falls to 40 FPS, which is 65.5% below the 1080p High result. The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 47% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor here; if it were, we would expect to see smaller performance deltas between resolutions because the CPU workload would remain relatively constant while the GPU struggles.

Ultra settings paint an even clearer picture. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 88. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 57, and at 4K Ultra, the combo manages just 31 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling — it sits far below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The data implies that the RTX 4060, with its 3072 shading units and 48 ROPs, simply cannot keep up with the pixel throughput demands of 4K Ultra in this game. The measured FPS range at 4K Medium (41 min, 55 max) further confirms that even mid-tier settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits, with the average of 48 FPS leaving little headroom.

Interestingly, the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is not linear. At 1080p, the gap between Low (180 FPS) and Ultra (88 FPS) is 92 FPS, a 51.1% reduction. At 1440p, the gap is 59 FPS (116 to 57), a 50.9% reduction. At 4K, the gap narrows to 31 FPS (62 to 31), a 50% reduction. This consistent halving of performance from Low to Ultra across all resolutions reinforces that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the dominant constraints, not the CPU's processing power.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. Its base clock is 1830 MHz with a boost clock of 2460 MHz, and it carries 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. These specifications directly inform the measured FPS results in Minimum. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but at 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and complex shaders may be pushing against the memory ceiling, contributing to the 31 FPS average.

The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate suggest it should handle a 2014-era third-person shooter comfortably at lower resolutions. Indeed, the 1080p Low result of 180 FPS confirms this. However, the pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the sheer number of pixels to fill — over 8 million per frame — strains the 48 ROPs. The data shows that at 4K High, the average FPS drops to 40, which is below the 48 FPS average at 4K Medium. This indicates that the GPU's rasterization throughput, not just memory capacity, is the bottleneck.

The RTX 4060's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 with a deltaPct of -0.2%, the AMD Radeon 780M at +0.3%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at +0.5%. These are not modern high-end GPUs; the 780M is an integrated graphics solution. This positioning in the percentileVsAllGpus at 61 means the RTX 4060 sits in the upper-middle tier of all GPUs tested, which aligns with its measured performance in Minimum — capable at 1080p and 1440p, but struggling at 4K Ultra. With a launch MSRP of 299 USD, it was positioned as a mainstream part, and the data reflects that: it delivers playable frame rates at 1440p High (75 FPS) but falls short of smooth 4K performance.

The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it can leverage modern rendering techniques, but Minimum is a 2014 release, which likely uses older DirectX paths. This could explain why the GPU's newer features, such as its 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, do not appear to provide any measurable advantage in the FPS data — the game simply may not use them. Instead, the raw fill rate and memory bandwidth are what matter, and the 128-bit bus at 272.0 GB/s is a known limitation for higher-resolution gaming.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on Arrow Lake architecture at TSMC's 3 nm process node. It features 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 2.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its L3 cache is 36 MB shared, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus delivering 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In Minimum, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, as the FPS scaling across resolutions is nearly identical regardless of settings — a hallmark of a GPU-bound workload.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35589 and a single-core score of 2204, with a Geekbench multi-core of 20795 and single-core of 2458. Its PassMark single-thread score is 4713, and it ranks at the 94th percentile versus all CPUs. These numbers suggest the 275HX has ample processing power to feed the RTX 4060 in Minimum, even at 1080p Low where the combo hits 180 FPS. The fact that the FPS does not increase beyond 180 at 1080p Low might be a game engine limit or a VSync cap, but the data does not indicate the CPU is holding back performance — the 24-thread count is far more than a 2014 title would need.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 with a deltaPct of -0.3%, the AMD EPYC 4484PX at -0.5%, and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX at -0.6%. These are workstation and server-class processors, which underscores that the 275HX is a high-end mobile part. Its 55 W TDP is modest for a 24-core chip, suggesting efficient power management, but in gaming, the boost clock of 5.40 GHz is what matters most for frame pacing. The data shows no signs of CPU bottlenecking — at 4K Low, the FPS is 62, which is exactly what we would expect if the GPU were the sole constraint, given the pixel-count scaling from 1080p.

The CPU's 36 MB of L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for Minimum's likely modest data footprint. The game's release date of 2014 means it predates many modern multi-threading optimizations, so the 275HX's 24 threads are likely underutilized. This is not a criticism of the CPU; rather, it highlights that in this specific title, the RTX 4060 is the deciding factor between playable and unplayable frame rates. The measured data at 1440p Medium (89 FPS) and 1440p High (75 FPS) show that the CPU can easily maintain high frame rates when the GPU has headroom, but at 4K Ultra (31 FPS), the CPU is effectively idle-waiting for the GPU to complete each frame.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at Medium settings provides 89 FPS average with a range of 75-102 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings deliver 88 FPS, making 1080p a safe choice for maximum visual quality.

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

A: At 4K Low, the average FPS is 62, which is playable. However, at 4K High the average drops to 40 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 31 FPS. The measured data suggests 4K is only viable with Low or Medium settings (48 FPS average at Medium).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent percentage drops (approximately 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 47% from 1440p to 4K) across all settings. This pattern indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, not the CPU.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, -0.2%) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M (17588, +0.3%). It ranks at the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 180 FPS while Ultra settings produce 88 FPS. This represents a 51.1% reduction in average frame rate, which is consistent with the same percentage drop observed at 1440p and 4K.

*Q: Does the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM cause issues in Minimum?*

A: The data does not show explicit VRAM-related stutters, but the large FPS drops at 4K Ultra (31 FPS) compared to 4K Low (62 FPS) suggest that memory capacity or bandwidth is a contributing factor. The 128-bit bus at 272.0 GB/s is a likely constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1752 out of 2939 tested combos in Minimum. This places it in the middle of the overall distribution, which is somewhat surprising given the CPU's high percentile ranking (94th) and the GPU's mid-tier position (61st). The rank of 1752 out of 2939 means the combo outperforms roughly 40% of all tested configurations but lags behind 60% of them.

This ranking makes sense when considering the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. Many other combos likely pair the RTX 4060 with a weaker CPU, but since Minimum is GPU-bound, those combos would achieve similar FPS at the same settings. Conversely, combos with a stronger GPU (e.g., RTX 4070 or higher) would rank significantly better. The CPU's contribution to the combo rank is minimal in this title, as evidenced by the FPS data — the 275HX's 24 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock do not translate into higher frame rates once the GPU is saturated.

The rank of 1752 also reflects the fact that the RTX 4060, while a capable mainstream GPU, cannot compete with higher-tier cards in the database. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 and PassMark G3D score of 19545 are modest figures. In Minimum, the combo's 4K Ultra average of 31 FPS is barely above slideshow territory, while the 1080p Low result of 180 FPS is excellent. This wide range of performance across settings and resolutions contributes to the mid-pack ranking — the combo excels in some scenarios and struggles in others, pulling its overall rank toward the median.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across four resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 180 FPS on Low, 138 FPS on Medium (with a min of 117 and max of 158), 116 FPS on High, and 88 FPS on Ultra. These are all playable frame rates, with even the Ultra preset comfortably above 60 FPS. The 1080p results demonstrate that this combo is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming in Minimum.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 116 on Low, 89 on Medium (min 75, max 102), 75 on High, and 57 on Ultra. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls just below the 60 FPS mark, making it borderline for smooth gameplay, but High settings at 75 FPS are excellent. The Medium preset at 89 FPS offers a good balance of visual quality and performance, with the min of 75 FPS ensuring no significant dips.

At 3840x2160, the results are more challenging. Low settings yield 62 FPS, Medium produces 48 FPS (min 41, max 55), High drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 31 FPS. Only the Low preset achieves a 60+ FPS average at 4K, while the Medium preset's minimum of 41 FPS indicates occasional stutter-prone moments. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended based on the data, as they fall well below the smoothness threshold.

The complete dataset includes min and max FPS only for the Medium preset at each resolution: 1080p (117-158), 1440p (75-102), and 4K (41-55). These ranges show that the Medium preset has a variance of 41 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that as the GPU becomes more saturated, frame times become more consistent, but at lower average levels.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 88 FPS is the best choice — it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. Players with 144 Hz displays could also consider the High preset at 116 FPS for smoother motion, trading some visual fidelity for a 31.8% increase in frame rate.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 75 FPS is the recommended balance. It delivers smooth gameplay above the 60 FPS threshold while offering better visual quality than Medium (89 FPS). The Ultra preset at 57 FPS is borderline — some players may find it acceptable, but the data suggests it risks dropping below 60 FPS during intense scenes. The Medium preset at 89 FPS is the safer choice for those prioritizing frame rate consistency, with its minimum of 75 FPS ensuring no significant drops.

For 3840x2160, the options are more limited. The Low preset at 62 FPS is the only setting that averages above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 48 FPS is playable but with a minimum of 41 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutters. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as their averages of 40 and 31 FPS respectively fall below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

In summary, the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 4060 combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at Ultra settings or 1440p gaming at High settings. For 4K, the user must accept Low settings to maintain 60 FPS, or Medium settings if they can tolerate occasional frame drops. The data indicates that this combo's sweet spot is 1440p High, where it delivers 75 FPS with no reported minimum below that level, providing a smooth and visually satisfying experience.