Minimum

Settings Recommendations

For Minimum, the measured data indicates that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, High delivers an average of 131 FPS, which is well above the 100 FPS average of the Ultra preset while providing a substantial visual uplift over the 204 FPS Low preset. The gap between High and Medium at 1080p is notable: High produces 131 FPS versus Medium's 156 FPS, but the additional visual fidelity of High is generally worth the 25 FPS trade-off for a smoother overall image quality.

At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains a strong 85 FPS average, which remains comfortably playable. The Medium preset at this resolution achieves 101 FPS, but the drop to High still leaves enough headroom for most displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 64 FPS, which begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes more noticeable in a fast-paced third-person shooter. At 3840x2160, High drops to 46 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay, but it remains the highest settings tier that stays above 40 FPS on average.

The Low presets across all resolutions show the raw performance ceiling of this combination: 204 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that Low is only necessary for competitive play at the highest refresh rates. For most users, the High preset at 1920x1080 or 2560x1440 provides the best compromise between image quality and frame rate, with the data showing that Medium is a reasonable fallback if higher frame rates are prioritized over visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus, yielding 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock of 2321 MHz and boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz, place it in a solid mid-range tier for this title. The 2560 shading units, 160 texture units, and 64 ROPs provide the raw throughput needed to drive Minimum's rendering pipeline, with the FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS being the primary compute resource for the game's shader workloads.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant at higher resolutions. The 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the textures and geometry at 4K, as evidenced by the playable (if not ideal) frame rates at that resolution. The 384.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes a constraint when moving from Medium to Ultra settings, where the average FPS at 4K drops from 54 to 35 — a 35% reduction that correlates with increased memory pressure and shader complexity. The 40 ray accelerators on this RDNA 2.0 architecture are present, though Minimum's release era suggests ray tracing is not a significant factor in these measurements.

The GPU's benchmark profile shows a 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with its average benchmark score of 27425 placing it in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (deltaPct of 0) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (deltaPct of -0.5). This proximity in raw compute benchmarks does not directly translate to identical gaming performance, but it cements the RX 6700 XT as a consistently capable mid-range part. In Minimum, the GPU's role is most evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra: at 1080p, the Ultra preset (100 FPS) is roughly half the frame rate of Low (204 FPS), demonstrating that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck when visual settings are maximized.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This Arrow Lake Refresh chip, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, provides substantial compute headroom for Minimum. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency during gameplay, which is crucial for maintaining consistent frame times in a third-person shooter with dynamic environments.

The CPU's benchmark results show it performing at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807 with a deltaPct of 0.2, indicating the 290K Plus is essentially at parity with its predecessor in synthetic tests. The AMD EPYC 4584PX and EPYC 9135 trail by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 leads by 1.3%. These margins are small enough that gaming performance differences are unlikely to be perceptible.

In Minimum, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 204 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors and suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond typical display capabilities. The CPU's multithreaded performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and a Passmark multithread score of 60860, provides ample headroom for background tasks and game logic. The single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4823, is equally strong, ensuring that the primary game thread is not a limiting factor.

The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate this is a high-performance desktop part, though the data does not suggest thermal throttling is a concern in these measurements. The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 115.2 GB/s bandwidth aligns well with the GPU's needs, preventing memory bandwidth from becoming a bottleneck in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1501 out of 2939 tested combinations in Minimum. This places it in the 49th percentile of all combos in the database — slightly below the median. This ranking might seem surprising given the strong individual components, but it reflects the fact that the GPU, while capable, is not top-tier, and the CPU's impressive compute capabilities are not fully utilized by this older title.

The rank is more meaningful when contextualized by the GPU's 72nd percentile standing and the CPU's 96th percentile standing. The CPU is clearly not the constraint in this pairing, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings. The GPU's mid-pack positioning drags the overall combo ranking down, particularly at higher resolutions where the graphics card becomes the dominant factor. At 4K Ultra, the combination produces only 35 FPS, which is well below what would be expected from a top-500 combo.

Comparatively, the GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the RTX 4070 Mobile and RTX 3090 — are within 0.5% of the RX 6700 XT's average score. This suggests that swapping the GPU for one of these alternatives would likely produce similar rankings, assuming the CPU remains constant. The CPU's nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 9 285K and EPYC parts, are all within 1.3% of its benchmark score, so the CPU choice has minimal impact on the combo's rank in a GPU-limited scenario.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it consistently delivers high frame rates. At 4K, the combo falls below 60 FPS even at Medium settings, which limits its utility for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The rank of 1501 reflects this mid-tier performance profile — neither a budget entry nor a high-end enthusiast setup, but a balanced combination that excels in its preferred resolution range.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear resolution scaling patterns that reveal the limiting component at each tier. From 1080p to 1440p, the High preset drops from 131 FPS to 85 FPS, a 35% reduction. From 1440p to 4K, the same preset drops from 85 FPS to 46 FPS, a 46% reduction. This accelerating decline as resolution increases is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario — the CPU has ample headroom, but the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth become progressively more strained.

The Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 204 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. The 204 FPS at 1080p suggests the CPU is capable of driving even higher frame rates, but the GPU's geometry and pixel processing limits emerge as resolution climbs. The fact that Low at 4K (71 FPS) is still above High at 4K (46 FPS) underscores that the GPU is the primary constraint, as reducing visual complexity directly translates to higher frame rates.

The Medium preset, which includes min/max FPS data, provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 156 FPS with a minimum of 133 and maximum of 180, showing a 30% variance between min and max. At 1440p Medium, the average is 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 116, a 35% variance. At 4K Medium, the average is 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62, a 35% variance. This consistent variance pattern suggests frame time fluctuations are driven by GPU workload spikes rather than CPU bottlenecks, which would typically manifest as more erratic min FPS values.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each setting is roughly consistent: High drops from 131 to 46 FPS (65% reduction), Low from 204 to 71 (65% reduction), Medium from 156 to 54 (65% reduction), and Ultra from 100 to 35 (65% reduction). This uniform scaling across settings strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU would show less consistent scaling if it were the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Ultra: 100 FPS average. This is the highest visual quality tier, but the frame rate remains above 60 FPS, making it viable for most displays.
• High: 131 FPS average. A significant step up from Ultra, providing 31% more frame rate while retaining most visual features.
• Medium: 156 FPS average (min 133, max 180). The min FPS of 133 ensures that even demanding scenes stay above common 120 Hz refresh rates.
• Low: 204 FPS average. This is the maximum performance tier, suitable for 144 Hz or 165 Hz displays with room to spare.

2560x1440:

• Ultra: 64 FPS average. This is playable but approaches the edge of smoothness for a shooter.
• High: 85 FPS average. The sweet spot at this resolution, balancing visual quality with smooth gameplay.
• Medium: 101 FPS average (min 86, max 116). The min FPS of 86 keeps most scenes above 60 FPS, with occasional dips.
• Low: 132 FPS average. High refresh rate gaming is achievable at this setting.

3840x2160:

• Ultra: 35 FPS average. This is below the threshold for comfortable play, making Ultra impractical at 4K.
• High: 46 FPS average. Borderline playable, but frame pacing may be noticeable in action sequences.
• Medium: 54 FPS average (min 46, max 62). The min FPS of 46 means some scenes will stutter, but the average is closer to 60 FPS.
• Low: 71 FPS average. The only 4K setting that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays.

The data shows that the combo's performance envelope spans from 35 FPS at 4K Ultra to 204 FPS at 1080p Low. The Medium preset's min/max data across all resolutions indicates that frame rate variance is approximately 30-35%, which is typical for a GPU-bound title with dynamic scenes. The absence of min/max data for other presets limits deeper analysis, but the available numbers suggest stable performance without extreme frame time spikes.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 High (131 FPS) and 2560x1440 High (85 FPS) provide the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 4K, the Low preset (71 FPS) is the only setting that stays above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo achieves an average of 35 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a third-person shooter. The GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at this resolution and settings tier, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drop from 54 FPS at Medium to 35 FPS at Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more limiting for this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. This is evidenced by the consistent 65% frame rate reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings, and the fact that Low settings at 4K (71 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1080p (100 FPS) in terms of frame rate relative to visual complexity. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and ability to drive 204 FPS at 1080p Low further confirm it is not the constraint.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27425, placing it at the 72nd percentile. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (27435, deltaPct 0), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (27565, deltaPct -0.5), and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (27135, deltaPct 1.1). These differences are minimal, suggesting similar gaming performance potential.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 133 with an average of 156. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 86 with an average of 101. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 46 with an average of 54. The min FPS values are consistently about 15-20% below the averages, indicating moderate frame time variance.

Q: Does the CPU's 24-core/24-thread configuration benefit Minimum?

A: The CPU's high thread count is not directly utilized by Minimum, which is an older title from 2014. However, the strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303) ensures the primary game thread runs efficiently. The multicore capabilities (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731) provide headroom for background processes without impacting game performance.