Minimum

Minimum runs on the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 880M combination with results that clearly illustrate the boundaries of this mobile platform. The benchmark data shows a system that is capable at standard resolutions but struggles to maintain playable frame rates as pixel counts climb, with the integrated GPU becoming the primary limiting factor in nearly every scenario tested.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance penalty as resolution increases, which is typical for a system where the graphics processor is the dominant bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers average frame rates ranging from 39 FPS on Ultra settings to 79 FPS on Low. Moving to 2560x1440 drops those figures to 25 FPS on Ultra and 51 FPS on Low, representing a reduction of approximately 36% and 35% respectively. The jump to 3840x2160 is even more punishing, with the Ultra preset falling to 14 FPS and the Low preset reaching only 28 FPS, which is a 64% drop from the 1080p Low result.

This scaling pattern suggests that the AMD Radeon 880M is the limiting component for this workload. The frame rate reductions from 1080p to 1440p are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count, and the further decline at 4K shows the GPU running out of headroom entirely. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power for a game released in 2014, so the data points strongly toward the integrated graphics being saturated before the processor reaches its limits.

The performance gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution, which is another indicator of GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 40 FPS, while at 1440p it is 26 FPS, and at 4K it narrows to 14 FPS. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions means that even dropping to the lowest preset cannot compensate for the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K, confirming that the Radeon 880M's rendering capabilities are the deciding factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 880M is an integrated graphics solution based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, and it shows its limits in this title. The GPU operates with a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, and it features 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 16 raster operation units. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the bandwidth is system dependent, which can create additional bottlenecks in texture-heavy scenes.

In Minimum, the measured frame rates at 1080p are the only ones that approach a consistently playable experience across all settings. The GPU manages 79 FPS on Low, 61 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 39 FPS on Ultra at this resolution. The results at 1440p show the GPU struggling, with 51 FPS on Low being the only result above 40 FPS, and the 4K results are largely unplayable, with even the Low preset only reaching 28 FPS.

The synthetic benchmark scores for this GPU place it in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8436. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce MX330 with a deltaPct of -0.3%, indicating that the Radeon 880M sits in a performance class that is several generations behind dedicated desktop solutions. The FP32 performance of 4.454 TFLOPS and the pixel rate of 46.40 GPixel/s are modest figures, and the 12 ray tracing cores do little to help in this older title that does not utilize such features.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware combination?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets produce an average frame rate above 39 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset reaches 51 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only manages 28 FPS, making 1080p the clear choice for playable performance.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The average frame rate drops by 36% on Low settings, from 79 FPS to 51 FPS, and by 35% on High settings, from 51 FPS to 33 FPS. The percentage loss is similar across settings, indicating a consistent scaling penalty.

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

A: The benchmark results indicate the AMD Radeon 880M is the limiting component. The frame rates scale almost directly with resolution changes, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, while the 16-core Intel processor has sufficient headroom for this workload.

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

A: No, the measured data shows that 4K resolution produces unplayable frame rates. The best result at 3840x2160 is 28 FPS on Low settings, with Medium at 21 FPS, High at 18 FPS, and Ultra at 14 FPS, all below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Radeon 880M compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 8436 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX, which has a deltaPct of 0.1%, and the NVIDIA GeForce MX330, which has a deltaPct of -0.3%. This places it in a performance tier that is several generations old.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the measured minimum FPS is 52 and the maximum is 70, with an average of 61 FPS. This shows a relatively stable frame rate with a spread of 18 FPS between minimum and maximum.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS, which is the most balanced option for smooth gameplay. The High preset at the same resolution drops to 51 FPS average, which is still playable but offers less headroom for demanding scenes, while the Low preset reaches 79 FPS but sacrifices visual quality.

For users who prioritize frame rate stability, the Medium preset at 1080p is the recommended choice, as it maintains a minimum above 50 FPS and provides a significant visual upgrade over Low. The Ultra preset at 1080p, with an average of 39 FPS, is borderline playable but may suffer from noticeable stuttering in action sequences, making it less ideal for a third-person shooter where responsiveness matters.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests that only the Low preset, with 51 FPS average, is worth considering, and even then, the margin for error is slim. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 39 FPS average with a minimum of 33 FPS, which is likely too inconsistent for competitive play. At 3840x2160, none of the presets produce acceptable results, with the best being Low at 28 FPS, so this resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations for Minimum, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 880M ranks 2866 out of 2939 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 2.5% of all systems tested for this game, which is a poor result that reflects the integrated GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities.

The low ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that the system cannot achieve high frame rates even at 1080p on lower settings. The combination of a high-end mobile processor with an integrated graphics unit creates a significant imbalance for gaming, where the GPU is unable to utilize the CPU's full potential in a graphics-intensive workload like Minimum.

The CPU itself, when compared to its nearest rivals, performs well in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D at 44573 (deltaPct of -0.2%) and the Intel Core i9-13950HX at 44342 (deltaPct of 0.3%). This indicates that the processor is not the bottleneck, but the overall combo ranking shows that the GPU drags the system down to a position near the bottom of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is the highest result across all tested configurations. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS, showing good frame time consistency. The High preset averages 51 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 39 FPS, with no minimum or maximum values recorded for these settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is the only result above 40 FPS at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. The High preset averages 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS, showing a steady decline as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 28 FPS, the Medium preset averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS, the High preset averages 18 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 14 FPS. None of these results are playable for a third-person shooter, as they all fall below the 30 FPS threshold for acceptable motion smoothness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 3, based on the Panther Lake architecture and built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 25 watts. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, providing ample data storage for game logic and physics calculations.

In Minimum, the CPU is not the limiting factor based on the benchmark data. The processor's synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18911 and a single-core score of 2200.5, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D with a deltaPct of -0.2% and the Intel Core i9-13950HX with a deltaPct of 0.3%, showing that the CPU is competitive with high-end desktop parts from a few generations ago.

The PassMark multithread score of 36811 and single-thread score of 4280 further indicate that the CPU has ample processing power for a game released in 2014. The frame rates in Minimum are consistently limited by the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling pattern, so the CPU's role is primarily to feed the integrated graphics with draw calls and game state data, which it can do without bottlenecking the system. The memory bandwidth of 153.6 GB/s for LPDDR5X is also shared with the GPU, which can create some contention but does not appear to be the primary constraint based on the measured results.