Minimum

Minimum, the 2014 third-person shooter, shows a striking performance profile on the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile combo. The data indicates a system that is overwhelmingly capable, delivering high frame rates even at the most demanding settings, though the scaling patterns reveal a clear hierarchy between CPU and GPU limitations depending on the resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile secures a rank of 834 out of 3712 tested combos for this game. This places the system in the top 22.5% of all configurations, a strong showing that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The CPU, in particular, is a powerhouse, with an average benchmark score of 44466, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are a tight cluster: the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D scores 44573, a mere 0.2% higher, while the Intel Core i9-13950HX trails by 0.3% with a score of 44342. The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 and Intel Core i5-13600 are also within 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively, showing that the Ultra X9 388H is competitive with the best desktop and mobile chips in raw compute.

The GPU, while not as dominant in its percentile ranking, is still a formidable part. The RTX 4090 Mobile scores an average of 43667, placing it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, is 0.9% ahead, while the Quadro M6000 and RTX 5050 Mobile are 0.8% and 0.9% behind, respectively. This suggests the GPU is a top-tier part, though the CPU is the more exceptional component relative to its peers. In the context of Minimum, this rank is not just about raw power; it is about the balance. The 834th rank out of 3712 indicates that while many systems can run the game, this specific combo does so with a level of headroom that few others can match, particularly at high resolutions where the GPU's capabilities are fully utilized.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across different presets provides a clear guide for the optimal experience. At 1920x1080, the game is entirely CPU-bound, with even the Ultra preset achieving 137 FPS. The Low preset reaches 280 FPS, and Medium hits 214 FPS, showing that the RTX 4090 Mobile is far from being a bottleneck at this resolution. The data suggests that players with high refresh rate 1080p monitors can comfortably use the Ultra preset, as the 137 FPS average is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the jump to High at 180 FPS offers diminishing returns unless chasing maximum frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The Ultra preset delivers 88 FPS, which is excellent for a high-resolution experience, but the High preset at 116 FPS provides a more significant performance buffer. The Medium preset at 138 FPS is also a viable option for those who prioritize frame rate above all else. For a 1440p monitor with a 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rate, the High preset is the sweet spot, offering a 32% increase over Ultra while maintaining visual fidelity that is likely indistinguishable in fast-paced action. The Low preset at 180 FPS is unnecessary unless the player is a competitive esports enthusiast.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target. The High preset at 62 FPS is the minimum recommended for a playable 4K experience, and the Medium preset at 74 FPS is a strong alternative that provides a better margin for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 97 FPS is the best choice for those who want to maximize frame rate at 4K, but it sacrifices visual quality. The data indicates that for the best balance of visual quality and performance at 4K, the Medium preset is the optimal choice, as it sits comfortably above 60 FPS while retaining most of the graphical features.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the classic relationship between CPU and GPU load. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 137 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the same preset drops to 88 FPS, a reduction of 36%. This is a significant drop, but it is not as severe as the next step. From 1440p to 4K, the Ultra preset falls from 88 FPS to 48 FPS, a further reduction of 45%. This pattern is indicative of the GPU becoming progressively more stressed as the pixel count increases.

At the High preset, the scaling is smoother. The 1080p score of 180 FPS drops to 116 FPS at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then to 62 FPS at 4K, a 47% reduction from 1440p. This shows that even at High settings, the RTX 4090 Mobile is the primary limiter at 4K. However, at the Low preset, the trend is different. The 1080p score of 280 FPS drops to 180 FPS at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then to 97 FPS at 4K, a 46% reduction. The consistent percentage drops across all presets suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at all resolutions, but the GPU's raw throughput is what dictates the final frame rate.

The data strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU at 4K. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 16 threads, has ample headroom to process game logic and draw calls, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The RTX 4090 Mobile, while powerful, is simply overwhelmed by the 8.3 million pixels at 4K. This is a typical scenario for a high-end mobile GPU, which has to balance power consumption with performance. The 120W TDP of the GPU is a clear constraint, and the scaling data confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for 1080p gaming in Minimum?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 137 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 280 FPS. The CPU and GPU are so fast that the game is likely CPU-bound, and the GPU is never fully utilized. Players with 1080p monitors can easily max out the settings and still have massive performance headroom.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 116 FPS, which is close to a 120Hz refresh rate but not quite enough for 144Hz. The Medium preset at 138 FPS is a better match for a 144Hz display, providing a 19% higher frame rate than High. For a 120Hz monitor, High is the ideal choice.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but not at the highest settings. At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves 62 FPS, and the Medium preset achieves 74 FPS. The Ultra preset falls short at 48 FPS. To maintain a stable 60 FPS, users should select the High or Medium preset.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44466, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D's score of 44573. It outperforms the Intel Core i9-13950HX by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 by 0.4%. The differences are minimal, indicating near-parity with the top competitors.

Q: What does the 84th percentile GPU ranking mean for this game?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile's 84th percentile ranking indicates it is better than most GPUs, but not the absolute best. In Minimum, this translates to excellent performance, but it is the limiting factor at 4K, where the Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS. The GPU's performance is the reason why 4K gaming requires lower settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data shows that the CPU is more than sufficient, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K, where the frame rate drops significantly. For this game, the GPU is the more critical component for high-resolution play.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the driving force behind this combo's high-resolution performance. It features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines, all operating on the Ada Lovelace architecture. The GPU has a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, which is modest for a flagship part, but it is constrained by its 120W TDP. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 576.0 GB/s, which is ample for the textures and geometry in Minimum.

The GPU's raw compute power is substantial, with an FP32 performance of 32.98 TFLOPS. This is reflected in its benchmark scores, including a Passmark G3D score of 27212 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 180831. These scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.9% higher) and the Quadro M6000 (0.8% lower). In Minimum, the GPU's role is clear: it is the primary determinant of frame rates at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the GPU is often idle, as the CPU can provide more frames than the display can show. However, at 4K, the GPU's limitations become apparent, with the Ultra preset dropping to 48 FPS.

The RTX 4090 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring full compatibility with modern rendering techniques. Its 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in a 2014 game like Minimum, but they contribute to the GPU's overall efficiency. The 189.8 GPixel/s pixel rate and 515.3 GTexel/s texture rate are more than enough for the game's visual effects. The data suggests that the GPU is a high-end part that excels in most scenarios, but it is not a desktop-class 4090, and its mobile power envelope means it cannot sustain the highest frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a mobile powerhouse that provides the computational foundation for this combo. It has 16 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This is a high clock speed for a mobile chip, and it is built on Intel's 3nm process node, which contributes to its efficiency. The CPU has a 25W TDP, which is low for a 16-core part, but the boost clock of 5.10 GHz suggests it can draw more power when needed. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a substantial amount for gaming.

The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18911 and a single-core score of 2200.5. The Passmark multithread score is 36811, and the single-thread score is 4280. These scores place the CPU in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 44466 is nearly identical to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which scores 44573. The CPU's performance reflects the Panther Lake architecture, and it is more than capable of handling the physics and AI calculations in Minimum.

In this game, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. At 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rates of 280 FPS at Low settings indicate that the CPU can process the game logic faster than the GPU can render frames. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU continues to provide a steady stream of draw calls, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU is not a hindrance at any resolution, and its high single-thread performance is particularly important for a game from 2014, which may not be optimized for many cores. The 16 threads provide future-proofing and ensure smooth performance even in the most chaotic scenes.