The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror game from 2021, presents a unique stress test for the pairing of an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The data reveals a profound bottleneck, where a top-tier modern GPU is consistently held back by a 2018-era six-core processor. This analysis explores the measured frame rates, component roles, and what the numbers say about this specific configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 92.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only settings/resolution combination in the data that approaches the 90 FPS mark.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's raw performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 66,473. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66,733, which is 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 67,097, placing it 0.9% ahead of the 4090 in this specific benchmark comparison.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 a high-performing CPU relative to other processors?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 sits at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the majority of processors. However, its average benchmark score of 19,616 is nearly identical to its closest rivals, with the Intel Core i5-1345U just 0.4% higher and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U just 0.6% lower.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the difference is substantial. Low settings yield an average of 85 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 47.7 FPS. This represents a performance decrease of 37.3 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Does resolution scaling behave as expected for this combo?

A: No, the data shows an anomaly. Moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings causes the average FPS to drop from 71.1 to 57.8, a 13.3 FPS decrease. This relatively small drop, coupled with poor scaling at lower resolutions, suggests a CPU bottleneck that limits performance regardless of resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 549th out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the upper third of all configurations, though the massive GPU power suggests it could rank much higher with a more capable CPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 16,384 shading units and a massive 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 1.01 TB/s, and it boosts to 2520 MHz. These specifications place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473. In a game like The Medium, which relies on detailed environments and fixed-camera angles, this GPU should theoretically dominate.

However, the measured FPS data tells a different story. At 1080p, the RTX 4090 only manages 71.1 FPS on High settings. This is a surprisingly low figure for a card of this caliber, especially considering it scores 38,194 in the Passmark G3D benchmark. The GPU's performance appears to be heavily constrained. The difference between settings at 1080p is also revealing: Low yields 92.6 FPS, Medium drops to 76 FPS, and High falls to 71.1 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 16.6 FPS loss, but from Medium to High is only a 4.9 FPS loss. This pattern suggests that the GPU is not the primary limiting factor at lower resolutions, as it is not being fully utilized.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when examining its benchmark scores against its nearest rivals. The RTX 4090's average score is virtually tied with the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, with deltas of -0.4% and 0.9% respectively. This is unusual for a consumer flagship, as these are professional and workstation cards. It implies that in the synthetic benchmark context, the RTX 4090 is being compared on a level playing field, but in real-world gaming, its massive resources are being squandered by the system's CPU. The GPU has the horsepower to run The Medium at extreme frame rates, but the data shows it is being held back from doing so.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen+ architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores are moderate, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,186 and a single-core score of 1,579. It sits at the 77th percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable for a processor released in 2018, but it is far from the performance level required to feed an RTX 4090.

The CPU's role in The Medium becomes apparent when analyzing the resolution scaling. At High settings, the average FPS only drops from 71.1 at 1080p to 66.1 at 1440p, and then to 57.8 at 4K. This is a very shallow curve. A GPU-bound system would show a much steeper decline in FPS as resolution increases, because the GPU has to work harder to render more pixels. Here, the frame rate is relatively stable, which is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 2600 is likely hitting its limit in terms of game logic, draw calls, and physics calculations, preventing the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential.

The comparison with its nearest rivals underscores its position. The Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19,740, which is only 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19,485, which is 0.7% lower. These are all mid-range to upper-mid-range processors from different generations, indicating that the Ryzen 5 2600 is not uniquely weak, but it is simply out of its depth when paired with a flagship GPU. The data suggests that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are insufficient to keep up with the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities in The Medium, leading to the modest frame rates observed across all resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's priority for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For the smoothest experience, Low settings at 1080p provides the highest average FPS at 92.6. This is the only configuration in the data that approaches a 90 FPS target, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate displays.

For a more balanced approach, Medium settings at 1440p offers an average of 73.6 FPS. This is a significant step up in visual quality from Low, while still maintaining a playable frame rate that is above 70 FPS. At 1080p, Medium yields 76 FPS, which is also a solid choice. The step up to High settings at 1080p only provides 71.1 FPS, which is a marginal gain in quality for a 4.9 FPS loss.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend for this combination. At 1440p, it delivers 62.3 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 47.7 FPS. While these are technically playable, the performance cost is high. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K is a 10.1 FPS drop, which is a significant sacrifice for what is often a subtle increase in shadow quality and draw distance. Given the CPU bottleneck, the data suggests that settling for High or even Medium settings is the most efficient way to use this hardware, as the CPU limits the maximum frame rate regardless of the visual load on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 549th out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 67th percentile of all configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the systems tested. However, this ranking is misleading given the GPU's capabilities.

The RTX 4090 is a top-tier card, ranking in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. In a game like The Medium, which is likely more CPU-bound due to its fixed camera angles and complex scene loading, the GPU's raw power is not the deciding factor. The Ryzen 5 2600, while ranking in the 77th percentile of CPUs, is a generation behind the GPU. The data suggests that this pairing is severely unbalanced. The combo rank of 549 is likely dragged down by the CPU's inability to keep pace with the GPU. A system with a more modern, higher-performing CPU would likely see this same RTX 4090 rank significantly higher, perhaps in the top 100 or even top 50. The results show that the 4090 is being held back, and the combo's overall rank reflects this wasted potential.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across various settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 92.6 FPS
• Medium: 76 FPS
• High: 71.1 FPS
• Ultra: 62.7 FPS

The difference between Low and Ultra is 29.9 FPS, with the most significant drop occurring between Low and Medium (16.6 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 86.3 FPS
• Medium: 73.6 FPS
• High: 66.1 FPS
• Ultra: 62.3 FPS

Here, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 24 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 12.7 FPS, which is less than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 85 FPS
• Medium: 68.2 FPS
• High: 57.8 FPS
• Ultra: 47.7 FPS

The total difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 37.3 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 10.4 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline in the data.

The data shows an interesting pattern: the performance difference between Low and Medium settings shrinks as resolution increases, but the difference between Medium and High grows. This suggests that the CPU bottleneck is more pronounced at lower resolutions, while at 4K, the GPU workload becomes more significant, though still not dominant.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling for this combo is unusual and highly informative. Typically, a GPU-bound system will show a significant FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K, often halving the frame rate or more. In this case, the data shows a much more modest decline.

At High settings, the FPS drops from 71.1 at 1080p to 66.1 at 1440p (a 5 FPS drop) and then to 57.8 at 4K (a further 8.3 FPS drop). The total decrease from 1080p to 4K is 13.3 FPS, which is only an 18.7% reduction. This is a very small drop for a 4x increase in pixel count.

At Low settings, the scaling is even flatter. The FPS goes from 92.6 at 1080p to 86.3 at 1440p and then to 85 at 4K. The total drop is only 7.6 FPS, which is an 8.2% reduction. This is a clear indicator that the CPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 4090 has so much headroom that it can easily render The Medium at 4K, but the Ryzen 5 2600 cannot process the game's logic any faster.

This pattern reveals that the Ryzen 5 2600 is the primary bottleneck in this system. The GPU is being underutilized at all resolutions, and its performance is essentially capped by the CPU's frame generation limit. The data implies that upgrading the CPU would yield a massive increase in performance, particularly at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is waiting for the CPU to send it work. The RTX 4090 is effectively being wasted in this configuration, as its immense power cannot be tapped into due to the older processor's limitations.