The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a combo that ranks 3394 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the pairing in the lower percentile of tested systems, indicating that it will struggle to deliver high frame rates at demanding settings. The data shows a configuration that is fundamentally oriented towards 1080p gaming at lower presets, with performance dropping off sharply as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

How This Combo Ranks

Benchmark results indicate that this particular CPU-GPU pairing sits in the 9th percentile of all tested combos for The Medium, with a rank of 3394 out of 3724. This is a clear signal that the system is not designed for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gameplay in this title. The ranking reflects a hardware combination that can achieve playable frame rates only when the graphical load is kept low.

The CPU itself is a mid-range part, ranking in the 71st percentile against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 17507 places it in close competition with the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, which scores 17482, a negligible delta of 0.1%. It also trades blows with the Intel Core 7 150U, which scores 17395 (0.6% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE, which scores 17614 (0.6% faster). This suggests the processor is not the primary bottleneck for this pairing, as its performance is competitive with other mid-range options.

The GPU, however, is a different story. The Radeon RX 580 ranks in the 53rd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, 0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, 0.4% faster), and the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% slower). While the GPU is not at the very bottom of the barrel, its performance is clearly the limiting factor for this combo in The Medium, as the game's demands outpace its capabilities at higher settings. The combination of a mid-range CPU and a lower-mid-range GPU results in the overall low ranking for the system.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 1080p with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average FPS of 49 on Low settings, which is playable. On Medium, the average drops to 31 FPS, which is borderline, and on High it falls to 22 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data clearly indicates that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution for this hardware. At 2560x1440, all settings produce average frame rates below 41 FPS, and at 3840x2160, the system is effectively unplayable, with average FPS ranging from 11 to 32.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 4600G is very closely matched with its nearest rivals. It is 0.1% faster than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE and 0.6% faster than the Intel Core 7 150U. It is 0.6% slower than the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE and 0.8% slower than the Intel Core i3-14100T.

Q: Is the GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes. The benchmark results show that the Radeon RX 580's performance is the limiting factor. While the CPU ranks in the 71st percentile, the GPU ranks in the 53rd percentile. The sharp drop in FPS when moving from Low to High settings at any resolution indicates a GPU-bound scenario.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is substantial. The system achieves an average of 49 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 31 FPS on Medium, then 22 FPS on High, and finally to 17 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 65% reduction in average frame rate from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the 8 GB of VRAM on the GPU sufficient for this game?

A: While the GPU has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, the measured FPS suggests that the memory capacity is not the primary issue. The core processing power of the Polaris 20 chip is insufficient for higher settings, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops at 4K, where the system averages only 11 FPS on Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of what settings are playable for this hardware. The only preset that consistently delivers an average frame rate above 45 FPS is Low at 1080p, which achieves an average of 49 FPS. This is the only configuration where the system can maintain a smooth experience without significant stuttering. While Medium at 1080p produces an average of 31 FPS, this is below the generally accepted threshold for a comfortable experience in a horror title, where consistent frame pacing is important.

At higher resolutions, the situation worsens. At 1440p, even Low settings only achieve an average of 41 FPS, and at 4K, the system averages just 32 FPS on Low. Given that the game is a slow-paced horror title, some players might tolerate the 31 FPS average on Medium at 1080p, but the data suggests that Low is the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience. For a balance between visual quality and performance, Medium at 1080p is the maximum viable option, though it comes with a noticeable compromise in smoothness. The 26 FPS minimum on Medium at 1080p indicates potential for noticeable dips during intense scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 49 FPS on Low, 31 FPS on Medium, 22 FPS on High, and 17 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 26 and a maximum of 35, indicating some variance in frame times. This is the only resolution where the system approaches playable frame rates on any setting other than Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. The system averages 41 FPS on Low, 26 FPS on Medium, 18 FPS on High, and 15 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS. This resolution is only viable on Low, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal for a smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the system is largely unplayable. The averages are 32 FPS on Low, 20 FPS on Medium, 14 FPS on High, and 11 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 17 FPS and a maximum of 23 FPS. This resolution is only usable for screenshots or very undemanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a predictable and steep drop-off as resolution increases. At Low settings, the system averages 49 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 16% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 35% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 31 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K, representing a 16% and 35% drop, respectively.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The consistent percentage drops across all settings suggest that the system is not CPU-bound, as a CPU bottleneck would show less variation with resolution changes. The fact that performance degrades so sharply at higher resolutions points to the Radeon RX 580's rendering capabilities being the main constraint. The Ryzen 5 4600G, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is able to feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but the GPU simply cannot handle the increased pixel count at 1440p and 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593 and a single-core score of 1919. This indicates that the CPU has sufficient processing power for gaming, as most titles, including The Medium, do not require extensive multi-core scaling.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent, which typically indicates a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would be similar across resolutions. The 71st percentile ranking against all CPUs further supports this, showing that the processor is more than capable of keeping up with the demands of the game. The CPU's 8 MB of shared L3 cache and 12 threads provide enough headroom to handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary determinant of this system's performance in The Medium. With a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, the Polaris 20 chip offers 2304 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory bandwidth is rated at 256.0 GB/s, which is adequate for the game's textures at lower settings but becomes insufficient as texture quality increases. The GPU's FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, which is low by modern standards and explains its 53rd percentile ranking.

The benchmark results show that the GPU is the clear bottleneck. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is a 65% drop in average FPS (49 to 17). This dramatic fall-off indicates that the GPU's core processing power and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the higher graphical demands. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, but the rendering pipeline struggles with the game's complex lighting and effects at higher presets. The fact that the system cannot maintain a playable frame rate at 1440p on any setting other than Low confirms that the Radeon RX 580 is the limiting component, and its 185 W TDP reflects the high power draw required to achieve even these modest results.