The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 4600G with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces a distinct performance profile across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s capabilities become more relevant at 1080p. The measured FPS figures reveal a playable experience at most settings, with specific trade-offs between visual fidelity and frame rate that are quantified below.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 92, with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 106.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (score 54209), making the two effectively equal in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the best frame rate achieved at 4K in this data set?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS recorded is 97, which occurs with Low settings. The next best is 79 FPS at Medium settings.

Q: How much slower is the CPU compared to its nearest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G has an average benchmark score of 17507. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE, scores 17614, which is 0.6% higher, indicating a negligible performance difference.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are all listed in its API specifications.

Q: What is the rank of this CPU+GPU combination in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 742nd out of 3724 tested combinations in the game, placing it in the top 20% of all tested systems.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir, and built on a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This CPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593 and a single-core score of 1919, indicates a solid mid-range processor. In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, AI, and scene management, which are tasks that can benefit from its 12 threads.

Benchmark results show that the CPU’s multi-threaded performance is its strength, with a 3DMark max-thread score of 4889 and a Passmark multithread score of 15992. For a horror game like The Medium, which often involves complex scripted sequences and dynamic lighting changes, the CPU’s ability to manage these tasks without bottlenecking the GPU is critical. The data suggests that at 1080p, where the GPU is less burdened, the CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates, as evidenced by the 111 FPS average at Low settings. However, the CPU’s single-thread performance, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1460, is more modest, which could limit performance in scenarios that are heavily dependent on a single thread.

The CPU’s position relative to its peers is competitive, with its average benchmark score of 17507 placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. It sits within 0.8% of the Intel Core i3-14100T and within 0.6% of the Intel Core 7 150U, showing that it is not a performance outlier. For The Medium, the CPU is unlikely to be the primary constraint at higher resolutions, but its 6 cores and 12 threads provide enough headroom for the game’s computational demands. The L3 cache is 8 MB (shared), which is a modest amount, but it has not hindered the CPU from achieving a 71st percentile ranking in overall benchmarks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end graphics card built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using a 5 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. With 9728 shading units and 76 RT cores, the RTX 4080 is designed for demanding visual workloads, including ray-traced effects that are common in modern horror titles. Its average benchmark score of 54247 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% faster.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is dominant, as the game’s fixed camera angles and detailed environments rely heavily on fill rate and pixel processing. The GPU’s pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are substantial, allowing it to maintain high frame rates even at 4K. The data confirms this, as the RTX 4080 achieves an average of 79 FPS at 4K with Medium settings. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is ample for the game’s textures, and its memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s ensures that data can be fed to the cores quickly. The RTX 4080’s performance relative to its rivals is tight, with the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X being only 1.1% slower and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB being 2.6% slower, indicating that the RTX 4080 is not an outlier but rather a consistent high performer.

The GPU’s strength is evident in the scaling of frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 68, while at 4K with Ultra settings, it drops to 45. This 34% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K is expected, but the absolute numbers show that the RTX 4080 can handle the game’s most demanding settings, albeit not at a smooth 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with the game’s rendering features, and its 304 tensor cores can be leveraged for DLSS, though the measured data does not include DLSS-specific results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 and Ryzen 5 4600G combination delivers high frame rates across the board. Low settings yield an average of 111 FPS, Medium settings produce 92 FPS (minimum 79, maximum 106), High settings drop to 82 FPS, and Ultra settings reduce the average to 68 FPS. The data shows that at 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 100 FPS only at Low settings, but remains comfortably above 60 FPS even at Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales downward as expected. Low settings average 105 FPS, Medium settings average 87 FPS (minimum 74, maximum 100), High settings average 72 FPS, and Ultra settings average 57 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at High settings, where the average FPS falls from 82 to 72, a 12% reduction. At Medium settings, the reduction is 5 FPS, from 92 to 87, showing that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is sufficient to mitigate some of the resolution impact.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low settings average 97 FPS, which is surprisingly high, while Medium settings average 79 FPS (minimum 67, maximum 91). High settings drop to 57 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 45 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 18 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant visual effects that impact performance. The minimum FPS of 67 at 4K Medium is notable, as it suggests that the frame rate is relatively stable, with a narrow range between the minimum and maximum. This is in contrast to the 1080p Medium result, where the range is 27 FPS (79 to 106), indicating more variability at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 742nd out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the combo in the top 20% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s mid-range positioning. The rank reflects the GPU’s dominance in this pairing, as the RTX 4080’s high benchmark score (86th percentile) compensates for the CPU’s more modest performance (71st percentile). The data suggests that in a game like The Medium, where the GPU is the primary driver of visual quality, the CPU does not significantly hinder the overall experience.

The combo’s rank is not surprising when considering the GPU’s nearest rivals. The RTX 4080 is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER, meaning that swapping in the SUPER variant would likely not change the rank significantly. Similarly, the CPU’s position among its rivals is tight, with the Ryzen 5 4600G being only 0.6% slower than the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE and 0.8% faster than the Intel Core i3-14100T. This indicates that the combo’s rank is primarily determined by the GPU, and that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. However, at 1080p, where the CPU has more influence, the rank could be slightly lower than at 4K, but the overall position of 742nd shows a balanced system that can handle the game’s demands.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium settings produce an average of 92 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum of 79 FPS ensures that there are no significant dips during gameplay. At 1440p, Medium settings average 87 FPS, maintaining a high level of fluidity. At 4K, Medium settings average 79 FPS, which is the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, as the High preset drops to 57 FPS and Ultra falls to 45 FPS.

For players prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, Low settings are recommended. At 1080p, Low settings achieve 111 FPS, at 1440p they achieve 105 FPS, and at 4K they achieve 97 FPS. These numbers are all above 90 FPS, providing a very responsive experience. However, the Low preset likely sacrifices significant visual details, which may detract from the horror atmosphere. The High preset is a middle ground, but the data shows it is less efficient than Medium. At 1080p, High settings are 10 FPS slower than Medium (82 vs 92), and at 4K, High settings are 22 FPS slower (57 vs 79). This suggests that the High preset introduces effects that are disproportionately costly.

Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the average FPS is 68. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 57 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 45 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. Therefore, the recommended preset is Medium for all resolutions, as it provides the best frame rate while maintaining a high level of visual quality. The data shows that Medium settings at 4K (79 FPS) are actually faster than Ultra settings at 1440p (57 FPS), highlighting the efficiency of the Medium preset.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system’s behavior under increasing GPU load. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 111 at 1080p to 97 at 4K, a reduction of 12.6%. This relatively small drop indicates that at Low settings, the system is not fully GPU-bound, and the CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates. In contrast, at Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 68 at 1080p to 45 at 4K, a reduction of 33.8%. This larger drop suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the limiting component, and the resolution increase places significant strain on the graphics card.

The Medium preset shows a reduction from 92 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 4K, a 14.1% drop. This is a moderate decrease, indicating that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is sufficient to handle the increased pixel count without a massive performance penalty. The High preset shows a reduction from 82 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 4K, a 30.5% drop, which is more pronounced. This suggests that the High preset includes effects that are particularly sensitive to resolution, such as advanced shading or post-processing.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU has a more significant role, as evidenced by the smaller performance gap between Low and Ultra settings (111 FPS vs 68 FPS, a 38.7% difference). At 4K, the gap widens (97 FPS vs 45 FPS, a 53.6% difference), showing that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (67) is higher than the minimum at 1080p Medium (79), which is counterintuitive but suggests that the frame pacing is more consistent at higher resolutions due to the GPU being fully utilized. Overall, the scaling analysis shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p and 4K gaming, where the GPU’s power is fully leveraged, and that the CPU is not a limiting factor until lower resolutions are used.