The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER lands at rank 354 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations. This is a curious result, as the pairing combines a mid-range, older 7nm Zen 2 processor with an end-of-life flagship-tier GPU from the Ada Lovelace generation. The data suggests this combo is not bottlenecked in a traditional sense, but rather that the game's engine and the CPU's single-threaded performance create a ceiling that the GPU cannot fully overcome at lower resolutions. The ranking is respectable, though the gap between this combo and the top-tier configurations is likely more attributable to CPU limitations than GPU shortfalls.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at 354 out of 1689 is a strong showing, but the data reveals a nuanced story. The RTX 4080 SUPER is in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53610, putting it slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 0.2% and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 0.4%. In contrast, the Ryzen 5 4600G sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17489, which is statistically tied with the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (0.1% delta). This means the CPU is a mid-pack performer, while the GPU is a top-tier part. In a game like The Medium, which is known for its fixed camera angles and heavy post-processing, the data indicates that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game's logic, but the processor's single-thread score of 726 in 3DMark and 1919 in Cinebench R23 suggest it may struggle to feed the GPU at high frame rates. The result is a combo that performs admirably at 4K where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, but the rank is held back by the CPU's inability to push beyond a certain frame rate threshold at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo compare to the GPU's closest rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 53610 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M. However, the combo's rank in The Medium depends on the CPU, which is nearly identical in score to the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (0% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (0.1% delta).

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 113.9 FPS, but at High settings, it drops to 83.7 FPS. The GPU is powerful enough to render frames quickly, but the CPU's single-thread performance (726 in 3DMark single-thread) limits the maximum frame rate, especially when the GPU is not fully loaded at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in terms of frame rate stability?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves 86 FPS, which is a balanced point. At 3840x2160 with High settings, it drops to 57.2 FPS, which is still playable but shows the GPU is now the limiting factor. The 1440p Medium setting appears to be the sweet spot for a smooth experience.

Q: Does the GPU's memory capacity affect performance in this game?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 256-bit bus and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth. This is more than enough for The Medium, which was released in 2021. The data shows that the frame rate drops from 99.1 FPS at 4K Low to 43.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that memory bandwidth is not the issue; rather, the GPU's compute load is what scales with settings.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threading performance impact the game?

A: The Ryzen 5 4600G has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593. The Medium is not a highly multi-threaded game, so the CPU's 12 threads are sufficient. The data shows that the FPS difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p is only 24.4 FPS (from 113.9 to 89.5), which is more about GPU load than CPU threading.

Q: Is this a good pairing for 4K gaming?

A: Yes, for this specific game. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo achieves 57.2 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. At Medium settings, it reaches 76.6 FPS. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking and 16 GB of VRAM make it well-suited for 4K, but the CPU's limitations are less impactful at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, but the scaling is not uniform. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the frame rate drops from 83.7 FPS to 70.1 FPS, a 16.2% decrease. From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High settings, the drop is from 70.1 FPS to 57.2 FPS, a further 18.4% decrease. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck at higher resolutions, but the CPU is still relevant. At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic: 113.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 106.2 FPS at 1440p (a 6.8% decrease) and then to 99.1 FPS at 4K (a 6.7% decrease). This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, and as the resolution increases, the GPU load increases, but the CPU still holds the frame rate back from reaching its full potential. The data implies that this game is heavily dependent on the CPU's single-thread performance, as the RTX 4080 SUPER is capable of much higher frame rates if the CPU could deliver frames faster.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 113.9 FPS on Low, 89.5 FPS on Medium, 83.7 FPS on High, and 70.1 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is a 24.4 FPS drop, which is significant, but the drop from Medium to High is only 5.8 FPS, suggesting a diminishing return on GPU load. At 2560x1440, the numbers are 106.2 FPS on Low, 86 FPS on Medium, 70.1 FPS on High, and 56 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 20.2 FPS, and from Medium to High is 15.9 FPS, showing that the GPU is now more stressed. At 3840x2160, the results are 99.1 FPS on Low, 76.6 FPS on Medium, 57.2 FPS on High, and 43.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 22.5 FPS, from Medium to High is 19.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 14.1 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 43.1 FPS is the only one below 50 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings at 4K are not playable on this combo. The data shows that the CPU's impact is most pronounced at 1080p, where the frame rates are high but not as high as one would expect from a GPU with a 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 throughput.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a formidable GPU, with 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz are high, and its memory system consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus with 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In The Medium, the GPU's role is to handle the game's complex rendering, including ray-traced effects and high-resolution textures. The data shows that at 4K High, the combo hits 57.2 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the 56 FPS drop from Low to Ultra settings (99.1 FPS to 43.1 FPS). The GPU's 88th percentile ranking and its performance relative to the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (0.2% higher score) suggest it is more than capable of handling this game. However, the GPU's power is somewhat constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions, as the frame rates at 1080p do not scale as much as the GPU's capability would suggest. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for The Medium, which was released in 2021 and does not require more than 8 GB even at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir, built on a 7nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, and it can boost to 4.20 GHz. The CPU has 8 MB of shared L3 cache, which is modest by modern standards. In The Medium, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, AI, and physics, but the game's engine is not heavily multi-threaded. The CPU's single-thread performance is its weak point, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 726 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919. This is reflected in the frame rates: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 113.9 FPS, but this is likely limited by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls. The CPU's multicore performance is better, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593, but this does not translate to higher frame rates in this game. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking and its near-identical score to the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE (0% delta) suggest that it is a mid-range processor that is not the ideal pairing for a top-tier GPU. The data indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rates do not increase as much as one would expect when lowering settings, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the CPU's performance is sufficient.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, yielding 86 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while maintaining visual quality. At 1080p, the High preset at 83.7 FPS is also viable, but the Medium preset at 89.5 FPS offers a better balance. At 4K, the High preset at 57.2 FPS is the highest playable setting, but it is borderline. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 43.1 FPS, which is not ideal for a game with a tense atmosphere where frame timing matters. The Low preset at 1080p (113.9 FPS) is unnecessary, as the GPU is not the bottleneck. The data suggests that the sweet spot is 1440p Medium, as it avoids the CPU bottleneck at 1080p and the GPU bottleneck at 4K Ultra. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, 4K High at 57.2 FPS is acceptable, but the 1440p Medium setting provides a more consistent experience.