The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination places 1368th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, positioning it in the lower portion of the database. This rank indicates that while the combo is fully capable of running the game, it sits well behind the majority of systems tested, with a significant portion of the field delivering higher average frame rates. The benchmark results show a system that is heavily dependent on settings and resolution, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher visual loads. The data suggests a pairing that can deliver smooth performance at lower presets, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates when the game’s graphical demands are maxed out.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1368 out of 1689 places it in the 19th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly 81% of configurations outperform it in The Medium. This is a low standing that reflects the hardware’s mid-range positioning, but the actual playability depends entirely on the chosen settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 84.9 FPS, which would be considered smooth, yet at 4K Ultra, it drops to just 19.2 FPS, which is largely unplayable. The rank is an aggregate measure, and the spread between the best and worst results is substantial, showing that this system’s performance is highly variable. When compared to the CPU’s own benchmark standing, the Ryzen 5 5500 sits at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, and the RX 6600 at the 69th percentile among GPUs, yet the game-specific combo rank is lower, indicating that The Medium’s demands are particularly heavy on the combined system. The data shows that this is not a top-tier setup, but it is not a weak one either; it is a configuration that requires careful tuning to hit acceptable frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth is a defining factor. The GPU’s base clock is 1626 MHz, with a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz, and these clocks directly influence the frame rates seen in the measured data. At 1080p Low, the GPU is able to push 84.9 FPS, but as the resolution and settings increase, the load on the GPU grows, and the frame rate falls off sharply. The RX 6600’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are the physical resources that handle the rendering, and the benchmark results indicate that they are sufficient for lower-end presets but are overwhelmed by Ultra settings at higher resolutions. The GPU’s performance is the limiting factor in this combo; the CPU is capable of feeding it, but the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates when the pixel count and visual fidelity are raised. The 4K High result of 24.5 FPS and the 4K Ultra result of 19.2 FPS show that the GPU is the clear bottleneck at that resolution, as the frame rate drops are more severe than what a CPU limitation would typically cause.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 84.9 at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the only configuration that approaches high refresh rate territory.

Q: Can this system handle 4K resolution in The Medium?

A: At 3840x2160, the best result is 57.7 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 38.1 on Medium, 24.5 on High, and 19.2 on Ultra, indicating that 4K is only viable on the lowest preset.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 20875, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12500’s 20897, showing a delta of -0.1%.

Q: Is the GPU’s memory bandwidth a limiting factor?

A: The RX 6600 has 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth on a 128-bit bus, and the data suggests this is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the frame rate drops at 4K indicate that the overall GPU throughput, not just bandwidth, is the constraint.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 68.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 24.4 FPS, a difference of 44 FPS, showing the massive impact of graphical settings.

Q: Does the combo rank improve at lower resolutions?

A: The combo rank is a single value, but the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system is more competitive, while at 4K Ultra, it falls to the bottom of the pack.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a clear progression: Low settings produce 84.9 FPS, Medium produces 52.6 FPS, High produces 34.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 30.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 32.3 FPS drop, which is significant, but the drop from Medium to High is another 18 FPS, and from High to Ultra only 3.8 FPS, indicating a plateau at the higher settings. At 2560x1440, the results are 68.4 FPS on Low, 42.4 on Medium, 33 on High, and 24.4 on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium here is 26 FPS, and the scaling is more consistent across the board. At 3840x2160, the performance collapses: Low yields 57.7 FPS, Medium yields 38.1, High yields 24.5, and Ultra yields 19.2. The 4K Low result is still playable, but the Medium result is borderline, and anything above that is not smooth. The data shows that the system’s sweet spot is 1080p Low to Medium, where it can maintain over 50 FPS, but at 1440p and above, users must be selective with settings to avoid sub-30 FPS results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the system goes from 84.9 FPS at 1080p to 57.7 FPS at 4K, a drop of 27.2 FPS or roughly 32%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 52.6 FPS to 38.1 FPS, a 14.5 FPS reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 34.6 FPS to 24.5 FPS, and at Ultra, it is from 30.8 FPS to 19.2 FPS. The percentage drop is most severe at the lower settings, but the absolute FPS loss is more significant at the higher settings. This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing the resolution directly increases the pixel count and the load on the GPU’s shading units and ROPs. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal; if the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain more consistent across resolutions. The data strongly suggests that the RX 6600 is the component that determines the playability ceiling, and the CPU has headroom to spare.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and support for DDR4 memory are standard for its class, and its benchmark scores show it is a capable mid-range CPU. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and single-core score of 2319 indicate that the CPU is not a weak link for The Medium, which is a game that relies more on GPU performance. The CPU’s 3DMark scores, such as 5411 for max threads and 836 for single thread, further confirm its adequacy. In this combo, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the measured FPS data suggests it does so without becoming a bottleneck, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is less stressed. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 20875 places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12500, showing that it is a competitive performer. However, the combo’s low rank in The Medium is not due to the CPU; it is the GPU that holds the system back, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops at higher resolutions and settings that are characteristic of a GPU limit.