The Medium

The Medium, a horror game released on 2021-01-27, presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT pairing. Measured data places this combination at rank 1185 out of 1689 tested configurations, a position that reflects a mid-to-low standing in the database. The following analysis examines the GPU and CPU contributions, the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, and how this combo compares to its nearest rivals.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 1185 out of 1689 tested combinations.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: Its average benchmark score is 27985, with a delta of +0.1% against the GTX 980 Ti, +0.4% against the R9 M395X, -0.9% against the RTX 3070, and -1.5% against the FirePro S7150.

Q: What are the CPU's core and clock specifications?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz.

Q: What is the highest measured FPS in the dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 92, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest measured FPS?

A: The lowest average FPS is 20.3, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RX 6600 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process and a die size of 237 mm². Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the measured FPS in The Medium shows that 4K resolution pushes the GPU to its limits. The base clock of 1968 MHz, game clock of 2359 MHz, and boost clock of 2589 MHz drive the rendering pipeline, which includes 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 32 ray-tracing cores. The GPU's average benchmark score is 27985, placing it in the 71st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals—the GTX 980 Ti, R9 M395X, RTX 3070, and FirePro S7150—are all within a 1.5% delta, indicating a tight performance cluster.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is dominant. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS falls to 20.3, while at 1920x1080 with Low settings it reaches 92. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern of heavy load: at 1080p, the average FPS drops from 92 to 33.3; at 1440p, from 77.6 to 25.3; and at 4K, from 59.8 to 20.3. These numbers suggest that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints at higher resolutions and quality presets. The 8 GB VRAM is not a bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is insufficient for the game's most demanding settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RX 6600 XT ranks 1185 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This means 1184 configurations deliver higher average FPS, placing this pairing in the lower third of the database. The CPU and GPU individually have percentiles of 79 and 71, respectively, yet the combo's rank is lower than either component's percentile would suggest. This discrepancy points to the game being heavily GPU-bound; the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor, but the GPU's capabilities at higher resolutions and settings drag the overall result down.

The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-12500, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE, AMD EPYC 7J13, and Intel Core i5-12600T—all have average benchmark scores within 0.2% of the Ryzen 5 5500, so the CPU is not a differentiator in this comparison. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 1.5% delta, meaning the RX 6600 XT is not an outlier. The combo's rank is therefore a function of the specific demands of The Medium, which appears to favor higher-end GPUs more than the CPU. The data is measured, not estimated, adding confidence to the ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the average FPS for each resolution and settings combination:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 30.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 59.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 37 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 20.3 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 36.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 77.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 51 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 25.3 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 39.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 92 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 57.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 33.3 |

At 1080p, the game is playable even at Ultra with 33.3 FPS, while Low delivers a smooth 92. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 25.3, and at 4K, only Low reaches 59.8, with Ultra falling to 20.3. The pattern is clear: the GPU's performance degrades sharply as resolution and settings increase. The absence of min and max FPS values means only averages are available, but the trend is consistent across all three resolutions. The Medium is a demanding title, and this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p with medium-to-high settings, rather than 4K or ultra presets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne) on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 16 MB of L3 cache. Its average benchmark score is 20875, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. In Cinebench R23, it scores 16429 in multi-core and 2319 in single-core, while 3DMark results show 836 in single-thread and 5411 in max-thread tests.

The CPU's nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-12500, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE, AMD EPYC 7J13, and Intel Core i5-12600T—all have average scores within 0.2% of the Ryzen 5 5500, so the CPU is not a performance differentiator in this comparison. In The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary. The measured FPS scaling with resolution and settings indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck; the CPU's 12 threads and 16 MB L3 cache are sufficient to feed the GPU without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's launch MSRP is $159, and the GPU's launch MSRP is 379 USD, but these figures do not affect the performance analysis. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 5500 provides a solid foundation for this GPU, but the overall combo rank is constrained by the GPU's capabilities in this specific game.