The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by graphical settings and resolution. The data shows a system that can hit high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on lower presets, but which struggles to maintain fluid motion at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results, examining the roles of the CPU and GPU, the impact of resolution scaling, and the specific frame rates achieved.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM4 platform. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, boosting up to 4.20 GHz, and it carries a 16 MB L3 cache. With a TDP of 65 W, it is a mainstream desktop part. For a horror title like The Medium, which often relies on dense environments and scripted sequences, the CPU's multi-threaded throughput is relevant, though the measured frame rates suggest the GPU is the primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5500 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319. Its Passmark multithread score is 19330, with a single-thread score of 3058. These figures place the processor in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid mid-range performance. Its average benchmark score of 20875 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with a delta of just -0.1% against both the Intel Core i5-12500 and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE. This parity suggests that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in the overall system performance for The Medium.

The game's engine appears to be well-threaded, as the CPU's 12 threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 96.9 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that CPU overhead could become a factor, yet the data does not indicate a hard cap. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5386, compared to the 2-thread score of 1645, shows strong scaling with core count. This scaling helps maintain consistent frame delivery in complex scenes. However, since the FPS drops dramatically when moving to Ultra settings at the same resolution (from 96.9 to 34.1 FPS), the workload clearly shifts to the GPU as graphical fidelity increases, diminishing the CPU's role in the final output.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz, with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a game clock of 2470 MHz. This substantial VRAM allocation is particularly relevant for The Medium, a game known for rendering dual worlds simultaneously, which can be memory-intensive.

The GPU's compute capabilities are significant, with 2048 shading units and an FP32 throughput of 22.57 TFLOPS. Its Passmark G3D score is 17132, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. The average benchmark score of 20146 is closely matched by its rivals: the AMD Radeon RX 460 is 0.3% slower, the RX 7600 is 0.6% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is 1.9% slower. This indicates that the RX 7600 XT sits in a competitive performance tier, and its 16 GB frame buffer is a key differentiator for high-resolution textures.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is decisive. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 20.5 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. Even at 1440p High, the frame rate is only 36.4 FPS, suggesting that the card's raw throughput, rather than its memory capacity, is the limiting factor at higher quality presets. The GPU's high boost clock helps at lower settings, where it can push 96.9 FPS at 1080p Low, but the architecture's performance ceiling is evident when the render load increases.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet steep decline as resolution increases, confirming the GPU as the primary bottleneck. Across all settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial. For example, at High settings, the average frame rate falls from 44.8 FPS at 1080p to 36.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 26.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a 41% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a scaling factor that is consistent with a GPU-bound workload.

The pattern is more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the 1080p average of 34.1 FPS drops to 25.3 FPS at 1440p and further to 20.5 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 40%, similar to High settings. This consistency suggests that the RX 7600 XT's compute units are saturated regardless of the preset, and only the resolution change impacts the fill rate. At Low settings, the frame rates are higher overall, but the scaling is even steeper: 96.9 FPS at 1080p falls to 83.0 FPS at 1440p and then to 61.3 FPS at 4K, a 37% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

These results indicate that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload is resolution-independent. Instead, the consistent FPS drops across all settings point directly to the GPU's pixel and texture processing limits. The 16 GB VRAM is sufficient to avoid memory capacity issues, as the frame rates do not collapse at 4K, but the bandwidth and shading power are insufficient for high-fidelity rendering at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for The Medium with this hardware combination is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 96.9 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings reduce this to 60.4 FPS, still a playable level. High settings yield 44.8 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. Ultra settings drop the frame rate to 34.1 FPS, which may feel less fluid but remains playable for the genre.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings produce 83.0 FPS, which is very good. Medium settings average 47.8 FPS, a solid result. High settings drop to 36.4 FPS, which is the threshold for comfortable playability. Ultra settings fall to 25.3 FPS, which is marginal and may require adjustments for a consistent experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. Low settings still manage 61.3 FPS, which is surprisingly playable. Medium settings average 41.6 FPS, which is acceptable. High settings drop to 26.3 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold. Ultra settings yield 20.5 FPS, which is not smooth and indicates that this resolution is only viable on lower presets.

The data shows that the system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the sweet spot being 1080p Medium or 1440p Low for high frame rates, or 1440p Medium for a balanced experience. At 4K, only Low settings provide a playable frame rate, and even that is borderline.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: The data indicates that 1080p Medium (60.4 FPS) or 1440p Low (83.0 FPS) provides the smoothest experience. For a balance of quality and performance, 1440p Medium (47.8 FPS) is also viable, while 4K is only playable at Low (61.3 FPS).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent decrease across all settings, which indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions.

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

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 20.5, which is not smooth. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 61.3, which is playable. High and Medium settings at 4K fall in between, with 26.3 and 41.6 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to its closest rivals in this system?

A: The RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 20146, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 460, 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7600, and 1.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER. These differences are minor, suggesting similar overall performance.

Q: What is the impact of the Ryzen 5 5500's multi-threading on game performance?

A: The CPU's 12 threads provide solid multi-core performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429. This is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in The Medium, as frame rates scale smoothly with resolution changes.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 7600 XT necessary for this game?

A: The 16 GB frame buffer ensures that memory capacity is not an issue at 4K, where the frame rates do not collapse unexpectedly. However, the GPU's raw compute power is the limiting factor, as Ultra settings at 4K still only achieve 20.5 FPS, indicating that VRAM size alone does not guarantee high performance.