The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that leans heavily on fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered transitions, which makes its performance profile distinct from typical open-world games. This analysis covers the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination, a pairing where the GPU is clearly the dominant component. The benchmark data shows a system that can handle the game comfortably at high framerates, but the settings you choose will dramatically alter the experience, especially at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern: performance scales almost linearly with resolution, which is a strong indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 129.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 121.5 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 111.8 FPS. This is a relatively shallow decline, suggesting that even at 4K, the GPU still has headroom and is not being fully saturated at the lowest quality preset.

However, the scaling becomes much more aggressive when you raise the settings. At Ultra quality, the framerate falls from 69.2 FPS at 1080p to 56.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 47.4 FPS at 4K. This demonstrates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are far more demanding on the GPU's compute and memory resources. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K is a massive 64.4 FPS, which shows that the visual quality settings have a far greater impact on performance than the resolution change itself. The data indicates that the CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the limiting factor in this scenario; the GPU’s workload is the deciding variable across all resolutions.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This memory configuration is well-suited for The Medium, which uses large, detailed textures to create its unsettling atmosphere. The high memory bandwidth helps ensure that texture streaming is not a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to maintain consistent framerates even when the camera pans across detailed environments. The card's boost clock of 2550 MHz and its 10240 shading units provide the raw compute power needed to handle the game's lighting and shadow effects.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 53610 places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. It is a marginal 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and a more substantial 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti in average score. In practical terms for this game, the data shows that the GPU is capable of pushing well over 100 FPS at 1080p with Low settings, but it is also taxed heavily by the Ultra preset, which includes more complex post-processing and volumetric effects. The 16 GB VRAM is likely a key reason why the game does not suffer from stuttering or frame drops, as it provides ample space for the game's assets at all tested resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its boost clock of 4.20 GHz and 16 MB of L3 cache are adequate for gaming, but its performance is modest compared to the GPU paired with it. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 20875 puts it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. It is nearly identical in performance to its closest rivals, being 0.1% slower than the Intel Core i5-12500 and 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i5-12600T. This suggests that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not going to push the limits of a high-end graphics card.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage the game's logic, physics, and the streaming of assets between the fixed camera angles. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution or settings combination. The FPS drops seen when moving from Low to Ultra settings are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's increased workload. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU has the least amount of GPU work to wait on, the system achieves 129.1 FPS, which is a high number that suggests the processor is keeping up with the demands of the game. The 3DMark single-thread score of 836 and multi-thread score of 5411 support this, showing a balanced performer that can handle the game's requirements without holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact average FPS recorded for this specific hardware combination. The minimum and maximum FPS were not captured in the dataset, so only the average is available for analysis.

1080p Resolution:

• Low: 129.1 FPS. This is the highest framerate recorded in the entire dataset, showing the system's full potential when GPU load is minimized.
• Medium: 108.6 FPS. A significant drop of 20.5 FPS from Low, indicating that the Medium preset adds a noticeable amount of GPU work.
• High: 85.9 FPS. Another substantial drop, showing that the High preset is considerably more demanding than Medium.
• Ultra: 69.2 FPS. The most demanding preset at 1080p, but still very playable for a horror title.

1440p Resolution:

• Low: 121.5 FPS. Only a 7.6 FPS drop from 1080p Low, showing that the GPU has plenty of headroom at this quality setting.
• Medium: 98.2 FPS. A 10.4 FPS drop from 1080p Medium, showing the combined effect of higher resolution and medium settings.
• High: 74.9 FPS. A 11 FPS drop from 1080p High, making this a solid target for high refresh rate 1440p monitors.
• Ultra: 56.7 FPS. This is a playable framerate, but it shows the Ultra preset is beginning to put significant stress on the GPU.

4K Resolution:

• Low: 111.8 FPS. This is still a very high framerate for 4K, demonstrating the raw power of the RTX 4080 SUPER.
• Medium: 79.7 FPS. A good, playable framerate for 4K that balances visual quality and performance.
• High: 55.6 FPS. This is right at the edge of what most players would consider smooth, but it is a stable experience.
• Ultra: 47.4 FPS. The lowest framerate in the dataset. This is playable but not ideal for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: Yes, but at an average of 47.4 FPS. This is a playable framerate, but it is not ideal for a smooth experience. For a more comfortable 4K experience, the High preset at 55.6 FPS or the Medium preset at 79.7 FPS are better choices.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests it is not. The FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which points to the GPU being the limiting component. Even at 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 129.1 FPS, indicating the CPU is able to feed the GPU adequately.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the system can reach 129.1 FPS. For a more balanced visual experience, the Medium preset at 108.6 FPS still clears the 100 FPS mark. At 1440p, the Low preset at 121.5 FPS is the only option that breaks 120 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in terms of raw benchmark score?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610. This makes it 0.2% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 2.9% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4080 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: The data does not show any performance degradation that would indicate VRAM limitations. The consistent FPS across all resolutions and settings suggests that the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than adequate for The Medium's requirements.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The High preset yields an average of 74.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 56.7 FPS. This is a difference of 18.2 FPS, which is a significant cost in performance for the visual improvements offered by the Ultra preset.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the High preset at 1440p is the sweet spot. It delivers 74.9 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset. If you have a high refresh rate 1080p monitor, the Medium preset at 108.6 FPS is an excellent choice, as it provides a fluid experience while still offering a good level of visual detail.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the best recommendation. It achieves an average of 79.7 FPS, which is smooth and visually impressive. The High preset at 55.6 FPS is playable, but the Medium preset offers a more consistent and responsive experience. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination, as its performance cost is high at every resolution, and the visual difference over High is likely to be marginal in a game with this art style. The data clearly shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of framerate and visual fidelity across all resolutions for this hardware pairing.