The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built around a dual-reality mechanic, presents an unusual stress profile. With the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the measured data reveals a system where the GPU’s sheer rasterization power is frequently held in check by the game’s engine limits and the CPU’s architectural characteristics. The benchmark results show a ceiling around 123 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far below what the RTX 5090 is capable of in most titles, indicating that The Medium’s rendering path and CPU demands become the primary arbiters of performance. This analysis will break down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualize the combo’s rank, and explore the roles of the CPU and GPU based exclusively on the provided data.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a performance curve that is heavily influenced by settings, but the pattern is not a simple linear drop. At Low settings, the average FPS moves from 123 at 1920x1080, to 116 at 2560x1440, and finally to 107 at 3840x2160. That is a relatively modest 16 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, a decline of roughly 13%. This small delta strongly suggests that at Low settings, the system is not GPU-bound at 1080p; the RTX 5090 is being held back by other factors, likely CPU or engine limitations. The fact that 4K Low still produces 107 FPS indicates that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest pixel count, and the bottleneck shifts only slightly as resolution increases.

Moving to High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The average FPS starts at 90 at 1080p, drops to 82 at 1440p, and then falls to 64 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 18 FPS, or about 22%, which is a more substantial hit than the Low setting's drop. This suggests that as the graphical load increases, the GPU becomes a more significant limiting factor, but the 1080p result of 90 FPS is still surprisingly low for an RTX 5090, reinforcing the idea that the game’s engine has a performance ceiling that prevents the GPU from fully stretching its legs at lower resolutions.

The Medium settings tell a similar story, with averages of 102 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is a 13 FPS drop, which is a 12.7% reduction. This is a shallower curve than High, which indicates that Medium settings are still light enough for the GPU to handle 4K without a massive penalty, but the absolute FPS numbers are still capped well below the Low setting’s peak. The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline, going from 77 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p and then to 51 FPS at 4K. This 26 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K represents a 33.8% drop, showing that Ultra is the first setting where the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions become the dominant factor.

What does this data imply? The RTX 5090 is clearly powerful enough to push well beyond 100 FPS at 4K in many scenarios, but The Medium does not allow it. The relatively flat scaling at Low settings, where 4K is only 13% slower than 1080p, points to a significant non-GPU bottleneck. The game’s fixed-camera angles and rendering techniques likely introduce a CPU or draw-call limitation that caps performance. The data shows that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at Low settings to the GPU at Ultra settings, but even at Ultra 1080p, the 77 FPS result is not a typical RTX 5090 figure, suggesting the engine’s overhead is always present.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 123, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The difference is substantial. The 1080p Low result of 123 FPS is 72 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS, making the Low preset more than twice as fast, specifically 141.2% faster.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the primary bottleneck at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data suggests it is not. The 1080p Low score of 123 FPS is far below the GPU’s potential, and the small performance delta between 1080p and 4K at Low settings (a 16 FPS drop) indicates that the CPU or game engine is the limiting factor at that preset.

Q: What is the only setting and resolution combination that provides a minimum FPS reading?

A: The only measured rows with a min and max FPS are the Medium settings at all three resolutions. For instance, at 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS.

Q: How does the combo’s performance at 1440p High compare to its performance at 4K High?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 82. At 3840x2160 High, the average drops to 64. This represents an 18 FPS decrease when moving from 1440p to 4K at the High preset.

Q: Given the data, which resolution provides the most balanced experience for a high-refresh-rate display?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with Medium settings, which yields 96 FPS, appears to be a strong candidate. It is the only sub-4K resolution that stays above 90 FPS with the Medium preset, and it offers a significant jump over the 4K Medium result of 89 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. Its most distinctive feature is the large 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a hallmark of the X3D line. The benchmark data shows a Passmark single-thread score of 2941 and a multithread score of 20363. These scores place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid mainstream performance, but not top-tier.

The nearest rivals for this CPU, based on average benchmark score, include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (0.2% faster), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (0.2% slower), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (0.2% faster). The delta percentages are extremely tight, with all rivals within 0.3% of the 5500X3D’s average score. This suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the 5500X3D is essentially performance-equivalent to these other chips, despite its unique cache configuration.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role appears to be a limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. The fact that 1080p Low yields only 123 FPS, while 4K Low yields 107 FPS, implies that the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU enough frames. The 6-core/12-thread configuration is likely sufficient for the game’s logic, but the relatively modest 4.00 GHz boost clock may be a constraint for a game that relies on a single primary thread for rendering commands. The large L3 cache might help with some data-heavy tasks, but it does not appear to overcome the clock speed limitation in this title. The data shows that as resolution increases and the GPU takes on more work, the CPU bottleneck becomes less severe, which is why the FPS does not plummet at 4K Low.

The Passmark physics score of 2282 is a separate metric, and it is difficult to map directly to gaming performance, but the overall pattern is clear. The CPU is not a weak part, but it is not a giant-killer either. The combo’s rank of 286 out of 2911 in this game, which is in the top 10% of all tested combos, is more likely a signal of the GPU’s power than the CPU’s, as the CPU’s percentile rank of 85 is good but not exceptional.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 286 out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the 90.2nd percentile of all combos, meaning it performs better than roughly 90% of the systems tested. This is a strong showing, but it is important to consider what this rank implies given the components involved.

The RTX 5090 is an extremely high-end GPU, with an average benchmark score of 79842, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The CPU is a solid mid-range part, with an average score of 37018. If the GPU were allowed to run at its full potential, one would expect this combo to rank much higher, perhaps in the top 100. The fact that it ranks at 286 suggests that the CPU is holding the system back from reaching the upper echelons of the leaderboard.

Looking at the measured FPS, the 1080p Low result of 123 FPS is a clear indicator of a CPU bottleneck. A system with a top-tier CPU and this GPU would likely score higher. The rank of 286 is therefore a reflection of the balance of the system. It is a fast combo, but it is not the fastest possible with this GPU. The data shows that the GPU’s high percentile score (92) is not fully translated into a top-tier game rank because the CPU’s more modest percentile score (85) acts as a ceiling. The result is a combo that is very capable, but leaves performance on the table at lower resolutions, which is precisely what the rank reflects.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target frame rate and resolution. For a 60 FPS experience at 4K, the High preset is the only viable option, delivering an average of 64 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, while Medium at 4K offers 89 FPS, which is higher but might be considered a visual downgrade from High. The data indicates that High at 4K is the sweet spot for a smooth experience on a 4K display.

For 1440p, the situation is more flexible. The Medium preset delivers 96 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 82 FPS is also very playable. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is playable but might not be ideal for competitive play. The best recommendation for 1440p would be Medium or High, depending on whether the user prefers higher frame rates or higher visual fidelity. The data shows that Medium at 1440p offers a 14 FPS advantage over High, which is a significant difference.

At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 123 FPS, which is the highest average in the entire dataset. However, this comes at a significant visual cost. The Medium preset at 102 FPS is a better balance, offering a considerable improvement in visual quality for a 21 FPS drop. The High preset at 90 FPS is also viable. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is the most visually demanding, but it still provides a smooth experience. The data suggests that for 1080p, the Medium preset is the most sensible choice, as it provides a high frame rate while not sacrificing too much visual detail. The 1080p Low result seems to be an outlier, likely CPU-bound, and not a realistic recommendation for a game that is meant to be a visual showcase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average FPS values is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 123 FPS, Medium achieves 102 FPS, High achieves 90 FPS, and Ultra achieves 77 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution also has a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 116 FPS, Medium achieves 96 FPS, High achieves 82 FPS, and Ultra achieves 65 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 111 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 107 FPS, Medium achieves 89 FPS, High achieves 64 FPS, and Ultra achieves 51 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS.

The data shows a consistent hierarchy: Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The performance gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 46 FPS (123 vs 77). At 1440p, the gap is 51 FPS (116 vs 65). At 4K, the gap is 56 FPS (107 vs 51). This pattern indicates that the Ultra preset’s additional graphical features, likely including higher-resolution textures and more complex lighting, put a proportionally higher load on the GPU as pixel count increases. The Medium preset’s min/max FPS data provides a window into frame pacing, with the 4K Medium result showing a range of 26 FPS, which is a relatively tight window and suggests a stable experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a monster of a graphics card. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. Its core is clocked at a base of 2017 MHz and a boost of 2407 MHz. The card has 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. This hardware configuration results in a Passmark G3D score of 39650, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 79842, and its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which is only 0.3% slower.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is somewhat paradoxical. On one hand, its immense power is what allows the combo to achieve respectable frame rates at 4K with High settings. The 64 FPS at 4K High is a feat that many lesser GPUs could not manage. On the other hand, the GPU is clearly not being fully utilized at lower settings. The 1080p Low score of 123 FPS is a fraction of what the card could theoretically produce if the rest of the system could keep up.

The data shows that the GPU’s performance scaling is most evident when moving from High to Ultra at 4K. The drop from 64 FPS to 51 FPS is a 20.3% decrease, which is the largest single-settings penalty in the dataset. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces features that are particularly taxing on the GPU’s compute and memory subsystems. The 32 GB of VRAM is likely more than sufficient for The Medium, even at 4K Ultra, so the bottleneck is likely in the shader and pixel processing.

The GPU’s high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is a key asset. The Medium’s dual-reality mechanic likely requires streaming large amounts of texture data, and this bandwidth ensures that the GPU is not starved for data. However, the benchmark results indicate that the GPU’s raw power is often waiting on the CPU. The GPU is the star of the show, but the show is being directed by a more modest processor. The data shows that the GPU’s percentile rank of 92 is not the primary factor in the game’s 286 rank; rather, it is the interaction between the GPU’s immense speed and the CPU’s more limited instruction throughput that defines the overall experience.