The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the GPU-bound nature of this title. The measured frame rates show a consistent pattern where the graphics card is the primary limiting factor, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom across all tested resolutions. This analysis examines the specific performance numbers recorded for this combination, offering a detailed look at what players can expect from this hardware setup.

FAQ

Q: What is the best achievable frame rate with this CPU and GPU combination in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 93.1 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 58.4 at 3840x2160 with Low settings, showing a significant impact from resolution even at the lowest quality preset.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER perform relative to its closest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 19774, which places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN. However, it trails the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 by 0.8% and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m by 1.3%.

Q: What is the CPU's standing compared to other processors in synthetic tests?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600 has an average benchmark score of 21765, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.6% faster than the Intel Xeon D-1746TER but 0.6% slower than the AMD EPYC 9554P and 0.9% slower than the Intel Core i7-11700F.

Q: Is the game playable at 4K resolution with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 21.4 on Ultra to 58.4 on Low. The Medium setting yields 40.4 average FPS, while High produces 29.9 average FPS, indicating that only Low settings approach a smooth 60 FPS target at this resolution.

Q: How much performance difference exists between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra results in a drop from 93.1 average FPS to 34.8 average FPS. The jump from Low to Medium reduces the average to 56.5, and High settings yield 44.1 average FPS.

Q: What does the combo rank indicate about this system's overall performance in the game?

A: This combination ranks 1135 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of all configurations. This suggests that while the system is functional, many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve better performance in The Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration, and its VRAM and clock specifications directly correlate with the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is substantial for storing high-resolution textures and geometry. The base clock of 1470 MHz boosts to 1650 MHz, driving 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs, which translates to a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s.

The data shows that the GPU's raw compute capabilities, rated at 7.181 TFLOPS FP32, are the primary bottleneck in The Medium. The benchmark results indicate that the game's visual effects, particularly at higher settings, place a heavy load on the GPU. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but appear underutilized, as the game's performance drops are more consistent with traditional rasterization demands. The FP16 throughput of 14.36 TFLOPS (2:1) suggests potential for accelerated compute, but the measured FPS numbers point to a scenario where the GPU is fully saturated.

The GPU's general benchmark percentile of 63, alongside an average score of 19774, places it in a mid-range tier. In The Medium, this translates to playable but not exceptional performance. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears adequate for the tested settings, as no anomalies suggest memory overflow; the consistent scaling from Low to Ultra indicates that the GPU's compute units, rather than memory capacity, are the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with playable frame rates. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 93.1 FPS, which is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. However, the Medium preset still provides a respectable 56.5 average FPS, making it the best choice for players who prioritize smoother gameplay over maximum detail. The High preset at 44.1 average FPS is playable but begins to show strain, while Ultra at 34.8 FPS is best reserved for slower, atmospheric exploration segments.

For 2560x1440, the recommendations shift downward. Low settings produce 79.4 average FPS, which remains fluid, but Medium drops to 46.3 average FPS, making it borderline for action sequences. High at 36.8 average FPS and Ultra at 26.5 average FPS are only suitable for players who prefer visual quality over performance. At 3840x2160, only Low settings at 58.4 average FPS approach a playable standard; Medium at 40.4, High at 29.9, and Ultra at 21.4 average FPS are all below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The data suggests that Medium settings at 1080p offer the best compromise, as the 56.5 average FPS is 27.8% higher than High settings while maintaining a significantly better visual experience than Low. This preset provides a stable foundation for the game's horror atmosphere without sacrificing responsiveness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset reveals a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are 93.1 for Low, 56.5 for Medium, 44.1 for High, and 34.8 for Ultra. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is 58.3 FPS, demonstrating that the game's graphical options have a massive impact on the GPU workload.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 79.4 for Low, 46.3 for Medium, 36.8 for High, and 26.5 for Ultra. This represents a reduction of 13.7 FPS for Low, 10.2 FPS for Medium, 7.3 FPS for High, and 8.3 FPS for Ultra when compared to 1080p. The percentage drops are 14.7% for Low, 18.1% for Medium, 16.6% for High, and 23.9% for Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 58.4 for Low, 40.4 for Medium, 29.9 for High, and 21.4 for Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows reductions of 21.0 FPS for Low (26.4%), 5.9 FPS for Medium (12.7%), 6.9 FPS for High (18.8%), and 5.1 FPS for Ultra (19.2%). The Low setting sees the largest absolute drop, while Medium shows the smallest relative decrease, suggesting different workload characteristics across presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1135 out of 1689 tested configurations places this system in the 67th percentile, meaning that roughly one-third of all tested combos perform worse. This ranking reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER’s mid-tier status, as the GPU's percentile of 63 is the primary constraint. The CPU's higher percentile of 79 indicates that the processor is not the limiting factor, as the Ryzen 5 5600’s performance is well above the GPU’s.

In context, this ranking suggests that the system is suitable for 1080p gaming but will struggle at higher resolutions or with maxed-out settings. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the RTX 2070 which is only 0.5% faster in general benchmarks, would likely produce similar results in The Medium. The large gap between the combo rank and the CPU rank highlights the imbalance between the two components, with the GPU holding back the overall performance potential.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 provides a strong foundation for this system, with 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, features 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU's benchmark scores show a single-thread score of 2584 in Cinebench R23 and a multicore score of 18309, indicating strong per-core performance.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings without any signs of CPU bottlenecking. The CPU's general percentile of 79 and average score of 21765 place it well above the GPU's percentile of 63, suggesting that the processor can easily feed the graphics card. The 3DMark scores, such as 5659 for max threads and 882 for single thread, further confirm that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game.

The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-11700F which is 0.9% faster, would likely show similar in-game performance, as the game's demands are primarily GPU-centric. The 65W TDP and AM4 socket compatibility make this a practical choice, but the data shows that its capabilities exceed what the RTX 2060 SUPER can utilize in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K reveal the GPU-bound nature of The Medium. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 93.1 at 1080p to 58.4 at 4K, a drop of 34.7 FPS or 37.3%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 56.5 to 40.4, a reduction of 16.1 FPS or 28.5%. At High settings, the drop is from 44.1 to 29.9, a reduction of 14.2 FPS or 32.2%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 34.8 to 21.4, a reduction of 13.4 FPS or 38.5%.

These percentages indicate that the GPU's pixel throughput is the limiting factor. The smallest relative drop at Medium settings (28.5%) suggests that this preset balances the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth most efficiently. The larger drops at Low and Ultra settings point to different bottlenecks: Low settings likely expose memory bandwidth limitations, while Ultra settings push the shader units to their absolute limit. The consistent scaling across all presets confirms that the CPU maintains its performance regardless of resolution, as the frame rate differences are entirely attributable to the GPU's workload.